Argo Flotilla had assembled, keeping a nominal seperation of 5 lightmiliseconds between the ships [5 lms = ~1500 km]. In total, five warships had assembled -22 if you counted strike craft. At the back were the Usurper class supply cruisers
SSGL Volschmitz and
SSGL Viceroy the Fourth, which, though significantly down-gunned were equipped with a full coat of military grade armour and were far from helpless. Between the
Viceroy and the
Volschmitz they carried enough rations to last a full year if the hydrophonics of all the ships failed and sufficient munitions and spare parts to last sever hairy engagements as well as a half-depleted supply of (inert) thruster reactant. The
Wacan was flanked on one side by the
SSGL Vicious Political climate, also a Usurper class cruiser but with over double the firepower and no relevant amount of cargo space. On the other flank was the Vengeance class frigate
SSGL Ydens, which was specially outfitted in a scouting pattern. The
Ydens had advanced drone control functionality and was critical to scouting oeprations. As a frigate, it was both the smallest, fastest, most well-armed ship and by far the most expensive ship in the flotilla.
"All strike craft docked and accounted for." Reported the communications officer.
"Navigation matrix code green-one. Rift drive ready. Capacitors optimal. All clear." Reported the helmswoman.
"
Ydens,
Volschmitz,
Viceroy and
Vicious reporting all clear." Relayed the communications officer.
"Good. Tac-comm to
Argo, rift in, confirm." Commanded commodore Danseg.
A brightly luminescent edge or horizon transversed from the ships from prow to stern, dissapearing into the immaterium in it's wake. The helmswoman read out the reports.
"Rift in complete, matrix stable, formation holding."
"Heading is affirmed, beacon is locked, course set."
"Rift-out procedure started."
The bridge crew looked very tense. Rift travel was the only feasable way available to the 44th of traversing the great intergalactic voids efficiently and though it was safe, when accidents did happen the results were often unspeakable. Accednetally rifting out into a black hole was considered lucky if something went really wrong.
"Entering heliosphere." Said the helmswoman nervously.
"Synchronising."
The bridge crew held their breath as the eponymous rifts, bright as the sun, appearing as but a single bright speck to those in the system unless using some very significant optical zoom, in cygni's Oort Cloud.
"Synchronised."
A sigh of relief was heard as activities resumed in a hustle to determine all kinds of local factors that a small listening probe simply could not physically have the equipment for.
"Optics is updating the starmap. Flotilla has arrived in full and in formation." Reported the sensor officer.
"Recieving timestamp." Reported the communications officer.
"We have arrived within two hundred AU of our projected rift-out location and less than 50 metres per second delta-V, sir. Orbital altitude...282 light-days, sir" Confirmed the helmswoman after discussing the matter with the sensor officer, who was seated close to her.
"Excellent. No radio contacts I presume?" Said Danseg.
"Yes sir, activity must be too light-lagged to apepar on radio sensors." Asnwered the communications officer.
"Very well. Officer Sybil, prepare a resonance ping on my mark."
"Tac-comm to
Argo, standby for sensor ping."
"Mark." Said Danseg, bracing himself.
To a psychicly attuned individual such as him, the sensor ping could clearly be felt and heard, an almost deafening "PHUNG". However, to most, it was unheard, unseen and definately not something you would pick up with radio or gravity sensors. Obviously, more advanced sensors, particularly FTL ones and a very small number of exotic communication forms, were known to easily pick up on it.
"No capital signatures. Over one hundred detections, all class three at most, probably class two or lower. There appears to be a cluster of contacts in orbit of Cygni III and there seems to be a significant concentration near Cygni VI and it's neighbouring asteroid belt" Reported the sensor officer.
Being an experienced captain and commander, Danseg did not need to be told they would need to move into range of shorter-range sensors to pick up any more detail than that, but he was told nevertheless.
"Very well. We will await a potential response from local factions. Alert me if contacts appear on medium-range sensors or when we are contacted. I'll be in my quarters." Said Danseg, leaving the bridge to his second officer.