The captain approached the terminal in the middle of the bridge, which he used to input commands and send messages out of the ship. He had just finished typing in a message to one of the engineers in the station who would give them clearance to leave and finally begin their mission. Almost immediately he received a reply, which was accompanied by the hiss of the airlock bridge snaking back into the ship as it completely detached, hovering a safe distance away from the Truman in order to begin a hyperspace jump.

"Crew, this is your captain speaking, we are igniting the FTL jump now, ETA at our destination will be thirty minutes." He spoke into the console, his voice booming through the hallways of the ship, speaking every man, woman and alien on board. 

"Jude, is she ready?" He asked, inquiring if the ship was flight ready.

"Yes, the Durendal is ready to begin the mission at your command, captain."

"Alright, hit it then, Miss Freelander you know what to do, Jude I trust you have the coordinates punched in?"

"Yes, beginning hyperspace jump now." The A.I. replied as the engines began to quickly warm up, the engine which powered the Faster Than Light travel at full power as the Durendal flew away from the space station, heading towards the emptiness of space. Then the stars seem to fly by as the ship began traveling at insane speeds across the galaxy.

Soon, the Durendal came out of its jump, sailing towards the planet the probe was last tracked near. The planet was huge and white, it was a frozen ice word, covered in glaciers, frozen oceans and massive mountains which dwarfed any on Earth in sheer size. A [url=http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/315/2/d/space_ship_04_by_astrokevin-d5kod7g.jpg]single ship[/url] sat silent in orbit of the planet, Jon's eyes watching it immediately as the Durendal arrived at its destination.

"Jude, can you identify that ship? I don't recognize it, they would have informed us if there was an allied ship that would meet us out of the jump." He asked the A.I., his mind waxing over the ship, the design oddly familiar to him.

"Captain, the ship is a very old Naval frigate, the model is not even produced anymore. I found a serial number, but that ship was reported as missing along with its crew. My scans detect lifeforms aboard it. Approach with extreme caution, hostiles may be on board it."

"It's pirates, I'm almost certain of it. They're notorious for striking E.S.C. ships, killing or enslaving the crew, raiding the cargo and taking the ship itself." Jon stated, his voice confident, his hand stroking his chin. Then looked down at the console in front of him, noticing that he had received a message from the ship, "Jude, they're trying to establish communications, broadcast it through the ship, they should hear it." He replied, pressing the button which caused the window in the front of the bridge to turn to a screen which displayed a video.

"So kind of you to allow me to speak with you, Captain." A voice said as the screen cleared to show a bearded man facing the screen, speaking into it. His hair long and black, beard groomed, a tattoo of some origin on his right cheek. "But where are my manners, my name is Dryden, I am the humble captain of the vessel which contacted yours, we saw your fancy little ride as it popped out of hyperspace and we simply had to speak with you."

"Go on." Jon replied, looking at Dryden with suspicious eyes. His intuition was correct, they were pirates. 

"I sense you came to retrieve the probe which was orbiting this world, my ship picked it up, it is very valuable to us, the market value for an intact piece of technology such as this will make us rich. You can't have it though, but I have another proposition for you and your crew," He said, blinking as he continued speaking. "Surrender half your crew, along with allowing my own crew to search your cargo hold and armory, taking anything we please, then I promise you can retreat back to where you came from with your lives."

"We don't negotiate with pirates. I'll give you one chance to hand over the probe and leave or else I will be forced to use lethal force in order to take what is rightfully ours." He replied, the seriousness of his words showing in his eyes.

"That was foolish of you, captain. Now I must bid you adieu as we unleash the full force of our weaponry on your crew and you, whose lives you just threw away." Dryden replied, a grin appearing on his face as the message closed.

"Crew, to battle stations immediately! I want any of those able to assist me in a boarding party of the enemy ship to meet me by the shuttle in the hangar." Jon spoke into the console to his crew. "I suggest close quarters weapons and armor for those coming with me." He stopped for a moment as Jude pitched in.

"They're sending fighters as well as powering up their weaponry, I highly suggest we do the same and commence evasive maneuvers. I estimate the on-board crew of the opposing vessel to be under 30 hostiles." Jude said, analyzing the upcoming battle.

"Scramble fighters as well! Captain out," Jon stated, then turned to the pilot, Virgo. "I want somebody manning that turret, Jude, you know what to do with the ship's other guns. I hope you can fly as well I was told you can, helmsman." He said, then ran out of the room towards his cabin in order to change into combat gear.