WfR45: Opening Skirmish

Pirate fighters spread out to cover both the predicted gap of 5th Group's main advance, and any smaller craft attempting to slip through the minefield. Around them, asteroids large and small tumbled slowly around each other, bound in multiple, complex orbits dictated by magnetism, momentum, and mass. In the middle of the field sat the largest rock, crowned by Tapzin City.

A handful of fighters from the colonial city approached tentatively, keeping out of range for the moment. The pirates ignored them, briefed by their commander that they wouldn't be much of a threat. So far, they weren't.

Attention turned to the gap as warning tones sounded off in the foremost fighters. Four Ketuun Cruisers edged through the huge, free-floating mountains, flanked by scores of green and pink fighters. Behind them, the massive flagship Deus I'ræ. Pirates grinned inside a myriad of cockpits and gun blisters - the wait for war was over!