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The Year is 2794. With the discovery of the great Hypergates several centuries ago, humanity and its allies have traveled to the far ends of the universe. The Confederacy of Free Worlds was formed from this alliance, and is the peacekeeper force of the universe.

Earth has become a Utopian paradise. There is no famine, no war, and no poverty. Everyone lives in peace and contentment. Thousands of starships approach and depart from the planet each day, carrying food, supplies, medicine, and dignitaries from around the several galaxies that make up the Confederacy. Earth is the center seat of the Confederacy.

On the other end of the Confederacy, deep in the Andromeda is the massive Antares Shipyards. Surrounding a star at a distance of 93 million miles and located in the Greater Antares Nebula, it is one of the testaments of the size of the ancient Gatekeeper Empire that was left behind hundreds of thousands of years ago. Technology found at this shipyard has been repurposed, and the left over ships have found new homes.

Comprised of massive starships measuring in at dozens of kilometers, the Confederate Star Navy is one of the largest space forces in the known universe. Billions of people crew the thousands of warships that maintain peace.

Two years ago, the Confederacy encountered an civilization known as the Galactic Imperium They were equally powerful, yet openly hostile. The great Imperium War began months later. Now, in the second year of the war, with ships running lower and lower, the Confederacy has organized a fleet to take to the unknown to find an ally advanced enough to turn the tide of the war. Spearheaded by the Fleet Flagship Excalibur, the exploration fleet is comprised of two dozen ships, ranging from supply vessels to the massive battleship that Excalibur is.

But, the true hero of the fleet is the Fleet Carrier Enterprise and its crew, captained by James Langley. Langley is a veteran of deep space exploration, and is the right man for the job. Under the watchful eye of Fleet Admiral Jamison Pierson, and guided by Captain Langley, the fleet is ready to depart from Earth. This may be the last time that any of the crew see Earth for a very long time.

"Yes, this is the Captain," Langley said as he leaned back in his seat.

"Sir, communication on line one. It's the Admiral," came the voice over the chair's speaker.

"Patch it through to the screen," Langley replied. He watched as a large hologram appeared in front of the viewport. It was a larger than life representation of Admiral Pierson, which obviously fit his reputation.

"Captain, are you ready to depart?" Pierson asked.

Langley looked around the bridge. "Give me two hours. I will start recalling those who are on shore leave."

Pierson nodded. "Very well. Signal when everyone is back. I am anxious to get underway. Every hour we wait is another hour that the Imperium has the advantage." The screen went blank, leaving Langley to the noise of the activity on the Bridge.

Langley keyed in the crew-wide announcement. "Attention, all hands. This is the captain. As of now, all shore leave is cancelled. We will depart in two hours. I expect you all to be here. Langley out."

***

Far off, on the far edge of the universe and beyond the realms of the Confederacy or the Imperium, a lone computer display in an empty room began flashing. Only three words appeared on the screen: It Has Begun.

Lyngia sighed as her communicator beeped, alerting her to an incoming message from the ship. Shore leave was over.

"But I was just about to eat," she whined, shoving the communicator into her boot. She looked around at the civilians milling about in the open lobby of the restaurant, her mind working quickly. She could possibly snatch something from an unsuspecting diner and dash off to the ship....but if she got caught....

With another sigh, Lyngia raked a hand through her long, dark magenta hair and stared longingly after a waiter carrying a tray of meats and cheese. "Just come a little closer," she thought. "Give me food, then I'll go to the ship."

James swung his seat back and forth, anxious to get underway. He checked the time on his console. "An hour and a half until departure. I thought Lyngia would be back by now. She's usually very punctual. The ship can't leave without its first officer. He called her up again. "Mrs. Starev, what's taking so long?" He waited for her response.

"James," She replied impatiently, "I'm trying to get something to eat before I head out. I don't know the next time I am going to get a proper Earth meal!"

James chuckled. "Very well. Just let me know when you are done. We can beam you up if you don't have time to take a shuttle." He could almost hear Lyngia's face go from a frown to a huge grin. "I'll be waiting. Langley out."

He checked the crew roster. "Well, at least we know where the first officer is. We're still missing our navigator, science officer, weapons officer, and the Marine commander."

Grinning, Lyngia dropped her communicator into her boot and dashed after the waiter. "Food~!" she sang happily, dodging customers trying to leave the restaurant like she did this every day (which wouldn't be too far from the truth).

"Sir," Lyngia said when she finally caught up with the waiter, stopping to catch her breath. "Can I get three orders of fried rice, five egg rolls, an order of beef and broccoli, and a gallon of strawberry milk to go? Oh, and a box of those great doughnut things!"

The man looked at Lyngia as though she was crazy, which she was, but that's beside the point. Lyngia sighed and gestured to her uniform. "I'm an officer for the Confederacy about to embark on an important mission. I might never have a chance to have this restaurant's exceptionally delicious food ever again. Please, I'm begging you, help a woman out!"

