Dawn

[attack_condor]

2411.3

Nekkar III
Corporate Headquarters

Rita Edwards was pleased. Her intelligence department was finally starting to engage in some offensive missions of its own. The attacks against the enemy’s facilities were definitely helping, but she was sure that the day was very near when the department would be able to glean just as much information from other empires as they had been acquiring from hers. Her agents were in the field, and they were getting better with each passing day.

Of course, the old earth scientist Darwin could have told her that as well…

Meanwhile, the economic situation of the empire was improving as outdated weapons platforms, fighters and troops were scrapped. Mineral production was just keeping up with the demands of an ever-updating fleet, and research efforts were now focused on improved mineral production...

Zezzis system
Zezzis XI...

CDS Bismarck was now operational as a class two battleship. The removal of the “biologicals” resulted in enough space for several improvements. Her main update had been to weaponry. Gone were the anti-proton beam cannons, and in their place were nine torpedoes. She also carried 900kT of emissive armor along with a class-7 shield with regenerator.

The last technician on board the ship had cycled the computer, and confirmed the readout. He keyed in the security code and Bismarck became the empires first fully automated warship...

Mentocka system
Mentocka VII shipyard...

The crew of the Konigsberg departed the ship for the last time. This battleship was also about to become automated. She would be even more powerful than Bismarck with a tenth torpedo being added to her arsenal. Her last act as a manned ship had been to escort McKinley as she dropped troops onto an Abbidon colony just established two months earlier at Abbidon II…