Qahr Vu Nash-tar, Khansva-met 5, 18508 01:42 Aoraqet'ya Dévno Coordinated Time (ADCT)
Sunday, October 7, 2300 00:42:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
Ouroboros Molecular Cloud, Aoraqet'yari Star Cluster, A.S.H.A. Space.
A light warship, bearing the name The Black Talon sped through the dense region of giant molecular clouds that marked the transition from the semi-open space of the star cluster, to the more dangerous and very life-threatening outer regions of the Aoraqet'yari Star Cluster, beyond this rather hazardous, and barely charted region lay open space, and The Black Talon was doing everything in its power to lose their pursuers.
The Black Talon's captain, "Fearless" Adalyn Shaw sweating profusely barked orders to her crew. "Can we pick up any more speed?!? We have a dreadnaught and a pair of cruisers. On. Our. Ass! And we haven't been able to shake them since we entered the magnetic field!" Liam "Devil's Smile" Finch, the First Mate of The Black Talon looked up, stubbing his cigarette out on a bulkhead. "I'm at a loss to explain it, Captain, they just keep coming! We —barely— made it through..." bringing his thumb and forefinger together, until a mere sliver of space remained between them, "Albeit with some of our systems going a little wonky once we got deeper into the field... but those bastards are acting like it isn't even affecting them!"
Captain Adalyn Shaw, picked up a bottle wedged between the left arm, and the back cushion of the captain's chair, held the bottle tight in her left hand and using her right thumb pressed and pulled her thumb to the right, causing the cap to spin off with a hiss. She brought the bottle to her lips and took a couple of gulps, growling as the alcohol began to burn her throat and tongue. "Da-yumn, where did we get this stuff?!, if we make it through this, we're going to need more" Liam piped in with his usual charm, "I'm sure it wasn't Liu Xiu, but we were definitely in Gamma when we picked up supplies for this 'favour' we're doing for our... benefactor." She brought the bottle to her lips again and took two long chugs. "Oh yeah... our marvelous benefactor, the spineless moron who couldn't do it himself, and decided it best to send US on a suicide mission. The fucking bastard. This whole run has been a fucking debacle..."
She looked over to her crew member running the sensor arrays, "Are they still behind us?" Sphinx, she had no other name looked up from the console, "That's an affirmative, captain." she said solemnly. Adalyn cursed to no one in particular. "And we can't jump, because thanks to the beating we took in that magnetic storm back there, we've been having to rely on purely VFR... so we don't know what the fuck lays ahead of us... this is just fucking perfect. Luckily, all we have to do is keep avoiding their fire, and keep a wide margin between them and us... at least until we're clear of this bullshit... once we hit open space..." She looked over to Blitz, "Blitz, once we're into open space, I want you to have this ship ready to make a jump. That's the ONLY chance we have of outrunning these fuckers, got it?" Blitz nodded as she began plotting the coordinates on the holographic screen. "As soon as we exit... here... we should be able to execute a jump to here, we'll be something like ten parsecs on the far side of Loseida well inside Beta Quadrant." Behind The Black Talon, some distance behind was all fifteen kilometers of the Eclipse, flanked by two Aoraqet'yari cruisers, the Crimson Corona and the Nightshade.
AHV Eclipse — Approaching the Periphery of the Aoraqet'yari Star Cluster.
Captain of the Eclipse, Niitarya Kéminis'ya sat on the edge of her seat, her hands in a white-knuckle grip on the arms of her seat. She had initiated the long-running pursuit of The Black Talon, mentally plotting her next move as the tiny pirate warship ahead of the cruisers under her command weaved every time she ordered the Crimson Corona or the Nightshade to take a shot. "Damn it!" Niitarya cursed aloud. She ordered her Combat Systems Officer, Cmdr. Záélerra Váélyrrh'ya with a low but menacing tone, her teeth a wide grin between her red lips. "I'm not losing those pirate fucks now, stay on them! As soon as we're close enough, launch a pair of Vexthorns, once those attach and disable their propulsion, we'll have these basta—." Navigational Officer Lt. D'Sinda T'Dháirra cut her revelry short. "Captain, we've just left Hegemonic space!"
Bridge of The Black Talon — Perseus Segment of the Trinity Passage, Solarian Reaches.
Blitz looked up from her screen to Captain Shaw, "We should be entering open space in 3... 2... 1!" Adalyn smiled. "Fortune must be showing us some favour..." She leaped out of her chair and kissed Blitz on the forehead. "I don't know how Blitz, as soon as the coordinates are locked, make the jump!"
Bridge of the AHV Eclipse — Exiting Hegemonic Space.
Ráénÿsa "Rain" Páérphÿna, Captain of the Crimson Corona and Sáélynn'a Aesumyrrha of the Nightshade flashed on the screen of the Eclipse, each in their own tile. "Captain, we have to disable them now, what are your orders?" Niitarya looked over to her Combat Systems Officer, "Záélerra, Prepare to fire!"
Bridge of The Black Talon — Perseus Segment of the Trinity Passage, Solarian Reaches.
