//------------------------------//
// 12: Captain's Log: Balcora Aftermath 
// Story: Homeworld: Equestria - The Silent Hunters 
// by hiigaran 
//------------------------------//





>CREW AUDIO LOG
>QUASAR, CMDR
>AMAROK, STL. DESTROYER
>9632.26147928151 GSY

Personal log, Commander Quasar.

Why the hay do I need to state the obvious that it’s a log in the first place?

Ahem, well, the Balcora mission went according to plan. We managed to locate the abandoned Pride of Hiigara quickly enough, but due to a good seven years of drifting, it took us considerably longer to locate the large slab that would normally cover the vessel’s capital ship production facility.

While Aurora’s recon squadrons sought the elusive part, their engineers boarded the vessel to perform a quick inspection. Despite some battle damage, structural integrity appeared to be acceptable for hyperspace, even if the ship itself was inoperable. As expected, the Hiigarans had wiped and disabled the computer systems before abandoning it.

As an aside, the engineers claimed the Pride of Hiigara was surprisingly spacious and luxurious. If I recall, one stated it was a terrible shame this excess space had gone to waste. Funny. Seems like quite the opposite at first glance. How do they still have space, with their hangar and production facilities taking up so much of it? I suspect some exceedingly dense armour might play a role in providing a larger interior, though I can’t think of anything denser than the standard armour we all use. An engineer mentioned radioactive decay across the entire exterior of the ship, though no signs of internal radiation. Perhaps some atomically unstable armour with manageable half-lives?

Whatever the case, as soon as Aurora’s engineers reattached the production facility’s cover, we set a course straight for Hiigara, with the mothership in tow. I could imagine the surprised looks on their faces when they discovered two mothership-class vessels and a small escort somehow penetrated their hyperspace inhibitor network and appeared in high orbit. I love these hyperspace cores.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen gratitude on this scale in my life. As soon as we exited hyperspace, and the ships nearby got a visual on what we had for them, comms chatter went wild! Their mothership must have meant a great deal to them. Fleet Command Elohim Nabaal kept insisting on various forms of repayment but relented after we continually refused. After all, it was they who gave us the ability to explore the galaxy. I’d say we’re even now. If anything, it was the least we could do after he himself suggested the six hyperspace cores should remain together with us after the Harmony campaign. With little else to say however, we bid farewell and returned home.

I wish I could say this meant some time off for myself and my crew, but it appears trouble has flared up somewhere. Again. Command has received reports of Raiders terrorising some old trade route called the Koshiir-Ra Crossing. The Taiidan Republic have eyes on the scene, but are unwilling to make a move on the Raiders, stating the attacks appear overly conspicuous and unusually restrained, leading to the suspicion this may be a trap. I don’t know how reliable or trustworthy Taiidan information is, considering their history with the Hiigarans and our ties to them, but either way, an intervention is in order.

Amarok will hyperspace in first, near the enemy fleet. We will remain cloaked, carry out our own observations, and act accordingly. The Taiidan ships hiding in the area have offered to support us if need be, but again, I have my doubts about their reliability and as such, I will move forward under the assumption that we do not have immediate support. The Third Solar Fleet will be standing by, however. They’re on patrol in a nearby sector and shall remain on call, if necessary.

In other news, the two Infiltrators have returned. Apparently Aurora’s research division had a field day with those two. Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave either there, as I will need them for this mission. Can’t say I missed the changeling though. Everything has been more or less drama-free in his absence. I mean, admittedly, he attracts trouble, rather than being the source of it, but still. Here’s hoping for smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Oh, speaking of the research division, word amongst the researchers is that they’re testing some new long-range pulsar cannons for frigs and platforms. I obviously don’t have the full details, but I assume it’s either going to be a scaled-up version of current pulsar cannons, or some sort of trade-off with power output. Should be interesting to see how fleets will deploy these if they do enter service. I wish we had such a turret aboard Amarok. Can’t exactly defend ourselves when we’re out of torpedoes, even if it would give away our location. Though there are rumours we may have an upgrade or two in six to twelve months, after some other classified research project gets completed.

One thing I’m rather concerned about is a particular event from a couple of hours ago. I recall something on the comms network about a large Raider fleet hitting a civilian resourcing operation. Last I heard, two of our fleets were dispatched to deal with the threat, but no news since. Could be nothing though. Perhaps they are running silent, or something there caused the mission to become classified higher than what I’m cleared for. The latter seems likely. Seems odd such a large group of Raiders would attack a simple resourcing operation. Or is it? Eh, I can never tell with Raiders anymore. Whatever it may be, I’m sure Command is taking care of it.

I guess it could be worse. Apparently the Hiigarans are getting hit the most for some reason. It’s an odd contrast, considering the Raiders all but avoided them while Harmony dealt with the end of the galaxy. Well, apart from that one battle. They sure did a complete one-eighty on that. Still, would it be too much to ask to go just a couple of weeks without trouble?

Apparently not.

>LOG TERMINATED