The waiter eyed her warily, before nodding. "I'll have your food to you in ten minutes, ma'am," he said, before speeding away, into the kitchens. Lyngia grinned.

"Flattery and a uniform - works every time." Still smiling, she slipped her communicator out of her boot. "Captain! I'll be there in fifteen minutes!"

A pod holding a Combat Droid or CD for short had opened as soon as the shore leave cancellation notice had begun and a very bulkish Combat Droid emerged from it. The CD was a different military droid from a broken down transport found in earth's orbit a long time ago and had been repurposed to serve as an infantry unit among ships, the droid had been through 6 ships but was reserviced after an incident that the CD had been suspected of on each of those ships.
The droid grabbed its rifle off of its back and proceeded towards the bridge saluting the captain once he arrived and said

"Greetings Captain.Langely, Combat Droid 407 Bravo reporting from shore leave sir" The droid told dropping its salute after it was finished greeting the captain.

James had just finished his chat with Lyngia when the Droid CD-407B walked up and reported for duty. He looked at the Droid, then at the roster, then back at the Droid. "Welcome aboard," James said. "And please, no saluting. It makes me uncomfortable." James looked at the droid, not sure if it understood or not. He had never dealt with Combat Droids before. He understood Artificial Intelligence, though, since the Science Officer on the Excalibur was a Gatekeeper A.I. that had been transplanted into an bio-mechanical body.

"By the way, do you mind if we call you Bravo for short?" James asked.

Bravo nodded "The term you requested "Bravo" has been inputted into my data banks as my "name" you may call me Bravo as you wish sir" Bravo then proceeded to an at ease stance "My programming does not allow me for non salutes Captain, it is what I was built for what you call "War" and thus I behave as a "Soldier" however if you would like to perform a reprogramming of my processing you may do so if any of your engineers know anything about Progenitor programming" The droid Bravo had stated which showed how old he was.

"Progenitor, eh?" James stated, trying to remember the last time he heard about Progenitor programming and sub-processors. James finally eased up. "I don't think the re-programming will be necessary. But, I would talk to our Chief of Engineering when he comes onboard. He should know something about Progenitor programming. It might come in handy in the future."

James searched through the roster, then turned back to Bravo. "It looks like you will be in charge of a small Marine detachment of twelve others, if that works for you. I wish, though, that Sector 20 would have given me a more complete list of credentials on you. Well, that's Sector 20 for you. Keeping the Confederacy safe through all means, cover-ups, and lies necessary. We will have a staff meeting two hours after departure. I expect you to be there."

Bravo saluted "yes sir, and if you would like I have the information ready if you would like to hear it sir, both about progenitor technology and it's programming along with the list of credentials you seem to be missing, unless you would like to keep those credentials hidden captain" The droid said putting down his salute and stood at attention as he was programmed to do.

Lyngia sprinted down the corridor, through a doorway, and skidded to a stop after entering the bridge, only a few feet away from James. She grinned up at him, breathing heavily and dropping the bags of food she held onto the floor so she could salute cheekily.

"First officer Lyngia Starev reporting for duty!" she sang, and bent to retrieve a box from one of the bags. "I brought you a doughnut and some rice, James," added, brandishing the brown takeout box at her captain. "Eat it now, or I will."

She tossed the box at him and surveyed the bridge, which was still deserted, with the exception of James, herself, and a droid she'd never seen before in her life. "Well, who's this?" she asked, squinting at it in curiosity.

James first looked at Bravo, then back to Lyngia. "Bravo, if you would send your credentials and Progenitor technology schematics to me personally, that would be most appreciated." He then looked down at the food. "Thank you, Lyngia. This is most appreciated." He took a large spoonful of the rice and chewed it carefully and exactly, enjoying the flavor to its fullest. "This is most delicious." He added after finishing the bite of food.

"Now, as for who our new crew member is, this is Bravo, a Combat Droid assigned to us from the wonderful Sector 20. I am glad to have a proper Combat Droid onboard. I can't remember the last time we had one onboard a Confederate warship."

Several crew members appeared on the bridge, mainly assistant personnel. James shook his head. "If we don't get the crew onboard soon, I may have to trust you to fly us out of here," he said, addressing Lyngia. He was well aware of her credentials when it came to flying. "After all, I will not forget the time you got a Type-1300 bulk freighter to fly as nimbly as a starfighter while under heavy fire from Venerath Pirate forces."

Lyngia smiled wistfully. "Ah, those were the days," she sighed, then laughed. "Are you sure you want me to fly, Captain? These sorts of ships aren't made for barrel-rolling, unless someone made a change to the gravity functions while I wasn't looking." Her eyes twinkled with mirth as she nudged James's arm with her elbow conspiratorially. "And to be honest, I don't think the people on this ship are made for barrel-rolling either."

