The Empire's Dragon had spent another five years studying everything gathered on the system ahead by the time the AI warned that the ship had been detected.
Frederick had spent much of the voyage reshaping his own structure into her current form, Ericka's own form, on the Emperor's recommendation. Not that the Emperor had insisted. One's form was always a matter of personal choice after all.
The younger Dragon had agreed with the Emperor's evaluation though. The technologically advanced, but socially barbaric residents of the System that had killed Gabriella saw females, especially the smaller ones, as inferior. That was a weakness that a Dragon could take advantage of.