Gelfer-6 was a relatively small space station, one of approximately a dozen, nestled cozily in orbit above the idyllic little vacation planet Cyllene. Gelfer-6, much like one through five, had no reason for added security and went through the same daily motions and shift changes much like any other day. Cyllene and its’ sister planet, Callisto, were dwarf planets along the sparse belt in the outer solar system. Out well past Io and Geon, here there were no gambling stations or vice dens, no havens for smugglers or criminals. The Zenith Corporation interceptor fleet, whether intentionally or not, found the inner system closest to the home planet difficult to police effectively, but not so in this sparsely populated sector of space.
Out here there a ratio of perhaps one Titan to every hundred and fifty robotic worker and peacekeeper drones, the most popular of these by far being the Delta series MV1 Zenith Battle Drones, followed by the HK8 Full Purpose Utility Model. Though a few made their living out in the rim of the solar system, by far the majority of living Titans out here vacationed on their lavish private space yachts, occasionally taking a shuttle down to the terraformed surface of the planet to engage in light sporting activities or to frequent one of the many spas and resorts. And usually, the very few that could afford such expensive dream getaways were the very upper echelon within the Zenith Corporation or one of its hundreds of subsidiaries. For the astute board members, CEO and COOs of Titan that felt as though Io was much too accessible a vacation spot for the unwashed masses, the outer rim had them covered.
It was for this very reason that no alarms sounded immediately when the uncharted long black and white custom painted battle cruiser entered planetary airspace. The usual peace and status quo of the Titan elite along the languid outer rim was not used to disturbances. There weren’t many solid contingencies in place in the event of a disturbance out here, beyond the typical patrols and light Zenith presence that managed to permeate even the most distant and remote areas of Titan space, even beyond the trans-warp gate in the bleak reaches of the Alcyoneus Arm. With a suppressed population toiling for crumbs back on Titan, such a threat to the elite simply had never happened until that day.
The traffic control officers sitting at their monitor stations in the listening tower reaching out of Gelfer-6 were the first to see the instruments give indication of the mysterious ship’s sudden appearance. The size of the craft, well outside the bounds of any single seater attack craft, joyrider, interceptor, or personal space vehicle did not immediately give any cause for concern. Out here among the vacation planets on the rim, it was not uncommon to see some true behemoths of outer space. Many of the ultra-rich’s yachts were truly flying cities unto themselves, some even managed to make the battle cruiser look small in comparison.
It was not the sudden appearance of the craft apart from any tracking information either, though it should have given a red flag since normally the listening posts can track nearly every vessel coming and going anywhere in the system, but the Titan mind knows that even the best technology and AI sometimes breaks down, sometimes does not work predictably.
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It was also not the lack of communication from the vessel, even after standard protocol sent an automated message from the listening tower on Gelfer-6 which was roundly ignored. All of these things should have been red flags to the AI of the station and to the many Titan workers and social robots manning their stations, but as the glaringly majestic sunrise broke over the rim of sleepy Cyllene’s edge, none of these things drew concern.
It was only after several minutes, while the lumbering vessel continued its purposeful and silent path towards the station that its true dreadful intentions became clear. A sudden shift in the outer hull of the vehicle as multiple holo panels designed to shift certain cosmetic aesthetics of the exterior of the ship flipped, suddenly drawing out several black “flags” across the surface of the ship. It was not these flags alone that finally drew alarm, but the archaic skull and crossbones insignia emblazoned in the center, like something from an ancient holovid depicting old Titan sea pirates.
In modern warfare, with some notable exceptions, an attacker usually has a distinct advantage over a defender and that morning above Cyllene’s orbit was no exception. The alarms finally began wailing within the space station, calling for all orbit patrol interceptor vehicles to respond to the sudden threat, but by then it was largely too late. The pirate ship’s weapon systems were already within range and immediately began with an opening salvo aimed at the dozens of Zenith MX Centurion and MXI Hornet interceptor light fighters docked at the station.
E-cannons and weapon batteries lit up across the bow of the pirate vessel, showcasing an impressive arsenal deceptively hidden away within the confines of a solitary ship. A fleet of light fighters could not have inflicted more damage in such a short amount of time. Within minutes and before any of the AI powered fighters could escape dock and move to intercept, there was nothing left to oppose the pirate juggernaut.
Even as the distress signal broadcast across Titan space, calling for all available units to assist, dozens of fast-moving shuttlecraft erupted like torpedoes from the pirate ship scattered in all directions. A few were aimed at the station itself, but many were now rocketing towards the multitude of space yachts hovering lazily in orbit around the planet. Most of these civilian craft were not equipped with sophisticated scanners or defenses, most would not even receive notification of the danger until after they had been boarded.
The Zenith Corporation had not subjugated Titan by accident however and despite the lackluster initial defenses, soon enough the spaceway above planet Cyllene was swarming with clouds of gathering autonomous light fighter interceptors and space drones.
The captain of the pirate ship did not panic or seem impressed though. The ship had plenty of firepower for them all and would provide cover for the shuttles while they looted and plundered Titan space. To the traffic control officers inside Gelfer-6, as furious battle erupted all around them, it soon became impossible to tell if this was a simple pirate looting mission, or a full-scale rebellion against the greatest empire Titan had ever seen. Given the reports coming back from the planet over the past week though, the word was already circulating well before the pirate ship had finished its plunder that the riots and rebellions in Gothamir had now spilled out into space as well.