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No.
The scanners were picking up a greater concentration of particles
throughout the system. Worse than that, the readings from his
engine core indicated slight interference in the magnifying
coils.

All of
these three things combined reminded him of when the Barbarians had
snuck up on ships in the past.

So
right now, he acted with lightning speed to bring the Farsight’s
defences online.

As
soon as the weapons were charged and those new, nifty inertia
fields were in place, he allowed himself a single moment to
relax.

Then
he saw it.

Only
several kilometres off the bow of the Farsight, a ship
materialised. In a cascade of green particles that darted off the
emerging ship's hull, a long, sleek vessel came into
view.

Carson
doubled back, but almost immediately he commanded the computer to
lock weapons on the vessel.

“Prepare countermeasures for any incoming attack,” he spat,
“keep the plasma turrets charged.” He didn’t need to command the
computer to do those things; it was doing them anyway, it was part
of the defensive upgrade he’d ordered. But the sudden pressure of
the situation meant he had to do something.

The
long sleek vessel that had just materialised. was unlike any design
he’d ever seen. But that wasn’t much of a surprise, not when you
considered the Barbarians were involved.

They
hunted out new technologies voraciously. Though they were rarely
brash enough to penetrate deep into Coalitions space, they often
ran sorties to planets they could safely reach, obliterating
laboratories and research facilities, and stealing what they could.
Which often included the scientists themselves.

Of all
the United Galactic Coalition's enemies, the Barbarians were by far
the most fearsome, even if they were not technically the most
powerful. What they had was a desire, a never-ending drive to
capture whatever power they could, and that was what made them more
dangerous than any other race or empire.

Carson
had no doubt they were now after his ship. The Farsight was the
cutting edge of the Academy’s technology; it would represent an
incredible prize for the Barbarians.

As he
stood there, waiting for them to make the first move so he could
capitalise on it with the Farsight’s superior speed and weaponry,
his mind raced with the possibilities.

There
weren’t many technologies in existence in the Milky Way that could
hide an entire vessel from view. And the ones that did exist were
enormous, taking up half a planet.

Yet
the Barbarians had clearly managed to get their hands on some kind
of technology small enough and hardy enough to be used on a
spaceship.

That
fact alone was truly unnerving, but it gave way to a far more
worrying thought.

With
technology like that, the Barbarians could have infested multiple
solar systems, lying in wait with their hidden vessels until
something they wanted drifted on by.

Yes,
that’s probably what had happened here. That Barbarian vessel had
been hiding out in this system for god knows how long, waiting for
something juicy enough to fly past and into their trap.

But,
with luck he hardly deserved, Carson had seen through the trap
before he'd mindlessly wandered into it.

Suddenly the computed beeped, and it told him in its never
wavering tone that the ship was receiving a message.

A
visual message.

The
Barbarians were clearly trying to contact him.

“Go
ahead,” he commanded the computer. Seconds later the view of the
vessel was replaced with the snarling face of an alien.

A
Xerk, to be precise. One of the most militant, dangerous races in
all of the galaxy.

Carson
had fought them before, and he could point to more than a dozen old
injuries they had inflicted on him.

This
Xerk, as was characteristic for his race, had three large sunken
eyes that were the yellowed colour of jaundiced skin. Slit-like,
black pupils now focused wide as the alien stared at
him.

It was
not large. By rule, Xerks weren't. They were a little smaller than
your average human was, yet they had more strength, more agility,
and more speed than a human could ever wish to enjoy. And worse
than that, Xerks had no morals, no compunctions, no voice in their
head telling them to hold back. Their brutality went to a level
that was beyond description. Think of the very worst criminals and
despots of Earth’s history, and combine them into one snarling face
equipped with tusks for teeth and ragged, tendril-like brown locks
for hair.

That
was a Xerk. They never blinked, they never slept, and they never
stopped hunting you.

Well
right now this one smiled, the fat, purplish flaps of skin that
accounted for its lips drawing over its tusks with a slobbery, wet
slap. “Downgrade your defences.”

That
was all it said.

Carson
didn’t even bother to answer. Instead, he crossed his arms and
stared at the alien.

“We
have your vessel in our sights. We will destroy it. Downgrade your
defences.”

“And I
have you in my sights,” Carson snarled, “you may be equipped with
some kind of invisibility technology, but this ship is still faster
and more powerful.” As Carson spoke, he let his lips spread thin
over his clenched teeth. Though the move was not nearly as
disgusting as the Xerk’s had been, he hoped it was equally as
intimidating.

“This
vessel is equipped with weapons you cannot detect,” the alien
continued, never blinking as it locked Carson in the gaze of its
jaundice-coloured eyes.

“Bullshit,” Carson answered simply.

The
Xerk laughed, and it was a truly horrible sound. It was relayed
through Carson’s speakers, and it echoed through the bridge with
startling clarity, as if the alien stood right behind
him.

Still,
Carson did not twitch. He simply stared back into those terrible
yellow eyes. “This isn’t going to be a negotiation, and you aren't
going to manipulate me into downgrading my defences. You are
illegally trespassing in Coalitions space. This vessel belongs to
the United Galactic Coalition Army, and I am a lieutenant. You will
be dealt with under the current Coalition treaty outlining the
treatment of foreign hostile entities.”

The
Xerk’s horrible eyes grew wide until they appeared to be two round,
glistening yellow orbs of hatred, surrounded by a truly fearsome
face. “Lower your defences, human,” it spat, “and we won’t feed
your guts to our younglings.”

