Werner von Kessel was born in 1082, on Vaward (1106/Quinoid/Old Expanses [then- A-795A99-F N Hi In Cx 102 Im], the son of a high-ranking Navy Officer (His father, Ulrich retired in 1110 a RAdmiral, with thirty-two years of service). He graduated from the Imperial Navy Flt Academy with Honors, valedictorian of his class in 1113.

He was first assigned to the system defense squadrons of Depot/Ultraneta system in the Old Expanses in 1114, and was there when the Solomani invaded the Old expanses in 1117, after Emperor Lucan had withdrawn the OPFOR fleet from here, along with the rest of the High tech Imperial Old Expanses Fleet for the meat grinder battles in Zarushagar versus Dulinor's "Loyal" Fleet. He was reassigned to a picket duty Destroyer Escort insystem when the Solomani offensive gathered steam and took the system in 1118, and managed to inflict casualties upon the invaders, and jump out after his ship was rendered nearly battle ineffective upon the death of his Captain. At Vaward, he was reassigned in 1119 to a Light Cruiser, and served as the weapons officer aboard her, and participated in the retaking of the Depot system in a lightning raid that caught the Solomani fleet with their proverbial pants down, and managed to save the base facilities from scuttling. This action earned him a second wound badge, and the Meritorious Conduct under Fire Imperial medal (MCUF).

In a 1122 he was given his own command at last, a Khugelikaer-class Destroyer, and was part of the counteroffensive that drove the Solomani back into the lower Older Expanses sector, and wound up by 1125 in command of a Lt. Cruiser squadron out of Vaward with a promotion. From 1126-1130 CPT Kessel was in charge of a Hunter-Killer squadron, consisting of an S-class (Shaker weapon equipped) Planet-class CA, the ISS Vaward, and four Aganar-class Light cruisers, and their 12 close escorts & scouts. Their mission was to patrol the Outlands, and destroy/stop/capture Lucan's Black war ships, ironically the very squadrons, like CDRE Eshraa bint Reine was operating into the Old expanses with (Her raid in 1127 destroyed Berkin's navy base and starport).

The ISS Vaward suffered battle damage and misjumped in 1130 (partly from Virus infection). The CG was knocked out and this saved many of the crew from "Grav-pong", but she was adrift, and the system was Sovtor, which had been extinguished a week prior. Some of the crew elected to stay; others took subcraft and headed for the main world, never to be seen again. Fortunately the Black globe generator's HPG aboard was utilized as a solar array and kept minimum power running as they orbited the primary star.

Von Kessel's men drew lots, and some 187 went into low berths, and a watch was set. At least four or five would remain awake two weeks at a time, until they were rescued. He suspected some sort of AI Virus had been unleashed (rumors of Lucan & Dulinor's fleets final clash in Core 179-1130 were known to him, the whereabouts of the other ships of the squadron were not), and so trusted not in restoring full power, even though they had fuel for a J-4 remaining. Several hundred crewman had been blown out the airlocks already, and half the subcraft were gone with another 200. The dead from the previous battle (with a vampire ship, unbeknownst to them) were buried in space on a one-way trip to the star, as per regulations. Then they waited.

It was in 1188 when the guild raider "Enemy of God, Mercy & Pity", a Nishemani- (P) class Corsair ship discovered them, and docked with 36 personnel aboard, looking for loot and salvage. The raping was underway of newly awakened personnel when Kessel, D'Estoc, Castle, and Novanya discovered they were no longer alone. They killed the rapists, and boarded the vessel, killing the crew remaining aboard, undocked her, and re-docked on a secure part of the ship only the officers could access--the engineering section.

