<snip>

The scan indicated that the debris was a mix of asteroids, many of them broken up and spinning about, and some ship remnants. As the scan continued, a very slight but direct movement of one of the remnants was detected. The movement was toward the Starfleet ship, now identifiable as the USS Lightburn.

Clancy’s efforts were successful; all of the Lightburn’s systems were fully operational and ready to go.

~ Lt. jr. gr. Rodier - CoS/Mini GM

Taya saw something move towards the ship. It could have been nothing, but in a training exercise, that was unlikely.

“Trow, do you see that… whatever it is, move in our direction?” said Taya.

“I did,” said Trow.

“Focus an intense scan on it. I’ll ready phasers, just in case,” said Taya.

Cadet Taya Lenwa - Security

The phaser banks came online as Trow ran the scan. The intensity of the scan increased as the object got steadily closer, revealing some very faint impulse drive emissions. Trow was unable to detect any other details, as some sort of distortion was blocking the scan.

As the officers were investigating the first object, another piece of debris started to move in the direction of the Lightburn.

~ Lt. jr. gr. Rodier - CoS

“Clancy, back us away from those objects,” said Taya. “Trow, are there any reports of missing vessels or distress signals in the area?” Taya tapped her console, readying a comm channel.

Cadet Taya Lenwa - Security

A scan of local signals would reveal no reported missing vessels or distress signals, but a high-priority message from a nearby system reported a modified Klingon warp signature with a heading matching the Lightburn’s rough location.

As the ship’s thrusters reversed, the approaching objects maintained their current speed, straying a bit further away from the three Starfleet officers’ vessel.

~ Lt. jr. gr. Rodier - CoS/Mini GM

A Klingon ship was coming towards them. Two mysterious items from a debris field were moving in their direction as well. Something was blocking their ability to identify what those objects were. Frustrated, Taya sat at her station, not knowing what else she could do, other than wait.

Cadet Taya Lenwa - Security

From his position in the observation room of the holodeck, Henry nodded once, a small smile on his face.

Waiting paid off, though in what way was up for interpretation. About a minute after the threesome began their period of silence, a cry came from Trow. “Contact, twelve o’clock!” As they said this, a large ship vaguely resembling a scaled-up version of the Birds of Prey each of the officers had faced in Academy simulations appeared in front of them. “About fifty-three hundred kilometers out, scans are showing a modified Klingon D5 cruiser!”

~ Lt. jr. gr. Rodier - CoS/Mini GM

Taya studied the Klingon ship, expecting one to arrive. A comm channel was still open.

“Klingon ship, this is Cad… Captain Taya Lenwa of the USS Lightburn.” Taya paused for a split second and smiled at calling herself captain. “How may we assist you today?”

OOC: How does our ship stack up to what we know about Klingon ships?

Cadet Taya Lenwa - Security

The comm channel was met with static, followed by a barely audible voice: “I would focus on helping yourselves there, Captain.” A tactical scan would then report a signal broadcast filling the entire debris field; it repeated only this: “01101111 01110110 01100101 01110010 01101100 01101111 01110010 01100100.”

Despite the ominous response, the ship made no obvious movements or attempts at aggression. However, exactly eight seconds after the broadcast began, each of the objects which had been maintaining a steady distance from the Lightburn shot forward, coming toward the Starfleet vessel at a quick clip despite its reversed thrusters. As they accelerated, the heat emitted by the object’s engines degraded their shielding devices to the point that a vague visual could be achieved. They were certainly starships, each the shape of an arrowhead with eight segments on its sides.

OOC: Klingon ships are generally more suited to battle than Starfleet vessels, but I purposely chose an outdated model that’s also been heavily modified. You can read a little about the D5 here, and decide how much you would know (or could find out) in-character. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/D5_class

~ Lt. jr. gr. Rodier - CoS/Mini GM