Commodore Rivejer Tullius
In light of the events that dogged me at Chamapala, Corsin and Vinsoth, I had expected the final leg of the journey to Ciutric to be just as chaotic. Yet when I entered Salin, I found a quiet system mostly abandoned. Being this close to a nexus of trade routes, it enjoyed a more sizable garrison than a system of its size might typically enjoy. An Imperial Star Destroyer, the Renascent, was joined by a motley assortment of Frigates and Corvettes. They were here to act as an early warning system for the Hegemony's namesake, while also being able to assist Vinsoth in the event of trouble. Close enough to help, but far enough away not to scare traders.
The ship's Captain seemed most bemused by my appearance, revealing over the course of a short conversation that he was unaware of what was happening at Vinsoth. Not that he was allowed to leave - according to him, there was some chaos at Ciutric and in the fleet. It was with that ominous warning that we left Salin behind and jumped for the Ciutric system.
Ciutric was perhaps the closest one got to civilisation in this corner of the galaxy outside of Axxila - though to compare the Imperial Center of the Outer Rim to Ciutric was perhaps not a very fair comparison. Ciutric had a yellow star at its centre with six full-sized planets and a seventh planetoid at the very edge of the system.
The first four were terrestrial and thus held the majority of the population. Ciutric-I, like all smaller planets sitting that close to the system's star, was almost unlivable and housed only mining colonies. Ciutric-II and III were similarly under populated, though in the case of the third planet it at least had a breathable atmosphere. Ciutric-IV was the planet anyone who knew of the system would remember: a highly developed world that would not have been out of place in the Core. A little underpopulated at 11 billion sentients, Ciutric-IV was a rapidly industrialising polity under the direct patronage of the Pestage Clan - the same as the Empire's Grand Vizier. From the reports I had poured over, Ciutric-IV had spent the better part of the last twenty years rapidly trying to catch up to its self-proclaimed rival, Axxila. It was a decidedly one-sided affair, as it would be like Alderaan… Brentaal deciding it wanted to match the industrial base of Imperial Center. Still, the efforts of the Pestage Clan and their allies had to be commended as Ciutric-IV had gone from a forgettable backwater to an Imperial bastion in a sea of underdeveloped worlds.
Ciutric-V and VI were gas giants, with Ciutric-V being orbited by great refinery stations. The First Fleet was based at Ciutric-IV, but their actual numbers were scattered across the system. Of the two previous fleets under the Hegemony, the First was the only unified one. What could loosely be referred to as the 'Second Fleet' was scattered between the other member worlds, answering to an Admiral Delany. Admiral Keld commanded the First Fleet and was the overall commander of the Ciutric Hegemony's fleets.
The First Fleet was over triple our number, boasting thirteen Star Destroyers of various classes alone plus the veritable sea of supporting craft. Even the Second Fleet - which was more based around Cruisers as it mostly acted on patrols around the Hegemony - had a larger roster than mine. The Third Fleet, as we had been designated, was closer in size to a Squadron. Still, I did not balk as my fleet drifted toward Ciutric-IV. Communications were shared between us and the network of defenses in orbit over the world, putting me in communication with a Commodore Fellik Pestage who oversaw those same defenses.
"Where is Admiral Keld?" I asked. "We need to discuss what place my fleet will have in the Hegemony."
"Admiral Keld is indisposed, Commodore Tullius." Fellik Pestage answered smoothly without a moment of hesitation. "You will meet with a representative of the fleet at Deven Station."
Deven Station, the large orbital habitat that sat over Ciutric-IV. It served as an oversized trading post and defensive station in the event the world was attacked, though its firepower was dwarfed by the weapons platforms it shared space with. I had assumed that the planet's Governor operated from it.
With no reason to do otherwise, I followed the other man's orders. My shuttle ferried me and my security team to the station while Harand, Milgern and Nereus handled docking permissions and resupply. Deven had several cavernous hangars for freight and the like, but we were directed to one of the smaller shuttle-specific sections. Four pads sat empty, though only one was illuminated for us to take. My pilots set us down softly and soon enough I had dismounted.
At the base of the pad's short stairs, I was greeted by two individuals. One was a junior officer, datapad held in hand and taking notes - some sort of hangar bay official. The other was of more note: a Captain based on her plaque and code cylinders.
She was tall, around my height, with fair skin and her brown hair kept in a neat bun. Her eyes were similarly brown, but sharp - seeming to pierce through my body as she considered me. Her uniform was crisp, no distinguishing or personalised marks on it. Everything about her screamed regulation, with the one departure being her application of make-up around her eyes and lips. It made her even more striking, which was precisely why the Empire regulated such things.
Still, if I got bent out of shape over every uniform infraction Wyatdrew Matread and Colonel Maab would have been run from the fleet ages ago.
"Captain Alana Pestage-Neron, of the Doubtless. First Fleet, Ciutric Hegemony." She greeted me in short order, offering me a salute that I returned.
"Commodore Rivejer Tullius, Third Fleet." We dropped our arms, but I continued. "I've been led for a loop on the state of the fleet, Captain. Perhaps you can enlighten me; where is Admiral Keld?"
"I have been assigned to assist you in any way I can." Pestage-Neron said with a bow of her head before gesturing deeper into the station. "This way, please. I've had a conference room set aside for this briefing."
I followed her, my guards trailing behind us as the silent sentinels they always were. We passed briefly through the civilian section of the station, moving across a balcony that overlooked an open market of sorts. In one of the large bays at the center of the station, aliens and humans alike plied their goods to passer-bys on their way out or into the system. It was a sign of the certain amount of lawlessness inherent in even the most developed of Outer Rim worlds; these markets were free of regulation or taxation. Not on Eriadu, of course, but the families had always enjoyed a greater degree of control over their domain.
We entered the military section soon after, taking an elevator up into the control spire. Navytroopers filled these halls, joined by officers and other military support staff. Some seemed to know Pestage-Neron and avoided her where they could. Those that did not were quick to salute us, not recognising me but certainly recognising the rank plaque on my chest. Four abreast; I could be anything from a Commander to an Admiral - always better to be safe.
I had to wonder if she was avoided because of her reputation or because of the name she carried. It did not escape my notice that she and the Commodore commanding these stations were members of the Pestage family and even a fool would have his suspicions when an attractive woman was sent to be his guide.
I voiced none of this, continuing to follow her toward the conference room. We sat on opposite sides of a rounded conference table, a hologram projector at its centre. As was typical, two of my guards filtered in while the other two remained outside, creating an area few people were brave enough to pass.
"Is it safe to assume that, given the lack of specifics on his fate, Admiral Keld is gone?" I asked, getting to the heart of the issue.
"He died four weeks ago." Pestage-Neron admitted, nodding her head slightly. "Him and his wife were murdered in a mugging gone wrong."
Somehow, I doubted that - how did a ranking Admiral get mugged?
"Is Admiral Delany in command?"
"Admiral Delany took several ships from the Second Fleet and fled the Hegemony, our best estimates being that he was bound for Dalonbian Sector."
"Who is in command?" I asked, my frown growing deeper with every word she uttered. The Ciutric Hegemony enjoyed a strange position in the Empire, nominally a protectorate rather than directly governed by Imperial Center. It technically fell under the sway of the 9th Sector Army, where the two fleets were qualified as a single force under that organisation. In reality, they were as independent as their sector namesake.
"The First Fleet is under the command of Commodore Pestage, though he has delegated the day-to-day operations to the ranking Senior Captain - me."
"And the Second Fleet?"
"No one. Admiral Delany took his senior staff with him - all that remains are ship Captains scattered across the Hegemony."
It was too much to hope that the fleet was stable and unified, or so it seemed. At the very least the First Fleet appeared to still be organised, a fact that made me view Captain Pestage-Neron in a new light.
"Has Commodore Pestage not reinforced order over the Second Fleet?" I asked. "Is he not the overall commander of the fleet now?"
The obvious answer was no, but I still felt it necessary to ask so as to confirm my fears.
"His stance has remained that his only concern shall be the protection of the Ciutric system."
A clever man in my eyes; looking at the situation of the Hegemony's fleets and deciding they were not his problem. It occurred to me soon after that, if he did not want to take command of the Hegemony, that duty would fall on another head.
"Who is next in command?" I asked slowly, hoping against all hope that the answer she gave was not the one I dreaded.
"That would be you, sir. Though technically, as you are of an equivalent rank, you would not be the next in command." She said pleasantly enough, clearly not sensing my dropping mood at this declaration. Or else, she just did not care. "We have not had time to formalise the fleet structure given the recent openings."
"Openings?" I asked, feeling faint. "You are referring to the loss of the Admirals?"
"No. Several lower officers in the First Fleet conspired to seize control of the system. Many were forced to retire, some had to be purged."
"And the Second Fleet?" I asked, concern edging into my voice. Thankfully, Pestage-Neron merely shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"None, as far as I know. Their fleet is far more divided, however."
Which could mean that, individually, the Second Fleet was in a far worse state. It could also be better, but given my luck I somehow doubted that.
"I should speak to Commodore Pestage about this." I decided, pushing off the table.
"Commodore Pestage has provided the necessary information to me-" The woman started, but I silenced her with a raised hand.
"All the same, I would like to speak with Commodore Pestage."
There was some hemming and hawing from Pestage-Neron, but eventually she acquiesced to my demand and organised a meeting with the absent Commodore.
Fellik was the stately sort one saw all across the galaxy - usually at the many defensive stations dotting the Empire. He was pale from a lack of sun, with sunken eyes and a thin moustache. He looked every part the overworked bureaucrat, which was why the smooth and articulate way in which he spoke threw me off.
"Commodore Tullius." The man said, hands in his lap as he considered me. "I had not expected our first meeting so soon."
"I beg to differ. I had thought our first meeting would be immediate." I countered, keeping my tone level. We were in his office, having to change locales to one of the Golan platforms in orbit. Goliath lived up to its name, a massive battle station comparable in arms to an Imperial Star Destroyer and more heavily armoured besides. Pestage-Neron sat next to me, hands folded neatly in her lap as she watched the exchange with a severe expression.
"You Star Destroyer sorts rarely like to mingle with my kind, I apologise for taking the liberty to forestall our meeting. After all, my dear cousin is far more aware of the fleet's status than I am. You might say she is far better at it."
I glanced at Pestage-Neron, her severe expression breaking ever so minutely to allow a smug smile to pull at her lips. A superior look that was well earned it seemed, as Pestage-Neron was playing at Admiral while still carrying the rank of Captain. I could understand the feeling, even if I personally felt it was not worth the hype. As if sensing my gaze, it vanished just as soon. I refocused my attention on the other Commodore.
"Forgive me, but while I am sure Captain Pestage-Neron is well-versed in the goings-on of this fleet, you are its acting commander. Present situation notwithstanding, we would need to meet if only to coordinate my fleet's place among yours."
Fellik Pestage merely shrugged, seemingly unaffected by my words or the reminder that at present his fleet was in a state of disarray.
"It is my fleet only by technicality. I have no desire to command this disparate force, Commodore. My usual fare do not make a habit of moving, see."
I had to wonder if his disinterest in commanding his forces were due to his preference for defensive platforms, or just because he was corrupt. I cast my mind back to N'zoth and that entire affair - namely the Colonel in command of the defensive network over the planet's moon: who had authority over stations like the Golan platforms was a contentious issue. At N'zoth, it was the Army - here in the Ciutric system, it appeared the Navy was dominant. This led to the issue of those officers ostensibly having a place in the Naval chain of command. Ordinarily, this would not be an issue - there were redundant steps in that chain so that a datapad-botherer like Pestage would never need to concern himself with the fleet. Unfortunately, the commanding Admiral had died mysteriously, his successor had cut loose and ran off to play warlord and those that remained busied themselves with bickering. It was not lost on me that two Pestages stood at the top of that particular pyramid.
"Be that as it may, you are the commander of the First Fleet. Even if you do not want to concern yourself with the entire Hegemony, you still need to cooperate on that alone." I drawled, letting some of my annoyance slip into my voice. I sympathised with Blitzer Harrsk now more than ever, deciding to cut loose and no longer deal with the Navy's politics. I had been in the position for all of a few months and I knew that was not the reason why Harrsk went renegade, but it was a train of thought that made me feel slightly better.
"Acting." Pestage corrected, holding up a finger. "Acting commander - and with your arrival, not even that. Congratulations, Commodore, you are now the commanding officer of the Hegemony's First Fleet."
"I'm commanding the Third." I snapped, but he merely shrugged.
"And the First. And the Second, if you can keep them from killing each other long enough to organise. You are now the highest ranked officer in the Ciutric Hegemony and the new overall commander of its fleets by seniority."
I was stunned, unable to form a coherent response to the Pestage's words. This was a rapid fire series of events I could never have accounted for, little more than prepared to face.
"I can't command all the fleets." I spluttered after a moment. "I haven't been assigned to them. I don't know who's commanding what!"
The absurdity of the situation made me forget my manners for a moment and allowed me to speak my mind. Again, Commodore Pestage shrugged as if unaffected before gesturing a hand toward Pestage-Neron.
"That is what she is here for. You are free to organise the fleets however you wish, Commodore. There is no one in the Hegemony to tell you otherwise, I certainly do not care - my cares exist within a radius of 0.0001 parsecs. What happens beyond that? Not my problem. I have been led to believe that the 9th Sector is in no position to argue, nor has the 10th had any particular care for how we operated."
Which meant he was dumping the issue of the Ciutric Hegemony's fleet into my hands. I glared at the man across from me, but I suspected he had received worse from more dangerous men than me. He met my gaze with the same bored indifference he had approached this entire encounter with. He had washed his hands of the problem, doing the bare minimum to keep it from affecting his little fiefdom before dumping it into the hands of the poor fool sent to clean it up.
"I see. This has been enlightening, Commodore Pestage."
"I am sure. If there is nothing else?"
I left his office, using every ounce of my strength not to storm out like a petulant child. Pestage-Neron trailed a pace behind me, her calm demeanor remaining unchanged as if this had all been expected. She had been acting as the commanding officer for the First Fleet since before I had arrived and it was obvious she did not expect that to change.
"I need a full report on the fleet's situation - all of them." I snapped, stepping in the elevator that took us up to this spire in the first place. Pestage-Neron slipped in to stand next to me, her hands resting behind her back as the door closed.
"I took the liberty of forwarding the reports to your personal inbox the moment you stepped onto Deven Station, sir." She responded easily, showcasing a proactive competence. For some reason, that only served to make me angrier.
I needed to figure out how to even begin approaching this problem, a problem I had never considered I would need to deal with in my entire career. It was one thing to go from commanding a squadron to a small fleet - that was within the realm of my understanding. The actual management of finances was a new field, but that was why I had Nereus and his staff. Commanding a full sector fleet? Worse, as the Ciutric Hegemony covered more than the sector itself. There were politics I had never considered, issues I could not begin to understand, all combined with the fact the fleet was actively tearing itself apart. An issue doubtlessly exacerbated by the family of the very man who sent me here in the first place.
Half an hour later I was back on Deven, in the same conference room where I had first sat down to speak with Pestage-Neron. I had worked off some of the burning, impotent anger I had felt and was now merely simmering with rage. I marked improvement, I felt - I had even managed to refrain from wringing Pestage-Neron's neck! I was quite proud of myself.
A hologram hovered over the table as the room dimmed, showcasing the political borders of the Ciutric Hegemony.
At its heart was the Ciutric system, marked clear as it was the most important planet in the protectorate. It held the only shipyards and repair depots as well as the orbital production facilities. The rest of the planets would act largely as buffers and recruiting pools, but so long as Ciutric stood unmolested the industrial might of the Hegemony would be mostly unchanged.
South along the Veragi Trade Route - the main hyperspace lane that the Hegemony sat on - were the aforementioned systems of Salin and Vinsoth. Salin still enjoyed a Hegemony presence, while Vinsoth was mostly unpopulated. In my discussions with the Lieutenant-Governor - who at this stage may well have been the Governor - I had made vague promises of extending protection to the system. I had done so to expedite my escape from the system, but since I now commanded the entire fleet there were fewer justifications not to be true to my word. One advantage: Vinsoth sat at the center of several hyperspace lanes, making it an ideal buffer between Ciutric and the rest of the galaxy.
North was Corvis Minor, another underpopulated system known for its production of luxury and military goods. As Pestage-Neron described it, the system was a favourable posting for officers in the Second Fleet given its pleasure industry.
Further along the Veragi was the northernmost edge of the Hegemony, Argazda. It was the last world that was officially part of the Hegemony, in that it was under the direct control of the centralised government. Another of the Pestage Clan acted as the Hegemony's steward in the absence of its true master, Sate Pestage.
The near-human Argazdan called that system home. I knew nothing about the species beyond that, but suspected that would need to change - and fast. Being unaware of the situation had made Vinsoth such a mess and had nearly turned Champala into a bloodbath.
The last world worth mentioning was Aar, another backwater inhabited by an inhuman species of reptilians.
On top of a general report of what worlds fell under the Hegemony, Pestage-Neron explained the situation faced by the Second Fleet. She was showcasing a surprising degree of competence for who I assumed to be a political appointee, but the fleet was my immediate concern.
Unlike the First Fleet, which technically had the two Pestages, the Second had no clear chain of command left. Based out of Argazda, most of the fleet had cut and run - taking the ranking officers with it. Lower Captains and Commanders were what remained, scattered across the Hegemony with no clear direction. Some continued to follow their old orders as Commodore Pestage had given them no direction to do otherwise, while others decided to deal with old conflicts.
Aar was a particular hotbed of note as the two Captains there had apparently spent the last few weeks filing complaint after complaint. In keeping with his abject refusal to do his job, Commodore Pestage had answered none of them.
The situation was, in plain terms, a disaster. A disaster I was now tasked with dealing with. I turned my gaze toward Pestage-Neron, who was still sitting prim and proper. As much as I wanted to blame her family for this - they were doubtlessly the cause for at least some of these problems - she had showcased a surprising degree of competence. Better not to shake up the status of the First Fleet, at least until I had a better handle of the situation.
"Unofficially, you have been acting as the commander of the First Fleet in Commodore Petage's stead. Starting today, that will be official. However, for the immediate future, I will be detaching you from the First Fleet and to the Third. You will join me in a tour of the Hegemony - I want a better understanding of the situation. The sort of understanding that comes from witnessing it myself and you seem to have a better understanding than Pestage - the other one."
Pestage-Neron gave a firm nod, her expression completely serious. There was no break in her facade this time.
I leaned back in my seat, eyes staring up at the hologram as it flickered and glowed. All I had wanted was a return to normalcy. I fought back a long and beleaguered sigh as I pushed off the table.
"Good. Let us get to work, then."