The Mediterrenean Holy Fleet

February 15, 2003 - East Hope Sea - Southern Expanse

The Hope Sea was stormy, and the waves rushed over the prow of the battleship. She held her course steady, heading due east. The smaller ships that surrounded her were less fortunate, and were batted from side to side. The fleet had shrunk to only half of its original strength during its thirty-day journey, and they were still far from their destination. 

Of all of the various fleets involved in the mysterious hunt in the Southern Expanse, the Mediterrenean Empire's Holy Fleet was the only one to go as far south as the Hope Sea. It was one of the most dangerous and unpredictable open seas in the world, caused by its proximity to the Grand Mass in the south. To the north was South Cape, an Oceanic colony. 

The Holy Fleet had gone so far out of the way of the other nations on a gamble. Its commander, Roma, the Pope of the Roman Church, had arrived at the conclusion that the target of the hunt was a mobile target, based on the available evidence. Since the rest of the Southern Expanse was crawling with ships, Roma hoped that their target would be driven away, towards the open southwest, and would flee right into the hands of her fleet. With every day, the chance of that working slowly decreased, which was why the Holy Fleet was slowly moving northeast towards Diego Garcia, a small island at the center of the Southern Expanse. 

The journey was long, and had taken a significant toll on Roma's fleet. During their journey south, they had faced a number of attacks by island-based aircraft from Oceanic and Gual colonies. A number of the destroyers had been damaged in those attacks, and had been forced to separate from the formation and make landfall. Once they had gone far enough south that it was too dangerous for aircraft to fly, the storms had done the damage for them. Many of the fleet's submarines were unable to sail in such rough waters, and had to flee north. Of the original thirty-five ships, only eighteen remained.  Roma and her advisor, the battleship Dante Alighieri, along with the heavy cruisers Zara, Fiume, and Bolzano formed the center of the fleet, surrounded by a loose ring of five light cruisers and eight destroyers, all of whom were struggling to face the right direction in the face of the storm.

The Mediterrenean Empire's Holy Fleet was unique, in that it was the only combat fleet that existed purely as a religious force. It was commanded by the Pope, the chosen leader of the Roman Church, the heart of the Church of the Eternal. The Church was revered around the world, and was split into three main sects, the Church of the Deep, the Church of the Singularity, and the Church of the Horizon. The Churches of the Deep and the Horizon had existed for almost two thousand years, while the Church of the Singularity had only existed for about a century, when the Singularity was created. 

The Holy Fleet was the military force of the Church, responsible for maintaining order within the Church and crushing heretics. For that reason, they didn't take part in the Europan War, and instead protected civilians and led humanitarian efforts. However, when the Regia Marina, the navy of the Mediterrenean Empire, learned about the hunt, Roma, the Pope, requested that the Holy Fleet be sent to participate, bolstered by forces of the regular navy. The reason for this was simple. In the days before the start of the hunt, Roma, her advisor Dante, and several other members of the Church had visions of the Holy Fleet in the Southern Expanse, sailing towards a wall of foreign ships. This vision was what had inspired Roma to join the hunt, and had also informed her strategy.

Roma wasn't sure what she would find, or whether it would be good or bad for the Empire and the Church. All she knew was that the Eternal had sent her a vision, and that the Eternal wanted her to go to the Southern Expanse. She had trusted in the Eternal her entire life, and had no plans to change that. With nothing but faith and determination, she sailed onwards, towards Diego Garcia.