Weeks later...Lucerne Mansion, Kashan

Fifty years of continuous work on the Lucerne home had continually transformed in such a manner that the old and the new were continually blended together. Whenever Corise returned home from the Seraph, he could always spot at least a few changes, such as the new gardener droids working the decades old garden. It was all his mother’s fault, being obsessed with everything being the best. And, much to Corise’s chagrin, it was by Kashan standards, namely because the family owned Kashan Defence Industries, which did the vast bulk of contract work for the government. At least they can’t complain that I lead a rich boy’s life on the Seraph. He shrugged at the thought.

"Can I get you a glass of wine Lance?"

The younger man nodded. Corise picked a tumbler of the liquid from off the counter. He gently poured the Cambrian stock into pair of crystal glasses. Handing one off to the brilliant scientist, he sat down on a chair opposite of the man.

"The minelayer incident seems to have settled down rather nicely, thank the maker. If the word got out about the operation to the civilian populace, it would spread to our enemies about how the mines were being spread; can’t have that happening.”

Lance shrugged. “Perhaps, but I am inclined to think that the incident did unify our militaries. Tragedies are some of the best unifiers.”

Corise nodded in agreement. The Vice-Commodore seemed to have a philosophical edge that the Kashan man envied.

“We can’t afford to have to many tragedies though; bad for fleet morale, logistics, materials, etc.”

“And what’s good for morale is success.”

“Like the completion of the Gestalt-Kashan Hyperlane?”

“Are you going to argue against that?”

Corise shook his head, setting the glass down. “Only if I want to waste our time.”

Lance smiled.

“I think another key morale builder will be the arrival of the Coalition at the new yards.”

The Kashan man vigorously nodded. “The yards themselves are morale builders. I imagine that they will boost the economy and increase the output of ships.”

“Not to mention the pride they would inspire in even the civilians.”

With the reconstruction of the Coalition, the flagship of its namesake, both Gestalt and Kashan had been given funds for larger yards to accommodate the massive vessel, which none of the yards at both systems could support. KDI had already started upgrading the ground yards at Kashan, and planned to use the same technology on the new orbital yard that would help upgrade the battlecruiser. The Kashan commodore bit his lower lip.

“How are the yards at the Colonies going?”

Big seemed like too small a word.

“It is huge,” observed Captain d’Foose. “You go away for one detached tour and come back to this?”

“That’s progress,” countered her Executive Officer and glibly added, “You can’t stop progress.”

Looming before them, so large it swelled up and filled ones entire perspective, Captain and XO alike stared out at Shipwright Colonial Shipyards. From their perspective aboard the observation bridge of the Colonial it was the predominant local object and due to their present orientation, dwarfed even the somewhat distant planet Gestalt I.

The orbital facility had swallowed up the former RDS Uniform which in turn had inspired its ungainly shape.

“And ugly,” supplied d’Foose sarcastically.

On the part of a prosperous economy and booming trade industry the Colonials had been able to embark upon an campaign of unbridled expansion within the Gestalt star system and the ‘yards were a direct extension of that prosperity. Kashan and the Hyper-Lane project had been two of the major contributors to their current age of fiscal success and, if Vice Commodore Shipwright could be trusted in the future as he had in the past, the Colonies would be looking at a bright future.

Kilometers of steel did not simply appear in space, though this seemed to have been the case above Gestalt I, without significant assistance.

The people had not complained, nor could they. Looking a gift-horse in the mouth, so they said, was quite the insult. Even the lowliest laborer, of which there were a great many, lived happily according to a healthy style of living. This too had been beneficial for the purposes of immigration.

As the Colonies continued to expand within the Gestalt system, now numbering almost a dozen in total (depending on accepted status) so too had their economy. Again, the ‘yards at Gestalt I stood as a testament to this, everything did…

“There she is.” Captain d’Foose raised a hand and pointed to one of the many slips.

Still under construction, and yet already tasked with the creation of new starships, the ‘yards were the final destination of Captain d’Foose current command, the Colonial Destroyer. Her ship had been recalled for long refit after less then a year’s active service. She knew the truth, that her old destroyer would likely be stripped and remarketed in favor of the new, larger line of starships which the Admiralty had commissioned to ‘enlarge’ the defensive capability of the Colonial Defense Fleet and it was to one of these, the ship which was to be her new command, to which she pointed.

