Davian MacNaile smiled as he sat in his Lasher's cramped command bridge and reviewed the battle results. This was his fleet's first battle in Huske space, and every crewman had done their jobs admirably. The crew of the Fenris II in particular surprised him -- while the B.M.M.D. was manned by MacNaile and SQUIG Industries' most experienced pilots, the Wolf-class frigate was staffed by interns and pencil-pushers. Sure, they were trained extensively in simulator combat, but none of them had ever been in a real battle before this day. Yet they had taken on two enemy vessels simultaneously and emerged unscathed, handling their ship with the confidence of veterans. Field promotions were most certainly in order.
As he leaned back and sipped his coffee, an electronic voice burst into life in the command bridge:
"Admiral, you have... ONE... new message."
MacNaile furrowed his brow in puzzlement. Who could possibly want to talk to him? The Board didn't need a status report until the end of this week, so it most certainly wasn't them. They weren't the kind of people who checked in on their employees very often -- for all he knew, they didn't expect him to live through the week.
As he pulled the message onto the screen, his confusion turned to genuine interest. The message was an request of allegiance from one Thyrn Gotoh, commander of the Stellar Vehicles and former member of the Exar fleet. An alliance would do much to bolster SQUIG Industries' strength in the sector, and the company was always looking for more recruits and business partners.
MacNaile accepted this offer, and his smile widened into a full grin. Maybe this mission wouldn't be so suicidal after all.