Tacitus stood next to Captain Halsey as she finished her speech. He had not expected that out of her, but then again, he knew very little about her. He had never encountered her during the Insurgency War, since the Amber Clad had constantly been on solitary deployments. Usually clandestine or classified missions, supporting Drengr soldiers. Meanwhile, she was probably ferrying troops around or taking part in large-scale battles. The Commander turned to his fellow, giving a small nod.
" 'We were born to inherit the stars.' " He repeated thoughtfully. "Quite the powerful statement. How did you think it up?"
"Back in the Twenty-first Century, there was a sudden spike in animated short videos that used the line," Captain Halsey replied.
Tacitus nodded, placing his arms behind his back. The officer's club held very little officers. He imagined that most of them were overseeing damage control of their respective stations or taking accountability of their personnel. He himself had taken accountability of the bridge crew, all of whom were present in the officer's club. His personnel seemed the most plentiful out of all of the sailors here. Tacitus likely had the Drengr soldiers on the Amber Clad to thank. He picked up his glass of wine and took the smallest of sips. Commanding a ship while drunk was a folly that he would never fall into.
He placed the glass down beside the intercom, which was on its own table near the bar. Captain Halsey had gone to speak with a group of officers. Looking around, it appeared that none of the officers intended on partaking in festivites. Or drinking alcohol, for that matter. Several of them had glasses of liquor in front of them, but they appeared untouched. Tacitus pondered for a moment. What would the fleet's next move be? With how short the jump to Mars was, the warp drives would not take much longer to recharge. From his experience testing the technology, a jump to Neptune would be possible, perhaps even further with the final product.
On the other hand, there was the issue of recharging after such a jump. It would take at least several hours, which would leave the fleet sitting ducks. Tacitus would have to confer with the other ship captains to make a proper decision. The Montgomery's captain would likely have the most important input. Given the size of said vessel, the warp drive worked far harder per jump than the others. They could not leave the massive warship behind, as it was now the only ship with heavy artillery capabilities. Alongside that fact, there were only two warships left in the fleet, and the transports had very limited weaponry.
The Commander figured that if they could locate a wormhole, they could possibly use it to reach another galaxy. However, wormholes are known for their unpredictability. He frowned to himself, then wondered how they were expected to find a new home for humanity within the year. What if they were unsuccessful? What if it took them longer than a year? A thought hit him. Why would they put civilians on the Amber Clad? What if coming back to Earth was not part of the plan. What if they were meant to grow a society on whatever habitable planet they could locate?
The idea would likely anger some. Tacitus knew that many of the men and women who were part of the voyage had left family behind. A lot of his crewmen were already grieving the possibility of their families being glassed. He was lucky. His family was on the Mayflower, along with a majority of the soon to be settlers. They were on the safest vessel, as the rest of the fleet had orders to sacrifice themselves to save the Mayflower if needed. He hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
He placed his glass on the bar, then placed some physical money next to it. Tacitus made his way to the elevator, pressing the button to go to the repair yard. It was likely that a majority of the minor damage done to the Amber Clad had been repaired. Two hours, and all repairmen in the station working on the fleet. With the fabricators and other repair tools, the Amber Clad was likely battle-ready by now. He was not very sure about the other ships. From what the Commander had seen, the Montgomery would take a few more hours to be fully repaired.
The elevator doors opened and he stepped out. The yard was bustling with repairmen working on every vessel. Walking around the crews as they jogged past, he eventually reached the steps of the Amber Clad's ramp. Tacitus walked up and into the maw of the ship, passing the repair crews from both the station and the ship's crew. Walking through the halls was, he saw... gruesome sights. The bodies of casualties from both sides had been removed, but the blood... the blood remained. Smeared on the floors and walls from where the wounded had dragged themselves. Splattered on doors and the roof from troops being hit by weaponsfire.
And then the Commander reached the hall that lead to the main bridge. It was painted entirely with crimson, green, purple, and other colors. The floor, the walls, the roof, the door. He placed a hand on the dried red stains. So many had already died, and it had only been a single battle. He lowered his head, a small exhale escaping his lips. This voyage is doomed, Tacitus thought. Then the door to the bridge opened.
The room with lit with a relaxing blue, as opposed to the belligerent red that lit it previously. Thrawn stood over a simulated battle on the holotable. Tacitus approached, and the A.I. spoke.
"I've run hundreds of simulations, with varying hostile vessels from the data we gathered during the last engagement. We have a 30% win rate at best."
"Well, at least there's a chance. Have you factored in the Drengr soldiers?"
"Yes sir, but their unpredictable tactics make it hard simulate their actions. Sometimes they stay in the Amber Clad, other times they comandeer a fighter and join the space battle, and I have even seen them single-handedly kill the crew on an entire enemy vessel." Thrawn replied.
"Good. They will be our greatest asset."