Naked and still in the early stages of birth, the Commonwealth battleship was a flurry of construction activity, at over a kilometer long the distinct wedge shaped keel was already distinctly visible in the distance. This was to be the Colonial answer to full scale capital warship construction, a fully armored and armed battlecruiser capable of sustaining combat against large aggressors. Though it resembled the Imperial wedge, there was no mistake that this was a ship-of-the-line; favored for fleet actions if less diverse then those notorious planetary domination platforms.

“I guess that makes you a Commander,” remarked her XO off hand while fiddling with his crew reports, he played at nonchalance and waved his stylus at the one of the port slips. “I wonder what they’ll do with those?”

A trio of smaller keels, measuring eight hundred fifty meters long, were under construction, visible in the general vicinity of the XO gesturing. These were the new Colonial-class destroyers which would replace the line of ships currently in service and the current command of Captain d’Foose.

“One is for the Kashan Defense Fleet, one more for envoy service in the joint Coalition fleet and one for us,” d’Foose recited the order flawlessly. She was intimately familiar with all three commissions as, until launch, they would be under her direct administration. “Are you hinting at something, XO?”

It was no secret that he was up for a command of his own. With the current recruiting surplus generated from within the Colonies and with the help of the Kashans alike, the CDF had been promoting their skilled officers with some vigor. The positions were opening up daily and current plans called for a fifty percent increase in fleet strength.

“No sir, not hinting at anything,” he chuckled and looked up from his pad. “I am asking for your endorsement.”

He checked his chronometer, “asking you, I might add, for the fourth time this week.”

Indeed, fleet command had asked for her opinion regarding posting her previous XO as Captain aboard the new Colonial destroyer. He would be detailed to Gestalt II to protect the David Colony orbital platform which orbits the deep azure gas giant. David Colony had been a fairly massive effort; purchasing the old giant had been easy, transporting it to Gestalt II had been very, exceedingly difficult.

“Fine,” she caved without any ceremony furthering the joke that she had been holding out only because it was driving him absolutely crazy. “But you’ll have to wait until the after the ceremony.”

In less then a months time the Kashan Defense Fleet, at the behest of Jan Dodonna and Prime Minister Regrad, would escort the old Viscount-class flagship to Gestalt I where in they were to begin primary construction on the ships major structure. Once that was complete, a day d’Foose hoped would be fairly far off (doubtful given the madcap timelines laid down by the Vice Commodore), the massive monster would be shipped back to Kashan for final construction and shakedown.

With a sigh d’Foose ordered the XO to bring the ship in to dock. The parade would have to wait, she had work to do.

Flagship Seraph, in orbit around Kashan

"This is ridiculous."

"You have no idea how much time it took to put this end of the project together," replied an elderly man.

"Or I, on the political aspects."

"Well," stated the Commodore, "My part of this undertaking has yet to be done."

The trio looked out of the Seraph's viewport at the Coalition, the massive flagship of the New Galactic Coalition fleet. It's massive wedge hull orbited Kashan among the scaffolding that would help the relatively smaller Kashan Orbital Yard in the flagship's upgrading process. And that was saying something, as the orbital yard could accommodate a pair of Imperator Star Destroyers. Even now, the start of the fleet's sole Pegasus-class Star Destroyer could be seen within. Shuttles and other transports continually embarked and debarked from the warship, soaring back and forth from the planet to the ship to the station. Onboard, maintenance and construction crews worked non-stop onboard the vessel.

Weapons were upgraded to new models, mostly designed by Kashan Defence Industries. Groundside, a group of Azgards and KDI engineers were testing and perfecting an upgrade to the particle projectors that dominated the cruiser's weaponry. Industry built for the Kashan Defence Fleet was fully devoted to the restoration of the Coalition, producing vast amounts of Ultrachrome plating to recover the vessel as well as Ferrocarbon to reinforce key areas of the ship's frame. It would take weeks and perhaps months of work to finish the vessel.

"...and it will hopefully boast the newer propulsion systems developed for the Pegasus-class."

Corise nodded to his father. "It would go well with the philosophy behind the Second Wave ships in general. If maneuverability can be improved as much as you say it can, the Coalition should have little difficulty getting it's big cannon in position to annihilate enemy ships."