Blitz hurriedly typed as fast as her fingers could, each jab eliciting a hard click. She looked over briefly to Adalyn. "The nav system is still plotting the smoothest, straight-shot route to the coordinates I entered... we still have something to the tune of fifteen seconds before it will finalize everything needed for the jump. Until then, may I suggest we make a short jump to get on the other side of the OB Association ahead of us? We barely made it out of that nightmare-scape back there, I don't want to risk us traversing another clusterfuck on steroids... luckily our nav systems have identified a route through that is nearly a straight shot, with some slight curves... if we allow the nav system to correct for the slight curves we should—" Adalyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "We've made it this far taking the biggest risk of our lives, I'm trusting this to you and the nav system, Blitz. Do it."
Blitz nodded, and pecked away at a few more keys, giving the last one a sharp jab. "See ya, fuckers!" She grabbed for a few seconds and found the straps on her seat and quickly buckled herself in. "Considering the impromptu nature of this jump, I'd suggest you let everyone know they should strap in, or hang on to something," Adalyn smirked. "Open comms." There was a slight hiss, some light static, and then a low hum... "Everyone on board, we're about to make a sublight jump, you are advised to strap in or find something to brace yourselves against. Captain Shaw, out." The ship's propulsion began spinning up until the whine was nearly deafening. Adalyn, already strapped in, leaned against the straps, having to yell above the sound. "Blitz! How. Long. Be-fore. We—" The propulsion emitted a large "SHOOM!" and Adalyn felt the force pushing her back into the seat with what felt like a punch to the chest at thirty-two kilometers per hour, knocking the wind out of her. She looked up as everything around the ship appeared to just streak past them. Blitz not taking her eyes off the nav screen barked out to the captain. "We should be coming out of the jump in about ten seconds... in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1! Brace for deceleration!"
Bridge of the AHV Eclipse — Perseus Segment of the Trinity Passage, Solarian Reaches.
Cmdr. Záélerra Váélyrrh'ya awaited the signal that she had a lock, the tracking reticle of the fire control system had gone from red to yellow and was just seconds from going green... then the Black Talon's engines grew bright, and then a flash and The Black Talon was gone. "Captain! The pirates... they've jumped. We've lost them." Niitarya went apoplectic. "What?!? we were right on them... how... Motherfuckers! Do we know where they jumped to?" Navigational Officer Lt. D'Sinda T'Dháirra nodded. "Our systems have triangulated their exit point to be almost equidistant from Deneb, Aldebaran, and Sol." Niitarya grimaced... "We're taking a huge risk here... punch in coordinates for a safe distance from their exit point... and D'Sinda? Make the jump as soon as the nav gives us the green light. We're not losing them." D'Sind'a nodded, as she entered the coordinates into the nav system, "Checking... Re-checking... Finalizing coordinates..." The main propulsion systems of the Eclipse were brought down to minimal, as the forward thrusters of the massive ship began a smooth deceleration, reorienting the ship while the nav systems continued finalizing the coordinates, all the while, the hyperdrive systems were being prepared for the jump. What began as a low hum could be heard as the ship's main engines reached full power, the hum turning into a loud droning roar, as the ship's forward thrusters were powered down. D'Sinda barked out, "In 5.. 4... 3... 2.. 1!" The roar was replaced with what sounded like a large cannon opened fire, and the Eclipse left the Crimson Corona and Nightshade behind in a burst of light.
Minutes later, the Eclipse exited it's jump, with Niitarya shooting a look at D'Sinda, "Where are our coordinates?" D'Sinda checked the nav systems, "We're approximately twenty-five parsecs and about... thirty-five light-years from Sol." Niitarya looked over to Information Officer Cmdr. D'Sáérra Káérdóvryn'ya, "D'Sáérra, as soon as you're able, execute a wide scan, active, passive, thermoptics, I don't care... find them." D'Sáérra tried in vain to coax the sensors to pick up something... anything resembling The Black Talon, but the ship was just nowhere to be found. "Captain, we lost them. They must have jumped from this general vicinity while we were preparing to make our jump."
Niitarya fell back in her chair with a thump, cursing under her breath. "Damnit... we almost had them. Lt. D'Tarlauna, send this message back home, 'We have pursued The Black Talon, however, they have eluded apprehension and have presumably escaped into the Beta Quadrant. I am issuing a bounty of 500,000 Kurav'i to whomever successfully apprehends The Black Talon and her crew.' Have the bounty circulated forthwith upon the approval of the Prime Archon." D'Siénya complied, compiling the missive before sending it.
Niitarya didn't have to wait long for an answer, as D'Siénya received notification within minutes. She quickly decrypted the response, and gave a smile to Niitarya, "Apparently, the Prime Archon likes your idea, she's officially doubled it to 1,000,000 Kurav'i." Niitarya smirked. "I wish it'd have been us that caught them, but with that bounty on their heads, it won't be long... transmit the notice of the bounty to the GalNet. D'Sinda, plot us a route home."