Carnifex

27/4/467 AC, BdL Dos Lindas, Isla Real

"I'm amazed at how well you've done," Carrera said admiringly to Fosa, as the two stood on the open, upper bridge, high above the flight deck. Below, two crewman refueled a Cricket as a small team of four rearmed a Finch, easing rockets into the nineteen round outboard pods and winding .41-caliber ammunition into the inward ones. The .41 ammunition was the same as used in the Legion's new standard heavy machine gun as well as in the Long Range Sniper system. In this case, it was being cranked into pods that held .41-caliber, electrically-driven, tri-barrels. These same guns were mounted in various spots on the carriers and her escorts. The rockets were standard Volgan 57mm folding fin types, a mix of high explosive, incendiary and flechette.

Fosa shrugged. "The foreigners helped a lot. A decent budget helped more. We could use another month but . . . "

"You sail in nine days," Carrera said simply. "You will sail in company with one frigate, two corvettes, two Patrol Torpedo Fasts, a minesweeper, an ammunition ship, and two other supply ships. Someday, I may actually have a submarine or two for you. You will also have one former passenger liner, the Wappen von Bremen, which will have aboard her full recreation facilities. In addition, you will have certain ships put under operational control from time to time, upon which you may put armed men, and which I encourage you to use as bait. If I ever decide to finish up a Suvarov Class cruiser, you'll get that, too."

"You may assume," Carrera continued, "that all ports will be officially closed to you. That said, certain concerns in Yamato have volunteered to resupply your resupply ships, but only at some considerable distance from Xamar. They don't want to appear to be involved.

"From this bay you will make transit, then proceed to the Xamar Coast. There you will take all actions consistent with suppressing piracy along that coast. Your rules of engagement are suppress piracy. You may, insofar as I am concerned, legally and morally consider yourself in a time and space warp that has put your and your group on Old Earth in its eighteenth century. Destroy them without pity or mercy."

"About fucking time, sir," smiled Fosa, wickedly.

"And you are going to pick up an observer, a passenger, named Kurita. From what I've been told you two will get along famously."