The massive hanger space sprawls out inside the concave side of the station, gravity panels on all surfaces allow for maximum space usage. It's a bit disorienting to a surfacer, but any spacer is used to being able to look up and see "upside down" people and equipment on the far "ceiling" of a hanger. Equipment, personnel and small craft cover all sides of the hanger except for the opening to the void, protected by a force field to keep the atmosphere contained. Beyond this, the huge arms of the docking spars project out within the curve of the station, where your vessels are waiting. Your crews meet you here on the deck and the noise and bustle of early morning work is all around you. Each of you, except for the captain of the Harald Wartooth have 20 men and women waiting for them in formation.

Arne moves to his crew, and is lucky enough to have them queued first on the deck; he's not had much time to prepare, yet on the other hand, he's had years to prepare for this moment.

He pulls up in front of his team, and with the bearing and history of House Lofót, and all his years in Academy snaps off a top-10 snappy salute.

On it's return, he speaks - "At ease, Sigfred.  I am Master Arne Karsen; and just moments ago, Master Star Commander Essena Valna named me as Master of our ship.  It is an honor and a privilege for me to be here today, and be your new leader.

I have four main principles that I hope you will adopt and by which I intend to lead the Sigfred.

The first of these is Leadership.  Starting with me and extending to everyone else on the Sigfred, we all must lead ourselves first with Integrity and Purpose.  I practice what I preach and will expect that from every Officer and every Rate.  We can and will perform to the highest efficiency possible.

The next is Teamwork.  An inspired group of committed people working together for a common cause.  We will work as a team.  Reaching our goals will require individual excellence, but we will not be working in competition with each other.  We will be working in collaboration with each other.

The next is Work; Effort.  We will be taking substantial risks and mistakes may happen.  All of us must strive for best result that serves the Mission.  The unpardonable sin will be not giving your work your best effort, not caring about the quality of your work, or not getting better as we strive to be the best we can be.

The last is Results.  Everything we do will add value and contribute to the Mission.  I expect we will be the leaders by example in our role, highly respected the fleet, feared by any enemies of the Hegemony, and loved by the people who we protect and serve.

Sail with me, for the Astral Force and for the Hegemony.  The stature of our homelands are no more than the measure of ourselves.  Our job is to keep them free.  Our will is to keep the torch of the Hegemony; our freedoms, our civilizations, burning for all who come to us in peace and solidarity.  To this solemn purpose we have been called - the young, the brave, the strong, and the free.  Heed my call; Sail with me."

"Ratings you are dismissed to the vessel; Department Leaders to me, please."

"Department Leaders, at ease.  What still needs doing before we cast of at XX00? I expect to have an all-captain's meeting, but I want nothing undone prior to cast off, or I want to know what delays us, such that the departure needs be pushed back.  A quick stand-up then: Astrogation, do you have our course? If so, make ready. If not, you will; stand by.  Comms - you're a go? Deck - 100%? Engineering - 100% Systems Ready? Weapons - 100% Locked?"

OCC: I'm guessing that with a compliment of 20, the Sigfred has Astro, Comms, Deck, Engineering, and Weapons.  Any other departments?

Diana calmly walked over to the crew of the ship she had been assigned to, radiating a presence of calm and decisiveness. Like she had told Oscar a while ago, she had been an XO for a good six months, and even if that was on an Academy ship, it was leadership experience nonetheless. She felt it would actually work to her advantage, given that the crew now under her command was less jittery than a number of students would be, but in the end, it would ultimately come down to how well they could coordinate their efforts with the other ships of the patrol fleet.

She took up a position opposite to the crew, and waited for the other captains to get in position as well. Volsung would need to be the first to call his crew to attention, him being the designated squadron leader, after which they would each do so in turn in an organized manner. Even in a modern society such as theirs there were still rituals to adhere to.

Captain Takagara stood and surveyed the men and women of King Squadron at easy parade rest. Two captains to his left, two to the right. Eight-six spacers of the Indari Astral Service. Four combat-ready corvettes and a tender.

Surely sufficient to scout and pacify a supposedly empty system on the edge of the Dead Zone?

"Welcome to King Squadron, sailors!", he called out, voice firm though he would have preferred in many ways to have a smallcraft to himself, alone in the Black

"For some of you, this will be your first venture into the Black. For others, your last. Regardless, I expect each to do their duty, to serve the Hegemony and House Indari... to bring pride to the uniforms you wear"

"Captains, tend to your crew and ships!"

He smiled as Karsen leapt into action, firm and clear, and turned his attention to the spacer of the Angantyr

After Volsung had made his speech, and Arne had as well, Diana began her address to the crew.

- "Crew of the Valdar. I am certain that a number of you have already looked at the ships gathered here, and whispered rumors of the kind of mission we will be flying. Some of these may actually prove correct. But regardless of where we end up going, know that we will have each others' backs. We will go, we will do what we were assigned to do, and in a few months time we will all be back home enjoying some well earned shore leave."

She paused for a few seconds, then turned to her officers.

- "XO, Voidmasters, there will be a meeting in T minus one hour regarding the operational status of the Valdar, please have your departmental reports ready by then. You are dismissed."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:12, Wed 29 Jan 2020.

Captain Mysh, in similar fashion to the others salutes and upon return addresses his crew.

"At ease....Whether it iz by design (divine or otherwise) or by the random forces of the universe, we have been brough together to man our craft, da INV-Randver. his accent strongly accentuating the letters. His voice gruff and strong.

