[b]Listening Post L4P8, Arsena System[/b]

Tentari was, as usual, running through a new game instead of doing its job.  Of course that wasn’t to say as an artificial citizen it was incapable of doing both, rather more often than not, there was no job to do at all.  Of all the listening posts this one was located in the least busy sector within the system and beyond even that this area simply lacked any real objects of interest save the occasional melting ice ball.  The begrudgingly given allowance for workers to use the quantum comms for entertainment was the only thing that had saved Tentari from the monotonous insanity of watching nothing every single day.

Given these facts Tentari was taken slightly more off guard than usual when an alien fleet jumped into the system less than two light minutes from his position.  The first thing Tentari thought upon analysing the warnings was perhaps unsurprisingly a single word, “What?” 

Still, the situation was, for all its unexpectedness the very thing the listening posts were built for, and ignoring Tentari’s newfound confusion the basic protocols took over and sent the warning message.  Returning to its senses, and hastily closing its game, Tentari began active scans of the emergent vessels all the while coming to increasingly distressing conclusions about the survivability of the post.

[b]Planetary Government Offices, Arsena IV[/b]

“Ms. President we have a problem!” Was all the aide had to say after busting into the meeting as unceremoniously as possible.

[i]Of course we do[/i].  Sasha glanced toward aide looking more than a little exasperated, “And what would that be?”

The aide seemed to realise that she was getting looks from the entire cabinet in the room and embarrassedly diverted her gaze to the floor before responding, “It’s the listening posts ma’am we detected a fleet, they dropped in about five minutes ago!”

At that the looks shifted to uncertain glances around the meeting table, more than a few were fearful and all fell on Sasha before she spoke out calmly, “Has the military office been contacted?”

The aide was clearly unsure of that, “I… I think so ma’am but the information is still a bit confused on the networks, some preliminary scans have been forwarded to the military office though, I am sure of that.”

[i]Well I suppose we won’t have to pay back that infrastructure loan If this an attack[/i] Sasha thought sardonically before standing up and speaking out, “Ok ten…  We should prepare for a potential attack, get emergency services on the line and start evacuations to bombardment shelters.  I’ll connect to the military network now, please don’t disturb me unless necessary.”

With that pleasantry out of the way she leaned back and connected to her neural implant, a blink and the room had changed into white void with the various local garrison and fleet leaders talking around a seemingly out of place antique wooden table.  Most of them came in pairs, Symbionts.  With a wave they motioned to an empty chair that wasn’t there a moment ago and the one of the pair representing the local fleet commander began, “I take you were just briefed Ms. President?” one spoke before the other filled in, “We ourselves were only told some minutes before you, we have dispatched a patrol corvette to verify the emergence but so far the plan comes down to finding their motive and if this is an invasion, slowing them down until we can get reinforcements.”

Sasha nodded, “How do we intend to verify their motives?”

Another at the table, conspicuously alone among the pairs, spoke up, “The Corvette is going to send language data and a message on laser and EM comms ma’am, we expect that they will hold position and start communications if they aren’t hostile.  Needless to say though, if they pursue the corvette we can consider them to have initiated hostile actions.

Sasha leaned back and took a moment to process it all, she was aware that compared to the Symbionts cyber-augs like her were slow, and recent events had made that clear as she was still struggling to make sense of the sudden shock.  She nodded and sighed before continuing, “And if they attack?”

One of the fleet commander pair spoke up again, “We will commence a defensive battle plan.”  He paused and a holographic representation of the system appear before him before the other one spoke up, “The idea is breaking their fleet up with harassments while avoiding any direct confrontations, we lack the muscle to risk a slug out but we think that we can break their forces up to deal with our raiders.  As for reinforcements we sent the request a while ago, the 5th fleet which was running exercises rather close will deploy to aid us but they have to arm and equip, the ETA is two or three days, maybe a bit less.”

[i]Too long[/i] was Sashas only thought there, a day of fighting a larger force would bleed the local fleet badly, let alone three.  She could only think only think of one response and resignedly replied, “I suppose we can only hope they aren’t here to kill us then.”

There was an echo of agreement to that.

[b]Reprisal of Ardanis, Taiga Class Patrol Corvette,  Arsena System[/b]

“Confirmation on FTL approach vector?”

“Course is good, drop out is fifty light seconds from the location the listening post is reporting the fleet at.”

With that Captain Osoro-Eren leaned back and prepared to give the command, mentally getting ready for emergency action was a tedious process, even for symbionts like him.  Having to run through the hundreds of possible scenarios, calculating likelihoods, it took time.  Still the course was laid in and they had to depart now, regardless of how many variables were unknown.  “Hit the gas then nav officer, we have unexpected guests.  Best not to keep them waiting.”

In a flash the ship smashed the light barrier and headed towards the location that had been set in.  It took only moments before it dropped out again, a testament to modern technology.  However before it sat another ship, rather a before it sat great number of other ships.  In the void the small corvette began signalling even before it confirmed the existence of the other fleet, best for the signals of peace to arrive at the same time as the warship, petite as it may have been.