Dr Novanya awoke several Marines, and they routed the remaining Pirates. They were spaced, after a courts-martial, as per Imperial Navy Interstellar law. Due to their taking the ship, they recovered the Guild's astrogation database, and what lay nearby. They risked awakening a few more personnel, and jumped to nearby Solee and placed themselves at the mercy of the Soleean Navy, headed up at that time in 1188 by then CDRE Gabriela Ramstattan, and several dozen Lucan remnants, including Eshraa Bint Reine, a Black War Sqdn commander that von Kessel had hunted before.

Ramstattan gave the approval for the rescue, and the Light cruiser ISS Lord Imperial was dispatched with medical personnel and low berths to affect rescue. Four weeks later, the ISS Vaward was jumped one parsec to Solee for refit and repair, and the Imperial remnants of Margaret's Navy were integrated into the Soleean Navy. CDRE Ramstattan immediately set the 187 survivors into leadership cadre positions over her nascent space Navy forces personnel (at that time some 9,000 personnel), and began refurbishment of the Imperial Navy Base facilities dirtside, and upgrading it to a C-class port (both accomplished by 001-1192). Margaret's personnel being lower echelon NCOs and officers save for a handful under von Kessel utilized the ISS Vaward as a training vessel and monitor in this time period.

The unification of the system of Solee and merging with the economic Polity of the Democratic Accord of Galines worlds in 1189-90 created a new "empire" of sorts, following the path of Margaret's Dream, the re-expansion into the wilds. Many of the SDB's Solee possessed were utilized in the new "Alliance" as battle riders for convoy security. With the establishment of the C-class yard and formal alliances with the DAG polity in Jayna, Solee's Empress Gabriela turned over control of the fleet to Admiral Eshraa bint Reine. CPT von Kessel was assigned to Galines to take control and organize the reclamation of military vessels there as part of the "3 to 1" policy in 1193. With the anti-virus treatments Solee developed in this time period, coupled with quantum computer advances made by Virus busters from the DAG world of Czerniak, von Kessel helped organize and indoctrinate the defensive Non-jump fleets of Thanatos, Czerniak, and Galines. By 1198, (including the ISS Vaward, now the ISS Solee), the Jayna "fleet" consisted of 5 major jump warships and fifteen smaller starships (some of which were captured Guild corsair vessels). For his efforts he was knighted in 1194, but not promoted.

Von Kessel saw his personnel scattered, but employed in decent posts, several, like his former weapons officer, Jules D' Estoc promoted to command a vessel of their own. Admiral bint Reine however, saw to it that Soleean Imperial Securitat had a monitoring agent aboard the Soleean ships (ala the Commissar system of certain Totalitarian regimes of old Terra, and the IMOJ during Lucan's reign), including Von Kessel, whom she disliked for personal reasons. Many of Von Kessel's people were from the engineering department on the Vaward/Solee and a few key personnel he was able to keep, if only to keep the vessel running. Spare parts were a problem, and the relic fleet being refurbished from 1196 onward in orbit over Solee was a finite resource. It totaled nearly 200 vessels (some 48 Major ships & 144 smaller ones), but if cannibalized down to hulls, Solee would be unable to sustain her "fleet" for no more than two decades, that and they were of mixed tech levels from both Imperial and Solomani sources. Solee needed the Depot system, von Kessel knew, so Spring of 1199, they struck, and defeated a Vampire force insystem, and captured the system after making an alliance with the "peaceful" AI-guardians of the Automated (project Vulcan) shipyards, and the mothball fleet that still held ships of TL-11 thru TL-9, and a few of TL-12 thru 14.

Due to the nature of the agreement reached by von Kessel, and the gains made thereof (the reproduction of Starship Hull forming machinery, and Jump-drive machinery by D-Yard (a benevolent Hobbyist strain), allowed the starports of Galines, Thanatos, Czerniak, and Solee to be upgraded by 1200-01. The Empress promoted Von Kessel to CDRE for this action in the autumn of 1199.

