Killing the Dawn

Recorder on.

The view is of a large, hemispherical darkened room. The curved side is almost entirely made up of assorted screens showing video footage from security cameras, news feeds, ship fitting screens, market information and other such details. The recorder is apparently set into a hovering camera, pointing towards the chair set in the centre. Mortis looks thoughtful, his visor removed for once.

Well, I've arrived.

Recently completed my first combat operation with PRETA. Satisfying, although there was a moment or two of awkwardness.

We picked up a Megathron and a Drake on long-range scanners. Automatically I contacted K, and moved to get the Terminal Deliverence... and then realised that I'd have to explain about her to the other members of the team. That included Commander Yishal.

He snorts faintly.

Yishal reminds me of an Imperial Navy drill instructor I met once, and I like the idea of crossing her no more than that man. I have no doubt of her ability if she was given the rank of Tactical Command, but the woman is mildly intimidating, to say the least. The nub of the problem is that I'm reluctant to reveal K to the Ghosts, and explaining to the good Commander that there is someone on my payroll that is an unknown quantity for the Cartel would have been such fun.

There was no choice at all, in the end. I mentioned that I had an associate who could provide assistence. No one enquired further, and the Covert Ops craft was never spotted by a PRETA operative, so hopefully I can maintain this tenuous state of affairs, with K's continued anonymity, for a while. And I'll have to consider how to explain this to Nephilim Arkenath, and the Commander herself, of course.

Such problems aside, K was able to pinpoint the Megathron with her usual skill. The Deliverence did her brutal job, and aided in the subsequent destruction when the battleship attempted to self-destruct.

The screen changes to show a series of statistics and names before returning to the camera.

Shortly afterwards, I brought in the Hamster. Thank god he was on a good stretch.

He sighs, leaning back, then taps at some controls to examine a screen for a few seconds, before letting it minimise again.

There was an amusing moment of near-panic when he failed to announce his presence and alliegance as he warped right onto Yishal's Curse. No shots were fired, and since that was the worst thing he did, I think he made a good impression. By his unbalanced standards, at least.

Not much else in the way of combat. Tried to engage a pair of assault frigates with the Feral Predator, but they warped. It's odd. Back in Molden, moving around was easy. The worst you'd run into was an Electus Matari battlegroup, and those were rare. Here in Devoid, large fleets are a common sight, but consisting of frigates and the odd cruiser. For the first time in months, I regret the fact that sentry guns have keyed me out of their defence systems. No matter how fast or tough the ship, my precious cruisers are vulnerable. But I'll still take those over EM.

In other news... Elysa is getting steadily more angry with me. Keeps snarling that she's not a courier pilot, regardless of how much more sense it makes for her to pick up a few valuable items, instead of hiring C. She can stew, as far as I'm concerned. I'm still annoyed with how she dealt with that business with the Red Falcons.

He grumbles inaudibly, then closes his eyes.

There'll be time enough to learn the ins and outs. I'm sure there is someway of dealing with the large fleets in the area. I'm still better off here than in Molden. There's just the three final barriers to my success around here... K, explaining exactly how I redeemed my CONCORD record last time... and my condition. Fortunately, it didn't prove a problem during the fight with that Megathron. Fingers crossed it'll stay quiet. The last thing I need is an attack while in the middle of an operation.

He broods for a moment, then presses a control.

Recorder off.