(Raven’s Roost Bar, Black Star Station, Dimiya System)
The bar was packed to capacity, but people weren’t celebrating. The bar had actually been rented out by the owner of Black Star Company, and while he could have simply demanded the use of the bar, he paid the normal rental fee. The bar’s owner, after all, was the wife of Wisteria’s tactical team leader, who had been injured during the defense of Nuevo Edo when a conduit ruptured in his face.
Two of his team members had died in the blast, which made him one of the ‘lucky’ ones, even if he had burns over 30% of his body. There were many stories like him throughout the Black Star Fleet, but especially amongst the group who had been with the Owner the longest, the members of First Group, who had fought alongside him during the Imperial Civil War.
When the X’thari had attacked the Nuevo Edo System, they’d come in at several different points, to split the defenders’ forces. The Owner had known this, and split his groups anyway, to keep the X’thari from gathering and overwhelming the defenders. Every tactical simulation agreed that if the X’thari had come in at the same point, they would have been able to mass enough weight of fire that they could easily have destroyed the entire Black Star Fleet, and the Nuevo Edoan Navy. The only thing that saved them was the caution the X’thari showed in approaching a group that had shown they had weapons and tactics the insectile aliens had never seen before. But the cost of victory had been steep. Oh sure, the dead and wounded were a pittance compared to the numbers who would have died if the fleet was wiped out, but the losses amongst the defenders were not small.
Everyone here was a friend or relative of one of the fallen. Everyone here knew someone who was not coming back. Fully two thirds of the Shinokage’s crew had been killed during the battle, which left her with the dubious distinction of having the highest death toll of any ship that survived the battle. Those who were members of the Black Star Fleet were dressed in full dress uniforms, black upon crimson, in reverse of the normal blacks they wore while on duty. When Shinokage had been repaired, First Group returned through the Gateway to Dimiya, to allow the Nightforge and the Nuevo Edo yards to repair the system’s defenders first, and begin building up the defensive fleet.
The low murmurs of conversation died immediately when a high, piercing whistle sounded throughout the bar. Turning to the source of the sound, the crowd saw the Owner there, standing in his own dress uniform, with his crew from the Starlight Raven standing behind him. As one, they walked through the crowd, until they got to a podium that stood upon the stage where normally a band would be playing. The Owner’s Harem, as the girls were known, stood at attention behind the man that led them all as he stepped to the podium.
“For those of you who have not met me before, I am Mirikon Mollen, Commodore of the Black Star Fleet and Owner of the Black Star Company. Two months ago, the Black Star Fleet, with the help of the Nuevo Edo Navy, repelled an attack upon the Nuevo Edo System by the X’thari, in what has been confirmed to be the largest fleet action by the X’thari since the end of the last X’thari War.”
“We were outnumbered, outmassed, and outgunned. Our ships, built for stealth and sneak attacks, were forced to take on the enemy in pitched battle, because if we did not, then a world would die. It was truly the worst possible situation a fleet like ours could be thrown into, and we went in willingly, knowing that we might all die that day.”
“The victory we won that day belongs not to any one individual or small group of people, but to all of Black Star. It belongs to the captains and officers who fought their ships, and kept a cool head under fire, never ceding defeat, doing whatever they could for victory. It belongs to the engineers and crewmen who worked desperately to keep their ships in the fight, often at grave risk to their own lives. It belongs to the fighter pilots who took on frigates and cruisers that massively outmassed them so that their fellows would have just one more chance to strike back at the enemy. It belongs to the bombers, who struck heavy blows at the enemy, stripping away their numbers before the battle even began. It belongs to the Marines who hurled themselves into the unknown, being the first group to capture a new class of X’thari vessel intact. It belongs to the yard workers, who up to the last moment were turning out new ships, new fighters, new bombers, racing against time to give us as good a chance as we could possibly get. And it belongs to all of you, the silent supporters, the reason many of our comrades fought and bled and went that extra measure in the hopes of returning home. The victory belongs to all of Black Star, and as the Owner, it is my command that not one of you forgets that!”
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There were cheers, and the owner allowed them to continue. His people here needed this, as much as the crews of First Group did. He waited a moment, and then raised his hands to quiet the crowd.
“As you know, First Group of the Fleet was hit hardest in the battle, as we were the only group without bomber support. I want you all to know that the decision to throw First Group into that fight was mine, and mine alone. We had four groups of enemies entering the system, and three groups of ships to respond to them with. To say that this was an untenable situation would be a massive understatement. I chose to throw First Group into the fire, knowing that we might lose all the ships, because they were, and still are, the most experienced forces of the Fleet. It was a deadly situation, and I knew that only our most experienced crews would have a chance to pull through. And pull through they did! Battered and broken, but never beaten, they fought and bled and died, but their ships and crewmates survived, and the X’thari did not.”
