Mayday in Tau-31

[Nightfall]

... at the moment of the EMP blast from Akki, on the BSA-Maul in Tau-37.

Silence......

-"What the hell happened there?" - shouted the captain.
-"It seems, sir, that there are no... electro-magnetic signatures at all, sir." said the scanner operator "Possibly an EMP blast... but... of such magnitude... What could have caused it? The system sir, it appears empty! As if a star exploded!" only his voice sounding through the bridge.
-"Listen on all communication channels! Open comm to Gamma wing!" said the captain. It could be heard in his voice the deep thoughts he had. *A star exploding... Impossible! No such indications were visible! It's gotta be something with those phantoms attacking there! They do have a fondness for blowing up things... but a star?... A grim future stands in front of Sirius if this is true...*...
-"We have Gamma on-screen, sir!" the comm officer interrupted his thoughts.
-"Gamma, do your sensors show anything in there?"
-"No sir, zilch! Looks like there's nothing in the system." said Gamma Leader. "Wait... we are picking up a lone fighter in THIS system... FFID (author's note:*Friend or Foe IDentificator, for those who don't know what that is [I feel tempted now to engage the Improbability Drive, but I'll play ball]*) shows "Blood Dragons"! Hailing us! He requests to speak to you in person!"
-"On-screen Comm! Better have something good for us!"
-"This is Chiez 8 of the Blood Dragons! Good to see you in time, sir!" he said in that specific kusari way, seeming to show a kind of melancholy beyond any breaching through the surface of the appearance.
-"How can we help commander?" replied the captain of the Maul.
-"Tau-31 mayday, sir! Me and my squad were assisting the AW Gunboat Fusch! An EMP blast from the Kishiro vessel - Jingsei-Akki, rendered all ships inoperable. The Chimaera sent a squad of marines to board the Akki. Captain Soren advises you NOT to enter the system Maul! The EMP radiation will disable you too!"...
-"This is 282nd Suicide Kings Leader! Captain, we heard the transmission and are bringing a little surprise!" interrupted the Suicide Kings Leader "Our engineers have mounted something they are working on for some time now - the EMP Shield (*author's note: this is the part that sounds like the Improbability Drive issue!*) - we should be able to enter the system without the EMP disturbing us! Also, our special sub-luminal communications aren't affected by EMP!"
-"Good to see you SKings!" answered the captain "proceed with caution and keep us informed, we will wait at the Tau-31 jumphole. Be advised - cloaked phantoms may still be operational! Chiez 8, dock with us, we will help you repair!".
-"Thank you sir!" shouted the SKings Leader like a suicidal maniac into the comms seeming to be happy for going into the unknown threat. "SKings Group, switch to sub-luminal coded comms and engage cruise!"
The 3 282nd Suicide Kings ships kicked their cruise engines in a roar, heading for the Tau-31 jumphole...
-"SKing 3 to SKing Leader! What do you think happened there, sir?"

***

author's note: typing this almost 40 minutes making it up as I go... :) will continue l8r

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If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov
The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor