The Price of Victory

Mahedras Karnath, Marshal of the Imperial Sword Arm, stood looking out into
the void before him. It had been fifteen years of constant struggle to get this far
and the darkness looked more formidable than ever before. The thought of
turning back was the most distasteful sensation he had savored since the quest
had begun, but it was more than apparent that it had come to an end.
The slaughter had been absolute, in his wake he had left a thousand burning
worlds and still he had always found more of the Verti to destroy. It didnt seem
possible that it was over, but it had been so long since they had encountered any
sign of the enemy, that even his closest war captains where sharing the rumors
that they had destroyed them all, and that they should be returning home.
His gaze shifted from the stars beyond the observation plate to the reflection of
the man looking back at him. He, like all the leaders in his family, wore his battle
scars gallantly, and he was secretively pleased with his likeness to his father. A
man that never could have been described, as attractive but was a legend in the
House of Karnath. The comparison was made complete by his fathers mantle of
command. The gauntlet had been used by his father to master his first ship and it was
passed to Mahedras when he came of age. In fact it was only his fathers on the outside,
the internal workings had been reengineered a hundred times over by his scientists, as
they made one discovery after another.
A Mantle could was only worn by the commander of a ship-of-the-line so there where
only a few hundred ever created, but there were none like this one. While wearing it
Mahedras could feel the space around his ship, the vessel ceased to be a thing and
became a part of him. Its sensors an extension of his eyes and ears, its armaments great
fists to lash out with, and its sister ships pages and squires at the ready. Even Fischers
thoughts, the fleet engineer who made all this possible, resounded through the Mantle.

Fischer was the only other person who knew what it felt like to be connected in this
fashion. The scientist was virtually a moving part of the ship, a hero that had sacrificed
everything to place the power to destroy the enemy in the hands of Mahedras. They were
more than companions or cohorts, it was almost as if they where of one mind, each drawn
nearer by their link to the great warship.
It was that link that now trembled with anticipation. Holding his hand up before his face
Mahedras extends his fingers and the world around him dissolves. Its replaced with the
command bridge. The Mantle now eliminated the necessity to even be aboard the ship
to command her.
Fischers disembodied voice echoes in the distance, Marshal, I have detected fifteen
transients on an intercept bearing.
Classification? The others that share his illusion work diligently at their stations
extracting data from the readings.
Unknown!
Beat to quarters, and arm all weapons. Have the fleet make speed to intercept. With
this he closes his fist and the illusion is replaced with the cold reality of the observation
plate and the look of savage bloodlust on the reflection facing him. He cant help but
think about how close he was to turning back as he walks away.

The command center of the flagship is a blur of activity, a tide of individuals that makes
way for Mahedras as he enters. His demeanor instantly quells any concern and his
expression spawns others on the faces of his crew. Taking his seat, Range to targets?
Ten light minutes. The voice responded in pure reflex, and its mistress never so much
as looked from her console.

Marshal, Fischers voice is distracted with concentration, the configurations are like
none weve encountered before. The smallest vessels mass readings are twice the
displacement of the largest Verti warship weve encountered to date. Four of the vessels
have mass signatures twice that of our own.
This information actually generates a pause among the crew. Was it possible that four of
those ships could actually have a mass in excess of three million tons each? Mahedras
normally would have no pause for concern, if his fleet where at full capacity, but the
patrol task groups had not returned yet, and the force he was facing had an additive mass
half again as large as his current taskforce.
As with all of the Verti ships, life sign indicators also glowed next to each of the red
markers in the tactical vid. For a moment Mahedras puzzled over how something living
could grow to that size, but thoughts like those were best left to Fischer.
He should only be occupying his mind with the task at hand. Survival.