"We've come to a decision," said Admiral Nguyen, hailing the Armstrong back after hours of deliberation "And you're not going to like it. I'm putting you in command of a task force consisting of the Armstrong, the Xuanzang and the Salazar. The other two ships are Tereshkova-class cruisers and the only Exploration Fleet vessels capable of rendezvousing with you in a reasonable amount of time. You orders are to eliminate the alien threat on Gaia by any means necessary."

"Are you serious?" asked Littlecrow.

"The aliens have proven themselves capable of deterraforming entire human worlds in order to conquer them, and now they have control of a world on the edge of human space. A world that months ago was one of a very small number of worlds capable of supporting human life," said the Admiral.

"All the aliens did was transform the world so that it was a suitable habitat for their form of life. It's not different than what we did on any number of worlds," said Littlecrow "It's not necessarily an act of war and we're jumping the gun treating it that way. Depending on how fast their ships travel they might have launched this mission centuries ago, long before there were human inhabitants."

"If the animals on Nibiru were to take our colonization efforts there as an act of war," said the Admiral "I think they'd have a point. We can't stand on moral arguments here, Alexandria. Our duty is to protect human civilization."

"Listen to yourself," said Littlecrow "This is the mindset we were trying to get away from. This was supposed to be what Exploration Fleet would be above."

"I understand you're upset," said the Admiral "But try to be realistic. There's a reason why I'm putting you in charge of the task force, because believe it or not I don't like this option any more than you do. I know that if there is any alternative you'll be the person to find it. I also know that, if push comes to shove, you'll do what you need to to protect humanity."

"You bastard," said Littlecrow "Don't put this shit on me."

"If we don't do this," said the Admrial "If we sit around and try to figure these things out while they continue to attack us eventually this is going to be taken out of our hands and put into the hands of the Military Fleet. Our solution is to eliminate the alien threat in human space. Their solution is going to be to declare war on an alien culture we know nothing about. Sometimes you have to choose between the lesser of two evils."

"I don't accept that," said Littlecrow.

"I know you don't," said the Admiral "Like I said, that's why I'm putting you in charge of this task force. You can call me whatever names you want. Maintain your current coordinates await the Xuanzang and the Salazar."

* * *

The Tereshkova-class was Huxley Foundation's most advanced class of exploratory ships, occupying the same niche as the now retired Magellan-class. Although the Armstrong's upgrades and superior computer systems made it easily the match of any Tereshkova, the class was largely an update of the Magellan-class with much less reliance on autonomous systems (and consequently a larger crew). They had the same weapons and shielding as the Armstrong, and together the three would have no problem completely depopulating a planet in less than a day.

The Salazar was able to reach the Armstrong's coordinates first, with the Xuanzang arriving three days later. Captain Littlecrow briefed the other captains, impressing upon them especially that they were not to engage the aliens in combat without her express orders.

The Armstrong, now acting as the mothership for the task force, transmitted coordinates to the other ships. They engaged relativity drives in unison and shot off into space.