One Year Ago 

[i]
[b]Atlantis City, Capital City of the Alaraian United Celestial Empires[/b]

The young empress Alliya Alarai stood in the great underwater courtyard of the Alarain palace. To her left and right, various councillors and advisers stood, watching the proceedings. The Capital was celebrating the lunar new year of Atlantis. Everywhere on the streets of Alarai there was celebration. Choirs sang hymns and in the imperial courtyard, with the Empress in the audience herself, was the Imperial Choir. 

The Alarai people all swam throughout, with vendors and merchants excitedly selling food, trinkets and memoirs for colonists of other planets to take back to their own worlds; a momento of the Alarai home. Families held banquets on the outside balconies of the capital apartment districts, beckoning passing friends to join them. There were many celebrations in store - there would be singing and dancing, and the Atlantian Flag Fleet, the greatest and biggest of the Alarai Flag Fleets would be doing a cruise parade above Atlantis in celebration, followed by a parade. 

For Alliya, it was her first ever Lunar Celebration as the Empress and as such she was still extremely new to the throne. To her right stood Admiral Davinri Katuya, the Vice-Admiral of the Atlantis Flag Fleet - the position of Admiral for the Atlantian Flag Fleet always held to the Emperor or Empress. However, nerves and stage fright wasn't the only reason she was nervous. Alliya was about to announce the completion of an initiative begun by her late mother; an initiative that would extend the Alarai's place in the universe like never before. 

Later into the night, as the feasts ended but before the lunar viewing was to commence, the Empress addressed her people. She spoke of thanks for their loyalty and the people in turn praised the Empress. She spoke of the deeds of exemplary individuals who she honoured in her speech. However, there was one more important issue to announce. 

The Departure of the Pearl Fleet. 

The greatest and most daring adventure the Alarai had ever set on, the Pearl Fleet was a massive, self sustaining fleet of several hundreds of the finest ships the Alarai could create. Warships. Great Massive Carriers. Elegant, regal Envoy Ships laden with Alarai treasure and art; gifts of peace and offer for those who they would meet. Aquarium ships which held the wildlife and even a small city inside what was effectively a shipborne colony, growing the food and supplies needed to keep the fleet independent for as long as possible. The Flagship of the Pearl Fleet was not a warship but in fact the greatest feat of Alarai engineering: Resembling a space station more than a ship; it was a massive circular ship known as the [/i]Zhang He[i] which held the first ever mobile Lunar Warp Gate; allowing the Pearl Fleet to evacuate back to Atlantis - and even better, to bring envoys and visitors from those the Pearl Fleet met to Atlantis so that one could meet them. Long had the Alarai been alone through the stars and long have they sought to make contact with friends; anything to prove they were not alone. 

Under the command of one Admiral Treis Hei, the Pearl Fleet departed with the blessing of the Empress and the Alarai people, hopes and expectations high as they departed through the Atlantian Lunar Warp Gate to the edges of known space and flew onwards. [/i]

XXXXX
Deep Space, Present 

Admiral Treis Hei floated in the command centre of the [i]Zheng He[/i], watching as space floated by. The Pearl Fleet moved through the empty void of space, still as majestic and regal as the day it had departed Atlantis. 

They were sure to find someone. They were sure. Treis was sure. They could not be alone in the universe - to think it so was horrifying. 

And so the great Pearl Fleet continued its voyage, waiting for her isolation to be broken as she moved through the empty void.