Czerniak's tech level of TL-11, and her B-class starport went to A-class in 180-1200; Galines' C-class port became B-class also by 365-1200. Solee's C-class starport achieved a B-class rating by 001-1202, due to expenses incurred in the 1198-99 Hindahl/ Marcena campaigns; and Thanatos' small port became B-class and tech restored to TL-9 by 001-1201.

Depot itself became the HQ for the "Jayna Fleet" of CDRE von Kessel, with another 12 SDB's for insystem defense, and a Starburst Light Cruiser captured (the head of the puppeteer "fleet" defeated by his task force in 1199). Between the summer of 1199 and Fall of 1200, some 1 million personnel from Czerniak, Galines, Thanatos, and Solee were employed there to start the refurbishment and self-sustaining nature of the base (Hull alloys mined from asteroids by Belters from Thanatos; Ship maintenance by personnel from Czerniak, Galines, and Solee's former C-class yards; as well as a garrison of Star Marines from Galines and Solee. In this latter amount of personnel, Czerniak did not participate, being defensive minded, and saving her forces for her own system's defense. The other two planets did not object to this policy, as Czerniak was the tech giant of the three at TL-11).

Von Kessel spent the next two years (1200-1201) further co-coordinating and training this new Soleean Imperial Navy in Jayna subsector. Linnert was opened as an R & R facility for the Depot personnel, who were stringently placed on 20-year contracts, and recruited for having no family connections some grumbled, but the pay at Depot was better than their homeworld' s ports, for all the secrecy.

Then the news of the capture of the RCS Marathon Victrix arrived in early 1202, just as Von Kessel was preparing to explore rumors from a free trader on the worlds of Kestral corewards of Depot and Montero, both boasting B-class ports, but at war with each other. As Margaret's Dream (reversed) policy dictated a re-expansion/ recontacting worlds of the Wilds, von Kessel knew the Soleean Admiralty would not back him (headed by Bint Reine) unless he succeeded beyond the victory achieved at Depot. The charismatic policies of the navy under (now) Empress Ramstattan left no room for defeat, success meant everything. Admiral bint Reine was gearing up to crush what had been ill-timed 1198-99 on Marcena and Hindahl in 1202, readying the Soleean navy for its new foe to rimward, the "Reformed Coalition", so any assets needed would be minimal. But von Kessel had cut his teeth in Hard Times 1125-30 making the most of what little he'd been given then.

Utilizing the same strategy as before, the ISS Solee grappled several non-jump SDBs and two smaller escorts, entered into Kestral' s system, in early 1202, and made contact with the Theocracy of Kestral, and the Galanglic Thrice Reformed Catholic church headed up by Cardinal Margaera de Messina. It was no small effort towards the results he gained that he himself was a practioner of that faith, and gained audience with her Imminence. If Solee's Empress would recognize her Cardinalship, she would recognize Solee's sovereignty & empire, as long as Montero was defeated, and the heretic Patriarch was displaced. The Guild's part in this 20 odd year "Heresy" war of divisiveness was revealed by the Soleeans allies from Czerniak, who'd also scouted the coreward main of Jayna-Quinoid. Von Kessel dispatched a Jump 4 patrol cruiser to speed word to Solee & the Empress, and prayed for the best.

