2976.200
TCS Concordia, Ne'kur System

The night cycle was quiet, and the system being traversed by the Confederation task force was a secured one, devoid of Kromus activities. Considering the enclave they had just flushed out two weeks prior, a reprieve was welcome for the crew and the ship's commander. The Concordia herself was minimally active, with the bridge staff more relaxed than they had been for some time since the launch of their ship and their escorts.

Most of the primary crew was on sleep cycles, including the ship's captain, though he was finding it to be a restless night as he was still awake, distracting himself with reviewing the combat action reports before preparing to file them with both Confederation military command and with the Federation. Most of it was much of the same; reports of a Kromus nest, investigations conducted, and either policing actions taken, or it turned it to be a false flag. The trouble at this point wasn't handling the times the reports were true; it was time wasted on the false alarms.

But Commander Malkovich hadn't been ignorant enough to not notice a pattern emerging. He still tracked the combat encounters against the reported sightings and rumored pirate nests, and there was definitely a coordinated movement appearing. The primary sub-space routes that intersected in the various systems all seemed to be leading to one point, but where was the question he had yet to answer.

"Commander, your presence is requested on the bridge, there's something you need to see."

A sigh as he set down the data tablet and his stylus pen. The last few reports would have to wait. Despite that, part of him welcomed the break and excuse to get out of his quarters. His eyes took a moment to adjust as he stepped out into the bright corridor, now heading for the main lift at the Terran time cycle of two in the morning. He'd need to grab a stim-caff on the way back if he was going to get the paperwork from the last two weeks processed, but Adam was used to such nights these days.

He'd need to make time to record something to send back to his family so they knew he was alright as well.

Once he had reached the lift, it was a matter of minutes to the main bridge. A few members of the general crew saluted as he went by, something he was still getting used to as a ship's commanding officer. And as Adam paused before reaching the doors to the bridge, he took a deep breath. His forte was still combat operations, and even then, it was policing actions. The last few months in command of a ship had been...an experience for sure.

With a self-assurance that it would likely be more reports of scattered Kromus infighting or small raids, Malkovich straightened the bottom hem of his uniform jacket and stepped thought the now opening doors. "Evening, everyone…or morning."

"Morning, sir." That was the night shift helm, one Ensign Khan. "Lieutenant Archer is reviewing an SOS we received while nav-com preps our jump coordinates, but she wanted to get your call before we responded."

A nod as he walked over to the main communications station where his second in command was hunched over with an ear piece in one ear whole she looked to the com-officer with concern. She seemed bothered by something. "You found something, Lieutenant?"

Ear piece slipped out and held out to him, the caramel toned woman nodded. "Comms picked up the SOS about an hour ago, but we had trouble cleaning it up and verifying the source coordinates." Archer waited as the commander listened carefully to the repeated message, waiting for his reaction to gauge what he thought. "We can be there in one jump to the Antares System, but it sounds like they're running into Kromus raiders...possibly some heavy hitters."

There was a small nod as he continued to listen, then pulled the ear piece off as he sighed. "Follow through and get us there, lieutenant. That's definitely Kromus raiders they're identifying. Sound the wake-up, combat stations ready and shields at full as soon as we make the jump."

"Aye, sir." There was a moment as Archer picked up a small microphone unit from the console and tapped a switch to patch her through to all major decks of the ship. "Attention. All hands to combat stations and prepare for jump, this is not a drill. I repeat, all hands to combat stations and prepare for sub-space jump, this is not a drill. We're are t-minus ten minutes and counting."

"I want First Sergeant Houston up here before we make jump," came Malkovich's order as he walked back over to the main entryway. "If we have to board and recover, we need Platoon Nine prepped and ready to go."

"Where are you headed while we ready for jump, sir?"

"To get a stim-caff and some proper coffee." Malkovich gave a wry smile as he passed through the main entry and made way back down the main corridor. There should still be a station operating with what he needed, and maybe even something to eat before they made the jump to Illeana.

Such a still active refresher station was nearby, thankfully, allowing him to get both the items he wanted and head back to oversee preparations for the system jump. It was as he was sipping on the mug of coffee that he felt the sudden lurch of the ship rapidly changing course. Something wasn't right. That felt like a shift of gravity mass, which would indicate they had been displaced by something big.

With a final gulp of said coffee before hurrying back to the bridge, Adam witnessed not just the expected chaos, but also the sight of something massive passing by them on the view screens. "Do they even see us?! Where did that thing come from?!"

"Vessel emerged from the jump point while we were running calculations, sir!" Archer was quick to reply as she and the rest of the bridge tried to determine what was going on. "There's some debris that came with it, but we haven't been able to-"

"Unknown vessel is coming about, commander!"

That answered their presence being detected by whatever that thing was. "Shields up, all crew to combat stations!" Redundant, but the instinct and reflex still had the better of him. "Emergency jump for all ships now! Cover the battle group and then get us into the jump once they're clear!"

A heavy thud and lurch alerted them to the oncoming assault as the first rounds from the unknown ship slammed into the still generating shield barriers of the Concordia. Another series of impacts caused further shudders, each one growing in power as the ship's barriers faltered even as they were trying to form.

And then the flare of the ships in their task force beginning to enter the jump point. Half of their numbers already crossed, giving Malkovich some assurance even as he grabbed hold of the nearby console to steady himself. That was the impact of weapons fire hitting armor plating. "How much longer until the battle group is clear?!"

"Just the McKinney and the Tarawa, and we're clear!"

Another glare that signaled another ship made the jump. They were taking a pounding for being caught unaware, and with all defensive barriers down. "Heat up the drives, and make the jump as soon as the McKinney is through!" Another jarring impact, and now the alerts of severe hull damage. Whatever that ship was, it had been expecting them. More jarring impacts, this time almost throwing him and Archer off their feet. "Those were hardpoints...they're firing concussives at us."

Another set of impacts just as the last ship made the jump and vanished in the blue-white flare. "McKinney is away! Setting course for the jump!"

That horrifying jolt again, this time setting off further alerts as the hull was announced to be in danger of breach. The counter to jump had seconds remaining, and even as a salvo was launched their way, the Concordia flickered and flared as the gravitational point in time and space tore open and engulfed the Terran carrier, send it tearing across the vast expanse and emerging within visual range of the rest of the task force. But it was still tense seconds of held breaths as the fear of being chased back through the jump point overtook the crew.

"Minovski particles are normal," came a report as they slowly became sure that the mysterious hostile vessel hadn't followed them. "Jump point is quiet, sir. Looks like we're clear."

"Commander..."

It took Adam a moment to realize something was wrong. They were in the Antares System, but instead of the ship in trouble they had expected to find, there was only a field of debris floating about the jump point. "Was that thing the Kromus ship they had been calling for help about?" he whispered under his breath. Judging from the amount of debris they were picking up, whatever had happened had been total.

"Comms are still picking up black box signals." The one spot of good news, morbid as it was. "IDs broadcast are civilian ships, registry information reads as having come through here from McAuliffe."

Not even military vessels, but civilians barely able to defend themselves. Even the sorties they'd resolved the past few months hadn't been anything like this. Those has be attempts at pillaging, cargo thefts, and general piracy. This...was wanton destruction simpley for the sake of such. "Start salvage and recovery operations." The orders were painful to give, but they were necessary. "We need to know what happened...and what the hell that ship was."

It took the recovery teams almost two hours to track and salvage the various black box recorders from the debris field. It was something none of them relished; the bodies of the dead were still floating out there, awaiting their turn to be gathered and given final respects. But finding out why they had died was the first step.

It was once all the flight recorders were in hand that Adam sent the recovery teams out for their more grizzly duty. While they recovered the bodies for identification and internment, he and his bridge had the task of recovering the data that could be salvaged and piece together what happened. "Pull our visual records as well," the commander stated as he broke the seal on a tube pack of stim-caff. The lack of sleep was wearing on him again. "If we can match this thing against known Kromus capital ships, that can give us some answers."

