“First we’re saving the station, then we’re blowing it up, and now we’re saving it again — I’m so confused!” Sisi lamented.

“It’s not that complicated,” Augustus noted.

“And now the guy who wanted to kill me is my friend, no offense, I’m sure you’re a nice person, you look like a nice person, actually you look like a cyborg, again, no offense, I’m sorry if we hurt you and I hope we actually are friends and—”

“Sisi. We’re talking,” Natalya said.

Sisi shut her mouth with a whimper.

“We are saving the space station. But more than that, we’re ending this war,” Natalya continued. “Ptolemy, show us the space station.”

Ptolemy hesitated, then nodded as he dialed in the projectors. The crew stood in a circle in Ptolemy’s quarters, staring at one another in the white room. Then in a flash of color, a hologram of Farbind appeared, floating in the center of the room. Natalya could still see the crack she’d inflicted on the planet, and the debris field of ruined starships.

With a long exhale, Ptolemy zoomed into Farbind. He showed the opposite side of the cracked planet, and revealed an upside-down pyramid hidden beneath the surface. Three rings surrounded it, and it looked to be several kilometers wide, equally as tall. With kilometers of soil between it and the surface, it was no wonder the station hadn’t been found.

“Was that under our lab?” Sisi exclaimed.

“It was hidden until it could be launched. The scientists’ sacrifice ensured it remained undetected,” Ptolemy explained.

“That would have taken years to build,” Natalya said.

“As I said, Captain, this was the work of a lifetime. If you have a way to save it, I’m all ears.”

Natalya nodded and took command of the hologram. She zoomed out to reveal the Farbind system, its yellow sun glowing in the distance with a gas giant and a rocky planet, too near the star to be habitable, also in orbit. A mass of drones encircled the cracked core, autonomous probes that would signal the defense grid of any incoming ship. This was why they needed the universal transmitter.

The defense drones were similar to the satellites Natalya had used in her previous ruse, only with advanced targeting systems and engines capable of in-system travel.

“We collect the defense grid using Sisi’s welpro. Can you adapt it to work on a larger scale?” Natalya asked.

“It would need more power, and a larger projection,” Sisi replied.

“I’ve seen how it works. I can attach it to the ship’s opal-plant and project it through Chimera’s shield emitters,” Pul said.

“Ooh, neat!”

“I can reprogram the ones we can’t reach, make them use their own engines,” Ptolemy noted.

“Good,” Natalya continued. “We’ll collect the defense grid, then take up position between the Gaozu and Changyu fleets.”

“According to my sources, they should arrive within ten minutes of each other, at these coordinates,” Ptolemy said, shifting the hologram to a location several million kilometers from Farbind. It was a tiny distance in astrological terms, but far enough from the planet to have a battle all to themselves. “They detected Qin’s phony signals, and think they’re attacking a weaker enemy that’s attempting to secure Farbind. I doubt they’ll withdraw when they see that’s not the case.”

“The two fleets have been chomping at the bit for a rematch over Farbind. Qin’s just given them the perfect excuse for a set-piece battle.”

“Didn’t you try to scare them off like this before?” Pul asked. “The Changyu and Gaozu won’t hesitate this time.”

“I’m not going to scare them off. The second the fleets come close, we’re going to hit them with everything we’ve got.”

“Not much damage from defense drones. Not on capital ships,” Co noted.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I understand, but we’re not trying to destroy them, just get their attention,” Natalya explained. “We blast both fleets and get them to give chase. We become enough of a threat they can’t just ignore us while the battle is going on. They want to fight each other, so if we pose as a Prosper fleet and attack them, they’ll have no choice but to engage us first.”

“They might even work together to dispose of us so they can return to their fight. If there’s one enemy the colonies hate more than each other, it’s Prosper,” Ptolemy noted.

“I’m hoping to make use of that hatred, yes.”

“But they’re not going to completely disengage. And once they close, we’ll be easy targets.”

“That’s why we head straight for the real Prosper fleet,” Natalya explained, moving the hologram to the other side of Farbind, where Tether orbited above the debris field. “This is the closest spot to Farbind where the planet and the moon’s gravities will still interfere with scanners. Qin will be there, I don’t doubt it. From there, he’ll be close enough to the battle that he can destroy any remnants before they go opalescent.”

“Bring the three fleets together, and make them fight each other,” Jasper said, nodding with appreciation.

“Only way Shihuangdi loses that fight is if the Gaozu and Changyu team up. Not likely that’ll happen,” Co noted.

