Intercepted

On the outskirts of the Drake Empire, their radar would present 4 foreign, unidentified bodies, which upon jumping in the said system, headed towards a planet within drake territory. Just after them, 3 other signals appeared on the radars - these ones just "warping in" instead of the more conventional FTL drive, and  catching up to them in a rather big ease. The 4 ships, bandits and pirates, had assaulted the neutral halcyon scout ships and injured a halcyon - turning the squadron of rather harmless seeming ships into a hateful, murderous force.

They gave chase - the 4 ships having tears in their hulls, burning, and sending mayday signals, denouncing themselves as pirates and bandits, and requesting to be taken prisoners - a move which usually would be taken if the pirates expected to be annihilated.

The 3 halcyon ships, smaller, had some battle scars, but didn't seem to take much impacts beyond that - this could be taken as many possible ideas of how it occurred, but at the end of it all, the Drakes had Bandits being chased by foreign forces, right in their territory, and a small groups of other bandit ships moving in to assist them.

The halcyon ships were a foreign force, and those small ships, for their sizes, packed quite a punch. It was a good idea to investigate.

There were 3 ships, all pristine white in colors, or at least before the battle, their hulls showing burns and slight denting. They didn't mount turrets, instead having armored linear guns, and surprisingly mobile, functioning more like huge fighters/bombers than frigates.

As soon the renegade ships reached the border of the empire's space, their last chance to escape their hunters, the halcyons spied an odd sight. The fleeing ships had suddenly, and without warning, stopped their pursuit to potential freedom, despite the halcyons being hot on their trail. Their ships remained perfectly still in the void of space.

The 3 halcyon warships came closer, a 4th one warping just after them - this one rather damaged, and remaining at a distance. The ships were halcyon swordships, and were of an unusual design. They began to scout their area, slowly approaching the ships. It could've been an ambush of some sort.The renegade ships remained stationary.

The small group of alien warships remained stationary, their highly developed sensor suites scanning the targeted ships, and the direct area around them, the halcyon ships fanning out in formation. They scanned quickly, the ships synchronizing and acting as a single entity.

They were looking for anything out of the ordinary or of note, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for the odd behavior of the enemy vessels. Their scan showed no new signs of damage; scans for life forms remained constant.
The halcyons' small force remained still as the damaged one got into the formation. Acting on simple caution, they continued their scanning, remaining in formation.
The sensors, on the halcyon warship, were highly developed and precise - more than enough to map both the ships' innards and the crews' every heart beats.

Suddenly, life signs aboard the ships began to fade. Without warning, or sign of any plausible cause, the crews began to disappear from their vessels. One by one.
The 4 halcyon ships, and their crew, were mind melded into one psychic entity - massing the processing, cognitive, skills, experiences and awareness together for maximal effectiveness.
This entity was rather surprised at seeing them being teleported away, as they quickly took upon to analyze where the targets were being teleported from.

The decline in life signs continued until only two signals were left on the lead ship's command bridge. One of the signals seemed to have an increased heart rate, a sign of panic. The other remained constant, but showed irregularities, something about this being's life signs seemed different than what their scanners were used to.

The small halcyon fleet of 4, each ship only having a crew of 4 upon each, broke apart, one coming closer to the leading ship.
The halcyon ship docked upon lead ship, sensors still running. The lead pilot of the ship, an arctic breed halcyon female, got off her mind machine interface, making her way to the armory, putting on jade battle armor, and making her way into the ship.

Upon entering the ship, the pilot found the air filled with hot ash and smoke, as well as the smell of burning meat.
The halcyon wouldn't have an issue with that, her armor sealed air tightly.
She looked upon her HUD, taking steps towards the bridge.
Two dark figures became noticeable in the swirling ash and smoke. one she recognized as the captain of the ship by his silhouette, a reasonably tall human male, he stood still but in an aggressive stance, waiting for the opportunity to either make his escape, or die trying. The other was a much larger, much less recognizable form which towered over the smaller figure of the captain. This form, from what she could see, was more bestial, covered in spikes with a long tail and canine like snout. A red glow could be seen through the smoke where the creature's mouth would be.

