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Got three promotions since I started. Can't remember what I'm now (sorry [:'(]) but I'm commanding a cool destroyed, Asher Class.
I got my last promotion during an escort mission.
Apparently there weren't enemies, but I knew (from the PKG list) they were around.
After a quick search I discovered 3 fighters, 2 destroyers and 1 frigate.
Killing them all resulted in 1640 points + promotion. My DD Asher is now at 47% hull integrity.

So now I discovered I can boss around other starships. Heeheeee [:D]
But in the last mission I was ordered to patrol a sector supposed to be infested by: 1 CV, 1 DD, 1 DD, 1 FF and 1 FF.
We were in 4: 2 DD and 2 FF, all under my command.
Since the other 3 were in top shape I wanted to scout the whole sector to put up a nice battle.
Using navpoints I moved everyone in a spread-like formation, maintaining 100 K between each starship.
I sistematically covered every inch in the Meridian sector (depleted all 16 probes too), but found nothing. Nothing of nothing.
Why? Enemies were supposed to be there. What happened?

Ciao [:)]

Intelligence isn't always right. Occasionally ships may end up in a different sector. You can search out the rest of the sectors if you want, the enemy has to around somewhere. If you want your ships to quantum jump just give them a nav point in the destination sector.

Oooh... now I see... They were elsewhere.

ORIGINAL: Mehrunes

[...] If you want your ships to quantum jump just give them a nav point in the destination sector.

Thanks for the tip, mate [;)] Next time I'll do as you say.

Ciao [:)]

Also, AI ships are not required to stay within the area designated by the reference grid on the map. There's a lot of space out there, those ships can be easy to miss.

Generally, if you don't find your target within a few minutes of searching, it may be easier to give up and try again in the next mission. They might be closer to your flight plan next time.

ORIGINAL: Comet

So now I discovered I can boss around other starships. Heeheeee [:D]
But in the last mission I was ordered to patrol a sector supposed to be infested by: 1 CV, 1 DD, 1 DD, 1 FF and 1 FF.
We were in 4: 2 DD and 2 FF, all under my command.
Since the other 3 were in top shape I wanted to scout the whole sector to put up a nice battle.
Using navpoints I moved everyone in a spread-like formation, maintaining 100 K between each starship.
I sistematically covered every inch in the Meridian sector (depleted all 16 probes too), but found nothing. Nothing of nothing.
Why? Enemies were supposed to be there. What happened?

As the others have said they can move about. CVBG's (what you were facing) will also run away if you get within 50k, or at least the carrier will (and the escorts follow shortly after).

Prior to starting a mission you can look at the force screen and see where everything is - things do move around a fair bit between missions.

Another way to work out where the carrier is hiding is to see if any enemy fighters turn up.
Typically if you are spotted by the enemy and a carrier is nearby it sends out fighters (strangely I haven't seen MY carrier do that, in fact in one mission where the CVBG was in the same sector it got bombed to 60% damage without launching fighters!).
Assuming the fighters don't turn your group into space dust you can follow their flight path back to the carrier

- Deathifier

You could always jump to a new sector.

Done it. Repeated the mission and searched in other Space Sectors.
Found a small fleet in Jalah (a carrier, some destroyer, freighters and fighters on patrol).
Didn't try to reach the enemy carrier, honestly.
But I must say I liked the attention enemy fighters payed to me and the others.
They kept closing in, bombing our sensors and turning back to the carrier.
Without sensors we couldn't fight back and had to flee (shame [:'(]).

ORIGINAL: Mehrunes
You can search out the rest of the sectors if you want, the enemy has to around somewhere.

I remember from beta that sometimes starships can be way out off the sector grid, even hundreds kilometers. Good hunting

ORIGINAL: Comet

Without sensors we couldn't fight back and had to flee (shame [:'(]).

Use engineering screen to make repairs for your subsystems ('e' key) I'm not sure about others.

ORIGINAL: Comet

[...]
They kept closing in, bombing our sensors and turning back to the carrier.
[...]

I know, Matti [:)]
Wrote 'kept' on purpose. Repaired Sensors 3 times (and lost 11% hull integrity for nothing) before giving up.
Those brats were just waiting for my Sensors to return online before taking them off again.
Dunno if that's what the AI was instructed to do, but it's what they did.
Hit and run

Ciao [:)]