Admiral Hawkins stood uneasily at the Command and Control station as the ship began to jar and shake, the long tendril arms of Titan station withdrawing from its child.<br/>"Command, launch control has just given us the green light."<br/>"Roger that. Mister Graves. We are go for launch."<br/>The XO nodded and bowed his head reverently over his monitor.<br/>"Final systems check. Go or no go for launch."<br/><br/>"Navigation"<br/>"Go"<br/>"Guidence.<br/>"Go"<br/>"Control"<br/>"Go"<br/>"Network"<br/>"Go"<br/>"Coms"<br/>"Go"<br/>"MAC"<br/>"Go"<br/>"GCT"<br/>"We're go"<br/>"AMB"<br/>"Go"<br/>"LIB"'<br/>"We're go, Command."<br/><br/>"All stations, this is Command. We are go for main engine start."<br/><br/>"Roger that command." came the slightly tinny and static voice of Walsh over the comm.<br/>" Spinning up the core, bringing primary containment fields."<br/>"Integrity looks good...beginning core startup...now."<br/><br/>Suddenly, the ships light's flickered for a moment, and the room went dark, as if all the light had suddenly been sucked out of the ship.<br/>Hawkins held his breath, the audible ticking of his ancient wristwatch seemed to be the only thing breaking the silence.<br/><br/>"Core startup completed! All systems green, Command!" Walsh cried through the comms, his voice sounded on the edge of tears, the sound of raucous cheering in the background.<br/><br/>Hawkins sighed softly in relief as he bowed his head, quietly thanking fortune.<br/>"Helm. Marshal the fleet and begin jump prep...let's make sure they see what they came here for."<br/><br/>"Yes sir." nodded the young female comm officer, carrying out her orders with a key presses.<br/><br/>"Sir. The president wishes to address the crew. The officer replied after a few moments.<br/><br/>"As expected. Put him through."<br/><br/>A few buttons and key presses later, the short crackle of static and gentle murmuring of voices came through the comm system.<br/><br/><br/>"Ladies and Gentlemen." came the confident impassioned voice of the young President Loveless<br/>"Officers and crew of the 1st Expeditionary Fleet. Today you embark on a great voyage, a voyage that will take you beyond the farthest stars and into the Great Unknown itself. What you will find there, what great wonders you will see and hidden truths you will uncover, we can only imagine. And today you take the first step to pave the way for humanity. You represent us all and I know you make us proud."<br/><br/>A burst of applause lapsed from the crowd as the President paused.<br/><br/>"Thank you. I would also like to thank our friends in the Empire for their long standing dedication to this project, and the Coalition between our peoples, though we have had our issues in the past, now is the time to look to the future. A future where humanity is united in both purpose and in-"<br/><br/>The President suddenly stopped in mid sentence and a gentle buffeting was heard, as if a hand had been placed over the mic.<br/>After a few long seconds of silence, the president's voice returned, shaken as if in disbelief.<br/><br/>"Ladies and Gentlemen....The<i>Imperator</i>has just jumped in. The Emperor has requested to speak to you all. One moment please while we patch you through."<br/><br/>There was a collective gasp about the room. Quiet murmuring between the Imperials.<br/>"What's the big deal?" one of the Alliance marines asked his comrade.<br/>"The Imperials revere their leader greatly, he's like a living legend to them. He hasn't been seen outside Charon's orbit in over fifty years."<br/><br/>With a gentle humming and thrumming of  amplifiers, a deep smooth authoritative voice like that of an ancient came across the speakers.<br/><i>"My children, sons and daughters of Tyrend...and our stalwart allies in the Planetary Alliance. I come to you today not as a leader, but a man. I have seen with my eyes and hear with my ears the great works our species has accomplished over millenia. I have seen the great spires that reach to the heavens, and the endless sea of glistening silver cities. I have seen once-barrens worlds burst with life and oceans arise from the dust. I have heard the great ballads and sonnets of our poets and the glorious symphonies of our composers and musicians.<br/>
And I tell you, that nothing... Nothing compares to the feat you've accomplished. <br/>
In building this great vessel, we have created yet another majestic monumental of what we can accomplish as a species. And I'm sure, that in the coming days that you will all prove yourselves worthy of the charge I place on you now.<br/>
That you will go out into the universe, and conquer the stars themselves, for our magnificent species."</i><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>