UGT: 19th Aether 280 a.G.A. / 06:45 a.m.

  Location: ASF Aurora, outer edges of the Mau-Rut'Zion system (orange dwarf), Inner-Noran sector, Ruidan Raider Association, Milky Way

  The moment the ASF Aurora dropped from hyperspace, I took a deep breath. The transition was smooth, but the sight before me was anything but. The Mau-Rut'Zion system, a bustling trade hub, now eerily empty wherever our sensors looked. I leaned forward, eyes locked onto the holographic display. "Fen, tell me what I’m looking at."

  [ Oh, you know, the usual if an enemy hastily retreats. Wrecked infrastructure, gutted stations, and enough radio interference to make long-range scans significantly harder. Well, not four us, but definitly for our allies. Standard "oh no, the enemy is coming" procedure. ]

  My fingers drummed against the armrest. "Scorched earth tactics."

  [ Correct. They didn’t just leave, they ran. I’m detecting the remnants of active demolition charges. Looks like they took everything of value and torched the rest. ]

  I exhaled slowly. The Association had abandoned this system in haste, likely right after the first reports of the Federation's advance reached them. This place wasn’t just deserted. It was stripped to the bone. I opened a channel to Commander Ashcroft, expecting him to be making the same observations. His voice came through, crisp and controlled. "Captain Lunaris, I take it your sensors are seeing the same thing as mine?" he asked curtly.

  "Looks like it. This system’s been dead for weeks. No resistance, just wreckage," I replied.

  "No surprise there. The Association doesn’t leave anything useful behind if they can help it," the Commander said. His tone was carefully held neutral, but I caught the faintest trace of irritation beneath it. Obviously there was no ambush force in the system. We probably would have noticed already.

  I pulled up a holographic projection of the system. The central trading hub was still in orbit around the system’s primary star. "Fen, any chance there’s something left intact?"

  [ I’ll start a deep scan, but I wouldn’t hope for anything valuable. Anything that could have been repurposed was probably either destroyed or rigged to self-destruct. ]

  I frowned. "What about emergency caches? A system like this would have had them for traders stuck in transit."

  [ Possible. If they didn’t have time to recover them, there might be something left. I’ll prioritize searching for those. ]

  "We’ll need to sweep the area anyways," Commander Ashcroft said. "I’ll have my ships fan out and check for anything salvageable. If nothing else, we can at least confirm the system is truly empty."

  I hesitated, then nodded. "Understood. I’ll handle high-orbit scans while you take care of local sweeps. Keep me updated."

  "Likewise," the Commander replied before cutting the connection, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I stared at the wreckage on my display, knowing full well that we weren’t going to find much. But we had to check. If we missed something, it could come back to bite us later. Us or the other, weaker fleet.

  "Fen, let’s get to work," I said determined. We would not miss something that could put our mission at risk. I'd make sure of it.

  It took a few more hours to reach a high orbit over the above the main trading hub of the system. Meanwhile, the SHF ships spread out, running close-range scans and deploying ground forces. From up here, the trading hub looked like a skeleton of its former self. Shattered docking rings, gigantic hull breaks and debris fields drifting in slow orbital decay.

  [ Scans are coming in now. This place is an absolute mess. The main power grid was deliberately overloaded. No reactor left to restore. Docking bays? All destroyed. Interior compartments? Either exposed to vacuum or caved in from controlled decompression. ]

  I exhaled sharply. "They really didn’t leave anything to chance, huh?"

  [ Nope. If they had more time, I’m guessing they would’ve tried to push the entire station into the sun. But since they couldn’t, they made sure it wouldn’t be of any use to us. ]

  My gaze shifted to a cluster of distant wrecks. Freighters, most likely, their hulls torn open either from weapons fire or scuttling charges. Most likely left behind as they had technical problems they were unable to fix in time. "What about the ships?"

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  [ Only debris remains. They actively had their ships crash into other objects and explode, to make the most damage. Still, I’ll run a detailed scan for anything that might’ve been overlooked. ]

  I tapped my fingers against the armrest, considering our next move. Before I could say anything, a transmission came through from Commander Ashcroft.

  "Captain, my teams have completed preliminary sweeps. There’s nothing left in the inner system that we can use. No fuel, no intact supplies, no salvageable tech. If the Association left anything behind, it’s either buried in debris or hidden on the outermost installations,“ he said tersely.

  I wasn’t surprised. "I take it your boarding teams didn’t have any luck either?"

  "Negative. Every airlock they breached led to the same result—sealed-off corridors, collapsed sections, or systems rigged to overload. It’s a total loss," he said.

  I leaned back, sighing. "We should still check the outer planets. The Association had automated resupply depots in deep space for traders. They might not have had time to scuttle those."