Eight weeks later, even as the "Marathon-Victrix" incident was fresh on the headlines of Galines, Czerniak, and Solee, the ISS Solee bore her Imperial Majesty Solee to Kestral, arriving on 08 /III/1202. Her Imperial Majesty Solee, Gabriela Ramstattan did recognize Matriarch-Princess Margaera ' s claims, live on Kestral TV and radio to the world and the Kestral Royal Fleet. In return, for the fealty to the empire, Matriarch-Princess Margaera vowed her fleet (with Admiral Von Kessel's Naval forces' assistance to move 1parsec coreward) to reclaim Montero & her rightful place as The GTRC's rightful Leader of both Quinoid and Jayna subsectors. The Monteran fleet, while numerous, had been badly led, men of high piety not sound tactical sense had captained her. Another flaw in their thinking, they never dreamed of being on the defensive. As a result, the Monteran navy lost well over a third of her vessels, and all of her Jump capable ships had been captured. Princess Margaera was magnanimous in Victory to the defeated Navy, "recant the election heresy and be free, or be excommunicated out an airlock". Superior ship's sensors, and missiles (TL-11 from CZRNIAK versus TL-9 sensors and missiles), as well as a commander willing to take risks, proved to be the "Holy Crusader Fleet's" undoing. The ISS Solee did suffer a few hits herself, and was laid up until June of 1202 here for repairs, allowing the Soleeans and Kestralians to capture the returning starships from their missionary work. The rest of the "Jayna" star fleet he dispatched back to Depot, after conducting limited contact operations with the Matriarch to Paragon, Kase, Issek, Leome, Trevor, Darius, Fezzan, and Palique to soothe over the War of the Heresy's subsector fallout.

Von Kessel was promoted to Admiralin May of 1202, now he highest-ranking former Margaret's Navy remnant in the Soleean Navy. Solee's "empire" now stretched from the rim of Quinoid subsector B through Jayna, and into Shenk. Once repairs to the ISS Solee were finished at Montero in June, he undertook for the Powerful techno-logical world of Czerniak a mission into the Syrs subsector. He left Solee's two new Systems to the administration of the diplomats from Czerniak & Galines for routing Tukera-Hapsburg Lines (TKHL), LIC traffic their direction. A small cadre of his officers was left emplaced to head up the new Navies, and make the repairs necessary from the battle.

First, Sarcathon, which Czerniak had contacted and wished to include in the vision of "Margaret's dream"; J-3 to spinward from her; then Exage, site of a former hi-tech Naval base belonging to the Imperial 197th fleet/1197th Reserve fleet; J-4 rimwards from Exage lay Syrs, former subsector capital, also like Exage, formerly TL-15; and last, the TED of Yerhen, J-3 to trailing from Syrs, back towards Czerniak.

It seemed to Admiral Von Kessel's enemies back on Solee in the Admiralty (namely the jealous former Lucan remnants, including Admiral Eshraa bint Reine & jealous Soleean Native commanders) his string of successes had no end. The Syrs expedition would prove that even Von Kessel's gunboat diplomacy and heralding Margaret's Dream" would have its nay- Sayers, and some TEDs who'd be less than impressed with Solee's claim as her heirs. Unbeknownst to Lt. General Otto Adraskaar, head of Soleean Imperial Securitat (SIS), Von Kessel had seduced his personal SIS commissar, and she was falsifying reports on his "political correctness".

The Commonwealth of Sarcathon, a high gravity cored world, was agriculturally poor, but had gone from being a mere company owned mining world to a TL-8 industrial world during the collapse. Her former C-class orbital port was a ruin, a shadow of its former self, but tech decline from TL-9 had not been a hard fall. The population had replaced the corporate board with a civil service bureaucratic Govern-ment. Sarcathon had become, like Mueller of Shenk subsector had been, a haven for Free Traders, save here, and they WERE the government! Sarcathon' s Commonwealth had a small space force, some 4 large ships, and 12 smaller ones. Of these large ships, 5 were Spear-class Monitors (TL-9, 1ktn, NJ/1G), purchased in prewar days a sustainable SDB's for the system. Her one large jump-capable ship was a marooned Chauncy Smith-class Bulk freighter (TL-10, 10ktn, J-1/1G) the SS Clersor-Clipper, is the flagship for her mercantile commonwealth. Sarcathon' s other ships include 8 Lancet-class SDB's (TL-9, 200dtns, NJ/1G), and her four smaller Jump ships are A Shambalator-class Close Escort (TL-15, 600dtns, J2/3G)SS Ulysses, Two armed Petty-class freighters (TL-10, 400dtns, J1/1G), the SS Black Nile's Daughter, & SS Capricorn's Caprice, and a Wilds Trader-freighter (TL-12, 800dtns, J3/2G), SS Siobhan's Starduster.

