The following 2 days passed in relative peace, The crew got back in the routine and the training room was in use at all times, to Eirik's immense satisfaction. The declaration of war had spurred his people to better themselves, become the best they could be. They were vigilant in their duties and motivated in spirits.

"30 minutes to arrival Captain" David's voice rang out in the bridge, his fingers dancing over his console, "How should we arrive?? Battle ready or just defensive??"

"Defensive for now. Shields only" Eirik's eyes were glued to the monitor that displayed the information that was filtered down by his command staff, "No reason to scare any locals that might be milling about the area. For all they need to know, we are just a random non-aggressive Terran ship making landfall on the third moon. They will think we are either smugglers or big game hunting tourists. In either case, they will leave us be."

Everything looked good. They should be fine to hide out here for a few weeks before heading to Amsilon prime. Still, no need to be sloppy. He pressed the intercom button integrated into the captain's seat. "Attention crew. We are now at Alertness Level 2" As Eirik had spoken the order, he could hear the rushing clamor of feet running all around the ship, "We will enter the system in 30 minutes, I want everyone and everything on standby to enter battle at a moments notice. Anyone failing to adhere to this will be punished."

Eirik smiled grimly as he heard the running in the background increase in speed, becoming almost sprinting. "Good, they still fear my wrath. Generous in success, harsh in failure. That's the key." He knew they would be ready. But as much as they feared failing him, they also hoped to gain his praising notice. It was well known that he rewarded exceptional behavior, and rewarded it greatly.

25 minutes passed in a state of anticipation. Then David called out once more. "Captain, 5 minutes to system entry. I am seeing several ships on the long-range scanner..."

Eirik noticed the hesitation, "What it is, David. What's wrong."

"There are too many for it to be only locals, but too few to be a military battle group. And they are spread out to be within intercept range of each other over a large area. Something doesn't feel right Captain."

Thinking for a moment, Eirik pressed the intercom again, "Engine, we need to be ready to bug out as soon as we enter the system from lightspeed. Power down weapons, maximize shields, and get us ready to leave the area as fast as we came."

"Yes, Captain! But I want an engine upgrade sometime the next year if we are gonna pull maneuvers like this!! You know how much damage it takes when we do that!"

"I'll get you an entirely new bloody engine if you just do this Signe!! I've been meaning to upgrade anyway!" Eirik growled, impatient as the seconds ticked by.

"Roger that Captain, Your wish is my command" He could hear the flirtation in the undertone of her voice and had to suppress a smile. That girl really loved engines, but now was not the time. And never with the crew, it only brought trouble when you were the captain.

The minutes passed by and they entered the system. Signe's voice rang out from the speakers, "NOW CAPTAIN!!"

Eirik slammed the ship into reverse moments after they left lightspeed, the superstructure groaning under the strain.

"Incoming call, Captain!" David called out.

A face popped up on the screen that made Eirik swallow twice. "Hello, grandson."

"Granddad.. sir.. what.."

"Come on Eirik, This is the only planet I cannot spend the resources to search to find you, within a reasonable traveling distance. It's a sad day when I cannot outwit you."

Regaining his wits, Eirik replied "Outwit this, old man! DAVID, escape plan Echo" Slamming the ship into full thrust once again, David finished typing in the linked series of coordinates that would take them through a series of jumps. He had no Idea where David was taking them, but he knew they would escape. The old man would take too long to track down his final jump point for it to matter.

"NOW SIGNE!!!" The ship jumped to light speed, 45 seconds later they dropped out and changed direction by a few degrees before jumping again. 15 jumps later, everyone was feeling sick, and several crew members around the ship could no longer hold their stomach contents to themselves, making it harder for the rest of the crew to not add to the mess.

"Thank the gods I didn't put in more coordinates," David mumbled while clasping a hand to his mouth.

Eirik was having stomach convulsions, but managed to keep it down and finally hissed, "I swear by all the gods David, if you die first, I'm vomiting on your grave!"

"That's fair" came the mumbled reply from David before he bolted away from the bridge, towards the toilets.

Finally getting some semblance of control over his stomach, he started checking in on the various areas around the ship with the intercom. He quickly ordered all crew to help with the cleanup to get rid of the smell as soon as possible.

It took quite a bit longer than anticipated, on account of the cleanup crew still feeling sick while cleaning up, but slow progress is still progress.

David finally returned, looking pale and miserable. "Where did you take us, David? We need to hide soon."

"Charted, but unexplored system, Captain. 2 planets with atmosphere to support Terran life, I suggest we start there."

"Better than nothing I suppose. Alright, exploration it is then. Take us in, scan the planets, and find me somewhere proper we can hide. I do not plan on losing this game of fox and hound with my granddad. He does not know the role I would best serve in the war. So I must run, for now. But not forever." Eirik sat down in his chair and leaned back, watching the planets growing in the distance.