Expansion into outer space

One of the key reasons the Selenian Empire managed to grow to the size they are now was thier state of the art interstellar communication system. Originally slow and unreliable, years of dedicated research and buildup transformed this network into the most effective means of enforcing the Empire's unquestionable rule across it's vast and seemingly neverending territories. And today, for the first time in hundreds of years, this network will be once again expanded, to push thier influence into a new world, ripe for conquest. It's really a shame that this seemingly small act will be the one thing serving as prelude to the largest war in the history of this young universe. Currently however this grand chapter was nothing more than a lone spaceship with a crew of four circling around a planet.

As this was an important step of thier journey, the captain wanted to make sure that everything was in order. He carefully examined the blueprints for not just the satellite, but for every tool they would use in the upcoming mission named "Operation: Stepping Stone", to avoid any unnecessary risk. The guys back at Covert Ops gave detailed instructions on the process, which was welcome considering that thier chief engineer had died in his cryopod in the transit between the two worlds.

According to thier instructions first they needed to establish an orbital platform, which would serve as the basis for not just the satellite, but any future outer space operations. Just this skeleton would cost one fourth of thier current resources, however the story didn't end here. Because of it's long term nature it also had to also accommodate a shield generator and some auto turrets for protection, a few thrusters and stabilizers to keep it on a stable trajectory, and of course a TelCom facility responsible for the construction and guidance of the satellite, a.k.a. thier end goal.

To accomplish this, they needed to use the ship's Foundry which was a huge, automated drone capable of building complex structures, given that both materials and blueprints were present on the parent ship. Thier size and placement was usually dependent on the task they were built to carry out. For example the Vanguard's drone was one-fourth in length, and half the width of the ship, sitting on top of the craft, blending in seemlessly with the hull. After activation it automatically detached itself, using it's own separate thrusters and reactor to complete it's job. The only drawback it had was it's weak shield, requiring constant protection from it's parent or other vessels.

After a quick morning meeting Natra began to upload the blueprints and instructions to the ship's AI, which would then communicate these to thier construction hardware. While this was happening, Helena was busy double-checking the armament and shields of the craft, with great emphasis on thier anti-air turrets, as they were excellent in breaking up larger asteroids. Even Erina was busy, and although she couldn't help in this process, Dr. Ming gave her a special task of creating a database about the magic beasts and animals that the girl know about. As for the Selenian, she was busy in her laboratory doing god knows what, but judging from the enthusiasm she displayed, the captain decided to don't look into it for the sake of his own sanity.

Turning back once again to his monitors, Natra leaned back on his chair. He didn't feel very well, which he personally attributed to his inability to get a good night's rest.... probably in the third, maybe fourth day in a row.

"I have to ask Dr. Ming for some medicine" -pondered he, while comparing the craft's sensory data with visual feedback from the visual monitoring system. According to the devices, a large swarm of meteors were en route to thier position. Seeing this, the captain pressed a few buttons on his chair.

Upon finishing this, the craft began to transform. On both wings of the craft, the white, metal hull opened, revealing a bunch of strange weapons. After a few seconds of calibration the guns rose up, looking for thier intended targets. it wasn't long before they arrived. A swarm of meteors, containing space rocks of various shapes and sizes soon became visible. The moment it happened, the laser batteries opened fire with such ferocity, that a person would think that the A.I. controlling these weapons had some kin of personal vendetta against them.

Targeting first focused on a few smaller chunks leading the others, however priority was changed the moment thier bigger variants have arrived. By the time they arrived, most of them were nothing more than debree, either harmlessly bouncing of the craft's shield or missing it entirely, burning up int the atmosphere of the planet. Still it took at least half an hour before the storm of rocks passed, leaving behind a good amount of chunks, and making sure that the area couldn't be used to build anything less one risked damaging the more sensitive equipments.

Natra was a bit frustrated, as he wanted to get over with this job as soon as possible. His first idea was the continuous employment of the laser batteries, however he ultimately decided against it, as it would only further split the chunks. Then he remembered it. The field collector device, or super vacuum as some people called it. It was a nickname well earned, as the mechanism itself was a gravity-generator combined with a force-field, usually jury rigged onto most vessels, so the pilot or owner of the ship could earn a bit of side profit by collecting resource rich meteorites or drifting cargo found in the more "wilder" sectors of space. Of course the invention quickly gained popularity with the crews and engineers of most vessels, and despite protests from some higher ups, an official version was developed, and mounted to almost every deep-space explorer craft.

According to the ship's internal clock it was around noon, when the orbit once again became clear enough for the work to progress. Back at his chair Natra looked at the vast nothingness, then with a press of a button gave an order, which officially marked the end of the first chapter in a long story.

Looking out form the Observatory Helena felt it:

Thier confusion ended. The picture became clearer. And the Foundry began it's work.