18 February, 10TE, Main Bridge, Callisto, Portsmouth Staging Area, 1 LY from Astralis System

“Transit to real-space in three... two... one... Transit complete. All systems nominal,” Callisto announced, its voice even and mechanical as it monitored its station beside the captain’s chair on the circular bridge.

Jack sat back in the captain’s chair, eyes narrowing as the main screen flickered to life and displayed their surroundings. The viewport filled with the expanse of deep space and, at its center, a mobile shipyard. Four unidentified cruisers were tethered to it in various states of repair, their hulls scarred and darkened from battle. Above the shipyard hung the sleek, formidable silhouette of the TAS Kyiv, now painted a matte black that absorbed the surrounding starlight. Flanking the 2-kilometer-long cruiser was a cluster of smaller vessels—alien in design and powered down.

“Callisto,” Jack said, his voice measured, “report once you have identified exactly what we’re looking at.”

“Affirmative, Admiral,” Callisto replied, its blue-lit eyes flickering as streams of data flooded through its systems. “I am finalizing data transfer with Kyiv now. Captain Sokolov has requested an immediate meeting with you and President Leena to discuss developments since our departure.”

“Understood. Arrange for everyone to meet in my office,” Jack said, rising from his seat as the QD behind the Captain’s chair emerged from the floor, casting a soft glow across the bridge. He stepped through, the air shifting subtly around him as he entered his office and approached the conference table.

“Callisto, display the external view on the windows,” he said, giving a salute to President Leena, who was already seated alongside General Weber. The President returned the salute just as the hum of a QD announced another arrival behind Jack.

Natalia Sokolov strode through the doorway, her expression bright with a fierce grin, and behind her loomed Captain Kincaid, a mountain of muscle wrapped in combat gear. “About damned time you got here, Jack,” she said, gripping his hand in a firm handshake.

“It’s good to see you too, Nat,” Jack said, matching her grin before glancing down at the small bundle cradled against her chest. “So, you want to tell me about the little one you’ve got there?”

Natalia’s eyes softened as she looked down at the tiny Ny’Shuran nestled in a makeshift sling. Its fur was a downy silver, and it clung to her with a quiet, trusting grip. “This is Olena. She’s my foster, and there’s a lot to explain, but here’s the short version: Ny’Shuran infants need to bond with their mother or a surrogate soon after birth, or they won’t survive. Turns out, a part of my brain is compatible with theirs, and since she bonded to me, I can hear her in my mind.”

Jack’s eyes widened, and Leena’s breath caught audibly. “She made you telepathic?” Jack stammered.

“Not exactly,” Natalia said, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “Larysa tells me that 62 crew members of the Kyiv—out of 6,256—have the same tiny section of their cerebral cortex that lights up when Olena ‘talks’ to me. She bonded with me because I was the only one close enough who could ‘hear’ her.”

She chuckled, the sound tinged with disbelief. “It did make me able to hear other Ny’Shuran, Mir’Shuran, and even Mirii. Apparently, I was broadcasting my thoughts loudly enough to give a few of them headaches until Arwae, their leader, taught me how to ‘shut my mental mouth.’” Natalia’s eyes sparkled as she continued. “And yes, we’ll be meeting Arwae as soon as they recover from seeing you arrive on a flying moon.”

Jack couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his face. “I’ll bet that was a sight.”

Natalia’s expression darkened slightly. “Jack, the Kyiv’s reports were right. Luna’s Nyx technology is laughably beyond the Xarkai’s capabilities. Oh that’s the name of our new ‘friends’—the reptile-spider hybrids. They are xenophobic purists and, to top it off, they eat babies.” She glanced at Olena, her fingers brushing the infant’s fur protectively. “When we transitioned into real-space, I deployed the Odesa, Lviv, and Kharkiv to scout Astralis and began setting up the mobile shipyard. It took a week to get everything operational and complete a full survey of the system.”

Her expression turned hard, eyes locking onto Jack’s. “We’ve been monitoring the system for three months now, and the traffic is steady. Two to three Xarkai ships arrive at the system’s edge each week and burn for Tahlaris at sub light. We intercepted one of their cruisers on day three.” She nodded to Captain Kincaid. “Rory, go ahead.”

The red-haired marine commander stepped forward, eyes hard and voice steady. “We used the Kyiv’s mass to pull the cruiser out of hyperspace into a pre-set drone field. Larysa had its systems under control within seconds, and we established a QD for rapid entry. My company boarded immediately.”

The massive marine’s eyes sharpened as he relived the scene, his voice low and steady. “We were immediately under fire, but as predicted, their energy weapons were little more than a light show against our shields. It didn’t take long for them to realize it, so they switched tactics and came at us with blades. Turns out, their blades are no joke. We had to take them a hell of a lot more seriously.” His jaw clenched, and a shadow of pain crossed his features. “That’s when Sgt. Kinner found the captain’s ‘larder,’ and...”