Their ships traveled as far as the E-class port on Ranb (0311/ E-766788-6 Ag D: 2 802)), where the former colony of Dachnis' folk had centralized things in a Socialist Totalitarian state, to the E-class port on Babellet (0412/ E-757668-5 Ag Ni B104), an agrarian world run by fairly benevolent TEDs. Ranb was no longer on their itinerary since they had nearly lost a ship there five years ago, thanks to the Guild putting ideas into the Ranb-Soviet's minds. Most of their trade was conducted with the desert world of Vinhooks (0613/ X-440420-5 De Lo Ni 203), the Vilani-style Impersonal Bureau of pre-industrial Afrend (0614/X-6768BB-3 801 ), and the pre-stellar industrial world of Ilm (0715/X-6628CA-5 315). Sarcathon was willing to join the empire, but had little to contribute to any "fleet" efforts. Czerniak's diplomats assured them they could have their C-class starport rebuilt within two years, and a market for their TL-8 goods, especially military ones, to trailing was in demand (Mostly to those few TL-6 "client states" that had acknowledged "the will of Solee"). Czerniak had opened a colony/ salvage world on Rebields (1708/ Jayna) six years ago, and a second on Inftow (1607/Syrs) in 1200. J-1 Trade with Yerhen and J-2 trade from Sarcathon would greatly ease burdens (costs to keep supplied in food and materials) on both. In return, TL-9 parts and machinery from Galines and Solee carried on TKHL transports would tie them into the "empire". Homage to Empress Ramstattan, and the protection of the Solee Imperial fleet were small prices to pay. As if to quell doubts, representatives from Czerniak's version of Ling Standard products arrived two weeks after Admiral Von Kessel, and relinquished their holdings to the "Commonwealth of Sarcathon" (purely a political fait d' accompli), and the two freighters she arrived with brought spare parts for their aging Spear class monitors & Lancet SDB's. The Sarcathians looked at this with both a sigh of relief (now they didn't have to do all of this "foreign" aide alone) and since guarantees were made on the autonomy of their system itself, and the Soleeans seemed to mean business and keeping their end up, the vote was barely contested. By August 1202, construction crews from Czerniak began to arrive to facilitate the creation of an orbital C-class port. It was half completed by December 20th, thanks in part to its modular construction.

The talks to include Sarcathon were wrapped up by the end of June, and in the first week of July, the ISS Margaret's Dream and four small escorts entered the Exage system. No trace of the former orbital Naval yards existed. A balkanized world of 23 nations before the war of some 2 billion sentients, the Final War and Solomani & Imperial warring over the system had done nothing good for them. War had come to Exage in 1117 and had not left it yet. His two-day survey from orbit revealed a lot gleaned from various TV and radio traffic. Of the 23 nations, only 20 existed. The three largest had become a post apocalyptic wasteland for nomadic bandits, the exiled, and outlaws. "A dog-eat-dog world, and everyone's been out of biscuits for eighty-five years," he wrote in his memoirs.

