Lobos
The Big Bad Wolf
"Ejection, people! Get that dro-shit!" Alpha Lead barked across comms as the vessel erupted, mentally switching channels with her implant to contact their controller in OCII. "Operator, we need tracking on contact detonation, we detected an ejection just prior, pilot is drifting. Repeat, request tracking for pilot recovery."
"Copy, Alpha Lead. Standby for lock and sync."
Flipping back to her flight channel, the woman addressed their local drone controller. "Get that drone inbound now, we are time critical."
Two clicks announced consent, as the pilot turned their attention to commanding the drone's VI, the automatous vessel beginning an inbound burn. She heard Beta Lead over an open band to any local friendly vessels nearby, on the chance a satellite conveyor was in closer vicinity to their location than those at the Solaris.
Elsewhere, a small detachment of vessels was approaching the Aschen position, alerted to their arrival by the observation staff of the Solaris. A singular, 175 meter long Drake-class frigate by the IFF of SDS Rogue Bard and its cohort, a 65 meter Piranha corvette, the SDS Jaded. Trailing them by 400,000 kilometers was a second corvette, the Veiled Obsidian. While the advance pair openly blazed their IFF frequencies, the tail was running dark, drifting further behind at a coasting velocity of 500 km/sec, running under blackout conditions, communications without power, it's Rayviel Furnace choked to bare minimum outputs, namely being cooling, skeletal systems power maintenance, it's battlescreen absent. Running on passive eyes and mere nudges of atmosphere-vent course course corrections, it's advanced plating reduced it's detection silhouette to a fraction of it's size, the vented air giving it a subtle halo of drifting ice, to all but the most focused attention, little more than a drifting meteor in the depths of space, it's vector edging towards the Sol system across it's sister vessels path. Drawn from a different initial starting location than it's assigned brethren, it had run a simulated TD entrance, building up for full insertion before defusing the forming breach to immediately blackout. It's task was mere distant observation of the inevitable meeting of the dispatched representatives of the Dominion presence.
The Rogue Bard opened an open channel towards the Aschen fleet, playing the prepared hail it had received from the Shade Dominion station.
"Hailing fleet, hailing fleet, this is the SDS Rogue Bard, contacting on behalf of SDSS Solaris. Please respond to hail, fleet. Hailing fleet, hailing fleet..."
The recorded message would continue to play over the channel until it received a response.
"Copy, Alpha Lead. Standby for lock and sync."
Flipping back to her flight channel, the woman addressed their local drone controller. "Get that drone inbound now, we are time critical."
Two clicks announced consent, as the pilot turned their attention to commanding the drone's VI, the automatous vessel beginning an inbound burn. She heard Beta Lead over an open band to any local friendly vessels nearby, on the chance a satellite conveyor was in closer vicinity to their location than those at the Solaris.
Elsewhere, a small detachment of vessels was approaching the Aschen position, alerted to their arrival by the observation staff of the Solaris. A singular, 175 meter long Drake-class frigate by the IFF of SDS Rogue Bard and its cohort, a 65 meter Piranha corvette, the SDS Jaded. Trailing them by 400,000 kilometers was a second corvette, the Veiled Obsidian. While the advance pair openly blazed their IFF frequencies, the tail was running dark, drifting further behind at a coasting velocity of 500 km/sec, running under blackout conditions, communications without power, it's Rayviel Furnace choked to bare minimum outputs, namely being cooling, skeletal systems power maintenance, it's battlescreen absent. Running on passive eyes and mere nudges of atmosphere-vent course course corrections, it's advanced plating reduced it's detection silhouette to a fraction of it's size, the vented air giving it a subtle halo of drifting ice, to all but the most focused attention, little more than a drifting meteor in the depths of space, it's vector edging towards the Sol system across it's sister vessels path. Drawn from a different initial starting location than it's assigned brethren, it had run a simulated TD entrance, building up for full insertion before defusing the forming breach to immediately blackout. It's task was mere distant observation of the inevitable meeting of the dispatched representatives of the Dominion presence.
The Rogue Bard opened an open channel towards the Aschen fleet, playing the prepared hail it had received from the Shade Dominion station.
"Hailing fleet, hailing fleet, this is the SDS Rogue Bard, contacting on behalf of SDSS Solaris. Please respond to hail, fleet. Hailing fleet, hailing fleet..."
The recorded message would continue to play over the channel until it received a response.