Nomad Fleets
Despite its absorption in affairs BTC, and its rocky relations with the new Imperium, The Commonwealth remains committed to assisting in the recovery of the remainder of Charted Space. The Crucible was a humbling affair for the new state and its citizens, and a new spirit of generosity has been one of its main bindings. The government has channeled some of this generosity into ad hoc fleets of military and merchant vessels known as Nomad Fleets. Combining military, diplomatic, scientific exploration and mercantile enterprise into one bundle, these huge gypsy caravans dawdle for years in a particular area outside of the Commonwealth,building various kinds of outposts, restoring interstellar institutions, building trade routes and alliances. This unique mixture of gunboat, humanitarian and credit diplomacy has enabled recontact of most regions this side of the Claw, and significant restoration of ties with regions on the coreward and trailing sides of the Fourth Imperium.
These fleets are staffed on a voluntary basis by military and mercantile personnel, and a babels worth of ordinary citizens that sign on for the five to seven year duration of each mission. This includes many untrained youths from worlds devastated during the Crucible, or from the vast refugee camps that developed in the trailing regions of the Spinward Marches sector after the war. These youths sign on during an annual event known as the Gathering, whereby prospective ships of a new Nomad Fleet leave Efate/Regina, and travel down the Spinward Main to sign up new recruits. Most of these youths pass a simple physical and mental fitness test, and train during the duration of the mission in a profession, trade or military occupation. A fleet may lose some of their personnel due to emigration or attrition, but usually comes back to the Commonwealth with more people than it left due to its contacts with devastated worlds and regions.
One fleet leaves each year from the final Gathering rendevous at Lunion/Lunion for one of the four galactic directions. So far a dozen fleets have convened, and half of these are still in operation. The thirteenth fleet will convene in 1272 and will depart for trailing, looking to break through to Ley Sector, and into K'kree and Hiver space beyond. The next fleet, Number 14, will leave for rimward through the devastated Aslan Hierate, cross over through Reaver's Deep, recontact the former Solomani sphere, and eventually rendevous with No. 13 somewhere in Diaspora or Old Expanses sector. Future plans call for two or more fleets to begin new expeditions, twenty years in duration, towards the Galactic Core to recontact Zhodani and Vargr outposts in that region.