UGT: 13th Aether 280 a.G.A. / 06:13 p.m.

  Location: ASF Aurora, Hyperspace, lightseconds away from the outer borders of the Sun-Al'Rith system (red dwarf), Inner-Noran sector, Ruidan Raider Association, Milky Way

  Another twelve days had passed and another system had been reached. Once more I stood on the Bridge of the ASF Aurora, overlooking the many holoscreens in front of me. Why? because Fen had decided that I should learn how to command a ship that wasn't enitrely automated by an AI. Just in case I ever found myself on a ship not up to Aetherian standards. Which could actually happen, should we ever loose the ASF Aurora. "Discrepancy at A-202-43 seems like a small hyper void. Another disturbance at B-65 but I'm unsure what that is supposed to be," I said.

  What I was currently doing? Well, Fen tasked me with using the ASf Aurora's advanced sensory to try identifying and analysing all problems that we had to adjust for, to leave hyperspace again. Obviously, he'd already done that himself and wouldn't trust me, who does this the first time, to get it entirely right. All this was supposed to teach my how analysing gravitational data worked.

  [ What you're seeing is a proton singularity. A small piece of fabric from the hyperspace that allows normal matter without any obvoius technological interference. They're not directly harmful, but they can rip small holes in the ship if we try to leave hyperspace on top of them. ]

  I acknowledged him with a nod, filing the information away. Did I hold any real interest in all that? Not really. But it was necessary nonetheless. Of course, while trying to learn more of the ship functions, I'd also continued trying to upgrade our construction nanites. Well... let's just say that success comes in small steps. And I hadn't yet reached any significant success. And yes, I'd been thoroughly remembered why I'd hated working on the nanites the first time. They were just so incredibly complex!

  [ The shadows resembling our fleet are on the move again. We'll have to continue as well, therefore you can stop now. ]

  "So the SHF crews, even with much worse equipment, managed far faster than me? This is humiliating;" I muttered.

  [ Unlike you, they have years of trainig and even more years actually on a real spaceship. Add in the years they spent navigating during a war and you'll realise that they vastly outclass you in experience. Of course they are way faster than you, even with much worse equipment. ]

  "Maybe. But that doesn't mean I have to like it," I argued back. "Anyways, follow them. The Sun-Al'Rith system will be the first truly Association owned system we'll enter. Honestly, I'm a little bit excited."

  [ You have every right to be. We probably won't land on the planet, but still, you'll be confronted with an entirely different culture. Onse originally stemming from an entirely different part of the universe. ]

  "Anyways, it's a hostile system, so we'll be careful as always. Get the weapons ready and our shields up the second we leave hyperspace.They probably await us right outside the hyperspace already.

  [ Of course. We'll be leaving hyperspace first, destroying every potential ambush in front of us. Reentering normal space... now! ]

  The ASF Aurora emerged, its shields flaring to full strength the instant hyperspace transitioned to real space. The holoscreens flickered and updated to our new surroundings. I instantly started scanning the tactical readout for any signs of trouble. We were relatively deep inside the system, just around 75 million kilometers away from us were the outer edges of an astereoid ring. Another approximately 400 million kilometers deeper was the sole planet of the system and its only colony placed. The destribution hub this system was known for. Sun-Novis.

  [ Enemy vessels detected. Composition: two Frigates, three Cutters, five Patrolships, and twenty Interceptor Fighters close to us and definitly inside their effective combat range to us. Formation indicates a planned ambush. Threat level: negligible. ]

  “Small prey,” I murmured, my gaze fixed on the tactical holoscreen. The enemy fleet moved into an encircling formation, their intent clear: to trap and overwhelm what they perceived as an isolated Superbattleship. Honestly, this was sheer desperation. Nothing smaller than a group of Battleships, Battlecruisers and Cruisers even stood a chance.

  [ Incoming transmission. Shall I patch it through? ]

  “Do it,” I replied, leaning forward slightly. The holoscreen flickered, revealing a Ruidan. His defiance was evident, but so was the unease behind his glowing eyes.