Carson
didn’t even blink. “Computer, lock port turrets on the Barbarian
vessel.”

The
alien snarled again, then slowly began to laugh.

Well,
Carson was going to cut that laugh short. Without an audible order,
he raised his hand in a specific position, and the computer knew
exactly what it meant.

Immediately the Farsight’s gun turrets burst into life, and
fired round after round at the Barbarian vessel.

For
the briefest, smallest fraction of a second, Carson worried that
the Xerk was telling the truth and that somehow its vessel really
did outgun and out manoeuvre the Farsight.

Yet in
a blazing moment of destruction as the Farsight’s shots ripped into
the Barbarian vessel, he realised it had been a ploy.

The
Xerk screamed at him, his insults lost in translation.

Carson
simply repeated his warning. “You will be dealt with under the
United Galactic Coalition treaty that outlines the treatment of
foreign hostile entities,” he stood back, typing something into the
panel next to him.

Instantly the view screen switched back from that close-up
view of the alien's face, and once again displayed the Barbarian
ship.

Though
it shot several volleys from its own guns towards the Farsight, the
inertia shields saw them slow down enough that the Farsight’s
computer could track and shoot them down with blasts from her own
turrets.

If or
when Carson got the chance, he would have to thank the Admiral from
the bottom of his heart for clearing such a stupendous vessel for
him.

But
just as he managed a smile, the computer blared a
warning.

“Another vessel is entering the system,” it said in its usual
bored tone.

“Who
does it belong to?” he snapped, sudden terror pulsing through his
veins at the thought the Barbarians could have back up.

While
the Farsight was indeed a powerful ship, if the Barbarians amassed
enough firepower against it, it too would fall.

“Galactic Coalition Academy,” the computer pointed out, “it is
a light cruiser registered under the number R5 912.”

“Academy?” he snapped. “What's an Academy light cruiser doing
out here?” he began.

He
stopped.

Realisation dawned on him, and it felt like an anchor had been
tied to his gut and sent sinking through the floor.

Nida.

Jesus
Christ, it was Nida.

“The
vessel is damaged,” the computer announced, answering a question
Carson hadn’t even had the time to think of.

When
Nida's vessel escaped Earth, the entity had somehow found a way to
shield the ship from the Earth’s sensor net. Yet now the Farsight’s
computers could clearly pick it up.

And
the reason why, was the enormous, trailing plume of smoke gushing
out of its port engine. Automatically the Farsight’s computer
narrowed in on it, and the picture on the view screen showed chunks
of blackened hull battered with gaping holes.

“Can
you detect any life signs? Can you detect any life signs?” Carson
shouted at the computer.

“Negative. Sensors cannot penetrate the hull. An unusual,
unknown energy source is blocking all attempts to scan,” the
computer replied.

Before
Carson could take a second to think, the embattled Barbarian
cruiser turned towards Nida’s ship.

“Intercept,” Carson barked, lunging forward and clapping his
hands on the panel as he stared with wide, focused eyes on the view
screen. “Disable the Barbarian vessel's guns. Now,” he
croaked.

Then,
in a flash, he caught up to the situation, or at least his
instincts did. Though he’d only been a lieutenant for a handful of
years, in that time he'd seen more than his fair share of combat.
And though he always relied on his training and knowledge,
instincts, more often than not, were the single factor that kept
him alive.

And
now they roared in his mind that, once again, he was wandering into
a trap.

Nida’s
vessel was damaged, but what in the hell had damaged it?

In a
flash, he understood there was another Barbarian ship.

“Pull
back,” he screamed at the computer, “increase the inertia field.”
He had no idea whether he could do this, but right now, he was
desperate.

Then,
in a flash, he saw it.

Another Barbarian vessel materialising right on the other side
of his ship, blocking him off from Nida’s badly damaged
cruiser.

“Countermeasures,” Carson had time to spit before both
Barbarian vessels opened fire on him.

The
Farsight was squeezed between both ships like the fillings in the
centre of a sandwich.

His
ship’s engines now powered up, shaking through the floor, and
causing him to wobble where he stood.

The
view on the main screen now showed flash after flash as both
Barbarian vessels shot everything they had at the
Farsight.

The
ship shook, but so far, the inertia field was holding, and the
computer was shooting each charge out of space before it could
impact with the hull.

It
couldn’t last though.

He
either had seconds or minutes, but that was all.

As the
floor below him began to shudder even more, he pressed something on
his wristwatch, and his boots magnetised to the hull, helping him
keep steady as he ran for one of the panels.

His
fingers darting across it, he tried to use what power he could draw
from other systems to scan for Nida’s ship.

“Come
on,” he choked, briefly glancing up at the view screen to see those
two ships circling him, biding their time, firing, and waiting for
his countermeasures to fail.

“Come
on,” he screamed louder.

He
couldn’t find her. The Farsight scanners simply couldn’t detect
Nida’s ship any more. Whether that meant the vessel had blown up,
succumbing to its irreparable damage, he didn’t know.

But in
a flash of fright as the ship lurched violently to the side, he
realised that his vessel would be next.

“Damage detected,” the computer said, still in its bored
electronic tone. It did not speak louder, and its voice did not
register even a single note of terror. It just listed the damage
sustained to the Farsight as if it were reading nothing more
interesting than a maintenance log.