From Nowhere

[Arage Bao]

HUMBARINE SECTOR​

EDGE OF CIVILIZATION​

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]​

​

There was always something calming about the deep void.

Stars in the distance. Far away, reminding you of home, but at least for a certain time... you were alone. Completely. Utterly. Not even a buoy in sight for the moment. It took minutes for a message to reach you. There was a peace about that. Being able to put the problems of home out of mind. Humbarine was still in chaos. Pockets of rebellion, people who were fighting against the coming tide of change. The Admiralty had expected it. Prepared for it. They'd all succumb eventually. All they did right now was forestall the eventuality. Arage Bao didn't understand it, how they didn't realize they were merely dragging Humbarine farther down with them.

They cared little about this foil of civilization. The society coiled up around the sector, propelled forward by worlds of manufacturing and industry. All they cared about was their own little cog, the revolvement of their universe. It was weakness.

It would be snuffed out.

"Six degrees starboard, captain." Lord Admiral Bao commented lightly from her command seat. The Revolvement was a ship of the old run. Even the leather under her fingers felt distinctly familiar to her. They didn't quite make them like this anymore. "We will be passing the Northern Lights soon-" One of the nebulas that covered the edge of Humbarine's wider sector. There was an old refinery installation there.

The real reason for their patrol here.

They had loaded up probes, trying to see if it was viable to expand the production of tibanna gas here. There had been pirate sightings a week or so back, emboldened by Humbarine's chaotic transition. That is why the Revolvement was the first on through. Cleaning the path for more scientific ships to follow.

"Aye-aye, Lord Admiral, steady forward. Two parsecs to go."

All was well.

But it would not last... it never did.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Border of Humbarine Sector
[member="Arage Bao"]

Coming from the Sith Empire's plundering grounds in the Core, the Ashen Venture skirted the borders of the Humbarine Sector, headed for a return to friendly ports in the Sith Empire. Their path was rather brazen, almost an insult to the New Republic in its own right, and birthed from the battle-cravings of young and brash commanders. They had agreed, one more stop on the way.

Just outside of the New Republic, yet close enough to be familiar to the admiralty of Humbarine. A rumour around the Armada went that pirates used the refinery station to stash stolen fuel cells. A quick stop, one snatch and grab, and the Ashen Venture would have a surplus of fuel. And if there were pirates? Well then let the Emperor's work be done. They were confident the New Republic had yet to reclaim the station, anyhow.

Well, they assumed.

"One more parsec."

Joycelyn Zambrano leaned back in her seat as the Captain and his crew did what they did best; navigate the ship. The ship was of the fast, fighting variety. Streamlined and fierced, at the cost of a proper hangar. The captain was Vahla, born and bred in space, hardened by conquest and challenge. Joycelyn had joined for the sake of adventure and plunder, as well as catching up with an old comrade in arms. Albeit one who had taken a different approach to the armed forces than herself.

She let the amber liquid of her drink swivel in the glass as she moved it between her gloved fingers. She was far from properly intoxicated as she was far too bored to imbibe. Compared to war, this was less than exhilarating.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

Within that Captain's seat Lord Admiral Bao could almost feel the fringes of the Revolvement.

Picture the way the cylinders churned. The hypermatter reactor annihilating particles, causing contained energetic explosions that could wipe out an entire neighborhood. The automated systems switching gears as they gained new telemetry readings. The ion engine's momentum increasing as they sped up. It was... exhilarating. From this seat Bao oversaw all the feeds of the automated ship. It was different from running an entirely organic crew.

Things were faster.

More rapid.

But also riskier, because if you didn't keep up? You might as well be dead already.

"Lord Admiral, the sensors are picking up...." The point of contact happened simultaneous between the two ships. Two pairs of active sensor arrays swiping over one another at the same time. The output was immediately run through the integrated IFF systems. It came up negative. The alarms went off the very next moment. "-size indicates a frigate-class, ma'am. We are still scrubbing the readings for more details." The Admiral squinted at the feed herself. Who was it that was passing through the fringes of the Humbarine Sector so brazingly and without care?

"Are there any scheduled patrols we have missed, Captain?" Bao inquired calmly as her fingers were already absently manipulating some of the ship's systems.

It purred behind her touch.

Shields enforcing itself at the tip of the frigate. If there was forward fire, they wouldn't be surprised with it.

"No, ma'am, what are your orders?"

The squint turned into a frown. It had been too much to hope, of course. The sparse details suggested the ship they were up against was Imperial in make. Not one of theirs. Which only left a handful of possibilities open to Bao. That did not mean they could ignore the rules of engagement. There were standards to maintain... sadly. "Hail them."

Unless the Ashen Venture blocked the transmission the figure of Arage Bao would look impassively into the interior of their bridge.

"Unknown starship, you are trespassing into no man's zone, declared by Executive Order 34 of Humbarine High Command, state your purpose."

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

[member="Arage Bao"]

Joycelyn's calm was shattered by a rapid deployment of messages to the Captain, seated next to her on a slightly shorter chair.

"Unknown vessel in system, Captain." "Initial scan suggests one frigate, unknown make" -the Ensign reported. The captain touched his chin in thought and stood up to assume command on the bridge again. Joycelyn remained seated, but straightened a little as this caught her attention.

"Pirates?" It made sense. "They are hailing us, sir."


"Pitch them through, I will speak with them."

Joycelyn pitched in, an amused smile on her lips. The captain nodded in approval, albeit with a curious look on his face. Joycelyn sat up in her chair properly now, and put on her most serious face as the connection was made. She, and the entire bridge, stared at the message being delivered, and Joycelyn could not help but smile with her eyes. The captain kept himself out of the image and silently gestured for the ensigns to ready weapons and engage shields.

The Ashen Venture steered to the side, trying to make broadsides rather than setting front to front.

"This is the Sith-Imperial anti-piracy directive, engaged in an active investigation. State your purpose or stand down."

While she spoke, the crew was already preparing for combat, weapons loaded, though they made some effort to not display their aggression overtly.

Joycelyn herself would rather stand face to face with an opponent that make chit-chat over coms, but as a Vahla she knew the importance of these vessels in the theatre of war. She was comfortable in her stance, and appeared determined. Her words were not quite a lie either. They did have directive to crush piracy wherever it occurred.