The nameless gas giant, which the pilots were orbititing, occupied almost the entire view from the cabin of Olaf’s ship. Some orbital structures of unusual appearance were visible in front of it. Openwork farms, solar fields, marinas and a shipyard. The orbital city subtly resembled the buildings of the Federation, but Olaf could not identify if they belonged to any of the corporations known to him.
The complex was located in the plane of the asteroid ring, between the planet and its satellites — giant planetoids, clearly devoid of atmosphere. No earth-like planets. No seas, greenery and places suitable for colonization. Nothing, even remotely similar to those photographs that intelligence bots sent here in advance transmitted. Everything turned out to be a lie. All data was faked, switched. Someone expected them. They walked right into an ambush and paid for it with their lives.
Among the asteroids, the long hull of a huge ship, clearly a Jericho-built structure, periodically peered through. The fancifully placed plates of armour made it resemble an ancient giant insect. Extremely creepy and deadly.
— The damned “bug” locked us in the middle of the damn rocks, — the walkie-talkie grunted. —It fried the lieutenant and his ship with the first shot. We can’t leave while it is spinning next to the entry point.
— It must have a weak point. — Olaf activated his implants. He just recently saw something similar in his weekly bulletins.
— It’s opening the eye!
A bright red ray hit the rocks, pummeling them into a small crumble, and glided over the shields of Olaf’s ship. The control system instantly became ruby red — critical overload. But the beam had already gone further, for a moment it hit Bravo five. The ship caught fire — oxygen evaporated from the punctured compartments — and gently swam to the side as a dead hunk of metal.
— Follow my lead, — Olaf marveled at what he was saying. — Fire according to my designation! Hide behind my shields!
The concentrated fire of all the remaining ships did its job. Something flashed next to the “bug”. It abruptly changed the trajectory, turned on the cruise
engines, and suddenly disappeared from both the radar and the sight of the ships.
— Where is it? — Olaf frantically turned his head, trying to understand where the enemy ship went. —Looks like this is our chance to return, guys! Stick together. Let’s try to break through.
A dense group of ships rushed to the rift.
— It’s coming back! — hysterical notes in the voice of Bravo six cut the tense nerves of the team. - The cursed “bug” was back, and it brought many smaller targets with it. It fired rockets! We’re not gonna get away!
But long blunt noses of the imperial destroyers had already begun to emerge from the rift. The cavalry made it. This time.
Ontregos System
Station “Guardian-17”
A little while later
The room had changed significantly over time. The old screens were removed and replaced with new projectors. The furniture was thrown out. Now there were soft sofas, and in the center there was a holographic map of the Dreamland, where the station slowly drifted in the orbit of a gas giant. The same colonel, but with a lively and rejuvenated look, stood nearby, examining the small details.
— We think this is the Enclave. The pirates gained strength. The station, of course, was not built by them. According to some reports, it is possible that these are laboratories of Sci-Tech Universal Corporation. What they studied there is still unknown to us. But, I think that the rift is their handiwork. A side effect of theexperiments so to speak. We are activating a standard gate. You cannot drag the dreadnought through them, but we have already begun to mount our base station.
The enclave either guards the laboratories or uses them. It’s not clear yet. The “Bug” you encountered is clearly heavily modified by them.
Now we need more data on what they are doing, what kind of new systems are behind the rift. What kind of research they are doing there. It was decided to expand our presence in the Dreamland.
Unfortunately, the Empire currently lacks the strength for a full-fledged operation. The UMC proposes to use mercenaries. The operation will be overseen by the tribune of Imperial security Olaf Larsen.