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Most of them are veterans of the previous two defenses of the Stand- low ranking officers and secondary crews who are unlikely to make it or contribute to the primary Stand defensive force. Several are consumer shipping pilots, to keep the best pilots at home. No Migrator-Navigators are used for this mission- they are too slow to breed and replace to be tossed away so readily.
Soon enough, the crew is assembled. With their rigged up Stealth-Crusiers ready to fly, it will only be a short sleep in suspension before they wake up, bomb the Battleship, and end themselves. Something of this nature requires a bit of a personal touch, it is tradition, so you take time out of your busy schedule to see them off. They salute you. One has a golden band for valor, another, a long career of training future pilots- now using those skills themselves.
<span class="mu-g">”Loyal servants. I thank you for your dedication to the cause. All of you are here because you volunteered for this mission, even though you knew it meant not coming back home.”</span>
“Yes, Lord!”
<span class="mu-g">”...Let it be known on this day, you set aside your own pride and served the greatest cause you could- the Hegemony! For the progeny! For Honor!”</span>
“For you, Lord!”
<span class="mu-g">”Errhm?”</span>
“For you, Master! Great one! Supreme Ruler of our hearts and bodies- Greatest man of our species- Greatest man alive! It is our sworn duty to serve you- in life and death!”
You rub the back of your neck as the blonde steps up- seemingly having prepared a poem for this occasion.
<span class="mu-r">”I speak now not as myself, but as the Good Servant, the archetype of highest esteem. We serve our Master willingly and without delay, not out of expectation of reward, but as the most righteous form of service and life. We have not nor ever been equal to our master- our goal is not to strive to be as he is- but instead to fulfill with all our being the sacrifice and service he requires. We will never be his equal, and so, the greatest use of oneself is to serve one higher- to be the stepping stone- to be the living shield- to exhaust oneself for his advancement. Only through our betters can the universe and cruelty or life truly be tamed. We cannot do it ourselves- as such- we trust only in our Master.”</span>
“HONOR OR THE VOID!!!”
The rest of the soldiers clap at the soliloquy; a great cry goes up as you dismiss them, the broadcasted departure of these heroic figures beamed all across the Hegemony. Then, just as quick as you came, it is time to leave back to the palace.
