Twilight Of Peace

[Nightfall]

Freeport 9, Omicron Theta System, a little back in time...

Vice Admiral Bernard Fokke - or, his pilot callsign, and the name more people know him by - Nightfall was lying on the sofa in his quarters, relaxing to some quiet music. The room was dark and the music played from no visible source while outside the Maul and all around Freeport 9 the space was pulsing in the rhythm of repair craft positional lights. Suddenly, all comm screens poped up and came to life, killing the music.
"Sir, excuse me for interrupting..." ensign Kristiansen waited.
"Go on, ensign!"
"... Sir, we have multiple reports of phantom movements and coded messages... they show... You better look at this yourself..." she showed confusion, barely containing her emotions.
"On screen!"

***

Not even a minute passes and the Vice Admiral was entering the bridge... the screens were still filled with various phantom coded messages showing the large unmistakable silhouette of a rheinland battleship and around it - a swarm of others of various sizes.
"Sir, incoming orders from the Lord Captain"
"Continue!"
"The Lord Captain orders movement to the Gamma jump. The Lord Captain's Flagship Ableben will meet our group there. Battlegroups are scrambled all over the Omicrons and Sigmas."
"People, you've heard the orders, let's get en-route! Engineering, how's she feeling today?"
"She's gonna go well my captain" replied a scotish accent of the chief engineer McLeod "hull integrity is at 98%, just a few holes left to patch up, nothing we can't do as she's running."
"Sir, the Tarja and the Leviathan report full combat readyness. They await your command to set sail." she couldn't hide the smile while quoting his words.
"Good! Hurry on those repairs, engineering. Ensign, scramble all available wings and see to it that my personal Talon be loaded."
"Already done sir, and the modifications you asked for! Issuing battlestations and general scramble!"
"Good! Set course to the Gamma jump and engage when ready!"
"Yes sir!"
The space outside became very busy with the big ships slowly entering formation and engaging their cruise engines. On the bridge of The Maul, Nightfall sat in the captain's seat looking oddly deep in his thoughts...
"I sense a disturbance in The Force..." he thought "clouded is the future ahead. Now, we'll see..."
"Cry: havoc! and let slip the dogs of war!" he spoke more to himself. He looked worried.
The battlegroup entered cruise mode...

---

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