The communications officer nodded as he worked at pulling the recorder files, but it was Lieutenant Archer who had a concerned expression on her face as she gave Adam that knit brow and worried eyes. "Commander, the last known Kromus capital ship of that kind of size on any record is the Cunning Death, and it hasn't been seen since the Siege of Krom almost eighteen years ago."

"That's why I need to make sure." It wasn't just worry in the commander's voice now; it was fear. More than anyone on this ship, he had studied the Kromus War, the horrors suffered because of the Pirates of Krom, and more importantly, the vicious and incomprehensibly evil creature who had led them. "If they've taken control of a shipyard capable of producing capital ships again, we need to know. The last thing we need is a revived Kromus War after the damage they did last time."

"Not like we have another John Aran around to play Captain Confed this time."

His features darkened. If not for the seriousness of the situation, or the fact he personally knew said war hero's living child, Adam may have let the off-hand humor go. "That's a matter of debate," he mused as the visual recordings began to play. It took a minute for them to shift through the displayed video playback, but they soon enough reached the time point that matched when their communications picked up the SOS was found. "Alright, pull up the other three recorders and have the computer calculate renders to give us an idea of what this thing looks like."

It took several minutes for the system to compile and render the models. That left Adam with some time to review their own data and see what he could of this mysterious hostile vessel. It had been huge, very obviously bigger than the Concordia herself, and had several sharpened points to it where turret emplacements could be seen. Very similar to old Kromus design construction during the war. Such was feeding a growing concern over the identity of their attacker.

"Computer models are ready, Commander. I think you need to see this."

The tone alone of Archer's voice gave him reason to hesitate before closing out the data playback. As he stood to rejoin his second-in-command and the comm officer, Adam took a deep breath and readied himself for what he knew was coming. "We have any matches?" the commander asked, even knowing the answer to his own question.

A solemn nod was Lieutenant Archer's response. Her expression was stoic, but her face was pale, telling much more than she wanted to say. "One unique match," she finally said in response to the rhetorical inquiry. "Sir, we need to inform fleet command and the GFP of this. There's no question of what that ship is."

He already knew, yet the slim hope had been that this was some unknown new vessel type. But even as Adam reached the communications station again, he already could see the bold type text displaying the identified match. A ship that had been thought destroyed since the end of the Kromus War almost two decades prior, and was infamous in more ways than simply its name.

And Archer's words struck a cord of unspoken fear that made Malkovich pale. The commander of that infamous vessel had been known for defying death and defeat right up until the Siege of Krom. If the Kromus had recovered their flagship, then they may have very well begun rebuilding their fleets in a capacity unseen in the squabbling factions since the war's end. "Contact ConFleet command and notify Admiral Nagawa ASAP, and relay this data to Chief Hardy and Chairman Kea'ton at Federation headquarters as well. Attach our own action data to confirm our encounter, then put utn a priority hyperburst to Terra and Daiban. As soon as we finish recovery operations, get us the hell out of here and on the way back to Sol System."

"Back to Sol, sir?"

A nod as Malkovich tried to keep his composure. "There is a good chance that the Kromus may turn back around and try to backtrack after us once they realize we have visual record. And considering that ship has been assumed destroyed for almost two decades, they're not going to want to lose their anonymity so soon."

"Minovski particle surge, commander!"

They were coming back, and through the only accessible jump point in immediate range. "All shields up, combat stations ready and weapons hot! All ships, make way for the Ghorah Khar jump point," came the desperate order. "If we can get to Kilrathi space, even the Pirates aren't stupid enough to chase us into their territory."

