Ascendant

The Ascendant is the flagship of the High Command Conclave and the only capital vessel in Tribellium that carries no Fleet prefix. Every fighter, carrier-cruiser, supercarrier and gunship in the registry answers to the Fleet. This one answers to the Authority.

The Conclave does not leave Ordin unless they are aboard her, and she does not move without three Iverson-class gunships. She carries no armament of any kind. The escorts do that part.

She is maintained in ceremonial condition, unscarred and unmarked by service, and the hull is polished before every departure. A vessel that shows damage has been somewhere it was not in control.

A supercarrier ends most conflicts with presence, and those it cannot, it ends with overwhelming force that arrives on a published heading. A Bastion strikes at range or closes to knife distance, depending on the tasking. The Ascendant carries no such capability and has never required any.

Her movements are themselves a matter of record. Outbound from Ordin, the Conclave is travelling to a matter that requires attendance. Inbound, the matter is concluded. When she leaves, the question she came for is closed. Entire, settled, and not subject to appeal.