HNN - Royal Hapan Armed Forces engage pirates
Category: HNN Broadcasted on 05.Apr.2017 - 16:45hrs Author Alex Tylger Comments: 0
(HNN) - Hapes Prime
The Ministry of Defence released a statement today informing the public that a skirmish took place yesterday between the Royal Hapan Armed Forces and pirates of unknown affiliation.
While details were sparse, it was revealed that a military unit responded to a distress signal sent by a privately owned Horizon-class Star Yacht passing by Orthwell, a red dwarf star. The star is one of hundreds like it across the Hapes Cluster where vessels must stop to make course corrections along complex hyperlanes, but such interludes are usually routine and brief. In the case of Orthwell, it is surrounded by a particularly dense asteroid field that calls for caution and some additional navigational maneuvers, which is when the incident occurred.
The yacht was scanned and then pursued by numerous mixed squadrons of gunboats and fighter craft, primarily of the cobbled-together variety that is popularly nicknamed "Uglies." The yacht was able to outrun the harassers and navigate to safety as Hapan forces swiftly arrived and engaged the pirate forces, destroying several hostile targets, and disabling others. The military has since quarantined the area and is now in the process of tracking down possible stragglers as an unidentified corvette was also sighted.
SigTel is in the process of deploying a more comprehensive satellite network in exposed areas such as Orthwell for transit safety along hyperlanes, but it has been noted that such extensive asteroid fields are prone to wide expanses of sensor shroud. Debris and remains are being collected for analysis to see if the origin of the vessels can be determined. And, more importantly perhaps, to find out whether this was an isolated incident involving a few ships, or if they originated from a larger force operating in the area. The Ministry of Defence added that no ships matching this particular combination have passed through security checkpoints at Lorell or Roqoo in the last year, meaning a hunt for a potential large carrier is a definitive possibility, but nothing has been confirmed. Even so, the Royal Hapan Armed Forces remain on alert.
In response to the news of the incident, several planetary governments such as Relephon and Maires addressed Lorell Hall, calling for military escorts to be provided for unarmed haulers traversing more remote areas of the Hapes Cluster.
The Hapan News Network will be back with more as further details become clear.
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