Breathe.
The background hubbub of the ship’s gym dropped away, and Stardust’s perception seemed to become hyper-aware of his surroundings:
The steady whoosh of a group of the battlecruiser’s Nahydran fighter pilots, practicing flying in a full G, holding on to supports to keep from slamming into the overhead.
The steady cadence of a handful of human runners on treadmills.
The occasional grunt of someone straining to lift weights.
Taking a deep breath, Stardust launched himself at the sparring dummy with a flurry of jabs and kicks, sending it skidding across the non-slip mats laid down to prevent such from happening. Leaping into the air, he finished with a solid roundhouse kick to the side of the training dummy’s head, actually knocking it over onto its side.
[They are not supposed to be easily knocked over,] a Nahydran voice cawed, and Stardust blinked to see Sovv standing a few feet away. He glanced down at the dummy and then back at her, and shrugged.
“Just working off some energy,” he said simply. “What’s up?”
[CENTCOM has retasked us.]
That caught Stardust’s attention. “We’re not linking up with a Xargon Peacekeeper detachment for exercises?”
[Negative. We are to proceed at once to the trade hub of Central and eliminate it from pirate scum that have seized control of the system. I have already directed the helm to do so; I wished to inform you of the change.]
Stardust shrugged again. “Sure. What’s our ETA?”
Sovv looked him up and down, her wings indicating amusement. [You have time to bathe. Sir.]
Stardust ignored the implied comment that he stank – he had been exercising rather vigorously for over an hour. Taking a deep breath, he shifted his feet and stretched, feeling the burn in his muscles.
“Okay then,” he said. “I’ll hit the shower and get refreshed; can you make an announcement and arrange a stealthy insertion into the outer system?”
Sovv nodded. [Central has extensive deep-space and hyperspace tracking; permission to take us off the grid on our approach?]
“Granted. I’ll be in the CIC in half an hour.”

Iuvis Sector
Asari Controlled Space

Commander Riel is standing on the bridge of the ASN Cyclone, illuminated by the blue light that the big galaxy map in the middle of the room projects, staring into a big, empty void of darkness, pondering. A faint voice can be heard as she thinks heavily about something.

“Commander?” the voice says, barely audible.

“Commander!” Riel and her surroundings suddenly snap into focus.

“Oh!” she says out loud. Surprised, Riel turns around and find Ensign Jelia Drisus, the communications officer, standing in front of her.

“Commander!” she says once again and salutes.

“Oh. Ensign.” she responds with a slightly gloomy tone. “At ease.”

“Priority message from the fleet, Commander. Fleet Commander Teli is waiting for you in the communications room.” she advises Riel.

“Thank you. I’m headed there now. Lieutenant Avero! Watch the bridge for me!” she shouts loudly across the room.

“Yes, Commander!” the Lieutenant answers back.

Riel walks past all of the bridge staff and up a ramp in the middle of the room leading to a door at the back end of the room, meanwhile, Lieutenant Avero takes her place on the bridge. Ensign Drisus returns to her post at a computer console.

Riel walks through two rooms, mainly quarters designated for command staff, until she arrives at the communications room. As she enters the communications room, a huge screen can be seen at the wall towards the back of the room with a small ring in the middle just before it. Riel looks at the screen, then down at the small ring and steps onto it. Out of nowhere, small, blue lines appear and start moving downwards from head to toe, like a scanner. The room turns black and the lines disappear. A figure with their back to her appears on the, now, brightly lit screen.

“Well, well. If it isn’t Commander D’ysentis.” the figure says, in a commanding voice.

The figure turns around and Riel realizes that the figure is, of course, none other than Fleet Commander Teli S’heha.

“Fleet Commander Teli!” Riel quickly salutes.

“At ease, Commander.” Teli replies.

Riel drops her hand and proceeds to stand with both her legs at shoulder width and with both hands behind her back.

“Commander. I’m going to cut right to the chase here. This is an urgent request coming straight from the top and I’m rather busy at the moment with this issue myself!” Teli says.

“There seems to be a situation developing in the Sirius Sector. Reports are coming in as we speak and we aren’t fully aware of what is going on over there, but preliminary reports suggest some kind of pirate activity near the planet Central. It doesn’t sound pretty.”

“Have we made any contact with any other allied vessels in the area?” Riel asks.

Riel notices that a crew member comes up to Teli and hands her a datapad. She turns around and speaks something unintelligible for a couple of seconds, then she returns her attention back to Riel.

“We are in the process of contacting other allied vessels nearby, in an attempt to figure out what the hell is going on. In the meantime, Commander. I need you and your ship to travel the Sirius Sector, conduct a reconnaissance mission and report back. If you are able to establish contact with anyone, do so.”

“At once!” Riel answers.

