A quick outcome for months of work

Keeping the cadets out of the operation had been a risky decision on the part of Aeneas and the intelligence service, but they couldn't trust everyone; if there was even one leak, it was game over.

When Cadet Peliades was summoned to the bridge with barely an hour to go because he had a message from the academy's command ship, he came. It was unusual, but perhaps they wanted him to be careful with some specific aspect of the operation after the final analysis.

The crew was waiting for him on the bridge; the boy only had to look at their faces to know that something was wrong. There was also one more crew member he didn't know, dressed entirely in a pilot's suit; he hadn't even taken off his helmet.

"Cadet Peliades, this is Lieutenant Zux from the Navy, he just arrived on a fast ship with a message for you."

"And you haven't established radio communication?"