Gabatrix: The Shira Maneuver

Chapter 9: The Auditorium Part 1

"There is no doubt that even in space that the art of misleading and bewildering your foe can lead to establishing the perfect ambush. When caught in such a move, it is best to remain calm and have an exit strategy. It is the only means to get out of your enemy's grasp before it strangles you completely," Shira, 2346 AD.

"Confirmed," Zhao announced, looking at his console. "Hard to aft, almost 170 degrees in the opposite direction."

"Cut engines and stop accelerating," she ordered.

Zhao followed her instructions as the blue flames of the rear engine module cut out. The ship remained coasting forward with its forward momentum. The g-forces in the interior of the Jian Seng ceased. The tension gathered instantly in the bridge. The inevitable was upon them that had Shira's brow give a suspicious look at the screen. She crossed her arms as her ears were tuned to the crew's banter.

"Lynch?" The Captain asked him. She remained composed but concerned.

"Yes......it is a distress call. Valdivia has picked it up too. They are sending a message to all ships to respond. Coordinating with telemetry data. I am sending it to your console, Captain."

With that, Lifen was looking down at her console. She was analyzing the data as the viewscreen began to pan in the direction of the distress call. The massive wall of asteroids became a flat surface of obstructions in space as the camera panned over to the front of the asteroid field. The great remains of Picaro could be seen in all her former glory. Even with the massive amount of asteroids, the great ripped sphere was there. Unfortunately, the camera could not spot where the distress call was located yet, but it was trying. Shira began to tap a couple of buttons on her console. The knowledge and research she made allowed her to access the controls perfectly. She started to key in new instructions to help zero in on the disturbance.

"Alright," Lifen said. "The distress call is coming from the Chacal Naranja, a JX-15 Freighter. It is a ship emergency broadcast signal. There is no audio recording. The signal has become lost as well, and Valdivia is attempting to lock on to where it was at."

"Ensign Lynch," Shira called out to him. "I am picking up a faint Z70 frequency. Can you narrow it down on Quadrant Gamma 3C?"

"I am working on it," he replied to her as he tapped a couple of buttons. "Confirmed. The frequency is coming from a UWA vessel, but the signal has cut out."

"According to the Valdivia," Lifen explained. "The Chacal Naranja was meant to rendezvous with another mining ship in the area. The UHN Protectora is going to make a jump to that area. Its expected arrival is within thirty-five minutes."

"Any other ships?" Shira asked.

"Fort Redentor is currently processing other jumps but has picked up the distress call as well," Lynch explained. "The UHN Chile is expected to be here within forty minutes. All UHN ships are expected to respond to the event. UWA vessels and civilian ships are asked to maintain a distance but remain on standby."

The tension in the room was steady but not high, either. Shira was watching the screen of her console and keeping careful note of everything that was happening. All of it made absolute sense. With little data available yet, it was not confirmed what the cause of the distress call was. It could have been anything that created it and no explanation of what had happened.

"I found it," Shira said as she was helping out Lynch from her position. "Located in Quadrant Gamma 3C. Lynch, zero in on the area. The Chacal Naranja is there."