Teli salutes “I have to go. Be careful, Commander. We will be sending you relevant information as soon as we have it, Teli out.”

The screen turns black and the room goes back to the normal white lighting that is standard across the ship. Riel steps off the ring and moves towards the door. She stops for a second and looks down at the floor. She inhales, then exhales, deeply both times, and starts walking towards the bridge.

Riel arrives at the bridge and stops at the galaxy map, looking at it.

After a brief pause, she turns around, facing the ship's navigator and says “Navigator, set a course for the Sirius Sector.”

Aboard the Sword of Vengeance, a similar conversation was playing out between Admiral Turcotte and Star Marshal Dean, aboard Solarian Skywatch.
“A full review of Central’s defense strategy is underway,” the Star Marshal was telling him, “but your priority is driving back or destroying the pirates holding the planetary population hostage.”
“Understood, ma’am,” Stardust said. “Are there any other friendlies in-system?”
“The battleship Archangel is in-system. I’d rather not reveal any other assets at this time, in case there are any cracks in our security.”
“Copy that.” A tone indicated imminent realspace reversion. “I have to go. We’ll see you on the other side.”
“Good luck, Admiral. The other human governments will be watching the situation closely.” At a gesture, the Star Marshal terminated the link.
“Great,” Stardust murmured. “Just what I need. A show.” Switching to the intraship comms, he contacted the bridge. “Matriarch Sovv, are we ready?”
[Approaching coordinates now,] the Nahydran replied.
Stardust stopped himself from reminding his flag captain of the need for discretion, while they ascertained the situation directly. To that effect, the battlecruiser emerged into normalspace in a vast field of ice particles several hundred AU from the blazing white light of Sirius A. Sensors peered starward, and monitored the tense exchange between the Ram and the Archangel.
Stardust felt a tightness in his gut, one he normally associated with imminent action against entire fleets, which he found odd as he was leading only a single starship.
Probably because the regional trade hub and its billions of noncombatants are down there, he thought. One wrong move and they can start dropping nukes or kinetic impactors into the cities.
“Set yellow alert,” Stardust ordered, and the battlecruiser shifted to a heightened alert status. “Send a tight-beam signal to Admiral Jaeger. Don’t give away our position, but tell them we are in-system and stand ready to assist as an ace in the hole.”
Sovv added, [All internal security teams to combat stations. Prep for hostile boardings as well as counter-boarding operations.]
Stardust repressed a smile. Trust Kai’a to think one step ahead of him.
A flashing light on his console indicated a private coms request; ID was Sovv. Tapping the accept button, the system linked them together.
“Yes?”
[We will not link with the Archangel?] she asked, butchering her attempt at pronouncing the battleship’s name, as Nahydran Common had no Anglic equivalent.
“No,” he answered. “I figure we let them see the Archangel, focus all their attention on it, and when the shooting starts, we can flank that carrier and hopefully get between the planet and anything they try to drop on Central.”
His choice of words was not lost on her. [When, indeed.]
“Any group that can amass the firepower to overwhelm an entire planetary militia doesn’t truly need whatever they may be asking for, nor will any sane organization part with whatever it is they really want. This entire show is all window-dressing. Eventually, they’ll start shooting, and I intend to cut them off from the planet, and cripple the Acheron. Preferably at the same time.”
[Should they have control of the surface batteries, we will have no room to maneuver.]
“We’ll make that flight when we get to it,” Stardust soothed, paraphrasing an old Nahydran saying. “Until then, we watch, we wait, and we prep for hostile action.”

Two hours later, on the Cyclone, the crew is preparing to leave faster-than-light speed. The navigator of the ship approaches Riel.

“Ma’am. We will be at our destination in less than five minutes.”

“Good.” she replies. “Get everybody to their stations and prepare to go into Recon Mode.”

“At once, ma’am!” the Navigator quickly salutes and returns to her post.

After a few minutes, just before coming out of FTL, the bridge and the rest of the ship is sprawling with activity. Riel is standing by the galaxy map in the middle of the room, which is elevated to about 1,5 to 2 meters and is the highest point on the bridge. Her hands are attached to the railing surrounding it.

A voice suddenly comes from behind Riel. “Hey, boss. You ready for this?”

Riel releases her grip on the railing and turns around. She is happy to see her second-in-command and longtime friend, Lieutenant Commander Nalyne Ledarix, coming towards her.

“Where were you at the briefing, Nalyne?” Riel asks. “Teli didn’t bring you up during the brief, but still…”

“Sorry, Commander. I was elsewhere at the time. I had to take care of something.” she responds. “Anyway, I heard we are about to arrive at Central. I’ll make an announcement via the intercom.”

Nalyne steps to the right and types on a console right beside the map. A brief moment of static can be heard, then, Nalyne’s voice can be heard through the ship.

