Humanity Endures

Part 1 - The Expeditionary Fleet | Chapter 2

Near-prancing through the garish confines of the Capital Complex, Velan was soon bombarded with a series of textcomms from those he had invited to the meeting. Yelazar stated that it would take a bit for him to arrive, while Falmenec responded by saying that he was already present at the designated venue, as Velan had — suffering from extreme confidence — reserved it before he had even performed his deception. Terxah, Velan's chief pilot, said that she would be there momentarily; Dentor, the chief engineer of Velan's ship and the one responsible for manufacturing the crux of Velan's successful plan, responded similarly, though Xandra, Velan's relatively new lieutenant and second-in-command since he had been grounded, stated that sadly she would be occupied with unmissable business for the near future.

The Nemesis's Civilian Representative, Ralthina, answered to this effect as well. Her job as a "Civilian Representative," "Civ. Rep.," or occasionally, "The Rich Bitch That The Captain Hired," was to spend time aboard his warship to act as a liaison between it and any civilians, or even planetary governments, that Velan might interact with; both of these were more likely to listen to those with money and influence. Like most civilian representatives, Ralthina had two jobs; she was the CEO and owner of multiple companies, and she supported Velan's mostly-autonomous warship, both financially and diplomatically. Her payment was a measly wage, though she certainly did not occupy the post out of a sense of patriotic duty: the vast majority of Civ. Reps. worked aboard warships to get limited access to military intelligence that could give them an edge in the market. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as Light's End had been sending significant ripples throughout the business world as well as the Remnant that day, she was presently occupied with a business meeting, and would be unable to attend Velan's own assembly. The Nemesis being allowed to fly again probably hindered her, Velan realized: she would be further away from the backrooms and unofficial sources of intelligence the Capital Complex was defined by.

Naturally, Civ Reps had little use on standard warships, whose captains usually followed a larger boat than theirs and blew up what they were told to, though aboard flagships which routinely dealt with planetary governments, or on the warships of the "Executive Command," Civ. Reps. often proved crucial to a captain, if not always appreciated. Upon thinking about the Executive Command itself, however, Velan's mind immediately fell into a mild, fleeting melancholy. A fleet of warships whose captains have the autonomy and authority to persecute the Empire's enemies anywhere they want to? Where they can earn prestige and glory at a rate that others could only dream of? It had sounded perfect! When he had first learned of the Executive Command, Velan had imagined it a magnificent where talented captains went to earn their glory and rank before returning to the regular navy as admirals themselves. This may have even been the case, but it was certainly not the case for talented captains who had their ships grounded for over a year.

Nevertheless, with his ship finally free, and as his first strategic meeting had been organized, Velan finally saw the opportunity to make his mark on the galaxy. Too excited to waste time walking there, Velan strode to the nearest hypersphere — a sort of omnidirectional, spherical elevator that travelled at hypersonic speeds while keeping their occupant alive through the wonders of modern technology, and the occupant's modified genetics. As he reached the device, Velan, designating his destination to the device with a simple, effortless thought-command, clambered inside the cramped object so that he was sitting hunched-over within it. Once the doors of the hypersphere had snapped shut, and copious numbers of belts and restraining objects had deployed themselves over Velan, the captain was propelled through the Capital Complex at speeds far exceeding the speed of sound, though the experience was rather routine for him. Despite this great physical ordeal, the thorough genetic modification that every member of human society underwent — there were no "natural" humans left — made what would be a nauseating, potentially fatal experience, as troublesome as sitting on a chair and spinning in circles for a dozen seconds. At most, it could be mildly disorienting at first, but one got used to it within weeks, and found it positively banal after a year. As the hypersphere — the most efficient means for movement indoors and in space — was a staple of society and saw constant use by everyone, its harmful effects were rendered nonexistent with time, and effective genetic enhancement. This was good, for rapid travel was as critical in holding a massive society together as rapid communication; the Empire was the largest society humanity had ever known, and its endurance was partly thanks to its impressive infrastructure.