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Empire Reforged
Chapter 35: Dark Hull, Sharp Teeth
Location: ISV Silver Lance, Powered Down in the Ashar Drift
Date: BBY 8 – Day 67 Post-Centares
The Silver Lance was dead.
No lights. No transponder. No external comms.
Just a quiet shell drifting in the void, its reactor heat flushed and hull polarized to mimic inert scrap. It floated between two asteroids the size of carrier decks, buried inside a magnetic null zone known as the Ashar Drift.
Lucan stood at the dimmed bridge, arms crossed, helmet clutched in one hand.
"This is the quietest we've ever been," Darran murmured beside him.
"It's the only way to listen."
Tarris whispered from helm. "No active signals detected. Field static remains unchanged."
"Any movement?" Lucan asked.
"Not yet."
Valk leaned over her console. "Sensor grid is running passive sweep across all spectrum bands. We're filtering for motion breaks and hard EM spikes."
Lucan nodded once.
"We wait."
—
Four hours passed.
Nothing.
Then Valk sat up.
"Contact."
Lucan moved to her station instantly.
"Drifting object. Slow. Not a ship — a pod. Small, probably automated. Minimal drive signature. It entered from the opposite side of the drift and is now slowing. Velocity suggests it's been pushed, not piloted."
Lucan's jaw tightened.
"Trajectory?"
"Straight past us. It's not scanning. Just… passing through."
Darran frowned. "Like a relay test?"
"Or bait," Lucan said.
They watched as the pod continued its arc, disappearing behind the asteroid cluster.
Valk's screen lit again.
"Secondary contact. This time a vessel. Small. Low-profile. Looks like a freighter, but… markings are deliberately scorched. Transponder is garbage data."
Lucan's eyes narrowed.
"They're checking the corridor."
Darran blinked. "You think the pod's a probe?"
"No," Lucan said. "It's a breadcrumb."
—
He acted fast.
"Helm — minimal thruster burn. Bring us thirty degrees around the debris field. Shields low power only."
"Copy."
"Valk — scan their signal wash. I want to see if they ping anything back."
As they crept forward, the vessel slowed.
Then stopped.
Valk whispered, "They just pulsed a coded signal. Too tight to trace, but it bounced off the pod. Not standard encryption."
"What happened after?"
"Three seconds later — jump signature. They left."
Lucan leaned over the display. "Coordinates?"
"Partial. But it was short-range. Likely one system over. No hyperspace spike — this was a micro-jump."
Darran muttered, "That's coordination. Not random."
Lucan's voice dropped low.
"They dropped the pod to map the field. Sent a second ship to confirm we weren't watching. Then used the pod to relay positioning data to a third party."
Valk looked up. "This is a courier pathfinder. Military-grade tactic. But no Navy teaches it anymore."
Lucan was silent for a beat.
Then: "We follow."
—
They jumped ten minutes later — short burn, low profile.
The next system was quiet… too quiet.
But the pod's trail was still there — a radiation trace no sensor sweep could fully scrub.
Tarris slowed their approach. "Dead zone ahead. Moon fragments. Gravity clusters. Ideal for low-orbit hideouts."
Lucan stood.
"Drop a remote relay. Circle the moons. Passive scans only."
Valk launched the drone.
"Deploying now."
Two minutes later, the signal came back.
A ship. Docked inside a carved-out asteroid. Hidden. Engines cold. Hull disguised as rock. But unmistakably armed.
Darran stepped forward. "They've got a base."
Lucan didn't smile.
"They've got a staging point."
—
He stood in his quarters later, staring at the tactical map.
This wasn't about couriers or smuggling anymore.
This was positioning.
Staging.
Infrastructure.
He keyed in a brief log:
> Command Log – Entry 08
*Enemy behavior now confirmed as pre-operational.
Pathfinder units observed. Micro-jumps between dead systems. Relay mapping via physical assets.
We've passed from surveillance into strategy.
Next contact may not be scouts. It may be soldiers.*
He paused before sealing it.
And added:
> Recommend quiet alert to Imperial Command. Not full mobilization. Just a whisper.
A whisper sharp enough to make them bleed if they ignore it.
He closed the file.
And turned back to the stars.