Missing Ships

Posted on Thu Jun 30th, 2022 @ 7:27pm by Emperor Antonius VI
Edited on on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 9:40pm

Mission: Historiae Terrae Et Imperii
Location: Imperial Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco
Timeline: Date 2371-05-15 at 0930
995 words - 2 OF Standard Post Measure

Grand Admiral Alynna Nechayev sat in her office at Imperial Starfleet Command in San Francisco, her fingers laced around a cup of coffee. Her eyes settled on a vast painting on the far wall, not focusing, but rather resting there, her mind racing with thoughts. It was times like these she envied the unsuccessful. Meeting after meeting framed the daily work of her life. Her role as Grand Admiral of Imperial Starfleet brought her into work involving the senior operators of Starfleet, the leaders of the Imperial Marines, the press, the Imperial Secretariat, and the Emperor himself. Always stuck between the goals of her betters and the ambitions of those beneath her, she couldn't shake the feeling that, after 8 years in the job, she was having more trouble than ever keeping her head above water.

The opening of her door came as no surprise. It was always opening with new arrivals and petitioners, but the woman who parted them this time was a slight surprise to her. Admiral Kathryn Janeway, Commander of the Terran First Fleet, walked in with purpose, her eyes immediately finding her boss and giving a Terran Salute. Alynna had life or death command over every soldier in her charge in theory, but in practice, it felt like they had life or death command over her.

"Long Live the Emperor." Kathrine said, her famously low and authoritative voice making the statement sound almost objective in its truth.

"Admiral Janeway. I assume you've come to me with the matter which is very much on both of our minds?" Alynna asked, leaning forward in her chair in anticipation of the news. Her style was formal, always professional, and always decisive. When she got the role, it was in large part because she had the organization skills to make Starfleet work. Despite her shaken demeanor, she wanted to present as the same old Grand Admiral as always; someone to be feared and respected.

“I am, actually.” Janeway answered, gesturing toward a chair before Nechayev’s desk. “May I have a seat? This one’s a doozie.”

“Please.” Alynna said, her gesture urging Janeway to do so for the sake of expediency. Which the woman did do, speaking after settling in and leaning back in her chair.

“I had an entire squadron on search and rescue operations for the last month, looking high and low for our friends.” Janeway said, and then shook her head. “Our ships are gone, ma’am. Nowhere to be found. The ISS Vengeance under the command of Ivan Petrov…and the ISS Terror under the command of Admiral Granger. I’m submitting a formal request for missing in action status.”

Alynna’s mind churned again, her thoughts circling around the names just mentioned. Ivan Petrov and her served in fleet command together, she at Operations, and he at Security. She had always found him impressive, loyal, and competent, so when he made a critical blunder with classified information and then fled the Empire under charges of treason, she had been surprised to say the least. Of course, the Petrov Incident had ended in the execution of her predecessor in her current role and all of his lackeys, so she had Petrov to thank for that, at least. Still, when the Emperor restored a command to Petrov and pardoned him, she thought it was the wrong choice by far, but he was the Emperor and she liked her head where it was. Granger, on the other hand, she barely knew, but hers was a fierce Galaxy Class ship with over a thousand souls aboard.

“Gods…we can’t afford mistakes like this. With the war ramping up, losing an Intrepid and Galaxy Class is a nightmare.” She said, her eyes getting slightly large. The Emperor had been so irritated when she told him about the Vengeance going missing. She would be sure to send someone else to deliver this news. "We have a large fleet..but most of our ships are over fifty years old and technology is lagging behind."

“Not to mention losing all of those good soldiers at a time when we need the best ones we can get.” Janeway added. “But we’ll manage, I’m sure, ma'am. I just hope that, wherever the crews are…they are alive and free, or dead. Terran slavery is an abomination we need to stamp out.”

“And we will.” Alynna said, looking more confident. “Speaking of which, how are your preparations for the first wave of the reconquest?”

“The Terran and Murates sectors have been outside of our control for far too long. And since the Alliance has had to divert their resources away from their northern territories to deal with their little Terran Rebellion, 72 ships should be more than enough to take them. How are the Second and Third Fleets doing with their preparations?”

“The Vulcan and Tellerite Sectors won’t fall quite as easily, but we’re confident they will fall with minimal lass of life. In the next week, we will grow the size of the Empire from one solar system to a span of 40 lightyears.” Alynna said, a look of pride and apprehension crossing her face. “Be prepared for the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces tomorrow morning. The Emperor himself will be there, I’m told.”

“An honor that his Imperial Majesty would join us.” Janeway stated with a grin. “I’ll go and make sure everything is ready.”

“See that you do, Admiral. Dismissed.” Nechayev said, as hard as ever. She was never one for pleasantries, and she hadn’t risen to the position of Grand Admiral through her winning personality. Some arrived to the Captains Chair through popularity, but once one stated getting stars on their collar, it was dog eat dog. Janeway wasn’t her friend, no matter how friendly she might seem to be towards her. She had seen the woman commit atrocities without hesitation, and she wouldn’t forget.