The dust particles and the rather faint light incoming from the nearby red dwarf were able to illuminate the stern of a large warship, concealed with the many strangely shaped asteroids. The only nuisance for the activity of the crew were the small asteroids that kept bumping in the hull.
On the portside and on the starboard, the unmistakable name could be read, Terminus. The most advanced warship of Cerberus was keeping a low profile in one of the asteroid belts of the recently discovered systems, monitoring system activity.
A loud voice could be heard echoing in the speakers on the main decks of the Terminus, a strange warship with strange parameters, unknown to the scanning database of the Terminus was caught on radar.
Warning! This is not a drill! All personnel, you are requested to head to the nearest battlestation and prepare for combat. I repeat, this is not a drill.
Meanwhile, on the upper decks, a well known figure among the crew of the Terminus was watching the radar closely.
Jack Aubrey: Perfect.
A black shadow was penetrating deep within the asteroid field, apparently advancing towards the Terminus. The strange vessel reflected the light from the red dwarf, probably due to the composition of the materials used to construct the hull of the vessel, organic reflective materials. There was no doubt, a Nomad.
Inadvertently, several explosions began to hammer the hull of the unknown vessel, proximity mines, previously left behind by the Terminus. There was no doubt, the plan was working.
The mines dealt a fair amount of damage, upon which the unknown vessel made a rant that could be heard across the communication sistems of the Terminus, a death rant. But the oddly shaped being was still alive, even if not for long. A dazzling light could be seen incoming from the Terminus, a light of hope and victory for the crew of the Terminus, and a signal of death for the Nomad being.
A battle fought by humans, against the common threat was fought that day. The light of hope and salvation fearlessly continued to burn in the hearts of the crew of the Mighty Terminus..
Direct hit confirmed, reversed singularity weapon test successful. Cleaning squads are currently being sent to clean the battle site from our activity. The crew is dismissed.
The crew had no doubt, Jack planned it from the start. The weapon developed at Outpost X-58 was working.
The threatening view of the Terminus could be seen on the outskirts of Omicron 92, heading towards the rim of the Edge Nebula at full FTL speed. The morale of the crew was very high, due to the victory upon a very large nomad being some days ago in a far system, a system known by Cerberus as Devil's Den. De facto, the Terminus eliminated that devil, thus changing the name of the system in Heaven's Reach.
The border between the two systems had a large amount of wrecks, belonging to the Order and to the Bounty Hunters Guild. The most strangest of which was a warship, of Kusari origin, called the Matsumoto, apparently similar in design to the Satsuma, the yacht of the Kusarian emperor. The bridge officers theorized that the wreck is belonging to the myth of the Matsumoto, the yacht of governor Hirotaka, lost in 514 AS. The yacht is known to have left Kusari in 512 AS, for an exploration mission far away from the already mapped systems of Kusari. The ship was lost forever, for more than 200 years.
The yacht was known to be a revolutionary piece of equipment at those days, featuring a primitive FTL drive core. Speculations around the crew of the Terminus had that the Matsumoto failed the jump sequence between the heliosphere of the two systems, thus remaining stuck between the gravity well of Omicron 92 and Heaven's Reach. The crew of the Matsumoto probably failed to establish a stable communication relay back to Kusari, dying from lack of food and water.
The crew of the Terminus made the typical military hand salute when the Terminus passed near the Matsumoto.
This is Benedict Williams, from the recreation deck. Stop looking at that godforsaking wreck and go get your breakfast before I spit on it.
While Benedict Williams, the barman of the Terminus, made his advertisment on the speakers. The commander, Jack Aubrey, was watching passionless towards the wreck of the Matsumoto, the wreck and sign of an old glory.
Jack Aubrey: Si vis pacem, para bellum. Good work, Vegetius, good work.
The zoner station known as Freeport 11 was visible in the background of Omicron Delta, the blood colored nebulas, like they were trying to say with their color how much blood was spilled in that small portion of space, lied in the background, with a threatening aura.
The Terminus was heading at cruise speed towards the jumphole connecting Omicron Delta to Omicron Kappa, and from there to Livadia Shipyard for the necessary refuel. The atmosphere within the Terminus, and the space surrounding it was relatively calm and peaceful, with the crew busy doing their daily assignments.
On the bridge of the Terminus, the commander, Jack Aubrey, sat near the navigator, watching outside from a now retracted hull panel protecting the window, watching the asteroid field around Freeport 11.