TA8

==Chapter 8 - The Armada==
KCGS Tranh Truk Ngo III
Landmark Class Destroyer
Out of the Clan Space
Deep Periphery
3167 CE
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[...two Hyperspace jumps from the Pentagon Worlds...]
"Merchant ship just came out of jump. She's running heavy, Sir."
Captain Mike Nguyen wasn't a close relative Admiral Nguyen, but the jokes didn't stop because of that.  They shared traits-both had seriously painful TDS and massively powerful jump visions, both were male, both had black hair (though the Admiral was going prematurely gray), and both were from the Quarantine Zone.
Captain Mike Nguyen cut his teeth with the Exploration fleet under Admiral Hogarth as a Middie, and then as a proper officer.
In Coast Guard parlance, Landmarks were classified as 'Advanced heavy cutter' models, while in the proper LCN, they were Destroyer Escorts.  The difference was independent operations.  Operations, like going into the maw of the demon to tell the people there that they were going to maybe survive what is coming after all.
"How's the hull-kote looking, Keillor?" he asked his Chief Engineer.
"Sparkly, sir, high-reflec, they should be able to see us coming." said the Chief Engineer.
"Let us hope they do not use that as a targeting point."  his XO, Lauren Von Jankmon, a Tinspawn from Hue whose TDS was almost as bad as a natural born's, groused.
"X, you have the most endearing habit of being right...except when you make dark predictions of incoming disaster, you know that?"
"I believe the term, 'that is what I am being paid for' comes to mind, sirrah." she said.
''
"Pray your pessimism is wrong, okay? We've got six months to make local contact and get the locals organized for the arrival of Wave One, hopefully without needing to shoot our way through bull-headed leaders and their isolationist bullshit."
"Contact identifies as Clan sir, Stone Lion, one of their merchant vessels. She's has spotted us."
"Send hail."  Mike said, "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll help spread the good news?"
"Don't be such a damned optimist, sirrah." said his XO.
''
"This is Clan Stone Lion Express Trader to unidentified Warship0 we are not hostile!"
"oh, that's not a good sign..." someone said.
Mike cleared his throat and keyed his mic.  "Express Trader, this is Kowloon Coast Guard 6502 identification, Cutter Tranh Truk Ngo. We are GLAD to see you, over."
''
"Why?" asked the Trader Vessel
"That's because we wanted to make sure there were still people here to save, Express Trader, we are the advance contact ship for a flotilla under Star League authority. We are here to provide aid and evacuation to around one billion, seven hundred million people in the Pentagon Worlds and Kerensky Cluster. We know about your little supernova problem. Your people have not been forgotten, over."
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