“Attention! This is Lieutenant Commander Ledarix. We are about to arrive at planet Central, Sirius Sector. All hands, standby and wait for instructions from your commanding officer.” she says, in an authoritive, but enthusiastic tone.

Just as Nalyne finishes, the ship can be heard becoming, suddenly, quieter. Everybody looks out of the ships forward facing windows and the blue, shimmering light starts fading out. At the blink of an eye, the blue light suddenly disappears and the all too familiar black void surges into focus again, except this time, a planet was there. Central. The bridge suddenly lights up with different lights emanating from the different consoles around the bridge.

“Commander!” a crew member yells. “Our sensors are picking up multiple, unknown ship signatures in the vicinity of the planet!”

Riel faces Ensign Drisus, who is on the opposite end of the bridge.

“Drisus!” she calls out. “Send a report to Fleet Commander Teli, at once!”

The quiet bridge suddenly turns into a loud place. All the bridge staff are operating their stations and working on the ship’s systems. Ensign Drisus runs up to Riel.

“Someone or something is jamming our communications, Commander!” Drisus proclaims.

Nalyne turns to Riel. “Looks like this is going to be more than a recon mission, boss.” she chuckles. “Just like that time on Aplana.”

Riel chuckles. “Nalyne, go check on the main batteries. We’ll need them ready for anything.”

Nalyne salutes “At once.” she says and runs off.

Riel turns around once again to the navigator. “Approach the planet, but keep your distance to it and the other ships.” she orders. “Have we picked up any allied signatures?”

A crew member calls out “Not yet, Commander! We are still sorting through all the contacts.”

Riel looks out the window onto the planet. “Get it done!” she says. “Drisus, attempt to open communications with the Fleet Commander when you get the chance… This day just keeps getting better and better…”

Emerging into normalspace in a flash of light and Cherenkov radiation, the Sword of Vengeance was immediately targeted by two of the nearest pirate ships, a pair of old Archangel-class cruisers several hundred klicks off their starboard flank. They immediately shifted vectors and began to close with the much larger battlecruiser.
“Picking up fire-control emissions,” Tactical reported, then, “energy spike! They’ve locked on to us.”
[Shields to full!] Sovv ordered.
“Target them back!” Stardust added. “Lock on all starboard guns. But hold fire until they fire first.”
“Acknowledged!” Tactical replied.
The battlecruiser’s starboard weapons tracked and spun to face the two light cruisers; energy mounted and coiled at their emitters, ready to unleash fire and brimstone at the push of a button.
“Comms,” Stardust said after several long moments, “send them a hostile challenge and request for ID.”
“At once, Admiral,” the comms specialist acknowledged, switching to an open band. “Pirate cruisers, this is the Sword of Vengeance. Halt your approach and identify yourselves, or we will open fire.”
A moment of static-filled silence followed before a worn, irritable voice replied, “Ah. Admiral Stardust. This is the Calico Jack. We want a negotiator.”
At his request, comms put Stardust on the same comm band as the Calico Jack. “Follow our instructions, and we’ll see what we can do. Halt your approach. Now.”
The two cruisers complied, holding position ten klicks outside the battlecruiser’s point defense perimeter.
Too easy, Stardust thought. But I’ll take it.
“Maintain contact on this channel,” Stardust told the Calico Jack. “We will get you a negotiator asap. Stand by.” He closed his connection, then said to the comms specialist, “Get me CENTCOM Operations, Gold channel one.”
“Yes sir.”
Moments later, a new voice appeared in Stardust’s headset. “CENTCOM Operations.”
“CENTCOM, this is Admiral Turcotte, Battleaxe Actual,” Stardust told them, identifying himself and his flagship. “On station in Sirius system, responding to distress calls. We have confirmation that planetary defenses are down and the garrison is nowhere to be found. Planetary population and infrastructure status is confirmed Code White. They are requesting a negotiator.”
“Copy that, Admiral,” CENTCOM replied. “Did they say what they want?”
“Negative. Requesting civil negotiator be dispatched ASAP.”
“Affirmative, sir. The diplomatic vessel Colonial Seven has been prepped and is standing by. Ambassador Anderson has been briefed. We will dispatch them at once, ETA 5.25 hours. Please pass along any further intel or correspondence to the Ambassador.”
“Roger wilco, CENTCOM,” Stardust acknowledged. “Battleaxe, clear.” With a button he terminated the connection, and with another flipped over to the pirates’ frequency. “Your negotiator’s enroute, ETA just over five hours. Refrain from any hostile action and we will refrain from venting you into space.”
A chuckle reverberated over the comlink. “You’re outnumbered and outgunned, Admiral. Take care with your words.” Click. Transmission terminated.
“Now we wait,” he muttered, eyeing the holodisplay showing the area around Central, and the myriad hostile sparks around it.
[Admiral,] Sovv told him, [We have detected an Asari cruiser, the Cyclone.]
“Good. We aren’t the only ones in the shit…”

The Cyclone is slowly drifting along, while remaining a fair distance away on one side of the planet. One of the crew members, an asari manning the sensors, calls out to Riel.