One of the bar’s servers came on stage with a tray with glasses filled with wine. One by one, each member of the Owner’s Harem picked up a glass, and held it in front of them. Finally, the owner himself picked up the last of the glasses. Servers throughout the bar had just finished replenishing glasses, so that every man and woman in the bar now held a glass aloft.
“We are gathered here to pay respects to the dead, those men and women of all races who fought and fell, but did not fight in vain. Many, too many, died because we fought a fleet that outmatched us, but many more live on because of their courage, their sacrifice. To all the members of the Black Star Fleet, but especially to the survivors and the fallen of First Group, we lift our cups. I promise you now that we will learn from this battle, and will not be caught unprepared again!”
“We fight as one!”
And the crowd yelled back, “WE FIGHT AS ONE!”
With that response from the gathered crowd, he drained his glass, as did the rest of the bar. Again, he waited for the crowd to settle, before he said, “I have just a few more remarks, before allowing you all to get to your remembrances. There are those amongst you who were dependents of a Black Star who fell. Whether they were a slave or free, they were Black Stars, and so are you. If you feared being turned out because they died, rest assured, you are one of us, and will remain so. Those of you who had before tended the home fires, and now find yourselves adrift, we are offering training and new jobs as the fleet expands.”
“Yes, all three Groups will be returned to their pre-battle strength, and then will be reinforced with new ships. In addition, I am announcing that the Fourth and Fifth groups are now planned. As we now have operations in two arms of the galaxy, I have decided that we should be able to protect our people in both arms. Second Group will remain the Home Fleet for our people here in Dimiya, and Fourth Group will be formed to support them, and operations throughout this area of Known Space. Third Group will continue to aid in the building of the Nuevo Edo fleet, and Fifth Group will be created to support operations in that arm, as the X’thari will no doubt attempt to probe our defenses once again. And First Group shall forever be the tip of the spear. We have the addresses of Gateways across the galaxy, so there is an entire galaxy for us to explore. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll find where the X’thari are hiding and take the fight to their homes for a change, with the Black Star Marines leading the way!”
He let the cheers die out, before saying, “And for those of you who realize that a warrior’s life is not for you, I can tell you that we will also be expanding our merchant fleet, expanding our seven Raven-class light freighters to twelve, and introducing a new class of Bulk Freighters, beginning with the BSS Oregon Trail, which had the keel laid just this morning! Or maybe you wish to explore the arts, or learn a craftsman’s trade? We will train you for that, too! And if science is your passion? Then we are always looking for ways to improve the Fleet, and the individuals who serve it. You have an idea that others laugh at because it goes against the norm? We’ve manufactured our success doing just that! Oh sure, we may laugh when we hear the idea, but then we’re going to get to work with you and see if we can’t make that idea a reality that can help our fighters the next time they go into battle!”
As the polite laughter died down, the owner nodded to the crowd, and said, “Now, the bar is open for the rest of the night. Drink up, in memory of those who are gone, because tomorrow we go back to work, so that we don’t shame their memories by wallowing in our grief, but hone it into a sword and shield to protect those who remain!”
(Confederate Intelligence Service HQ, Somewhere on Dimiya)
Alok Paxisys sighed as he reviewed the latest data coming across his desk on the Black Star Fleet, and its enigmatic Commodore. He’d originally thought to turn him into an intelligence asset when they first met, but that idea had quickly been scrapped with the way he suddenly rose in visibility with his Black Star Company. Besides the fact that he was too visible and financially stable to be a proper agent, his attitude, like most Nomads, was completely inappropriate for an intelligence asset. So with ‘spy’ off the table, he had next floated the idea of using the Black Stars as privateers to harass the Imperials while they were in their civil war, and that had been a success. Too much of a success, actually, as he had turned the entire civil war around, helping to end it before the Imperials could be bled completely dry.
After that, he had tried to turn members of the company, but traditional methods didn’t work, and the ‘special’ methods they’d originally developed on Jagloth were useless against a group that already knew them and had defenses in place. Now, they had beaten off a True Variant Hunt of the X’thari, with numbers that, on paper, should have been completely wiped out! This, along with the new Terran Empress supporting Nuevo Edo as a free port, which rumors suggested was Commodore Mollen’s idea, had ruined some of the more hawkish members of the Senate’s ambitions to expand the Confederacy by including Nuevo Edo forcefully, if necessary. Those members were now turning their displeasure towards the Black Star Company, and Paxisys had been ordered to find something they could use against the Nomad and his people.
Alok sighed, and hit a button on his desk, “Alred, get in here. We have work to do.”