Caged Tigers: Prelude to Kish Gate

Battlemaster Jo'tok reviewed the tactical display once more to check if she missed anything, any hole in the Earthforce net that was closing in on her position. Unfortunately there was no such easy route through. Omen and her sister ship Slayer were completely cut off. They had come through Krish Gate expecting an escort to take them to Station Prime. Instead they were faced with a contracting ring of Earthforce ships.

Each of the two strike cruisers had their cargo bays filled with the volitile Quantium-40. Together they had enough of the precious fuel to support local operations for weeks. The substance was rendered safe for transport by specialized stabilization equipment. Unfortunately, the local energy dampening field permeating the area was weakening the stabilizers to a dangerous degree. Escaping by way of the gate or a jump point was out of the question. The transition into hyperspace would overload the strained stabilizers and cause a chain reaction. Jettisoning the cargo was likewise not an option. Giving free Q-40 to the enemy was frowned upon by high command. The last captain who had ejected his cargo was last seen being taken to one of Jha'Dur's infamous hospital ships.

There was no choice. They would simply have to break through the blockade and make a dash for the station. The fuel on just one of the cruisers would be enough to keep the campaign supplied until more could be requisitioned from Omelos. Jo'tok considered having Omen race ahead and detonate her Q-40 stores in order to clear the way for Slayer. It would be a spectacular death, taking many human ships with her.

No, she thought, It would be a waste of resources. The fanatics in the Home Fleet might consider it as a first option. But she was a soldier not a martyr. Tor'han had picked the forces for this operation based on experience and professionalism. She would get her ships through this blockade. Both of them.

Analyzing the closing net of ships again, Jo'tok calculated her best chance at a breakthrough. One of the tasks forces seemed to be more of a threat in number than quality. Where the vessels first apeared to be multiple cruisers, it seemed many of them were assault vessels built on cruiser hulls. These ships, while as large as their cousins, had the massive heavy laser arrays removed to make space for assault shuttles and barracks. Tiny Tethys-class frigates were taking station where the heavier Olympus or Artemis escorts would normally be. The humans were making a show of greater force than they actually posessed. She percieved that this force was a paper tiger, and it was through here that she would make good her escape.

"Signal Slayer. We will make best speed to these coordinates. Our main objective is to break through to Station Prime," a feral grin spread across her face, "but destroy any targets of opportunity. Let's show these humans what happens when you corner a predator."