Bravo came out with a remark "I personally like the thought of a good barrel role, if executed correctly that is" the droid made a motion with his hand that seemed to revolve in a circle 'imitating' a barrel roll. Then the droid turn to Lyngia "Greetings I am Combat Droid 407 Bravo, the Captain here has given me the nickname of 'Bravo' so you may call me that at your leisure." the droid had said then turn back to James "I will send all information regarding my progenitor technology as soon as possible commander" The droid began processing all the files it had stored in its memory banks and transmitting them to James Langley personally

"Hmm...Bravo....Good name. Well, nice to have you aboard, Bravo!" Lyngia grinned at the droid, and whispered to James, "I like this one. He's already better than the last droid I had to work with. Those diplomatic Artesian models are so difficult, demanding to be treated as if they were the rulers of the world. And they don't appreciate the finer points of a barrel roll. I think Bravo and I shall get along just fine." She nodded once, decisively, then glanced up at James with a thoughtful look on her face.

"By the way, Captain, why was shore leave cancelled? What exactly is going on?"

James suddenly got very serious. "Lyngia, we are about go depart on one of the most important missions in the history of the Confederacy. This one is on the level of our search for the lost Gatekeepers. I can't tell you too much right now, but we, along with two dozen other ships, are about to head out into the Unknown Regions far beyond the Pinwheel Galaxy. We are on a mission to find new allies to help defeat the Imperium and force them back to where they came from." He then turned to Bravo.

"I'd suggest you go down to Marine Country and get a chance to meet those under your command. It will still be awhile before we have the staff meeting, so I'd suggest getting settled in. In the meantime, I need to get things straightened up on the Bridge and review the files you sent me."

He turned back to Lyngia. "This ship may not be able to take a true barrel roll, but I doubt we are going to need that anytime soon. I think you should get yourself acquainted with the controls before we take off, just incase our navigator doesn't show up. I need someone at the helm that I have worked with." He then got up out of his chair and began walking around to the different consoles, getting them out of stand-by mode. "We depart on time, with or without the crew that hasn't arrived. Admiral Pierson's orders."

Bravo saluted "Aye sir!" turned around and began walking down towards the marine quarters and he sounded a siren when he reached the marines quarters waking up all the marines. "Greetings gentlemen, I will be the commanding unit of this task force, you will do as I say when I say, there will be no hesitation, no remorse, and most of all, no mercy, we fight to the end." The droid then set down his rifle against a wall "I am Combat Droid 407 Bravo, you all may call me Bravo for short, or Progenitor for those who do not like the thought of me as a leader but as a foreign machine I don't mind" The droid picked his rifle back up and stood at attention "Now you all may return as you were"

Lyngia watched Bravo leave before turning to James and saluting cheekily with two fingers. "I will familiarize myself with the controls, Captain!" she yelled, then skipped to the control panel, plopping herself into the navigator's seat. "Let's see," she mused, her fingers hovering over the many buttons and levers. "Which one of you will teleport us into the middle of a star, hmm?"

James shook his head. "Lyngia…" he said, not needing to finish the sentence. She looked back at him innocently. He smiled back, and then went back to work starting consoles. By then a few more crew members had arrived, ready to begin their work. "Good, at least the bridge won't be too under-staffed. Still, where is the Science Officer?"

He checked over the crew listing again. "Hmm, still not aboard. We are only about an hour from launch, and no one at the science station. Well, this is a warship after all," he said quietly. He didn't want to, but he was prepared to promote a junior officer to Head Science Officer if the time came. He returned to his seat, and pulled up his display. "Now, Bravo, what exactly is this Progenitor technology…"

Bravo pulled up his comm link with James Langley "Sir, Progenitor technology is an abandoned form of automaton parts, machinery, chips, databases, and other forms of both transportation as well as various mixtures of warships." Bravo brought up a schematic of an old progenitor interceptor drone the design was unique as it had one larger wing the other but the other was stocked with a plasma launcher of sorts "Progenitor warships were said to be almighty and almost unbeatable, the classic Progenitor drone class interceptor was used in swarming tactics and various light assault missions for the progenitors, however their targeting systems were outdated for their time and would sometimes target the wrong enemy when told not to, but that's what the auto correction back up system was for" Bravo pulled away the schematic "is there anything else you wish to know Captain?" Bravo asked

"That is all," James said. "Thank you." He then turned back to the console. "Two more shuttles are arriving. I hope that one of them has my missing officers." He called up engineering. "Chief, it's time to get everything running at full."

"Understood, Captain," replied the Chief Engineer, Dimitri Ubinov. James could feel the ship starting to vibrate slightly as the main Quantum Flux Cores** were brought online. It was almost time to leave.

**The Quantum Flux Core is what is the primary source of power for any Confederate vessel. It works by causing an implosion of quantanium, which then creates a stable micro black hole. The power released by the creation of the black hole is then sent into cores of the energy crystal kryocite. The kryocite amplifies the power a hundred-fold.