Seraph Mk III Red Serpent, in orbit via Budpock

The Confederation cruiser hung suspended above the bleak mining world. Styria-class Galleons buzzed around the planet, picking up ores to transfer to the Confederation’s industrial machine, or dropping of equipment and cargo. Flights of the Confederation’s Deathsabers and Shadowcasters soared around the space, keeping up the routine, and vigilant Confederation patrols within the system and its outskirts. Other warships of the Confederation hovered about, including the Lucrehulk Battleship Gladiator, taken by the joint Confederation-Commonwealth strike from the pirates during Budpock’s liberation. Although officially designated as the flagship of the Budpock Defence Fleet, in reality, the massive vessel served little more than as a large space-going hangar for a pack of Confederation starfighter squadrons. In practice, the Nebula-class Star Destroyer Valiant served as the flagship of the fleet under Line Captain Thomas.

Lieutenant-Commander Thraken Blaise, the executive officer of the Red Serpent, paced the deck, glancing at his chrono. He brushed a strand of golden red hair to his temple. Five more minutes to the changing of the watch. Long should be here soon; He squinted his eyes for a second. Then I can finally get some café from this hellhole of a job. Thraken sighed. It was not that the job was exceptionally strenuous, as the Budpock fleet dealt with little more than the occasionally smugglers or piratical fleet. The Valiant was usually more than enough to deal with them. It was rather the fact that the job was boring. The Red Serpeant had mainly dealt with customs duties thus far, checking out passing Commonwealth and Coalition ships for contraband. Neutral and independent parties occasionally came in, and they were under constant scrutiny, mainly because it was an anomaly. Blaise glanced at his chrono. Two more minutes.

“Commander, we’ve received a distress call from a freighter just outside our border. Thomas wants us to check it-”

Blaise raised his hand. “Tell it to Captain Long. She’s to here any moment.”

The door opened, and Captain Kirana Long entered the bridge.

Delete.

Kirana’s work had been mind-numbingly exhausting lately. Working on the Red Serpent was not a big desire, but Kirana treated her position with the integrity any Confederation officer could ask for. The paperwork for the Coalition and Commonwealth cargo checks was a slight nuisance, but the Captain remembered her ordeals within the Customs Office of Budpock and the paperwork there wasn’t easy either.

It wasn’t too long ago Kirana had witnessed the liberation of her home planet. When the pirates took control of the Navy, many people had given up hope, and even the criminals were found in the street. She remembered the excitement the citizens found from witnessing the battle. The battle was so fierce, even the citizens on the ground had taken up the responsibility theirselves to seal up the liberation of Budpock on the land.

The citizens had easily disabled a pirate facility before the troopers of the Confederation had taken on the obligation of finishing the rest of the pirate scum. Excitement was everywhere. People cheered the liberators - the saviors and Kirana knew that she had to join them then and there.

She joined as an Ensign, and easily was promoted. People took notice to her command abilities as well as the respect that many Budpock individuals had for her. Quickly, but with hard work and scars, Kirana had found people calling her Captain Long. Kirana not only saw this position as paperwork, but as an obligation to her home - to serve the people who restored her home, and in fact assisted in its growth.

As Kirana walked onto the bridge of the Red Serpant, a man with golden-red hair turned around to her. It was Lt. Commander Thraken Blaise, her First Officer and her foremost important assistant. A com officer was turned around as well.

Blaise looked to Kirana and nodded motioning towards the com officer to continue with what he was to say. The com officer nodded. “Captain, Thomas has just reported trouble with a freighter right out of the system. He has asked us to check it.”

Kirana nodded and looked out the front port, seeming as if she had not heard him. “Alright. Do we have the coordinates?”

The com officer nodded and pressed a few buttons. He was sending the coordinates to the Nav system. Kirana cleared her pale throat. “Set hyperspace coordinates and send us a few degrees west of the sanctioned coordinates.”

The com officer let out a distant sigh and again pressed some buttons working quickly as Kirana faced Thraken. “Lt. Commander, warn the gunners to provide caution and be ready for a possible skirmish.”

Blaise nodded and saluted, rushing towards his duties. “Preparing for hyperspace launch.”

Slowly, the ship’s speed increased until the stars were zooming by. The Serpeant was in hyperspace.

The silver bulk of the Red Serpent emerged from hyperspace. There was little action or life in the surrounding space. Aside from the vast expanse of stars, there was only other artificial object: a boxy freighter aimlessly drifting in deepspace with powered down engines. Its reddish hull was criss-crossed by black laser grazes. A multitude of holes, some minute, some as large as an X-wing, dotted the Hanover Bridge through which the last vestiges of the ship’s internal atmosphere vented. A single escape pod furtively followed the merchant vessel with its minimal thrusters. On the Red Serpent, a variety of bridge crew members manned their stations with an unusual alacrity.

Thraken leaned over the console of a sensor’s operator.

“Captain, there are lifesigns in the pod. What are your orders?”