“Commander! We have two ships on a trajectory towards our current position.” Riel looks back. “Are we still in Recon mode?” she asks. “Aye, Commander. We also have another ship on our sensors, does not seem to be a hostile contact. We’re not able to communicate with it because of that jammer, though.” Riel starts pondering deeply about the situation. After a few moments, she calls out to Drisus. “Drisus, how is that comms situation coming along?”. Drisus is intensively focused on the jammed communications situation, after a brief moment she is able to respond back. “There is some kind of communications jammer somewhere! They’re not scrambling any of our systems, just our array. We’re picking up some kind of signal as well. It could be that jammer.” Riel motions towards the Navigator. “Take us towards that signal!” she commands. “We need to establish contact with someone, hopefully, that vessel will be an ally. We’re all alone out here right now.”

Meanwhile, in the forward gun battery section in the ship, Lieutenant Commander Ledarix is just finishing briefing the gun battery officers on their situation in person. “You need to be ready at a moment’s notice! You got that? Great, dismissed!” she says as she finishes the briefing. All the gun battery officers go off to their respective postings.

Ledarix is preparing to leave when someone mentions her name out loud. “Ehm! Lieutenant Commander!” Ledarix turns around as she is just about to leave and watches as a young asari jogs towards her. She stops and does a quick salute. “Chief Petty Officer Nyarasha Aveala, reporting!” she says in an exuberant voice. The asari looks very young, energetic and lively, like she is straight out of bootcamp. “You were going to brief us? Looks like I’m the first one here!” Ledarix lets out a quiet sigh. “Well, Chief Petty Officer Nyarasha Aveala. You seem awfully happy on this fine day.” she says sarcastically. “Yes, Lieutenant Commander! I’m new on the Cyclone and I’ve heard a lot of stories about you and the Commander. It’s been a dream of mine to serve on this very ship. It’s quite beautiful.” she says happily. “We’re glad to have you aboard, but look kid, everything isn’t going to be sunshine and rainbows. I need you to be at your best and see things with a critical eye.” Ledarix crosses her arms. “You got that?”. The young officer quickly salutes again “Of course, Lieutenant Commander! I won’t let you down!” she says as she runs off. Ledarix puts her hand on her head.

Suddenly the lights in the ship begin to flicker off and on repeatedly for a couple of seconds, then stops and goes back to normal. A voice comes over the intercom. “Lieutenant Commander! I need you up here!” Ledarix realizes it’s Riel and storms off to the bridge.

With a flash of Cherenkov radiation and transdimensional photons, the diplomatic cruiser Olive Branch emerged from hyperspace and made rendezvous with the pirate warships. An assault shuttle launched from the Acheron and docked with the Envoy's vessel, and immediately began negotiations under the watchful guns of the Fleet battlecruiser and pirate vessels.
The Envoy's assistant kept Stardust informed of their progress, as minutes dragged into hours.
"They aren't budging from their original demands," she told Stardust. "Independence of the Dellar system and legitimacy & recognition of their 'republic.' Nothing the Envoy is offering is having much effect; you'd better be ready to move soon, Admiral."
The Dellar system, along Sirius Sector's outer limits, housed a colony of several million humans led by a dictator in all but name; several peacekeeping efforts were underway between said dictator and two independent rebel groups demanding greater representation in the planetary government. Though unconfirmed, there was evidence of humanitarian war crimes and widespread starvation among the colony's cities and towns.
"Acknowledged," Stardust replied.
"The assessment over here is that they are buying time for something else to happen," she added. "Be on your guard."
"No problems there," Stardust said. "Battleaxe, out."
Terminating the connection almost as an afterthought, Stardust had been closely watching three pirate cruisers slowly drifting into new orbits away from their fellows. Plotting their trajectories put them passing over the three largest trade ports and their anti-space defenses.
At their present altitute, all ships in the area were well within range of several orbital defense batteries on the surface, yet none had opened up. Indeed, scans indicated they were still fully operational. And yet a large pirate force had negated Central's orbital defense platforms and driven the militia squadron off... or destroyed them entirely.
Yet they would reach optimum range in less than twenty minutes; it was also the best position from which to launch kinetic impactors or nuclear bombardment projectiles and decimate the cities.
Something's not right, here, Stardust thought.
"Tactical!" he barked. "Track these three cruisers. Warm up the forward batteries and load all torpedo tubes with standard packages. Stand by to engage on my order."