On the third day, they were hailed by ships from the captured planet of Osage (orbit 3.6), and found themselves being questioned by a relic fleet, some Solomani, some Imperial that hailed back to the 1197th reserve fleet to be friendly or hostile. Admiralvon Kessel kept his composure, and his wits--he was outgunned and out maneuvered by a relic 50ktn Crusader-class cruiser, as well a several large warships, and a host of fighters bearing missiles. He discovered the Pocket-empire-within the Exage system of "Osagi Intersystem Co-Dominion", a Charismatic Dictatorship government resembling that of Solee's, with a Bwap run civil service bureau running the bureaucracy behind it. Von Kessel was "invited" to Osage, a captured near twin of Exage within the habitable zone (orbit 3.6). Here, Von Kessel met with another survivor of low berthing, the aging charismatic commander of the Famed "Silver Shadows" squadron that resisted the Solomani fleet for four months, CDRE Alamandraa Dupree (ret.). She was intrigued by the knowledge of Solee's expansion, and survival. The Megacorporations representatives with him, from Czerniak & Galines were pleased to see Osage had maintained a B-class starport within the system itself. Dupree was canny though, and wanted to know to what benefit would the Osagi have in "joining up with the "Empire of Solee"? Osage had been a colony of the Exage, as had Corsage in orbit 4, and the worlds around the two large gas giants Mesopotamia & Peleponnesia. Osage had written off their homeworld a long time ago, and concentrated instead on managing the worlds of her own system, though they had established outposts in the adjacent Technologically backward system of Frallsford (TL-0) and dead world system of Bede to monitor possible Guild and Vampire traffic.

By this time in 1202, the Osagi had made client states out of their gas giant system worlds of Azarmeiid & Athens, formerly Guild strongholds, and the Guild was bending over backwards (inverted in most cases) to be allowed to continue to trade within the system. Most of the Guild's treachery and guile had failed, and several Guilds ships had fallen prey to the Osagi Navy. Only those with legitimate cargoes and business dared come her now, as well as a few Free Traders from Sarcathon, or from Ephraim out in Pasdaruu subsector in Diaspora. Like the Soleeans, the Osagi had used the carrot and stick approach in dealing with TEDs here, co-opting them if they proved reliable, and ruthlessly replacing them if they did not "play well with the Osagi". What Von Kessel did not know was that the Osagi had re-invented the Jump-0 engine back at TL-9 (Osage re-achieved TL-10 in 1201), and had swiftly dominated in system traffic since then. Their major expenses were maintaining the standard jump-drives of their Starships, and the ships themselves. The Soleeans were impressed at the level of organization, and envious of their "fleet". Osage had moved with Vilani deliberate lack of haste and planning, and was thus in better shape than Solee in 1201. Further expansion along the main was hemmed in by the presence of vampire ships in the Strat & Ajjeig systems. In the case of the former system, the Osagi Navy had run several sorties and reconnaissance missions already and assessed their threat. The problem came in fetching back what they intended to capture.

The Czerniak CIA telepath assigned to Admiral Von Kessel's staff discerned these details when discussing the needs of the Osagi (or apparent lack thereof) in joining the Soleean Empire, and later made these findings known when the Soleeans conferenced back aboard their ship. Several Soleean officers were racially opposed to the presence of the Bwap bureaucrats, but Von Kessel silenced them--they were Imperial citizens, and performed their functions well. Solee Nationalism aside, anti-Alien bigotry had no place in diplomacy with such an asset as what Osage presented to them. CDRE Dupree's granddaughter was their new leader, but her grandmother still influenced the nation. Without their alliance with the Bwap, they might have fallen into the anarchy that was Exage, he argued. The Czerniak diplomats approved, as they had made separate agreements with the Droyne in Jayna upon Sveinel, contrary to the Human Supremacists of Galines and Solee. The discussion did not go unremarked by those officers that felt Von Kessel was "politically incorrect".

