Raan made it to the bridge just as the Frontier Day broadcast started. He’d ordered it played on all screens over the ship that weren’t in active use as a morale boost for the crew. Everyone liked fireworks and the sight of a large proportion of the fleet assembled in one place was going to be an awe-inspiring sight. 

He settled into his chair, checking over the command logs as Admiral Shelby started her speech. At their current speed, they would reach the fleet yards in just under an hour. Which would get Rennox and the younger members of the crew to the parties just as they started to hot up. Raan smiled and shook his head, wondering how many of them were going to have sore heads in the morning… and his words to Bennett hadn’t been a joke. He already had an alarm set to head over to Brahms well before Alpha shift started tomorrow to recover whatever Resolute crew ended up in there. 

He listened with half an ear as the admiral announced the new Fleet Formation system. It was an amazing technology, even if he didn’t like it much. He liked to be in command of his own ship, not be a cog in a bigger machine. But… people had said that about technological advances throughout the years, on every planet. Just take the printing press, that scenario had played out on nearly every planet across the galaxy. 

He looked up as the screen went blank. “Comms… Did we lose signal?” 

“Working on it, Captain,” came the reply, a younger officer who had opted not to head to the parties on base. “It must be the distance, we are a fair way from Sol Sector. Lots of interference.”

“Must be,” he commented. For a moment there he’d thought he’d heard a male voice, rather than Shelby’s. “Hold on, I’ve got it. Back on screen.”

There was a moment’s pause and the feed came back, but this wasn’t the same calm, poised and collected Shelby from earlier. Instead, she looked panicked, standing as she looked at something off screen in horror. 

“Eliminate the unassimilated.”

Shelby was gunned down, taking two shots to the chest. Raan surged to his feet, fists clenched at his sides. Had they really just seen an Admiral murdered?

“Eliminate the unassimilated.”

“Cut that audio off!” he snapped the order. “And someone get me command on the comm.”

The comms officer didn’t move, nor did the helm or tactical bridge officers. 

“Eliminate the unassimilated.”

Raan’s eyes widened as the three turned in concert, their eyes blank and black webbing spreading over their skin as the chilling order dropped from their lips.

“Eliminate the unassimilated.”