March 1st, 8252

You lay back in your hotel bed in Celesmore Sky City. It's not much more comfortable then your cot aboard the Night Horse but at lest it comes without an overhead perilously close to your head when you sit up. The yard anticipates ten days to complete work on the Night Horse. Then you expect to be dispatched back into the void, outbound to another system in need of exploration. Idly you wonder where you will be sent next. A few moments later your smack your head and pull open a database of galactic maps. You are part of the Surveyor's Corps now, so naturally you and the Night Horse will be sent to fill in the gaps on the map.

The Star Empire sits fairly far rimward of the galactic core along the 'primary' spiral arm of the galaxy, having gained that designation by simple length. Coreward along the same arm is the Astiorel Remnant, the last hub of the elderly and waning astoriel interstellar government and culture. You know from government announcements and news broadcasts that Star Empire diplomats are working to build ties with the Astoriel Remnant. Privately your bet is that they will become a lesser partner to the Star Empire and eventually be merged in as a constituent sector in the Star Empire. How soon this will happen is not yours to know, though your personal gut estimation is another four hundred years or so before that happens.

Hugging the inner antispinward edge of the same arm are the holdings off the golrak hive mind. You suppose the Star Empire could dispatch the Night Horse in that direction as a combination scout and survey ship, but you doubt it will come to pass. The Navy doesn't like having other ships in what it considered to be an active combat zone. If the Star Empire intends to expand that way it will do so behind Navy task forces and Royal Marine extermination teams, probably backed by planet cracker formations to exterminate worlds to thoroughly infested to land on. You almost instantly disregard the notion of this happening any time soon despite the threat of the golrak as the economic and human cost would be too high for too little gain.

That leaves purely rimward and antispinward – rimward as directions for exploration. Purely rimward quickly ruins into the galactic rim and out of planets, so that leaves antispinward – rimward as the direction for logical expansion of the Star Empire and thus for the direction in which the Night Horse will be dispatched. The historical map database reinforces your hypothesis as you hit play on the time lapse and watch the Star Empire's borders expand and stall as they hit first golrak and then Astoriel Remnant territory.

Your tablet interrupts your musings with the ding of an incoming message alert. Flipping out of the time lapse and closing the database you drag open the message program and open the new message.

TO: RDML Aquila Barantyn the 2nd, commanding officer, Surveyor's Corps, Celesmore detachment.

INFORMATION COPY TO: CAPT Lawrence Warde, HMSCS Night Horse.

Initial yard surveys have confirmed preliminary surveys of the damage sustained, and the expedient field repairs to, HMSCS Night Horse. The Celesmore yards congratulate the repair efforts conducted aboard the Night Horse, especially in light of the heavy structural damage sustained in the Azur system. In light of that damage the yard officially estimates that the Night Horse will be repaired and ready for launch in three weeks from authorization of work. In light of Political Lord Ayland Wynstryngham the 8th's standing orders regarding repair and refit of Surveyor's Corps ships, no additional refits will be conducted at this time.

SIGNED: RADM Horace Odgers, commanding, Celesmore Dockyards.

You sigh and toss the tablet onto the bed in disgust. You had hoped that your petition to have the damnable hum of the Kleinova warp jump drive looked at in greater detail would be accepted, possibly even having the mark one star version of the focusing lens arrays for the Thunder Strike batteries. The modification is quite new, and a bit pricey, but it gets an extra twenty five percent range out of the weapon systems. You are disappointed to not get the work done that you petitioned for but not unsurpassed in light of the standing orders.

Instead, with a time-frame in hand, you approve passes for both of your Midshipmen. Two week passes as a matter of fact, as that will leave at least a week back aboard to get settled back in before the Celesmore yards turn your ship loose.

March 15th, 8252

You stand at the end of the boarding passageway to welcome your crew back aboard. Midshipman Huckle is the first to report back. He deliberately stops at the official line demarking where the dry dock ends and the ship begins just past the end of the tube and comes to attention.

“Midshipman Huckle requesting permission to return aboard.”

“Granted, at ease, and welcome back. Is that a new half-mask?”

Midshipman Huckle steps aboard and cracks his neck. “Close Sir. Paid for the basic filtration implant to be upgraded to a proper set of advanced bionic lungs. Costly, but the survey bonuses paid for it well enough, with enough credits left over for a proper multi tool set. Not to knock the standard issue kit but there's a few fittings that are just awkward with the regulation spanners.”

“I recall that well enough. Be sure to update the auto doc so it doesn't rip your new lungs out eh?”

“Can do Sir! By your leave?”

“Granted. We've still got a few days before departure but I've received official notice that it is imminent so don't stray too far.”

“Aye aye Sir.”

Midshipman Engel arrives a few minutes later with a new kit bag slung over his back and a new sidearm at his hip. He comes to attention and snaps a sharp salute.

“Permission to return aboard Sir?”

“Granted Midshipman. New weapon?”

“Aye sir. The Bull Dog is a fine weapon for a desk sitter but out closer to the sharp end of things I will take a M8211 any day of the week. Plus an armored void suit to go with it. Navy pattern, not Royal Marines, so it still light on the actual armor, but better then shirt sleeves. I also arranged for a delivery of proper coffee and a replacement container of nutrient paste for the synthesizer coming aboard on the next cargo shuttle.”

“Good man!”