Nobody knew what the aliens were up to in the inner system, but the combined fleet had very little choice about the matter.
The humans could either venture forward, stay in place or turn around and escape as quickly as possible.
The Larkinsons were no cowards, and their allies possessed just as much courage.
The second option only wasted more time while the third option was unacceptable in their eyes.
They had invested so much time and effort to reach this restricted star system. To turn around just after they had taken a single glimpse from a remote position would mean they got very little out of this diversion aside from collecting a bit of first-hand information.
That was far from enough to justify this venture!
Though everyone became increasingly more aware that proceeding forward would plunge all of them into danger, they still resolved to confront the threat head-on rather than take the more prudent course of action.
