Scene One:

A bustling Outcaste café on the Admiralty base on Betwa, “Eat at Jalal’s” asynchronously blinking courtesy of a photonic display on the outer wall. Inside, the smell of curried vegetables and crisp seafood protein. The high caste visitors currently consist of Captains Chabra and Mala, who are faintly pink with discomfort. Captain Goff sits in close council with her contact, Maruf Kazi of the Stone Brotherhood. Unlike her companions, she is not the least disconcerted by the dietary habits of secular Outcaste culture.

Maruf easily passes along a secondhand tale of the battle of the recently discovered Gilgit Abhva hiveworld. Unfortunately, due to the battered nature of the 2^nd gen Navy ships used in the assault, many hands were lost in the battle that eventually did result in the central hive being breached and evacuations off the cold, dead world beginning. Pointed questions from Captain Goff tease out the segment of the debris field most likely to hold intact ships, and navigation details to enable close approach courtesy of Empyrean sail (a close approach that will drop the privateer flotilla practically on top of the debris field before orbital or planetary observers of the Abhva persuasion have a chance to spot them). Finally, some operational details of the MSN Parindra, and the MSN Vrisakapi, aging Light Cruisers whose powerplants could not sustain the intensity of the battle.

Now, to get to Gilgit before the MSN returns, or the Abhva sanitize the debris field on the way out…