A Facade of Cozy

Posted on Sun Jan 4th, 2026 @ 9:25am by Captain Cassandra Hawk
Edited on on Sun Jan 4th, 2026 @ 7:22pm

1,187 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: Promenade, Third Level - Market Deck

As the docking clamps closed around the airlock of the Risan transport that had just arrived, Captain Cassandra Hawk felt the subtle shift of the station beneath her as the vibrations reverberated through its hull. Or at least, that’s what her brain told her.

She knew for a fact that there were not actually vibrations. The station’s inertial dampeners could more than compensate for the small vibrations caused by a single docking. If they couldn’t, they’d be in real trouble. The sensation was just an illusion caused by the fact that she wasn’t used to being on such stable ground.

Stable ground seemed to be the theme of her internal monologue of late. As she sat here, casually gazing out the viewports on the third deck of the Market Deck's Promenade, she felt like she was the most steady she’d been in years. A fresh brewed, real cup of coffee warmed her hand as she sat comfortably at a small table, bathed in the soft warm white light of the station’s ‘morning’ light setting. She’d woken up at a reasonable hour, strolled to Ops, received a report of arrivals, then opted to review the incoming rosters at the cafe.

When she’d received the posting to Mojave, she’d known that station life would be a steadier, slower pace. What she hadn’t been expecting was comfort. ‘Cozy’ hadn’t been on her radar. She could certainly get used to it though.

As if on cue, her combadge chirped.

"Ops to Captain Hawk."

A slow sigh escaped her lungs as she set the warm cup down on the table. Her eyes never left the viewport, watching the slightest shifts in light aboard the Risan freighter. The offloading was in progress. At long last, her hand reluctantly found the delta on her chest.

"This is Hawk. Go ahead, Ops."

The voice at the other end, the young officer in charge of local traffic, sounded stressed. Ensign Metori. Good kid. A little skittish, but that could be resolved. That said, both she and Ensign Metori would be a bit relieved when their actual Strat Ops head arrived. "Captain, I'm getting a report in from the Denali. They've just had an armed encounter with a small wing of marauders. The barge their escorting has sustained moderate damage to its warp engines, reducing their overall speed, and they've lost about half their shield efficiency. The civilian transport sustained only minor damage. Denali itself is fine at present, but requesting assistance."

Blood in the water. Cassandra winced a little as she listened. Medical supplies and families. That's what was in the convoy she'd sent the Runabout Denali to defend. Marauders certainly could leverage a black market for the former, albeit one that would need some infrastructure to back it up. The latter however...that was a bit more concerning.

She suddenly felt the contrast of her own coziness at this comfortable window-side table with the cold vacuum on the the side of it. Mojave itself might be a safe haven, but outside it's shields? That was a very, very different story.

The Denali was a capable little ship. Faster, more agile, and more heavily armed than even the two Danube II runabouts, the Arrow-class Denali should have been able to fend off your average pirate. It was becoming clear that the pirates in this region were more than average.

She gamed out the encounter in her head before responding. "Have the Kilimanjaro and Colorado prep for launch to intercept the convoy immediately. I want them there to back up the Denali before the raiders try to make a second run. How far out is Zambezi?"

She saw indicator lights come on at the landing pad of Docking Ring 2 even before the Ensign could respond. Kilimanjaro, the other Arrow-Class on Mojave, was going to sortie faster than the slightly more sluggish Danube II-class Colorado. The benefits of fully modern tech compared to just an update. "Zambezi is over 36 hours out, ma'am. They had to redirect away from a small border skirmish. There's another one closer, an older Danube I. But she's only moving at about warp 5."

So it'd be just the three then. Leaving Mojave with only a few shuttles and her own defenses. "Understood. Then have Kilimanjaro and Colorado head out as soon as they're ready, maximum possible speed they can manage together," the Captain said, finally rising from the table. She'd be hamstringing Kilimanjaro's speed, but there was no point in getting a second ship attacked because she was too impatient to have them stick together. Besides, they'd leverage that speed later. Might even catch the marauders off-guard. "As soon as they arrive, have Colorado stick with the convoy. I want the other two in an active posture, sniffing around the surrounding space. Might be able to head these guys off before they come back for more."

"Yes, ma'am. Orders are issued. I'll give you periodic updates as things progress," Ensign Metori's voice replied.

Cassandra retrieved her still warm coffee mug and turned as soon as she saw Kilimanjaro lift off the landing pad, angling on an exit vector to meet up with their wingman. "No need, Ensign. I think this little break has run its course. I'm headed back to Ops."

"Understood, Captain. The Runabouts' progress will be on the main holo display when you get here. Ops out." The Ensign's voice betrayed the slightest amount of disappointment, perhaps a failure of a personal quest to let the Captain have that coffee break. Or maybe just the anxiety of having your boss watching you work. She'd do her best to mitigate that.

Cassandra listened to the bustle on the below as she made her way down the walkway to the turbolift. It was still fairly tame, but the station was starting to have a life to it. People who relied on it. Stakes. If she wanted that to continue, then little skirmishes like this would need easier solutions than sortieing the entire complement of runabouts on the station. It was one thing to send them as a quick show of force. After this, it'd become a liability. A second attack would go fully unanswered. She made a mental note to move the completion of Achilles's tactical systems up on the priority list. Engineering wouldn't love that, but she needed a way to respond that'd make the local brigands think twice.

"Ops." The contents of the convoy struck her mind again as she felt the lift shoot toward Operations. Medical supplies and families. Whatever their intended target was, likely the medical supplies since they hit the freighter hardest, it still didn't bode well. The criminal underbelly would need to be decently established to leverage either. And if that was the case, a few runabouts wouldn't fend them off for very long.

 

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