  “This is Captain Vex-Tu’Kharr of the Ruidan Raider Association. You're that Federation Superbattleship, however weird of a design you are! But that makes it clear that you're difinitly not the FSF Hurricane! You're not the true Terror Of Humanity! You're an imposter, weaker than the true thing! Surrender or face annihilation!” he nearly screamed.

  “Captain Vex-Tu’Kharr, this is Captain May Lunaris of the FSF Aurora. Your boldness is admirable, but you’re mistaken. This isn’t a contest you can win. I’ll offer you a chance to retreat. Stand down and live. Or fight and be remembered as a fool,” I said coldly.

  Vex-Tu’Kharr’s crest flared briefly, a Ruidan gesture of defiance. “You speak of victory as though it’s guaranteed. Show me your strength, Federation dog!” Than, the connection was cut.

  [ Enemy fleet advancing. Fighters are breaking off to encircle. Shall we engage? ]

  “Engage,” I ordered coldly. “Demonstrate the futility of their resistance. Prioritize efficiency.” The ASF Aurora responded with calculated precision. The Disintegrators hummed to life, sending beams of annihilation lancing across the void. The lead Frigate disintegrated instantly, its structure dissolving into glowing fragments. It's shield had folded like it hadn't even been there. Instantly, a nearby Cutter was exposed to the relentless Gamma Particle Lasers from the PDC-L. The Whirlwinds launched next, intelligent swarm munitions darting through the asteroid field with deadly intent. They found their marks among the interceptors, each missile detonating in a blinding flash of antimatter annihilation. The swarm’s precision left no room for escape, reducing the Fighter contingent to harmless debris in moments. The remaining ships tried to scatter, but the Siphons activated, draining their shields and leaving them vulnerable. The Railguns roared, their antimatter payloads tearing through exposed hulls with devastating efficiency. In less than a minute, the ambush force was reduced to wreckage.

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  [ Hostile vessels neutralized. Two Freighters are retreating into the asteroid field. No damage sustained. ]

  “Let them run for now,” I said, exhaling softly. “The SHF will be here every moment and than they can take over. We have to converse antimatter. And our part of the fighting in ths system should be done with that.”

  [ Understood. The SHF fleet is likely to leave hyperspace any moment now, once they noticed we stopped firing. Shall we hold position? ]

  “Yes,” I replied. “Deploy recon drones. I want to ensure we know what our remaining enemies are doing at all times. I don't want to find any surprises.” The ASF Aurora powered down its weapons, the faint hum of its systems a stark contrast to the devastation it had wrought. As the debris of the ambush drifted aimlessly, I couldn’t help but marvel at the ship’s efficiency once more. After all, that was only half of our full power. The other half was still in the process of upgrading. But honestly, that hadn't been a challanging enemy either.

  “Fen, document this coming engagement. It would be good to get more data on them. After all, we'll fight with them for quite some time and maybe someday even against them.”

  [ Of course, Captain. Admiral Thorrison and the FSF Defiance just left hyperspace, the remaining fleet following. He's pinging us. Am I to send him through? ]

  "Yeah, go ahead," I said.

  [ He can see you... now! ]

  Instantly, Admiral Thorrison appeared before me. ?Captain Lunaris. I see you have dealt with our welcoming committee rather decisively. I hope they didn‘t give you and trouble?“ he asked.

  I snorted. ?Admiral, all they had was small fry. The antimatter wasted on them honestly wasn‘t even worth it. They didn‘t manage to get out a single shot,“ I stated and Admiral Thorrison nodded in acknowledgement. Suddenly, surprising both the Admiral and me, a holographic version of Fen walked into the screen. What was he doing!? From that close he didn’t look real enough to convince anyone he was a real person!

  [ Don't worry, I have that under control. Be playing with some of our scanning and holoscreen controls, I look real enough to fake their outdated technology. Especially as they don't have any reason to take a closer look at me. ]

  "Captain, Admiral," he spoke while saluting in standard First Federation style, somehow making it sound like the voice actually came from him. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but the recon drones just reported back in. The enemies Freighter formations are highly erratic and it seems like they’re attempting to extract high-priority resources from the system. It is likely that they already did that since they heard of our inevitable arrival. Many of the most valuable resources are probably already lost to us. The Frighter escorts appear focused on drawing our attention rather than engaging directly. Undoubtedly to allow this last batch of Freighters to flee. We need to act if we want to stop them and do so fast," he said seriously.

