The engagement was over before it had begun. 

The Vickie was generally judged as no match for an alliance cruiser, even though Kaiden would claim the crew could take on any opponent. But even if the Vickie was under a different crew, the merchant vessel wouldn't have stood a chance. They had laid in wait, and as soon as the vessel was 120,000 kilometers off, they approached bearing their guns. The Vickie usually had twenty missiles, but they could only restock five after arriving at Delta-3-7, which gave them a grand total of 13. However, they had 4-inch plasma cannons in turrets on the dorsal bow and ventral stern, giving her four guns in total. Fairly average for a corvette of its size, but easily able to outmatch any merchant vessel in what they had assumed had been a clear shipping lane. 

"Bring them in Higgs," Kaiden said, turning from his vigil on the bridge. 

The surly Bosun opened the hatch. Tilda sat chewing on a pen, watching with interest as the captain of the merchant vessel [i]The Nestor[/i] was brought in under guard. Kaiden guessed he had a kind face when going about his daily business, but he looked more grave than he likely had in years, thinking he was about to be executed or sent to some unforeseeable doom. Kaiden wanted to dispell his worries immediately, saluting the man as if he was a peer. 

"Greetings Captain. First Lieutenant and acting Captain of the Viceroy Kaiden Caladwarden. I apologize for the need to requisition your vessel, but you have my word you nor your crew will be harmed if you follow our orders accordingly." 

"Acting Captain?" He asked curiously, then noticed the Prince was gazing at him expectantly. The striking blue of Kaiden's eyes was always captivating or commanding, in whichever situation suited him. "Er, yes. Captain Dobbs of the Nestor. I hope you know what you're doing Lieutenant, you could very well have started a war, you realize." 

Kaiden hid a smirk. Either the merchantman did not know, or wanted to play dumb. Either way, he wasn't going to grant him an inch. "We'll see. Let's work together to make sure that does not happen, shall we? Now, if you follow my Bosun, he will show you and your crew to your quarters for the time being. Except for three handpicked by me to help navigate your ship."