  There was a brief pause before Ashcroft responded. "Agreed. I’ll send a detachment to sweep the region. But we’re not going to waste too much time here. Woch-Hor'Nubis is the real target."

  "I know," I said, eyes still locked on the ruined trading hub. "I just don’t want to leave something behind that could help us later."

  "Then let’s make it quick," the Commander said and cut the connection. I exhaled sloghtly. "Fen, reroute long-range scans to the outer system. Let’s see if there’s anything worth looking at."

  [ On it. Don’t get your hopes up, though. If the Association left anything behind, they really screwed up. ]

  "Then let’s hope they had a bad day before they ran,“ I muttered. The Mau-Rut'Zion system only had a handful of distant planets. A few gas giants, frozen rock and asteroid fields that had once been home to small mining operations. If anything had been left behind, it would be out there.

  [ Got something. Weak energy readings, orbiting the third gas giant. Could be a depot or an old outpost. Not showing any signs of life, but it is intact. ]

  That was more than I’d expected. "Send the data to Commander Ashcroft. Let’s see if his people are interested in checking it out."

  "My teams will investigate. We’ll deploy a boarding squadron,“ the response came quickly.

  "Understood. I’ll monitor from here," I replied and watched the SHF detachment adjust course, heading toward the coordinates Fen had marked. I wasn’t expecting much to be honest. Maybe some abandoned storage containers, maybe an automated system still clinging to life. But we couldn’t afford to be careless. "Fen, give me a full analysis of that depot while they move in. If there’s anything odd about it, I want to know before they dock."

  [ Already working on it. Wouldn’t want our allies running into any fun surprises. ]

  I leaned back in my chair, watching the tactical display. The inner system was dead. There was no enemy waiting here. But Woch-Hor'Nubis was still ahead and I had no illusions about what we’d find there. "How long until the fleet is fully prepared for departure?"

  [ If we don’t run into delays? A few more hours. The SHF teams need time to confirm there’s nothing useful left. ]

  I nodded. "Then let’s hope they work fast. Because something tells me Woch-Hor'Nubis won’t be this easy."

  [ That’s a pretty safe bet. ]

  It turned out, the outer system was as dead as the inner one. The weak energy readings Fen had detected came from a partially functional automated depot, orbiting the third gas giant. It was an old Association supply cache, likely used by traders and military patrols. Surprisingly, it hadn't been completely destroyed. Either they’d run out of time or assumed it wasn't worth the effort. I kept my gaze on the data feed while the SHF boarding teams moved in. "Fen, give me a status report on the depot."

  [ Structural integrity is… passable. Life support is offline, power is at minimal levels, and the main cargo bays are sealed. Some emergency systems are still running, but no signs of active defenses or hidden surprises. ]

  "Any supplies left?"

  [ Scanning… Looks like the Association did try to clean it out, but they left behind some basics. Non-perishable rations, spare EVA suits, a few standard power cells. Nothing that’ll win us a battle, but enough to resupply smaller crews. ]

  Not exactly a jackpot, but better than nothing. I tapped my fingers on the console. "How are the SHF teams handling it?"

  [ No complications. They’re moving methodically, breaching each section, cataloging what’s left, and securing anything useful. I’d say they’ll be done in about thirty minutes. ]

  I exhaled. "That works. The sooner we wrap this up, the better."

  Just then, my console lit up with an incoming transmission from the FSF Honour. Commander Ashcroft. "Captain, we’ve secured the depot. There are some usable supplies, nothing significant. My teams are finishing up now."

  "Understood," I replied. "Expect a small drone from us, we‘ll pick up a few of the spacesuits. We‘re low on them,“ I said, the Commander giving me a dubious look.

  "As you wish. But we need to move on, so be quick about it. I assume your ship is otherwise ready?" he asked. I glanced at my console. Fen?

  [ Fully operational, as always. ]

  I smirked slightly before responding. "The FSF Aurora is prepared to jump on command."

  "Good. I’ll issue the final orders. Be ready,“ Commader Ashcroft said and cut the connection.

  [ About time. I was getting bored. ]

  I shook my head. "Fen, prepare the ship for the next jump. We're done here."

  [ Coordinates already locked in. Just say the word. ]

  How‘s the situation with our weapon system upgrades?

  [ The first half of our weapons is upgraded and currently in the integration phase. The second half of our weapon upgrades I stopped, as to have maximum battle capabilities in the coming system. ]

  "Okay. Initiate jump," I ordered.

  [ Jumping… now! ]

  The familiar distortion of hyperspace swallowed the ASF Aurora, and Mau-Rut'Zion disappeared behind us.