Anibeli's POV

  Years had passed, and things... had changed. When Anibeli became heir to the Berekel house, her life veered off in ways she never could have expected.

  Grandfather had imbedded many things into her as his heir apparent. A few things being loyalty to the imperium, flexibility, and war.

  The Berekel house was a trader house, yes. They had the merchant ships and the escorts for it. They were also salvagers. Her house occasionally picked over battlefields for things to sell. All at a premium, of course.

  The houses forces were very specialized in that way. They didn't do ground things. No extended stays over imperial worlds, no. They went out, salvaged, and returned, only occasionally doing proper system to system trade.

  The house had minimal troops for that very reason. The few that they did have were primarily boarding troops, with all that entails. That was by deliberate choice, mind you.

  But that was besides the point. Their ships would move to a location, scavenge anything of value, and then leave. Their profit margins were fluid due to the non-standard cargo, but Anibeli didn't mind that.

  Their houses fleet was definitely a threat, though. Many had thought them weak as they avoided imperial worlds, and didn't participate in the typical inter-house politics. But their house had forced recognition via naval superiority.

  Some noble houses had more ships, some had mugger ships. Their houses fleet was highly trained. Add in the fact that they tended to hit back with vicious boarding actions and the avoidance of close range slugging matches between heavier ships, they had always kept their houses place in the noble higherarchy.

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  They had one light cruiser, a Dauntless Class that was the heart of their houses fleet. The light cruiser was, in cruiser terms, a lightweight, but it had never been designed for stand up combat. Theirs had been upgraded with a set of proper cruiser torpedoes, and upgraded weapons battery's, which had been used to very good effect.

  They had 4 proper escorts to assist the light cruiser. They had 2 Sword class frigates. Ubiquitous and well known, they were a staple in any proper fleet for very good reasons. With its general simplicity, and good weapons for its weight class, it was the standard for a reason.

  They also had a Firestorm class Frigate. It was the sword class frigates sister in every way. The only true difference in the two ships was the weapons. While swords had 2 weapons batteries, usable to fight escorts and the like, Firestorm's had a proper lance battery, with all the ill intentions that implied.

  For their final escort, the house had a Viper class Destroyer. They had found her derelict in the void and with proper repairs, it had served them well with torpedoes, along with boarding torpedoes.

  They also had some freighter carriers, with fury's starhawks, and assault craft. They provided much needed support in the houses fleet, even if some in the house questioned the need and cost.

  Anibeli had been given the choice of two ships. The Viper or one of the freighters. It was a decision she had contemplated long and hard, but ultimately had chosen the Viper. It was the fastest ship in the fleet, allowing non-standard tactics that Anibeli loved.

  She had been given command of the ship on her 34th birthday, with a seasoned crew and a hardened officer core. She had been in command for 4 years, still in her 'Green' phase, still learning bits from the old officers.

  Unlike others she could name from her house, though, she took her job seriously. She attuned herself to the ship and it's states. She followed the crew's schedules. She molded herself to everything the could to be better.

  This earned the tentative respect of the officers, and she was hard set on improving. But, in her 40th birthday, she knew, it was time.

  One day, she had asked Grandfather to go back to the world she had been stranded on, and after a lengthy discussion, he had agreed. She had thus unloaded the unnecessary voidsmen as she wasn't going to be using the boarding torpedoes, loaded up on spare supplies, and she set off.

  They had soon reached their warp point, and set off through the warp. It was a smoth ride, all told, with a minimum amount of astropath screaming. She was new, so it was expected.

  They emerged smoothly, and headed to the planet. She remembered her final battle fondly, and she remembered her request even more. She was ready. It was time to find her friend, and perhaps beat her in a duel. Or, well... maybe not lose too bad...