Bogey

Things were quiet. Too quiet.
As soon as their vessel had entered the foreign waters, the Overseer knew there would soon be trouble. It was only a matter of when.

"Sir!"

The voice came from Sentry Station Three. The Overseer wasted no time and hurried over. "What is it?"

The sentry pointed at something on the scanner. "I don't know, Sir. I've never seen anything like it."

The Overseer leaned in for a closer look. "I don't recognize that pattern. Are you sure our detectors are working properly?"

"I ran a diagnostic, Sir. Twice."

The Overseer straightened and fixed his gaze on the main viewport. This was worse than he imagined.

"What shall we do, Sir? Shall we launch--"

"You will do nothing at this time. Is that clear? I need to check with the Supervisor. Keep an eye on it."

"Yes, Sir."

The Overseer returned to his station and initiated an internal communication line. Within moments, the connection was established.

"Status report!"

It was clear that the Supervisor was used to not being disturbed unless absolutely necessary.

"We have a bogey, Sir," reported the Overseer. "It's a new one."

"Nonsense," came the response. "We haven't had an Unknown for at least--"

"With all due respect, Sir. This looks like the real deal. And it's big."

"Big?"

"Yes, Sir. Huge, in fact."

There was silence. Valuable time was being wasted, but the Overseer knew he had to follow protocol. This order could only come from somewhere higher up than him.

"Do it," came the reply. "Launch counter-measures."

"Yes, Sir," the Overseer responded before closing the line. He looked up at the command deck. He could sense many eyes on him, waiting for the order. He wasn't going to keep them waiting.

"Tactical."

"Sir?"

"Situation Red. Launch white bloodcells."