When they returned to the talks two days later, Von Kessel laid out the outline of the audacious diplomatic venture to the Osagi. Solee was expanding back into space. They were the dominant force in Jayna Subsector, and extending into Shenk. They were extending the hand of friendship, and trade with Czerniak via a proposed J-3 route through Yerhen, Sarcathon to here, with a J-4 feeder line between Syrs and the Exage system. This was a bold move to lay out the cards, as it were, for they'd not yet contacted Syrs or dealt with Yerhen' s TED yet. Solee had anti-virus detection, elimination, and prevention technology they offered in trade. Galines & Czerniak had the freighters to make the trade route a reality, Czerniak had tech -11 computers, software, missiles, and manufactured goods that would aid in Osage's recovery. His last trump, they had captured the Imperial Depot from Virus, and had a wealth in spare parts for Osage's navy--if they were part of the new Empire! Osage had the J-0 engine for deep system travel, and a sizeable fleet. Between the Merchants of Sarcathon and the Osagi, they could bring civilization back to the Syrs subsector in a matter of decades, or they could join Solee, and accomplish the same in a matter of a few years. The Osagi Navy would be responsible for securing the terminals of the Trade route. They would keep their own leadership, of course, and enjoy the benefits of alliance. Czerniak also offered them assistance in opening up recovery-worlds for salvage; they had opened two, Rebields/Jayna in 1200, Von Kessel made no mention of what would happen if they did not agree, as it would have been impolitic (and dangerous, since his vessels were at their mercy). The Osagi went back to conference among themselves. The Osagi however favored the match up, but were a lot more skeptical than even Von Kessel imagined.

They demanded their major ships get their jump drives repaired, and that they conduct joint operations together. The Osagi mentioned the Vampire ships trapped in Strat & Ajjeig systems as a first opportunity to measure up their prospective allies claims. He dispatched one of his escorts Back to Czerniak to send word for the ISS Solee, his flagship of the Jayna Fleet, and for the Czerniak system Navy to provide as many Les Torpeilleur -class Missile boats as they could spare. In the meantime, Von Kessel was made welcome, and Czerniak began to deliver on its promises at once, establishing a small modular base camp on Bede for the Osagi to utilize in salvage operations on the main world, in exchange for a number of Jump-0 drives for trade purposes. Repairs on two of the Osagi major warships began in late August, and were finished in late September. But in early September in two attacks, The Osagi Navy & Von Kessel's small squadron successfully swept both Strat and Ajjeig clear of their Vampire ships, some of whom were remnants of Osage's evacuation fleet that misjumped in 1130. This yielded more answers, and a few low-berthed colonists who were never disturbed, as well as spare parts for the remaining vessels of the Osagi Navy. The Osagi were impressed by the Soleeans performance in these two "battles".

In the last week of September, the combined forces of Von Kessel's ships, the Czerniak Missile boats, and the Osagi Navy fell upon the Syrs system, and destroyed the Vampire system worlds of Franc and Ruble. Czerniak 's MB's & Osage's Navy swept the system of stragglers, and conducted follow on mop-up operations into Early November 1202. Some of the Vampires escaped, but the mission hadn't enough ships to pursue them all. The liberated system in 1203 became a source of military drain for Czerniak whose SDB squadrons were posted here to maintain it Vampire & Guild free.

Von Kessel's strategy was based on the island-hopping tactics of a wet Terran Navy from ages past. working with the knowledge of the relic Tukera/Transstar J-3 & J-4 freighters Galines and Czerniak had in their possession. The Osagi made excellent allies, and Czerniak and Galines, both heavily settled systems, looked forward to trade with the Osagi for the J-0 engine.

Yerhen' s TED, who brutally enslaved his Droyne population, something which the Soleeans themselves didn't disapprove of (abusing aliens), but also utilized slavery of low tech slaves the Guild brought him from Thoezennt (particularly Burlta's natives), found himself on the wrong side of indentured servitude in the first week of December 1202, as Von Kessel's squadron headed back to Jayna. Czerniak had briefed him on their two years of surveillance and spying on this warlord. They had fostered a local resistance group, and in a twenty-hour long strike from orbit, decapitated Warlord Hesii Baarza & his core "Loyal Brigades". A more amenable Governor was (S) elected by the "resistance" (Czerniak's CIA sponsored cadre actually). The 7 million Droyne were slightly better off, being reduced to second- class citizens from gulag PWs & forced laborers. Czerniak moved in quickly, and re-established their hegemony behind their "anointed" leader, who resolved to solve the world's problems by outside trade (imagine that!), and allowing the allies of the resistance to build a C-class port downside (staffed and run by TKHL personnel, of course). The year's progress was heralded to Solee By new years day, and RAdmiral von Kessel was becoming something of a legend, and an irritant to the Lucan-Remnant Commanders of Solee's Imperial Fleet. Despite being given the fewest ships, the least amount of his cadre from his relic ship, he had molded the Jayna Fleet in four short years into a leaner meaner TED busting trained machine. Solee could boast it spanned nearly across three subsectors, and had gained a potent ally in Osage in the fractured Exage system, allowing for the creation of a fleet already in place to defend the "new spinward frontier".

