I.S.S. Victory, Marzon High Orbit, Heim System
Today was to be a good day.
Grand Admiral Tarkis watched with pride as the First Expedition Fleet assembled on his screen. Consisting of a Light squadron and three Escort squadrons (a total of seventy five ships), the Admiral was sure that it would be able to protect itself and deal with any aggressor it came across. The Savior-class Destroyer alone would probably frighten off any pirates regardless, but the accompanying colonial support and defense ships would be needed. It was, after all, technically a mission of exploration and expansion. Finding suitable planets for colonization that weren’t ruined during the War in Heaven was hard enough; finding one that wasn’t inhabited was even harder.
In any case, the Admiral sat down at his desk and signaled the lead ship of the 1st Exploration Fleet, the [/i]I.S.S. Liberation[/i]. The new commanding officer of the mission answered, and the admiral noted the man’s respectful demeanor. While the Admiral was an older man a generation beyond the new commanding officer, Tarkis still demanded obedience and had an aura of command none would dare question. “Greetings, Captain Shepard. Oh, no need for formality, this is a private call. How have the shake-down runs been treating your new ship?”
I.S.S. Liberation , Marzon High Orbit, Heim System
Captain Shepard nearly had a heart attack when the encrypted signal appeared on his screen, but he calmed himself down quietly, standing up from his to desk to walk over to the wall-mounted screen. Damn, who was calling at a time like this? He was due to leave with the fleet in twenty standard minutes. Examining the screen, the Captain paused when he saw who it was from. The Grand Admiral? He had already been briefed, and this unannounced call made him nervous. What if there was a problem? Well, only way to find out, he supposed. He activated the console, opening the channel. When Grand Admiral Tarkis appeared, he saluted as per protocol and out of respect. “Grand Admiral, sir, good to see you. What can I do for you, sir?” Shepard asked tentatively, still worried about what this was all about. When the Grand Admiral replied so bluntly and friendly, it caught the man off-guard. He had to stop himself from freezing up. “Oh, right, of course sir. The shake-down tests are all green, we’re set to go. I’m surprised they funded another Savior-class instead of pulling a mothball, in all honestly.”
The old Admiral chuckled-Chuckled!-on the view screen. Tarkis never laughed in any of the meetings or vids he had seen, but this was a private feed. “Yes yes, of course. The Navy loves getting more ships, Captain, you should know that. They moaned about “retrofitting costs” and “ruining a relic of the past” to get that new bucket built. You’re lucky the Council agreed. But I’m afraid this isn’t quite a casual call.” Tarkis paused for a moment, the old kind man on the screen giving Shepard a serious look. “You are well aware the gravitas of your positon and responsibilities, correct, Captain?”
Shepard nodded, answering quickly. “Of course, sir. To find new terrestrial planets and expand the Empire.”
The Grand Admiral nodded once in agreement. “And on the subject of First Contacts with near-Marzons?”
“If they are friendly and roughly our level, offer diplomatic relations once we sort out the language problem.” Shepard replied, having said this several times during previous meetings.
“And non-Marzons?” The Admiral asked, leaning forward.
“Avoid out-right hostilities, sir.” It was a simple policy, but Shepard knew it was more difficult than that.
The Admiral nodded silently in agreement, before speaking again. “Excellent. Once you leave our space, Captain, as the only official representative of the Marzon Empire and the Emperor, you have total authority within the fleet and on any new colony you establish as you are aware. You are given the Lord Imperators blessing to do what is necessary to survive and thrive. But be warned, Captain, your actions may have… Unintended consequences if they go against prior objectives. Good luck, Captain. Hope to hear from you soon.” With that, the Admiral disconnected the channel, leaving Captain Shepard to his own thoughts for a few moments. The burden was on his shoulders now, and the future of the Empire lay with him. He sighed, wondering how on Marzon he ended up with all of this responsibility. All well, he supposed, someone had to do it.
Ten minutes later, the First Expidition Fleet launched into sub-space, to the cheering of the Navy-men’s families and citizens of the Empire over the broad-band communications. They would be in range of the Imperial broadcasts for a week before they finally ceased.