I too once stood where you stand, and I know dat our causes for joining as different as dey come. Some join for money, some for duty, some for a future for you and your family, while othas join to escape a past. But today, one thing unifies us all.

You, along wiv De men and vomen who stand beside you are now an extension of this behemoth. We are itz circulatory system, itz lungs, itz nerves, with out us it cannot live, with out it, we are exposed to the black.

It iz my solemn duty to guide dis beast through the void, both metal and flesh. I will rely upon you to aid me in this task.

Let us begin. Please to your stations and prepare to deliver your reports in situ."

Zazan proceeds to board and begins his initial inspections.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:17, Wed 29 Jan 2020.

Whilst his captains saw to their own, Volsung turned to the officers and enlisted of the Angantyr. His words were clear, his expectations simple, having spent some hours following their briefing working through the Master Star Commander's material, "We cast off at oh-six-hundred. All stations will report readiness to me and stand by for inspection. We sail for Ultima Black, keeping it for the Hegemony..."

Oscar looked at the other captains preparing their crews and then looked to his own. They all had three times his number in a crew. Oscar did not let it dissuade him. Standing in front of the men and women that would form his command, he was silent for a moment. Inhaling deeply and taking just as big an exhale, Oscar spoke in a clear, commanding tone. "Crew of the Harald Wartooth, I am Ship Master Oscar Hargrave, your new commanding officer. I want you to look around you. I am not going to stand on speeches, but I do want you to understand one thing. We are going to be the lifeblood of this squadron. We are going to ensure that for everything the Black throws at this squadron to knock it down, we will be the support for it to stand back up. Take it to heart. Expect personal meetings with me so that we can get to know each other. Until then, ensure all stores are secure and accounted for. We set sail in the next twenty-four hours. Dismissed," he concluded and turned to give a nod to Volsung that he was complete and ready to move forward.

With the crew settled, pending any command staff meetings, Oscar began a visual inspection and walk-around of his new command.

Captain Oscar Hargrave of the INS-Harald Wartooth Knarr-class Corvette Tender

Your crew is not only enthusiastic, but also devoted. They welcome you fully as commanding officer. Of course, this is only a handful of men and women, but you are already at home with your crew. They are already tightly bonded and they are happy to induct you into their social acceptance. In addition, they understand the chain of command personally. Each of them knows their duty and you soon learn, all of them are veteran spacers.

Captain Volsung Takagara of the INS-Angantyr Karvi-class Assault Corvette

Your men are eager to battle, but they are somewhat inexperienced. Most of them have never seen real combat, but you see them viewing you as someone to look up to. You noble status is not a secret and they see you as a sort of a celebrity, always asking you about your exploits, but their discipline leads something to be desired.

Captain Zazan Mysh of the INS-Randver Karvi-class Assault Corvette

Your men are not what you would expect. A ragtag group of spacers, many of who have been drafted over the years or pulled in from other endeavors and now here they are, manning your Assault Corvette. Frankly, you see they are not ready for battle. You will have to whip them into shape.

Captain Diana Herrson of the INS-Valdar Snekkja-class Interceptor Corvette

Your crew is both skilled and determined. Most of them have previously served on cutters, corvettes, patrol boats and frigates, used to fighting small actions with smaller warships. They welcome you gladly as their previous CO, you learn, was something of a political appointee, not in any way qualified. He ended up resigning and leaving the post open for you and they seem quite happy about that and to have you.

Captain Arne Karsen of the INS-Sigfred Langskip-class Skirmish Corvette

Your men are not what you would expect. A ragtag group of spacers, many of who have been drafted over the years or pulled in from other endeavors and now here they are, manning your Skirmish Corvette. Frankly, you see they are not ready for battle. You will have to whip them into shape.

The next step is to take your vessels out into the Black of space and proceed to drill into the next system.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:51, Sun 09 Feb 2020.

Upon the arrival of her personal belongings, Diana had the crew assemble in the briefing room again.

- "Right then, now that we're about to get underway, i will inform you of our current assignment. We are to spike out to Ultima Black for an extended patrol, along with the Harald Wartooth, Angantyr, Randver and Sigfred. In addition, as a gesture from me, i have bought shields for each crew member, to add to your personal gear. As i shield you, i request you shield me in turn."

With a brief nod, she motioned to her XO.

- "I will leave crew schedules to my XO. One thing i'd like to ensure is to have a full compliment of crew manning all stations upon spiking in and out, all else will be left upon the XOs authority while i get more familiar with interpersonal work relations among the crew. That is all."

She then stepped aside, waiting for the XO to say a word as well, before dismissing the crew to their stations. The meeting with her Viodmasters would come later and she had already informed them of it during the initial welcoming ceremony, so there was no need to bring it up again now.

Zazan tours his vessel, first with a brief survey of the exterior, matching systems to the ships drawings he had studyed. Once aboard he wasted no time putting eyes on each department and jotting notes next to the manifest and his already marked up drawings.

Seeing and interacting with his crew, he felt a slight unease. A group of crisp sailors would have been easier to deal with, but these spacers might need a Bothislian touch. He made a note to go over shipboard discipline with his XO when he got a chance.

Oscar felt the lines of his ship as he toured it. Each component, each tool, each passageway had been taken care of. Though they were small and not a combat focused crew, Oscar knew he was lucky. Already he could tell the signs of experience in the men and women of his command. Small, personal touches that only time in the Black could teach were important. Oscar allowed a smile to himself as he roamed the ship.

After greeting each spacer by rate and name, Oscar input meeting times each morning as he made a rough schedule in his tablet regarding the crew. They would be more than ship’s personnel. They would be a family.