Almost right after Scorch returned to the Glain-Neidr's bridge, one of the combat alerts sounded.
"What's going on out there?" asked Scorch.
"It appears the Valiant opened fire on one of the ships in the fleet," Claud said. "Judging from the radio signals we intercepted, the captain of the Invisible stole some intelligence regarding the Carbunkle's location, but he couldn't get out of the Valiant's firing range in time." Claud turned to Scorch, his hands folded over his stomach. "In all fairness, though, the Invisible instigated its destruction. The Valiant gave them a fair warning."
Scorch laughed a little in his throat. "Regardless of how things transpired, Captain Roam just made himself far less appealing as a trustworthy leader. I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before the other captains' nerves get the--"
"Incoming message from the Valiant," Claud said, interrupting Scorch. "They're saying, 'The Invisible Has just been taken down for stealing valuable data for the expedition from the professor. Don't be alarmed and continue with your regular activities'. Sounds like this Roam character isn't planning on giving the captains' time to mull over what they just saw and heard."
"Of course he's not," said Scorch. "It doesn't matter, though; no one will be forgetting this anytime soon." Scorch turned his attention to Destiny. "We have a new objective. Destiny, get us in formation around the Valiant and prepare the Glain-Neidr for interstellar travel." Scorch stood from his seat, his knees freezing for a moment before straightening out. "Where's Sydney?"
"She's in the starboard side of the ship making adjustments to one of the bomb release systems," Claud stated.
"Probably being useless, like always," Destiny chimed.
"Okay. Claud, watch after the bridge and tell the crew to prepare for the jump. I'm going to meet Sydney to discuss something," and with that, Scorch turned his back to the bridge and left to find Sydney.
