NPC - Jhordian System Forces
Commander Ferrin Barnes – CO of the Patrol Frigate Sentinel
Commander Barnes walked onto the bridge slowly, blowing on a still steaming hot cup of coffee as he went to start his morning shift. Settling down in his command chair he set his coffee down beside him and picked up the small datapad left for him by his XO, detailing any reports from the previous watch.
“Anything to report on sensors, Mister Decker?”
“Negative, Sir. We received a distress call from a freighter that lost engine power about an hour ago, but the Valiant responded to the call. Otherwise, it's been a pretty quiet morning.”
Ferrin smiled and nodded , taking a tentative sip from his black coffee. “Good to hear, thank you.” He allowed himself a moment to relax back into his seat, thankful that the Jhordian Naval Command had sprung for the Alpax leather seating. It made these outer-system patrols more bearable.
The Commander was interrupted from his relaxation by the high pitched squeal of an unknown, possibly hostile contact appearing on sensors.
“Unknown contact! Bearing two-five-eight. Heading for Jhordia Prime at high speed. It's big sir.” Lt. Decker called out as he read the information.
“High alert!” The Commander bellowed, setting down his barely-touched coffee, “Classification?”
“Doesn't match anything on record, sir. Emissions records are similar to GPC, but it's much bigger than anything we have in the databank.”
Barnes chewed on his lip anxiously for a moment as he watched the viewscreen fill up with pertinent information. It was quite clear that the Sentinel would be no match for this leviathan of a ship if it came to a slugging match. “Comms, open a channel -” He paused a beat before continuing with his message “Unidentified vessel, This is Commander Barnes of the JSF vessel Sentinel, you are in violation of sovereign Jhordian space. Identify yourself and reverse course immediately!”
“JSF Sentinel, this is Galactic Protectorate Collective's Ship Taission. The Jhordian system is now under the Collective's protection. Any hostilities against our vessel will be targeted with extreme prejudice. You will power down your ship and surrender, this is your only warning.”
Commander Barnes couldn't help but hold a look of disbelief on his face. As much as the JSF had trained for this eventuality, the reality of the situation hadn't fully sunk in. The Collective was finally making a play for their home
“I've signaled fleet command, commander.” Comm Officer Galin reported. “The Valiant and the Iron Hand are en route to our location. Fleet Admiral Taves is ordering us to fight a delaying action until our forces can fully mobilize.”
“Thank you, Mister Galin. Helm, bring us into a harassing attack pattern, don't get too close and try to stay out of range. We'll delay them as long as possible, full power to shields. Charge weapons.”
So much for a relaxing morning, Barnes thought to himself. His thoughts interrupted as the Sentinel was violently rocked by a direct salvo hit from the GPC dreadnought's weapons batteries.