[h1]The beginning of something new[/h1]

"5 ships, approaching from 241, range 15 nautical miles." The [i]Hawk[/i] buzzed silently as it soar through the air, making it's final perimeter scan around the gathering point before venturing into the unknown. The 360 camera under it's belly actively scanning the surroundings for any hostilities. "Looks like merchant ships, cargo haulers." Even now, with so many ships converged at one point, one cannot be sure that nobody will be foolish enough to attempt something. "Radar signature matches, all clear." But most of the ships were simple merchants or settlers, gathering to the gate either to make profit or hope for a better tomorrow. The last several days saw a massive amounts of merchant ships gather around the islands and set up shops or services. "Copy that, Hawk is returning to the nest, Eta 15 minutes. Over."

The drone swooshed to the left at a sharp angle, casting a meager shadow at the water below it. There was nothing to see here anymore. It will return to base to be refueled and refitted, so that it may rise to the skies once again in an unknown world.

[hr]
[b]Some time later[/b]

The Pelorus Jack stood half empty. Most of the crew left for the sialnds to engage in social activities before they would sail off again and never to set foot on land for months. Only the maintenance crew and the old sailors stayed aboard, prepping the Jack for her trip through the gate. The Orca was being prepared for possible engagements and manned by a skeleton crew, and the support ships were busy doing the last harvest and creating meals for several days in advance.

Only the bridge of the Jack stood in silence. The captain, Gregory and Lise sat in the faintly illuminated room, each with a beer in hand. The radio was turned on, but all other non essential devices were shut down for power conservation. The device spouted propaganda and lies that came from the mouth of an untrustworthy man. Nothing will ever change the lies that have been told to the meager men for centuries, yet these words felt more bitter than ever in face of the future and past. 

The Jack and her crew saw a lot of cruelty and despair during the Long Fare, a lot of them things they'd rather forget. The world saw to it that the people suffered more than their fair share, and no amount of gilded lies will change that. Governments failed not once, but twice, and there would be no more lost love for those in power. Not from the people like the Jack and her crew.

The old cruiser carries stood out from the rest of the ships. It wasn't a supercarrier or a battleship, but it was the best of both worlds. Most other ships were repurposed merchant vessel, but several other warships had also gathered around. It was obvious that several others factions abided to the same principles as the Mare Delfino.

Antonovich looked out the window with a thousand year gaze in his eyes, focusing on the structure of the massive gate. "Do you see these people gathered before us?" The other two peered towards him, unsure what to think of the question. "Aye, I see those good fer nuffins. What 'bout em?" Gregory replied in his usual blunt tone while Lise rolled her eyes and took a sip of her beer. The captain, still gazing out the bridge, followed his line of questioning. "Do you know what connects all of the together? Hope." The other two looked at each other confused. Sure, they understood the notion, but not where this line of thinking was going to end up. "But we are different. We didn't come here because we had nowhere else to go. We came here for the possibilites. Those gathered before us are the meak, the sheep, and we are the wolves." Lise nod, but Gregory was still confused and he looked at the captain. "Excuse me asking cap'n, but what the friggin hell da ye mean?" The captain finall turned towards his subordinates and pointed out the window. "Examined the other Gregory. Some are not as they appear. Wolf in sheep's clothing, ready to prey upon them as we will. Which ships do you think will be one of these wolves?"

Gregory scratched his head and leant forward. "Well fuck me if I know. Let me see." He peeked out the blast windows and examined the ships. His first pick was the S. S. Hope. "That there, the UNE bastard and 'im ship." The captain nod and Gregory continued his search. "That battleship over yonder. Mighty fine vessel, I'd have 'er babies." Lise chuckled at the notion, almost spillnig her beer, and even the captain smiled. "We'll see about them. Those Atlantis folks might not be so different from us ye know." 

As they sat there in the bridge, the crew of the Jack slowly returned to the ship. The soldiers were rested and ready to go, and the ship was ready to sail out into the great beyond. Gregory soon left the bridge for the maintenance deck as chief engineer. Lise left not long after that to tend to her soldiers and the other parts of the ship. Meanwhile the bridge crew tirckled in one after the other, and the captain readied the fleet for go via the radio. There was nothing left to do apart from waiting for the fleet to make their way across the gate.