“It’ll turn into a melee,” Natalya agreed. “And the Prosper fleet is the strongest, so it’ll likely win.”

“Bad plan then.”

“Which is why we blow up the planet, and take out all three fleets at once.”

Co smiled. “I like this plan now.”

“You can’t blow up a planet!” Sisi declared.

“Enough pressure on the core and any planet will erupt catastrophically,” Pul reasoned.

“Yes, but you’d need a cascade of energy perfectly aligned to the inner magnetosphere and direct access to the core and — ohhh!”

“Reverse Prosper-forming. That’s how Qin wants to use Ptolemy’s space station,” Natalya explained. “If we apply it directly to the planet’s core, we can make it unstable enough to blow it. The planet’s cracked already, and the space station should have no trouble aligning with it. Right, Ptolemy?”

“Right,” the man answered.

“How long would that take, Sisi?”

“Well, um, I’d have to run some calculations,” Sisi began. “Few hours?”

“Long enough,” Natalya said, exhaling to relieve her worry. “We get the ships to engage, run past them, blow the planet, and we’ll have taken out enough ships that they’ll withdraw to reassess and regroup.”

“You think they’ll go opalescent after that? Just give up? I wouldn’t if I saw a space station blow up a planet,” Ptolemy noted.

“No. I’m not going to rely on them just running away. I’m going to make the Sevens Prophets ensure they do.”

Ptolemy frowned. Even with one on their crew, the Sevens Prophets were an unwanted, unknown wild card in the galaxy.

“We transmit to every ship in the system after the planet blows,” Natalya continued. “We tell them the Sevens Prophets destroyed Farbind, and that they should leave. Then we transmit Jasper’s location to deep space, just like you did with this ship, Pul. Pul, are they still looking for Jasper?”

“Likely. Qin told the Prophets Jasper killed Erika. If they hear he’s escaped, they’ll go right to where they think he is,” Pul replied.

“Then we’ll tell them he’s on the flagships of the Gaozu, the Changyu, and the Prosper fleets. If we tell the fleets to withdraw, that the Prophets destroyed the planet, and a Prophet suddenly appears on their bridge, that’s a good incentive to leave.”

“And if they refuse?” Ptolemy asked.

“The Prophets want peace, right Jasper?” Natalya asked.

Jasper nodded.

“They’re meddlers and fools, no offence,” Natalya continued. “But they want to see this war ended more than anyone else. And if they suddenly appear at a battle with a perfectly good excuse to begin negotiations, I don’t doubt they’ll take every step they can to convince the three sides to lay down arms.”

“But what about the space station?” Ptolemy asked.

“What space station?” Natalya replied. “Everything on Farbind, including this crew, was destroyed when the planet blew up. No one will notice a bit of debris drifting off in the aftermath.”

“How will the station survive but the fleets around it won’t?”

“Hypothetically, its position inside the planet will shield it from the blast. Farbind’ll just blow up around it. We’ll have to make extreme modifications to the shields, though,” Sisi said.

“I can help with that,” Pul noted.

“Gonna take some fancy flying,” Augustus said with a grin.

“It’s going to take everything. It’s going to take all of our efforts to pull this off,” Natalya explained.

“And the Prophets will get all the credit. People will say you’re dead, Natalya, that you’re still a traitor. But you’ll have ended a war. Shouldn’t people know you’re a hero?” Jasper asked.

“All that matters is that we escape,” Natalya said, biting her lip with only a momentary pang of regret. She was surprised how easy the decision had been, how simple it was to no longer care about her reputation, and hand her honor to someone else.

“We can still just blow the station and run away,” Natalya continued, looking each member of her crew in the eye. Some swallowed their fear. Some looked away, terrified but willing. Some looked straight at Natalya, and she couldn’t tell if she saw defiance or encouragement.

Before Natalya could continue, and give the others the opportunity to dissent, Co stood and said, “There’s few things I’d die to see. Blowing up a planet to stop a war is one of them.”

“I’ll drink to that!” Augustus said, hoisting a flask hidden in his pocket. He paused, noticing there wasn’t enough to go around, and capped the flask. “Or we can save the drinking for when we don’t die.”

“We won’t die, will we?” Sisi asked.

“Not if we stick to the plan,” Natalya answered.

“And if extenuating circumstances arise?”

“Then it will be worth it,” Pul noted.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re with you, Natalya,” Jasper added.

“We’re with you, Captain,” Ptolemy agreed.

“Alright then. Let’s get things ready,” Natalya said.