57.Detection

Riker detects an incoming invasion force from the Others after 27 years of monitoring—150 large vessels and 50 smaller craft heading toward Sol. Bill convenes an emergency council of senior Bobs to analyze the threat, which includes an estimated 20,000–30,000 fighters and flying bombs that the Others likely constructed during their two-year journey.

Riker has been monitoring eighty thousand observation drones for over two decades when he finally detects a significant anomalous signal. The readings are faint but unmistakably regular and persistent, indicating an approaching threat. He immediately alerts Bill, who recognizes the signature of an incoming invasion fleet from the Others. The enemy ships are approaching along a vector deliberately offset from the direct line between Sol and GL 877, suggesting the Others anticipated surveillance. Bill decides to call a moot to prepare the population rather than wait for a formal announcement. Within the hour, Riker's drones resolve the incoming force into distinct signatures: fifty smaller objects (likely death asteroids) and one hundred larger cargo carriers. Bill assembles a crisis council including Oliver, Jacques, Garfield, Thor, and Claude. The group analyzes the threat composition and estimates the Others had approximately two years of subjective time to manufacture weapons during transit at five Gs acceleration. Thor calculates the cargo carriers could contain between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters and flying bombs. The defenders inventory is sobering: five hundred Bobs, one thousand AMI-crewed dreadnaughts, three thousand nuclear weapons, and five thousand busters, supplemented by plasma spikes and lasers hampered by light-lag. Garfield proposes using cloaked observation drones to track the enemy in real-time and enable laser and spike interception, assuming the Others delay a massive sensor ping until the last moment. The council decides to deploy stealth drones, stealth nuclear missiles, and the Jokers (a weapons platform) to begin engagement early. Riker receives notification that Herschel and Neil have arrived, prompting Bill to note they can help evacuate humans. The council adjourns with assignments before the moot convenes in two hours.