His enemies however had swelled to include almost all of the former Lucan remnants, and many Soleean Navy leaders not under his command. Politically, his views towards the Droyne on Yerhen, and the Bwap of Osage, made him a liability to those more "politically correct" of the Human supremacists faction, subscribed to by even Admiral Eshraa bint Reine, and the head of SIS, Hugo von Adraskaar. But he had allies too, in the powerful Cardinal Margaera de Messina of Montero and Kestral, and had the favor of the Empress, and was considered an invaluable liaison with the newest allies in Syrs subsector from Osage.

Then as fate would have it in the spring of 1203, when conferencing with Admiral bint Reine on plans for the Shenk and Thoezennt subsectors, and the looming war with the "Reformed Coalition" and their alien Hiver allies (Solee's Empress, Admiralty & Military command did not entertain a peaceful resolution to this Pocket empire to rimwards of themselves), von Kessel expressed doubts to the plan. From his understanding of SIS intelligence on the PE to rimwards in Old Expanses, and from spies on Mueller watching the Hiver technological mission there, The RC had access to a steady stream of TL-14 relic equipment, and that the Hivers, while themselves pacifists, would sell these "Star Vikings" superior technological aide, in order to battle against Solee & her allied worlds in the "empire". He advocated a peaceful resolution, as both Interstellar States had a vested interest in ridding the Old Expanses of the Guild, and Vampire raiders, and relied on Trade between systems apparently. He also believed Solee's empire was a bit "fragile" trade ship to warship wise (a by-product of the "3 to 1" deal made with Czerniak & Galines). His suggestions were coldly met as "cowardice, and defeatism". He was removed from Fleet command and to avoid scandal, placed in charge, once more, of the Depot facility in the coreward end of Jayna Subsector in February of 1203, more or less a figure head with very little to command, ironically a virtual prisoner of the system he had liberated for his new empire's benefit.

Admiral Von Kessel's warnings of the fragility of the Solee empire were vindicated however, when the TKHL Chairman, Brion Tukera III of Galines & the Masked Consulate of Czerniak demanded fleet protection for their shipping of the Empress when the Bint Reine blitzkrieg stalled in Shenk & Thoezennt subsectors as the RC's commerce raiding began to take affect in February 1204, three months after war had been declared upon Solee by the RC and Mueller in December of 1203. He was recalled to duty in early March of 1204, along with ships of the Jayna fleet. Von Kessel saw the handwriting on the wall, and did his best with his dwindling ships for his new Empress. When bested at the 2nd battle of Sauler by the combined Task forces "Guillotine" (CDR Ritter RCN) and "Honor Harrington" (CDRE Saffron Ghulz, RCN), he surrendered his remaining ships and crews in June of 1204, even as TF "Hammer" (Admiral Sean Lathrop, RCN) and TF "Anvil" (Admiral Stassja von Braun, Mueller Federal Navy) bypassed Yontez, & smashed Herbe, Kmak and then Solee herself in the same month. AdmiralWerner von Kessel was the only flag officer of Solee to survive the war, and was present at the surrender signed aboard the re-captured RCS Apollo in orbit over Solee in July of 1204, accepted by CPT Rebekka Guiterrez. He is also the only Imperial remnant officer to have served in three Navies (Margaret's, Solee's, and the RCN), finishing out his career in the RCN in 1215 at 60 years of age (biologically).