  “Buying time for the freighters while using the most secure route of extraction,” I murmured, instantly focussing on the holographic readout in front of me, instead of Admiral Thorrison.

  "Correct. Their evasion patterns suggest pre-planned routes through the asteroid field. They definitly charted these paths in advance," Fen replied.

  “Clever. But it won’t save them," I said finally looking back up at the Admiral. He seemed distracted as well, probably getting a similar report from his crew. "Admiral, I won't allow these Freighters to run away, while being filled with vital resources to the brim. We’ll neutralize their escorts and disable the Freighters. You do the takeover of the ships before they destroy themselves. You do want these resources, right?” I asked.

  Admiral Thorrison needed less than a second to answer. "Yes, it would be good to stop the Association from extracting these resources. I'll order for my fleet to prepare boarding teams to secure the Freighters once you're done with them. Will some of your boarding teams join us in this operation?"

  "You know the anwer to that question, Admiral. I like to keep my crew where I or someone I trust has an eye on them. That won't change," I replied sharply.

  Admiral Thorrison only nodded and smoothly changed the topic. "Than, I'll leave you to it. We can continue that conversation later. Good luck, Captain." I nodded to him and than he cut the connection. Instantly I returned my focus back to the tactical holoscreen.

  “Fen, prioritize targeting the escorts with the PDC-L's and Railguns. Deploy Whirlwinds to disrupt their formations. The Siphons will weaken any Freighter shields. I want those Freighters immobilized, not destroyed,” I said and the same moment, the holographic version of Fen disappeared as well. Than his voice was back inside my head, as usual.

  [ Understood. Weapons systems primed. Engaging now. ]

  The ASF Aurora surged into action, accelerating to an impressive 75,000 kilometres per second in less than two minutes. I could have doubled that, but I had no reason to show the Federation our true capabilities. It only took a total of 18 minutes to get close to the slow Freighters and another 2 minutes of deceleration to reach a speed where we could actually attack. Than we reached weapon range and all hell broke loose.

  The ASF Aurora's PDC-L cut through the void with surgical precision. A patrol ship’s shields flared brightly before collapsing, big parts of the ship vaporizing moments after. Railgun slugs followed, tearing through a cutter that had tried to evade deeper into the asteroid field. The Whirlwinds launched in synchronized waves, their intelligent targeting systems locking onto the scattered escort ships. Explosions rippled through the asteroid field as the missiles found their marks, reducing the escort fleet’s numbers with ruthless efficiency. The Freighters attempted to accelerate, their engines flaring brightly as they tried to escape the chaos. But than the Siphons activated, their beams latching onto the freighters’ shields and draining them rapidly. The first freighter’s shield collapsed entirely, its engines sputtering as power was diverted to compensate.

  [ Two freighters disabled. Remaining vessels are accelerating toward the asteroid field’s edge. ]

  “Deploy some of our combat drones for crowd control. We’ll herd them into a bottleneck where the SHF fleet can intercept. Continue disabling their engines with the Siphons. I don’t want any of them slipping through.”

  [ Acknowledged. Combat drones deployed. ]

  The SHF fleet moved into position, their nine Frigates darting ahead to intercept the remaining Freighters, closely followed by their four Destroyers. The SHF Capital Ships hung back for now. Within minutes, the remaining Freighters were disabled, their engines rendered inoperable. The SHF boarding teams began their approach, preparing to secure the vessels and their precious cargo. At around the same time, the SHF Cruisers and Battlecruisers closed in as well. The battle was over. “Fen,” I said, exhaling softly, “status report.”

  [ All freighters immobilized. Escort vessels neutralized. SHF boarding teams are commencing operations. No significant damage sustained by our forces. ]

  “Good,” I replied. “Keep monitoring the system. The Association may have more surprises in store. Though I doubt it.”

  [ Of course, Captain. ]

  As the ASF Aurora powered down its weapons, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction. The Ruidan’s efforts to stall us had been admirable, but their resistance had crumbled into dust without us even trying. The Sun-Al'Rith system was as good as ours. Only occupying the planet remained before we would move on.