[b]AURORA - SHADOW STAR
Combat Information Center[/b]

"...They've expressed an interest in setting up a forward base with the SCR-1. In my opinion the situation has not escalated to a degree where we would need that much presence..."

Kel'ar stood at one of the central holotables, dictating to High Command back in Hasrya. The room was relatively empty save for a few database operators hard at work on the info the away team had collected. As large as the fortified command deck was, Kel'ar still felt it was quaint, accustomed to the sprawling decks of the flagship.

[i]"Noted, Commander. The council will review the situation within the hour. The civilian proximity should prompt some response; expect infiltrators at the least."[/i]

"Thank you. Comms, out." Kel'ar deactivated the relay, pulling up the data sets they had on the three contacts. She frowned at the first, finding it difficult to believe what the program was indicating. It would be incredibly improbable to simply run into the empire so soon...

The other factions concerned her more. Their aggression didn't sit well with the kyrian. And whatever they were after seemed to block any reasoning with them; it would be almost hopeless to attempt further negotiations.

The black kyrian jumped and let out a small cry as the ship's red alert siren blared, orange illumination replacing the normal light blue. For a moment her eyes were as wide as the other officers on the deck: she coughed and straightened up, pulling up the tactical map. Red lines were extending from Covenant ships they had been tracking, signifying abrupt changes in velocity, and the last-known position of the [i]Destiny Ascendant[/i] was designated with a large red sphere.

[i]"High alert. Large fusion detonation detected, range seven-seven-five-zero. Contact Alpha status unknown. Large portion of Covenant ships under propulsion, moving away from the planet, assumed hostile."[/i]

"Kriek..." Kel'ar punched in a code and reactivated the line to Command. She hardly waited for the man on the end to greet her, barreling through the formalities. "Get me on the line with the council, there's been a development."