Commands were relayed even as the Concordia itself fired the main sublight engines and pushed the two and a half kilometer long vessel into the direction of the plotted gravitational point. The rest of their battle convoy followed suit as rapidly as the battlewagons and corvettes were capable of making way. It was enough to put some distance between them and the remains of the debris field as the brilliant flare of a ship crossing through the jump point could be seen, and the massive hostile vessel emerged from the folded rift in space-time. With the distance and the arrival of the Kromus craft having been expected, the entire task force had all eyes on the Pirates, allowing for it to be recognized as a massive blade-shaped vessel over six kilometers in length that was covered in oddly angled and asymmetrical positioned claw-like extensions from the main hull.

"The Cunning Death." Those words were whispered in a horrified tone by Archer, no doubt reflecting the thoughts and reactions of most of the crew on the Concordia, if not the entire task force. Most of them had never seen the dreaded vessel before outside of archive footage and data, but the fear it still could instill was undeniable. "Commander, that thing is huge, how the hell did the Kromus ever build something like it?"

"Focus on us getting the hell out of here, then we ask questions." As harsh as it was to think that way, survival was paramount to their situation. The Pirate super-ship had already taken out several civilian vessels and been able to give the Concordia a solid hit across the bow before their last escape. The history and reputation behind the name of the Cunning Death was something no one wanted to risk verifying. "I want fighter crews ready in case of a sortie, but keep the task force ahead of us, our shields can take the abuse better than theirs can."

The first volley was already flickering from the main weapons of the pursuing vessel, but the Confederation battle group had enough distance between them and it to avoid any direct hits. A few ballistic missiles were launched, and despite being shot down as soon as they were in range of the Concordia's point defenses, the concern was heavy on the bridge. The pirate vessel didn't even seeming like it was trying to catch them or make more than a half-hearted effort. Why? This ship was known for causing some of the most devastating fleet losses during the war, yet it wasn't at all behaving in a fashion that indicated its commander wanted its prey dead.

"Battle group is making way into the Ghorah Khar jump, the Tiger's Claw and the Herrimanhave already made transit, with McKinney, Tawara, and the Dawn's Reach about to make the jump."

"Drives hot, then." Malkovich knew the maneuver was dangerous, running at full speed into the jump point and hoping the field enveloped them before they hit the gravitational point. Too fast, and they could overshoot without ever opening the transit, but the wrong amount of speed if they did open the jump could also result in a fatal misfire and send half the ship into the jump while the other half stayed behind. But it was a calculated risk, one that was still maintained as an emergency action in this very kind of situation. "Distance to jump, helm?"

"Ten kilometers and closing!" The announcement came even as the last three ships of their escorts made the flash into the jump point, leaving the Concordia once more as the last to go. "Drives are hot and ready, engineering left the gas on just in case, sir!" A pair of thuds, followed by a shuddering as the jump drives began their work of tapping into the gravitational threads to open the rift. It was similar to their earlier encounter, except this time, they had an idea of what they were facing and trying to run from.

"The rest of the battle group has made jump, sir! It's just us, now!"

The Kromus dreadnought was closing on them bit by bit, but as the distance to the jump point closes, it suddenly veered away and ended the long range assault. Moments later, even as the Concordia was ready to make the jump, the massive dreadnought flickered, was visually distorted by ripples in space, then suddenly streaked into the starscape as if by some unknown force.

And the Concordia displayed its own flicker and shimmer just before the folding rift tore open and swallowed the ship into the raging hole in space-time. Time had little meaning in that instant as the fold in space spat the carrier out into the expected star system where the rest of its battle group awaited, along with a number of vessels that the Confederation crew knew to be the local system defense group.

"Transmission from Ghorah Khar home guard," the comm station reported with the sound of relief in his voice. "Shintahr Mekra nar Qarg sends his greetings, but wishes we'd called first before coming by for a visit."

At least they had a good sense of humor about the situation. And considering the data he had to share with the Kilrathi about their encounter, it would likely more than make up for entering the system, unannounced. "Get the combat report ready for me so we alert ConFleet and Daiban. I've got to have a meeting with the Kilrathi about this little visit, and they're not going to like what they're about to hear."