The female got closer to them, standing straight. The armor didn't give any idea of whom, or what the creature was.
"Greetings."

The creature's silhouette turned at the sound of her voice, the red glow disappearing almost immediately. "What?" she could hear come from the creature in confusion? The captain's silhouette took the opportunity to run, unintentionally running towards the halcyon.

Sarrah - it was her name - wave her hand towards him, a surprisingly forceful wave of psychic slamming the human commander to the wall, pinning him there, the force enough to cause some internal damage. She looked through her armor's glowing eyes, growling quietly, sending basic healing magic into the commander - simply to keep him alive for now.
"I'll deal with you later, you soulless cur."

She turned her head to the drake, helmet dismantling and folding off her - she was still wearing a gas mask.
"Greetings. Who have I got the pleasure of meeting?"
The dust and ash had begun to settle, revealing the drake behind it. He was a large dark red fire drake in heavy black and bronze colored armor, his head covered in spikes in place of where hair would be. The drake's right arm was a prosthetic, a mechanical replacement hooked up to the soul shard on his chest which glowed bright red. The drake's long tail ending in a club. The drake answered immediately.

"I am General Vulcan of the Drake Empire." He seemed irritated, either from the halcyon's question or from the events which occurred from before her arrival, she did not know. “and these vessels are trespassing on drake territory, have opened fire upon me, and have attempted to transport slaves past our borders." Vulcan raised his mechanical arm to point a long, bladed finger towards the ship's captain held in place by the halcyon. "Relinquish the prisoner to be punished for his crimes against the Drake Empire, as his crew has already been dealt."

She frowned.
"These people have attempted to enslave some of our cubs, have opened fire upon us, have injured one of us and damaged one of our crafts. They have also done crimes against us, and the penalty to slavers by our people is death. Are you planning to instill the same form of punishment?"

"Indeed, I am." Vulcan replied. His yellow eyes fixed on the captain.

Sarrah released the captain, waving him to the Drake.
"Here you go then. We apologize for trespassing upon your territory."

Flames emerged from the drake's jaws. In the blink of an eye and before he could let out a scream, a bolt of energy burst from the drake's mouth and hit the captain in the center of his chest, instantly burning his body, leaving behind an ash statue which quickly broke apart. Vulcan returned his attention to Sarrah. "Very well. I suppose our business is not yet done, however. You probably want the cargo these ships once possessed returned."

She waved her head.
"You have gotten to this ship first and we're in your territory. We have no legitimate claims over the ships and their cargo. They haven't had a chance to collect any properties vital to us either way. But I believe this is the first contact between our people."

"So you do not wish the slaves and surviving prisoners returned?" Vulcan tilted his head in slight confusion. "Very well...I am sure they shall enjoy their new home."

"If it would not cause your people discomfort or problem, I would quite like to bring the captured people back into our territory where they would be cared for and given a new life."
She smiled behind her gas mask, looking to him patiently.

"Very well, you can pick up the slaves and prisoners on Draconis, the drake capitol world in this galaxy. They will be waiting for you there. I’m sure the King would like to meet you as well." Vulcan replied. The air next to him began to ripple like a pool of water.

"Our leader would likely wish to meet your own as well. Would it be possible to prepare a meeting?"

"Of course. All your leader needs to do is arrive on Draconis and the King shall be waiting. You have my permission to enter drake territory, once there you may retrieve the slaves as well." Vulcan replied

She nodded.
"Thank you. We shall take our leave now. Best wishes to you and your people."
She gave a short bow, helmet sealing up again, and turning away, making her way out.

"Yes" Vulcan replied. "And for your people as well". Without acknowledging her further, Vulcan turned to the portal and left the ship, the air he had disappeared through calmed immediately after.

Sarrah made her way to the halcyon ship, which, just after that, began to fade and flicker away.
The small group of halcyon ships had warped away into their territory, informing their people of the first contact, and their patriarch. As they departed, Drake Amphisbaenas arrived through large portals, similar to that which Vulcan has left through, and began to consume and harvest the abandoned ships.

by and myself.