2654.131

On 2654.131 the TCS Tiger's Claw jumped into the McAuliffe System. For several hours following this, the Claw launched a series of preliminary patrols of the system. Two of these patrols were Beta Wing, which consisted of Blue Devil Squadron pilots Christopher Blair and James Taggart, and Delta Wing, which consisted of pilots Michael Casey and Jeannette Devereaux. Beta Wing's mission was a four point route checking several potential jump points. During this mission, Beta Wing encountered three Dralthi and three Salthi fighters. They were also forced to navigate a kilrathi mine field.

Following this mission, the Tiger's Claw's scanners began showing an increase in kilrathi activity in the system, including several large bogies. The Confederation was getting ready for a major offensive at this time and was sending several tankers and transports to rendezvous with the Claw within the following 48 hours. This forced Colonel Peter Halcyon to dispatch several wings to deal with the bogies. One of these wings was Theta Wing, which consisted of Christopher Blair and James Taggart. They were sent to investigate a large bogey, which turned out to be an Ralari-class destroyer, that had jumped in about twenty minutes previously, 90,000 klicks away and began heading for the Claw. During the mission Blair and Taggart encountered four Dralthi, two Krant, and the Ralari, which they managed to destroy.