CNC Spirit Sight,

Nadia Jump point,

Alrna Alta System,

Lyran Alliance.

The blazing G-type star of the Alrna Alta system filled the main screen of the Corvettes Bridge, casting hash shadows across the busy room. Cairo gently placed his feet in the deck, the small magnets in the shoes gripping the metal deck strongly enough to keep him fro drifting off. This was their last stop before the Tharkad system, and a return to the war.

Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux sensed the other mans tension, "Relax Colonel: we have plotted the pirate point from Star League Defence Force Cartography department maps: we know exactly where we will arrive, and according to our latest intelligence reports," His arm waved across to the Black Box transmitter sitting on the com unit, "There are no hostile forces within 2 Astronomical Units. It will be easy."

Cairo nodded, "Aff Ivan Leroux, getting there is the easy part, it is what I have to do when we land that has me worried." A claxon sounded, "30-seconds to jump: all ship's report ready." There was a double flash of light as the Draconis Rift entered hyperspace, followed closely by the Nature's Wrath. The Star-Commodore smiled, "You might want to hold onto something." Cairo groaned, remembering his regular jump sickness, "Yes: my lunch." The helmsman looked up at a LED readout, "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, system primed, 3, 2, 1, JUMP!"

The huge energy resaves that the ship's solar sail had collected over the past 5 days surged through the titanium/germanium alloy core of the Kearny/Fuchida hyper drive. The energy release ripped a hole in the very fabric of the universe, propelling the WarShip and it's DropShip cargo across nearly 30 light-years of space. No one had ever been able to fully explain what happened to the human mined in hyperspace: for some, it was a quick flash, and you where at your destination, for others, it felt like the secrets of the universe where laid out before you, and you knew everything. For Cairo, it was a mind-bending cascade of light and sound that made him sick to the stomach.

CNC Spirit Sight,

Pirate Point N32,

Tharkad system,

Lyran Alliance.

Reality asserted itself like a rubber band drawn out then let go, and Cairo's view of the universe snapped back to normal. His hands gripped at the nearest grab rail while his stomach flipped over a few times.

The bridge was a hive of activity, the highly trained Clan Nova Cat crew checking sensor reports and communication signals. The main hollow tank reset, the now familiar outlines of the Draconis Rift and Nature's Wrath appearing somewhere of the ship's port beam. The two needle-like Odyssey class JumpShip's Ulysses and Hibernia flashed into existence as Cairo turned to look at the main navigation screen.

The pirate point was almost 20-dgrees above the elliptical plain of the Tharkad system, approximately 7 days travel from the Lyran capital. The crew went about their business, their hands moving at amazing speed as they acted as traffic control for the arriving squadron.

"Action stations! Unidentified Aerospace contacts: 200-km off the starboard quarter. IFF reads as hostile. Designate Tango's 16 & 17." The warning came from a tech sitting in a chair marked AIR-BOSS. Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux pushed off the bulkhead he was standing next to and floated across the room, "Sound General quarters! Com: block all frequency apart from fleet wide. Helm: bring us around to face them. Air-Boss: launch interceptors and have the Talon brake away and do the same." He came to a stop next to the holo-tank and grabbed a microphone, "Com, give me the Draconis Rift and Nature's Wrath."

There was a reverberating thud as the Carrier class DropShip Talon disengaged its docking clamp and broke free. Its drive flair filled the screen as it started off in pursuit of the fleeing fighters; it's own complement of Clan-made OmniFighters rocketing out of its launch door.

Cairo watched the holo-tank display as the battle progressed: the yellow dagger shaped symbols representing friendly Aerospace-fighters tracked the two red daggers representing the Word of Blake fighters. A pair of pulsating white globes detached themselves from the Nature's Wrath fired a salvo of Barracuda missiles. They tracked in, passing the yellow daggers, and closing on the nearest of the red symbols.

The two missile locked onto the same fighter, following it as the pilot tried to dodge and weave, desperate to shake them. The two globes converged on the red dagger, and where replaced by a larger red glob that flashed once before dissipating. The Weapons officer looked at his screen, "Confirm kill of Tango-17. Tango-16 now out of missile range." A pair of yellow daggers closed on the remaining hostile, and the image changed, text appearing next to the outline of an Aerospace fighter.

The Air-Boss looked up, "Tango-16 identified as SHV-0 Shiva OmniFighter. Configuration unknown. Tango-16 approaching edge of jamming range." Ivan Leroux's fists slammed down on the edge of the holo-tank, making the image jump, "Destroy that fighter now, or by Kerensky's name I will make you walk to Tharkad!"

Maybe spurned on by the Star-Commodore's oath, the two yellow daggers swooped down on the Shiva, firing as they did so. The Word of Blake OmniFighter shudder as it was hit multiple times, most of the damage hitting the starboard wing, effectively severing it. The next two Clan fighters drove down upon their target, sealing it's fate in a hail of laser and autocannon fire.

Cairo turned to Ivan Leroux, "And you said that that was the easy part of this mission?"

To Be Continued