Fallon waited as the science officer queued up the next log. The cargo bay swirled again as light and photons assumed a mass of the aft conference room. The command staff of the Rubidoux were seated at the table overlooking a tactical overlay of the sector. Much of the data was blacked out, charted no doubt by their science team. The Rubi’s sensors would have been able to thoroughly map where they could and couldn’t see. That gave Rain some small measure of advantage. The image swirled with digital distortion. Like an old television channel set to an out of signal station before resolving again.

“Sorry, sir. Had to boost the signal to get around some degradation.”

Fallon nodded absently, waving for them to initiate the log.

Unlike the previous one, this one began with no preludes. It just began recording. The first half likely clipped out by the ships computer or pruned by the captain.

Log date 2402.04.03.2003.21

“Based on what we can see, these smaller craft are designated as Pythus Fighters. Armed with a pair of poleron cannons, and a forward facing quantum torpedo launcher. They average warp 5 and their max is warp 7. Based on their specs it’s safer to assume they typically launch from larger craft.” Lt. Jel’kan said. The chief tactical officer for the Rubidoux.

“We can extrapolate based on our previous engagement that it was flying a patrol route along this route here. From grid square 12 alpha to 13 alpha.” The Thraarken added.

“So that’s where we’ll find our bigger targets?”

“That is a sound hypothesis.” Lt. Vossk chimed in. While not as tactically inclined as his peer, Vossk was extremely data driven based on his file.

“Is this a fight we’re sure we can handle?” Lorena Kael the XO asked. She appeared to take on a voice of reason and introspection. Asking questions Rain already had answers to or hadn’t considered yet. She showed promise and this invasion might just be the bump her career would need to land her a command of her own.

“Their poleron weapons will be an issue. Our shields can handle them, but eventually the power drain effect will begin to stack.” Taran Dex said. The Rubi’s resident wrench monkey, and damned good at it too. “I’ve had my people do what we can to toughen up all the systems we could get our hands on, but there’s bound to be gaps.”

“Not to mention we’ll be punching at or above our weight class. So we want to avoid a fight we aren’t certain to win.”

“Selective targeting.” Jel’kan said.

“Precisely,” Kael replied.

“What do we know of their detection abilities?” Tib asked.

Vossk called up a holographic of the Pythus. Highlighting basic sensor packages. “Not terribly advanced or powerful on this design. They detected us when they did because our emissions were blue shifted.”

Tib gave him a waiting look.

“It means we approached them too fast to use stealth.” Vossk said. His expression shifted towards mild disgust. Like the idea of having to dumb down his explanation made him slightly ill.

“Makes sense; we wanted to make him run back home.” Tib replied.

“Correct. We’ve maintained a respectable distance while still keeping a sensor lock.” Jel’kan chimed in again.

“A feat impossible if the ship weren’t outfitted with the sensor packs. We would simply lack the capacity necessary for cutting through the blackouts effects otherwise.” Vossk said. He looked happy to return to more facts again. Fallon wondered if he had vulcan friends. He probably had vulcan friends.

“Which means keeping those operational is a maintenance priority.” Tib said with a glance to Taran who nodded.

“We’ll need our eyes as much as possible. Otherwise they’ll have us dead to rights out here running blind. Speaking of. Has my brother come up with anything more on the black out Vossk?”

Vossk tapped at the console on his seat and the projected graphic shifted once more to the blackout. This time with green circular overlays. There were gaps in coverage. Small canyons and valleys. Not always connected, but it presented a map of sorts.

“This is our best work at calculating and projecting the black’s physical imprint in subspace and its effects on warp field maintenance. As to their nature? We’ve definitely ruled they’re artificial. There is a dispersal pattern to their effect.”

“How so?” Tib asked.

Vossk appeared happy to explain this part. “There is a visible effect of distortion in the very fabric of subspace. When run through topographic analysis, we can reasonably determine the origin to be located within the center of these green circles.”

“Which means for each green circle, there’s an emission point choking out that portion of subspace.”

“That logic follows. Yes Captain.” Vossk said.

“So if we can find one of these emission points, we might have a shot of punching a hole in their jamming field?”

Vossk was hesitant to reply. “In theory, yes.”

Tib’s brow arched. “Buuuut?”

Vossk sighed. “But doing so would only relieve the region immediately under the effect. As you can see, there are many these points.”

“Got it. So it’s not a one and done deal. Let’s see what else we can do to fill in our gaps in information. I want round-the-clock teams on those long range sensors. The moment we find a bigger ship, I want to be notified. We take no more aggressive action for now. We’ve made our moves. Now it’s time to gauge their response. I want to know what our enemy is up to, how we can stop them, and what kind of intelligence we can extract from them.”

“It’s a shame the Obsidian Order is out of reach. We could really use their help.” Jel’kan said.

“They’ll probably have their own hands full of problems. But if we find an opportunity to reach out? We will. This isn’t something we’re going to manage alone. We’re going to need help, regardless of who it comes from out here. Be it Cardassian, or Maquis, or even the Tzenkethi or Dominion. I really don’t care who at this point. For now? We chase our prey back to mother bear, and see if she’s worth taking down or keeping an eye on. Jel’kan, how quickly can you dispatch your hazard team?”

“Within 82 minutes, sir.”

“That’s oddly specific.”

Jel’kan shifted nervously. “We timed it. Repeatedly.”

Tib nodded, a ghost of a smirk flitting across his features before vanishing again. “Noted. Keep them warmed up but rested. I have a feeling we’re going to be needing them soon. Dismissed for now.”

The recording ended, and the hologram rippled away into particles of light. Fallon folded his arms. So Tib’s previous attack was a bait ploy. Spook a smaller ship into leading them back to its mother ship. He must have deployed this buoy to mark his progress for anyone else just in case things went badly. Leave the basis of your plan in action.

Fallon turned to the science team. “Get anything else out of there you can. In the mean time, plot the Rubi’s course based on this briefing data and relay it to the helm.”

“Aye, sir.”