June 19, 2060
Seven jumps away from Earth in the Gliese 588 system, Captain Ajibana Masamura quietly sipped a cup of green tea from the captain's chair of the frigate
Farsight. The air of the bridge crew around him was similarly calm, punctuated by an occasional murmur as the bridge officers communicated with their back-end staff teams. Captain Masamura's impeccable silver-on-red uniform displayed citations for the Battle of Alpha Centauri and Pacification of GJ 1207. In both engagements he had commanded the corvette
Broadsword with distinction. He even led the Broadsword to a
Fang kill at Alpha Centauri in 2052 at a moment when most of the rest of the fleet was struggling to change targets. Afterward he rose quickly to the rank of Captain. In 2054 he was granted command of the destroyer
Amalthea, and was briefly in command of the
Luna in 2056. in 2057 he was the obvious choice to command the navy's first Farsight-class frigate. While some officers might have viewed that assignment as a downgrade, Masamura knew that the Farsight frigates would be taking on the most dangerous and difficult mission that Space Command had to offer: solo exploration. Fortunately, Masamura was arguably the Republic's most highly skilled mid-level command officer. As he was enjoying his tea's aroma Masamura noticed the shoulders of his tactical officer tense.
"Captain,' the young man said, "the Terrier buoy that we just dropped at the WD 1142 jump point is reporting a hostile transit." The junior officer turned in his seat to face his captain. "Contact's signature is a definite match for an Aggie Fighter-Killer, 8300 tons."
Masamura nodded and set down his cup. "Thank you, Tactical. Sensors, shut down the active array. Helm, full stop. Let's see if he sees us."
A few minutes passed as the
Farsight hung in space several hundred million kilometers from the hostile.
"Science," said the captain, "Unless my memory fails me, and it doesn't, WD 1142 appeared to be a most unlikely site for past or present habitation."
"Yes, sir," responded the science officer. "A single red star, four dwarf planets, a pair moons between them, and one comet. No atmospheres on any of the planetary bodies. Far from the profile of a typical Aggie system."
"Captain," the tactical officer spoke again, "The contact just departed the jump point at maximum known thrust. It appears to be heading on a bearing toward this system's 3rd planet."
"Good," responded Masamura. "He knows we're here somewhere, but he's heading in the wrong direction. He can't see us or the buoy tender. Men, we are about to validate the very reason for which this class of ship was constructed. We will keep this system clear. Helm, set a course to bring us to within 200 million kilometers of that Aggie's projected destination. Comms, inform our buoy tender to continue to their destination as planned. Tactical, keep a close eye on that jump point. Sensors and shields remain offline until my order."
