27A day later, as the Sun Tzu approached Oberon's home system, Scott found himself back in the conference room with the Diamondback senior officers--Perseid, Rexis, Abby, Trane, Feinberg, Khalil, Beauchamp, Fong, García, and Azimuth. Perseid had called one last briefing to update the team on the latest developments before everyone launched into final preps for the mission ahead.
"We are thirteen hours out from Oberon," said Perseid, "and we have no idea what to expect." Standing at the head of the long table beside Rexis, he looked grim. "Sensors have not picked up any signs of unusual activity."
"What about Cairn Barrie?" said Khalil. "Has he given us any insight?" He looked across the table at Scott when he said it.
"Negative," said Scott. "Cairn refuses to cooperate."
"So our
