Grand Admiral John Smith of the 1st exploration fleet of the Sapphire Armada stood straight and proud. His white uniform was immaculate, and his aged face stoic as he firmly saluted his lord.

On the other side of the bridge was the Emperor of the Imperium. His ageless face stared back and John received a return salute. A moment of pride filled John's very presence as he had just been bestowed with the coveted salute.

The Emperor, may his reign embrace all, rarely met with simple Grand Admirals as himself. Even rarer was the great messiah of humanity within a system to personally meet just a Grand Admiral.

Usually, the Master of the Fleet would bestow such honors. John was the 134,338th person to be personally saluted by the Emperor. He was the first military man to receive a salute in the last 12, 448 years ago, when Ricard Ferganuse conquered the system of rebels and traitors against the Imperium.

"May the light guide you, John Smith. I wish for your success and return," the Emperor proclaimed and the master of the universe tilted his body forward.

John Smith couldn't stop his eyes from widening and his mouth from dropping. Highly uncultured and very rude. Yet he couldn't help himself. If the military historians were correct in some of their endless statistics and instructions on etiquette, he was now in the 813th proud recipient to receive such an act.

With this, his branch of the Smith family would be cemented and his children and decedents would be favorably valued for at least ten generations.

"I move with your will, and I walk with your light," John replied as his muscles locked up and he never once thought about relaxing his posture.

The Emperor gave him a smile and the screen flickered off.

John shook as the presence of the Emperor faded from the bridge.

"Congratulations Sir!" Commander Sarah Brighton proclaimed as she gave him a sharp salute. The bridge staff followed suit as they, as one, stood up and did the same.

John returned a salute of their own and nodded as he sat down in his chair. His hands trembled with the honors and well wishes he had been granted.

Sarah took her own seat as she began to command the fleet to move forward.

The thirty-three planet-sized ships slowly charged up. The world engines were already primed and the inertia drives drank hungrily from the power pool.

Within ten minutes, the ships lumbered forward. Their incredible mass began to sluggishly crawl towards the massive structure before them. This was the Gate.

It was formed through one hundred and eight rings, creating a complex gateway into the new frontier. A new existence to revitalize their dying one.

The Sapphire Fleet was to enter this new dimension and find a way to save their universe. Or pave the way to allow the Imperium to migrate into the next one.

Some of the planets were science-oriented ships, their lands packed with the best technology and its populace, perfect strains of humans for science and progression.

They would be able to analyze anything and everything they encountered. The networked, world computers was their core for searching old informational archives and processing new ones.

The majority of the planets were purely military. Half of it was a factory and the other half a barracks. They could create soldiers from the cultivated warrior strains that represented the finest of humanity. They could create large, powerful, infantry and create the necessary weapons and vehicles to equip them.

From the genetic template to the final grown, educated and ready soldier, the process was 168 hours with their current refined reserves. Or up to 720 hours if they only had raw resources on hand.

The other ships were a collection of agriculture and manufacturing-focused. They would provide the resources to keep their fleet moving forward and to be able to progress at maximum efficiency.

Their orders were to meet and negotiate with any cultures they encountered. However, the survival of the Imperium was paramount. Better for them to talk and coexist, but never forget the violence was an excellent tool as well.

The rings re-aligned themselves as the thirty-three ships approached. With a ripple starting with the center ring, a cascade happened as the next ring aligned. And the next. etc.

Once aligned, lightning arced around the ring as its own power sources kicked in. Piercing the dimensional veil was no simple task. The rings represented the cutting edge of Imperium science and now the first scouts were going to pass through.

The Gate opened and a solid sphere formed at the direct center of the rings. Everything was ready and Sarah gave him a nod.

John sighed as he looked out into the view screen that surrounded the bridge. All around him was space and the vastness of the Imperium.

The golden fleet stood at his side. Millions of golden ships protectively guarded the golden planet at its center. This was the center of the Imperium. This was the home of the Emperor.

He who guided. He who provided. He who loved.

John made eye contact with Sarah and nodded back.

She barked out the command and the thirty-three ships entered the Gate.

The world turned white as they passed into the center of the sphere. The world trembled as all matter was disturbed by the fringes of the dimensional barrier.

Then they popped out onto the other side.

John stared out into the new universe. The science corps were triple analyzing their position. The ride was rough but quick. Internal systems were responding with a green and the other ships were reporting the same thing.

The science of the Gate was simple. Pierce the walls between dimensions and go through. You will appear at the exact same location you left.

"All ships green and the science corps report that all viewable stars do not match any charts on record," Sarah reported as she looked over to the Grand Admiral and summed up the reports.

John's vision filled with relevant information about the status of his fleet and the three suggested destinations for their first foray into this new universe.

He simply chose the highest rated suggestion about a dense galaxy and gave command back to Sarah. She began to bark her orders and the fleet immediately followed suit.

John stared out into the darkness. His face lit up with a tempered smirk. Their first steps were taken. Let us see what this new land had to offer.

By peace or by war, he would save his dying people.