The dogfight took us a little over 400,000 kilometers from the Space Station, which the command staff witnessed on their sensors in real time. The station was equipped with a squadron of fighters, and they were dispatched to intervene, but by the time they got to us, the fight was over.

The loud pops and crackles of static came over the comm system indicating that it was being forced to receive and then a voice came over it. “Unidentified craft, this is Lt. Commander ...