The Pro-Consul nodded. "Hopefully it works as well as planned. Funding by Regard for this project has definitely stimulated our economy, particularly in the industry."

Corise nodded. "Father, once the project is done, with the new facilities in place, how much do you think we can increase production?"

"We can at least triple it, provided we have the cash and resources. That's my main concern right now. While the Coalition is paying for the resources used on this project, it's draining a fair amount of what we have stored up. There will be little if any left in the mineral reserves for a while. I've already had us increase mining operations within the Kashan system and beyond."

Pro-Consul Thorn frowned. "Define beyond."

The elder Lucerne shrugged. "We're mining the asteriods out of Genon now as well. Phoenix is being worked on heavily as well for the materials needed for Ferrocarbon. Of course, we don't need as much Ferrocarbon for this project, but we will need to for any future projects. Oh, there's a few asteriods in deep space that we're mining. They're all in Coalition space though."

"I'm less than reassured that we can protect them as easily," mused the Kashan officer.

"I wouldn't worry. The area around them is so remote that I have orders for them to evacuate even at the presence of a nearby vessel in hyperspace. And on that note, there are no hyperspace lanes around them at all."

"Hence the reason why the asteriods weren't originally discovered?"

The elder Lucerne nodded again.

"Still father, I think it would be best if we tied that into the KDF defence network just to make sure everything will be all right."

"Corise," noted the woman.

"Yes?"

"I saw that coming..."

A four meter tall virtual simulation, projected on the auditorium wall, ran through the projected flight plan from four different perspectives and rotated from one axis to the other between shots. Gathered in the high-backed seats set on the dome shaped structures floor, propped almost horizontal, a group of observers watched the scenario play through. When it finished their chairs automatically adjusted, reorienting them towards the raised stage.

Vice Commodore Shipwright stepped onto the raised platform.

“Greetings ladies and gentlemen,” he smiled and turned his eyes over the crowd. “Thank you for your time.”

“You have just viewed the preliminary arrival plan for the decommissioned Coalition flagship. The digital display detailed the arduous journey that the hulk will have to traverse from Kashan to Gestalt. Given the extreme size of the vessel, and that the Kashan-Gestalt hyperlane is not well suited to accommodate such a sizable traversing, the safe conduct of the hulk will require the direct contribution of your branches.”

As was typical of the Gestalt facilitator, Lance was clad in a deep, navy blue uniform that, like many of his outfits, was split between being a uniform and a civilian suit. Black epaulettes signified his rank and a arch-brimmed cap sat atop his head.

The men and women to whom he was speaking represented a diverse cross-section of Kashan and Gestalt civilian contractors who had, in one regard or another, some interest in the flagship project. Some were in the direct employ of the New Galactic Coalition Government proper while a few others were there to present a media presence.

“The transport of the hulk will be conducted in multiple stages.”

Lance gestured for the lights to be dimmed. The projection returned, in part, but this time it was modulated to appear behind the Vice Commodore in much lower resolution.

“Stage one involves the departure from Kashan. This is not as simple a trick as it sounds. The state of the Coalition flagship is tenious at best and though the Kashan contractors will have done their best to secure the space frame for transport we cannot be immediately assured that this will be a no-risk operation.”

“Stage one is and will be the most risky part of the project. It is the shortest.”

The image rotated behind Lance.

“Stage one terminates at Jump Nexus One. A sizable technical staff will be in position aboard the asteroid base there, along with a full compliment of support ships. Stage one will be the proving ground. Once completed we will have a clear operational idea of what needs to be done to secure the space frame for the rest of the journey.”

“Stages Two through Twenty comprise multiple short-leg jumps along the Kashan-Gestalt hyperlane with according stops at each asteroid manning station on point. The technical staff and support crew I just mentioned will be traveling behind the space frame throughout this operation. Because of cost analysis, and risk of interruption, the transportation project will have to be carried out in a linear fashion and without delay.”

“As detailed in your profiles, stage twenty one allows for arrival in the Gestalt System. Much of the following information will have to be delineated according to your security authorization as of this point.”

He smiled, “Thank you for your attention. There will be a series a briefs to follow which will be broken down into command pods.”

“And to present the military perspective and detail the escort and security detach for the project, I’d like to introduce Commodore Lucerne…”