Emotions buzzed into Yvian as Skygem opened her doors. Elation. Excitement. Anticipation. It gave Yvian pause. She'd felt... stirrings... before. Vague impressions of emotions when she boarded the crystal ship. So faint she almost believed she imagined them. Not this time. Skygem's feelings were leaking into her, even though she wasn't touching a Node.

She hadn't known the ship could do that. Suspected, maybe, but she never had proof before now. Yvian wasn't sure she liked it. Having her mind touched without invitation. She'd been much more comfortable when the ship couldn't commune unless Yvian touched a Node.

Yvian shook her head. No time for that, now. She'd told the Captain she would only be twenty minutes, and she'd already spent longer than that talking to Shard. She stepped up the ramp and into the ship.

Skygem's layout was very different from the Random Encounter's. The Encounter's bottom decks were all cargo and engine compartments, with the living quarters on the upper levels and the bridge on the top deck at the front. Skygem's bottom deck was one large open space, with three crystal chairs situated at the front. Each chair sat before a different colored communion Node. The only other furnishing was an alcove at the back of the ship, where the Crystal Guardian stood. An opening across from the entry door lead to a ramp which wound it's way to the upper decks and the Lucendian equivalent of living quarters. Yvian hadn't bothered to go up there after her initial exploration of the ship.

There was a hiss as Skygem pumped all the oxygen out of herself, replacing it with a mix of methane and other gases. Yvian had tried repeatedly to convince the ship not to do that, but Skygem insisted every time. Shard had explained that the gas was what Lucendians breathed. Yvian appreciated the gesture, she supposed, but it meant she had to keep her voidarmor sealed if she didn't want to choke to death.

Yvian sat in one of the chairs and touched the blue Node. The ship's ecstasy exploded into her. Skygem was not as intelligent as Shard. Most higher thought processes were beyond her, and she was incapable of communicating in words. Still, Yvian was able to sort through the emotions and primitive impressions to learn that the ship was happy to see her, and beyond thrilled to be reproducing with City 43.

Yvian listened patiently, letting the ship share the moment. As Skygem started to calm, Yvian allowed her mind to merge deeper, sorting through the ship's senses to see the Random Encounter hovering impatiently fifty meters away. Yvian asked the crystal ship to follow Mims.

The trip back to the shipyard took longer this time. Skygem didn't have engines the way conventional ships did. Instead she created a sort of kinetic field. Similar to gravity, but not quite the same. Lissa had studied the effect, and had Yvian help her run some experiments, but they still didn't know what it was or much about how it worked. The field allowed Skygem to move herself and manipulate other objects in range, but she could only accelerate at a rate of eighty meters per second.

Yvian explained the situation along the way. Skygem didn't understand most of it, but she did pick up on Yvian's fear. The crystal ship responded with reassurance and determination. She routed power to her primary weapons, letting Yvian feel the energy waiting to be unleashed. The energy projectors had originally been grown to share energy between Lucendian ships, but the Lucendian's had learned they were a potent weapon against ships that couldn't absorb energy the way they did.

As the shipyard lowered it's shields, Yvian noticed a lack of weapons fire. The beam cannons of the Pixen Stellar Defense Force had been firing continuously since the Incursion began. Their sudden silence was ominous. Skygem couldn't see the masses of Klaath in the distance, at least not clearly, but the only reason the Peacekeepers would stop shooting was if the Klaath were out of range. At least she hoped that was the only reason. A chill wormed it's way down her spine.

Skygem entered the docking bay and landed next to the Encounter. Yvian sent a rushed goodbye and hustled off the ship. She ran to the Encounter and dashed back to the bridge. Mims, Lissa, and Kilroy were huddled around the holodisplay at the back of the room.

"Why'd we stop firing?" Yvian huffed. She hadn't activated her suit's ENERGIZER function, and she was a little out of breath. "What's going on?"

"The Klaath have pulled back," said Mims. He gestured at the display. She could almost hear his furrowed brow. "They're staying out of range."

"What?" Yvian frowned. She'd fought Klaath before. They were not known for retreat. "Why?"

"Unknown," said Kilroy. "This unit would like to believe that the Klaath have recognized the futility of attacking Peacekeeper units, but the Klaath are dumber than meatbags. They have no sense of self preservation."

"A lone Klaath will attack an armada all by itself." Mims glared at the display, watching Destroyers and Frigates chivvy the smaller ships away from the Gates and stations of the Pixen Technocracy. "I've never heard of one backing away from a target."

"Maybe it's the beam cannons?" Lissa suggested. "I've never heard of a fleet that used as many beam weapons as we do. Maybe they figured out they can't get close enough to do damage."

"Maybe." Mims was dubious. "Or maybe it's something else." He typed into a console. The holodisplay zoomed in on nine sections of space. Each section held a swarm of Klaath Klusters spiraling around each other to form a ring nearly two hundred kilometers across. The prow of eight Queenships were forcing their way into the sector through the portals the Klusters formed.

Yvian's breath caught and her butt clenched. Queens. Klaath Queens were nightmares. Five hundred kilometers long, made up of nine kilometer wide spheres with three kilometer blades spiraling around them. Unlike the smaller Klaath, a Queenship could target ships a full ninety thousand kilometers away, and it's beam cannons could disintegrate a capitol ship in seconds. It's shields were nigh indestructible, and Yvian had never heard of a Queenship being destroyed in open combat.

If that wasn't enough, a Queenship would take control of all the Klaath in the sector. It would perfectly coordinate the lesser ships, and fight using intelligence and strategy the other Klaath lacked on their own. If an intact Queenship successfully entered the sector, it would be the death of everyone in it. And there were seventy two of the fucking things.

"Queens," Lissa breathed. She swore softly. "Can we stop them from coming through?"

"Negative," Kilroy reported. He pointed at the display. "Some of the portals can be reached, but two of them are on the other end of the sector, at a distances over eight hundred million kilometers. We do not have any forces in position to reach them in time."

"What about the YEETs?" asked Yvian.

Mims shook his head. "The range is too far. Even a YEET Cannon can only send a round at about eighty kilometers a second. The good news is, YEET Artillery Barges were made specifically for killing Klaath. MAC rounds ignore shields, and one YEETs' enough to turn a Queenship to mush."

"The bad news," Kilroy expounded, "Is that at least some of the Queens will stay at long range and coordinate the smaller ships to destroy us. We do not have the firepower or the defenses to withstand millions of Klaath working in concert."

"Yeah, we need to come up with something before that happens." Mims tucked his helmeted chin in his hand. He took a breath. "In the meantime, let's kill the ones we can target." He opened a comm channel. "Zhukov, this is Mims. I'm authorizing MAC rounds and YEET cannons. I need you to kill some Queens."

"Mims, this is Zhukov." The Peacekeeper Admiral replied. "I believe these Klaath have experience with human weapons. They have placed a large number of ships between each of our forces and their Queens. I have run the calculations. Even a YEET Artillery Cannon will be knocked off course before it can reach the targets."

"Fuck." Mims was silent for a moment. "So that's what they're doing."