To organize the fleet

Paran steered her ship into the meeting point of the rest of the landing flee as the rest of the ship, either already there or just coming in, hailed her and began to give out a speech. "My comrades, we are, as of this moment, all alone, as we are all that remains of the Thanagarian empire. Are armadas destroyed? Are armies wiped out as we speak? Are enemies dividing up our lands and our people between themselves? The only hope Thanagar and the Thanagarians have is us to those you see around you that remain free. So we can not fail to stand fast and wait orders." Paran ended the fleet-wide broadcast and began giving out specific orders for specific ships.

The troop transports were ordered to find the nearest hospitable planet and occupy it. The souting ships were ordered to modify their sensors to scan for the materials needed to build more ships and weapons that could be found in the system they were in. Well, all fighters were put into squadrons and ordered to patrol the system they were currently in. Once she was sure everyone in the fleet was being productive, she sat down and waited for any news of a change in situation that might come in that she would have to deal with.

So she sat there and waited, taking in reports as the landing fleet went about the work following her command. The troop sports found a waterlogged world—about 80 percent water—but there were some mountains sticking out here and there with large enough cliffs to allow for a landing site. So she had them land and immediately fortify their position, as they had no idea what was on the world or if the Gordianians were going to be trying to track them, so they needed defense, and they needed them yesterday.

So as the men from the troop transport got on with making the mountains a base to defend from, she monitored the patrols of fighters and the scout ships as they looked for ore deposits. It was quiet for several hours; nothing happened but the all-clear of the fighters as they monitored space and the no-go of the scout ship as it scanned one Astrid field or planet after the other.

That is, until she got reports from the troop transport later in the day. Apparently they had gotten in contact with what looked like the people of the world, a fish-type species that lived below in the world oceans. She read through the report as they had decided to be diplomatic and talk to fish people following the protocol established for the weapon project.

Paran thought on this new development for a while before coming to a decision. She would talk to the person who made contact and get a personal testimony on the creatures before she made a decision on how the landing fleet would treat them going forward. She went over to her to the communication array of her ship ordering to have the person that made contact report to her for her questioning, and he was duly provided.

The young man was nervous but answered her questions honestly, and as quickly as he could, soon they were done with her tripping him up with her last question. "Were they pretty?" Paran asked, not a hint of emotion on her face to show what she was thinking, just an icy glare that promised a painful **** if she wasn't given the truth.

" Umm." The man stumbled at first before he answered. "Yes, mam, they were quite pretty, just like those mermaid tales you hear about on earth, just that they have scales running up their entire bodies instead of cutting off at the torso," he answered honestly. Paran stared at him for a moment, causing him to sweat buckets before she nodded and cut the connection.

She thought about what she had been told and what they had already found out. These mermaids called themselves the Ylanicass, and they had valuable ore that they needed. They knew that because the Ylanicass wore trinkets made of the ore around their necks. Luckily for the landing fleet, they seem to be suffering from strange illnesses, and advanced Thanagarian could help with that. Which meant establishing a beneficial relationship should be easy enough.

Especially considering Thanagarians weren't equipped for aquatic fighting, at least not the forces she had currently. So she would make deals with them to trade medical aid for ore until the engineers had established effective aquatic combat gear for them, then she would have the Ylanicass conquered and enslaved down to the last child.

Now it might seem like a waste of resources picking a fight when they have no reinforcements and can't easily replace their losses. As well as the fact they're getting what they want through trade anyway, but control of ore is not Paran's goal for this conquest. It's the Ylanicass themselves she wants as what better present for her angel than a mermaid straight out of myth just for him, but it just can't be any mermaid no the mermaid must be the best for her angel. So she had to enslave them all so she could pick the best one for her precious angel to enjoy.