Short Story; Operation Swift Retribution

Credits; Krell,

The Admiral was quite the sight to behold.  It had been only hours since the orders had come down and he hadn't wavered a second since.  He was a man on a mission, and it was a dire mission indeed.  The Empire as they knew it was already dead behind them; of all its proud fleets and stalwart armies, only these few remained.  Four full fleets remained, and fewer armies.  There were enough stragglers spread across the colonies to double their numbers, and they had all been scrambled to assist in the operation.  It was a mere eight days till Junsrew, and every man not needed at the front lines or manning the watch posts had been home on leave; there were no reserves.  And as Sister Neszien looked across the command center in the heart of the Zink's Cleiden, the Admiral's flagship, she could see that only one man was making the effort to maintain his composure.  In full naval regalia, the muted red tunic over the techplate armor all active military personnel wore, though bearing far more medals than most, Admiral Krell Casat was a somber tower of strength in a frenzied room. 

"All ships report."
She heard as the surviving ships began to call out their status to the stalwart commander.  She heard the names of the Lucky Thirteenth called out in their entirety; joined soon after by the Ninety-Sixth and Fortieth.  Then were the colonial watch squadrons, each fearful and inexperienced.  And at last the Admiral announced to the gathered armada that his own Forty-Ninth was prepared and fully manned.  It had taken a miracle, but every ship stood ready with a full crew.  How could they not?  Every one of them had been beyond the borders and not one had been infiltrated by the Empire's mysterious attackers.  They were colonists mostly, no ancestral names or great battlefields scattered across their homeworlds.  The Admiral himself was from Gasca, but his wife and as much of his family as he cared to speak of or with were from here in the colonies; it was thanks to them he was even alive. 
As the comm fell silent once more, or at least reverted to its usual quiet chatter, the Admiral activated a holotransmitter and breathed in deeply. 

"Men and Women of the Daniellandish Armed Forces; many of you have neither met me nor heard of me.  Most of you shall never here from me again.  But today, and for however long it takes, I will be your commanding officer.  I am Admiral Krell Casat, commanding officer of his Imperial Majesty's Forty-Ninth fleet.  I am, to the best of all available knowledge, the highest ranking officer of the Navy or Army who can still be considered strictly alive.  As such, I have been ordered by his Imperial Majesty to lead this joint task force of the Imperial Army and Navy against the perpetrators of todays attack.  You, you shall be the hand of the Empire in these dark times."
He paused, whether for effect or for some other reason seemed unimportant now.  Neszien knew that all else had been set aside, they all did.  Ever since the attack the world had become a blur, rushing to avenge loved ones or to embrace them in the last minutes of natural life.  The sisterhood allowed no attachments, and as an orphan she had few to start with, but she couldn't help but echo some of the passions of the men and women across the fleet.  They were the living hand of a dying empire, and they would bring swift retribution to those who had dared to attack them. 
"The plan is simple; all ground forces have been divided up into platoons.  Every platoon has been assigned a magic user, most of them civilian.  The magic users have been granted the authority to probe the minds of the surrounding humans and track down the cultists who brought death to our homes.  Every platoon will protect their magic user, and will only kill those targets indicated as cultists.  Trusted, senior mages will remain above with the fleet and monitor the magic users in the field to prevent abuse of power."  Krell paused again, listening to a question posed by one of the other surviving navy commanders.  "No.  All weapons will be set to stun.  Even if you are attacked, you are to disable the locals only.  Our target is this death cult, not the Human race; leave genocide to their ilk." 
Then he motioned to her.  It was her first time in front of a live audience, and the circumstances couldn't have been worse.  She took a deep breath and recited a calming prayer silently before stepping up to the holotransmitter. 
"It is a grim day for the Empire my friends.  And I wish we could have met under better circumstances.  My name is Sister Neszien, and I've been appointed as the..." her voice cracked a little.  She stopped and took a drink before continuing. "..the...the civilian...relations...person."  She could feel the eyes of the whole fleet watching her.  It was nothing like recording a news report back in the monastery, so much pressure.  Then she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.  She looked back and found herself looking into the vibrant blue eyes.  It was only then that she realized how young he was, how afraid. 
"Take heart Sister, the Empire needs you to be strong, and your God would not have put you in this place if you were not capable of handling it."
She swallowed and turned back to the transmitter.  "I've been appointed as the senior civilian magic user.  I'll be in charge of making sure that the civilian magic users and military ground forces can work cohesively.  We want to get this done fast and properly.  If you encounter an Imperial Guard in the field, defer to his command and do exactly as he tells you to.  I've been informed that every field operative that could be spared has been sent to help ferret out Cult strongholds and safehouses."  She breathed deeply.  She hadn't prepared anything else, but she felt like there was one more thing to be said.  "Lastly, I want to reassure all of you that our mission is just.  Do your duty, and never waver in the service of the Empire." 
The Admiral patted her on the shoulder and gently moved her off of the transmitter.  "Men, the hour is upon us.  Operation Swift Retribution is go, all ships jump now!"