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Natalia reached forward and patted the giant Scotsman on the arm, her expression hardening as she took over. “I’ll handle the rest, Rory.” She drew a deep breath, eyes scanning the room, daring anyone to interrupt. “The Xarkai eat babies. You already know that Ny’Shuran infants’ bond telepathically with their mothers within 30 days of birth. If they don’t, they die. During this time, the stress they endure produces certain brain chemicals that these monstrous fucks find ‘tasty.’ They take them at birth, keep them alive just long enough to build up those chemicals, and then eat them alive.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Jack’s hands tightened into fists, the muscles in his forearms flexing beneath his uniform. Leena’s eyes glistened with unshed tears; her face frozen in a mask of stunned horror.

Natalia cleared her throat, the sharp sound cutting through the tension. “There’s a full account of what happened on that ship in the logs. I don’t recommend watching it.” She glanced at Callisto, “Larysa was linked to the comms when Kinner broadcast what he saw. The entire company switched to knives and cleared the ship by hand. Larysa declared herself unfit for duty afterward, and it took Aya eleven days to bring her back from the edge. She no longer monitors combat operations. Olena came from that ship, along with 61 other Ny’Shuran survivors.”

Jack exhaled slowly, the weight of their words sinking into him like iron. His eyes drifted to the viewport where the Kyiv loomed, dark and menacing. “I count 32 ships out there, Nat. How many refugees do we have now?”

Natalia’s gaze followed his, her jaw tightening. “5,287 Ny’Shurans, 1635 Mirii, and 230 others we haven’t identified yet. They were born into slavery, Jack. They don’t even know their own languages—just the Xarkai’s guttural slave tongue.” She sighed and rubbed her temples, the exhaustion of command etched into the lines around her eyes. “The first intercepted ship won’t be missed for another two weeks. As of now, they haven’t realized they’ve lost 30 ships and over 22,000 crew.”

She stood, triggering the holo emitter at the center of the room. A projection of Tahlaris materialized, the planet suspended above the table like a pale jewel encased in shadow. Dozens of ships orbited it, surrounded by a network of defensive platforms bristling with weaponry.

“Over the past month, Odesa and Lviv have launched thousands of nano-probes,” Natalia continued, her voice tight with anticipation. “We’ve tagged every Xarkai ship and defensive platform in the system. The Kyiv has turned over command control of the nano-drones now that you’re here.” Her eyes met Leena’s, a challenge in their dark depths. “Whenever you’re ready, Madam President, we can wipe these bastards out of this system.”

The room remained silent, the weight of what had just been revealed pressing down on each of them like a shroud. General Weber finally spoke, his voice low and saturated with malice. “Madam President, I request authorization to wage total war on the Xarkai within the Astralis system—to destroy them utterly.”

Leena met Weber’s eyes, her own gaze hard and unyielding. “Prepare your operational plans, General. I want them on my desk as soon as possible.”

Before anyone could speak further, Natalia cleared her throat and nodded toward the QD just as Dr. Aya Washington stepped through. The doctor’s appearance brought a sudden shift to the room’s tense atmosphere. Her short, tightly coiled hair framed a face that usually exuded warmth but was now clouded with concern.

“Nice to see you, Madam President, Jack, General Weber,” Aya began, pausing to let her gaze sweep over each of them in turn. “Our new friends are ready to meet you, but there are some conditions.”

Jack leaned forward, his brow furrowing as Aya’s expression turned somber. “What kind of conditions?” he asked.

“These people,” Aya said, her voice softening, “have been generationally abused, enslaved, and farmed as livestock. The trauma they carry... to say they suffer from PTSD is an understatement. They’re communal herbivores by nature, and anything that might suggest predation triggers their anxiety. So, try to avoid showing teeth, making sudden movements, tracking their movements with your eyes, or holding eye contact for too long. It can make them shut down completely.”

A heavy silence settled over the room, each officer absorbing the gravity of Aya’s words. Leena’s expression tightened, a blend of empathy and fury flickering across her face.

“And the Mirii?” General Weber asked, a subtle tension creeping into his voice.

Aya sighed, glancing at Natalia before answering. “The Mirii are... more complicated. They move in a way that many of us find unsettling—swift and spider-like. When they ride on their Mir’Shura companions, they look like hand-sized spiders, and that can be difficult for some to handle. They communicate solely through what we perceive as ‘telepathy,’ but we don’t yet understand how it functions. The Ny’Shura can speak vocally, so they often act as translators or allow the Mirii to communicate through them.”

Jack exchanged a look with Natalia, whose expression had softened as she stroked Olena’s fur. The tiny Ny’Shuran’s wide, watchful eyes seemed to take in everything, a silent reminder of the stakes they faced.

“Noted,” Leena said, her voice steely but touched with compassion. “We’ll take every precaution.”

Aya nodded, a faint, grateful smile breaking through the weariness on her face. “Thank you, Madam President. They need to see that not all species are like the Xarkai. Trust will be slow, but it’s essential if we’re going to move forward.”

General Weber’s fists unclenched slightly, a rare show of vulnerability passing across his hardened features. “We’ll tread carefully,” he said, the malice in his tone tempered now by a different resolve. “But when the time comes, we will make sure they know they’re safe.”

The room held its collective breath, a shared understanding settling over them. The horrors of the Xarkai were only one part of this conflict. The healing of those who survived might be the greater battle, one that required patience, compassion, and unwavering resolve.