It had taken some time, but now they were ready.
Their flotilla was small, yet proud: The Icebox, and 3 Northman-class Corvettes, all flying the gold and purple standard. On board the Icebox, an all-volunteer manifest of scientists, civil servants, engineers, workers - all that a settlement would require to inspire some measure of civilization, as well as the food and supplies needed to sustain them.
The voyage had taken some days, and there was festivity in the air, as if this were some sort of cruise - which it was, in some respects - but it was also proof that all aboard recognized that this was but a prelude to much hard work to come. A respite was all this was.
Anchoring at the appropriate location, with the High Realm just east of them, the admiral's barge was commissioned - it was a small boat, but regulations termed it a barge - and Primo de Aguilar, in his Home Guard full dress uniform, bearing his Kanikleios and Strategos insignia - stood on the prow, eyes fixed forward.
He checked his watch, took a deep breath, and at the appropriate time, wet his shined boots on the new Constancian shore and took the first steps on new Constancian soil. This he would log appropriately in his diary. The rest of the party would have their names engraved in history.
Several steps away, on more decidedly solid land, a detail hastily dug a hole several feet deep for a makeshift flagstaff, as the Strategos surveyed the immediate domain, while several more boats bearing uniformed personnel unceremoniously disembarked.
At the appropriate time, exactly high noon, onshore, a whistle was blown, while the ships offshore dressed their respective ships, and Primo de Aguilar took his place in history.
In a loud voice, he read these words aloud:
As he ended, a band played the Constancian anthem, and all assembled stood at attention and saluted. Once the flag reached the top of the mast, the assembled naval forces rendered honors, followed by a seaward gun salute. As the purple and gold flag fluttered amidst the breeze, there was great rejoicing, duly captured for posterity.
Θέμα πορτοκαλίσίων
διάταγμα
No. 3
In the name of His Majesty Petros III, King of Constancia, and by virtue of the authority vested in me as Strategos of the Thema Oranjēsiōn,
In accordance with The Armed Forces Act 1634,The Metropole Act 1642, The Regulation of the Theme of Oranje Act 1651, and existing regulations,
I, Jaime Augustin Joaquin Primo de Aguilar, Kanikleios, and Strategos of the Thema Oranjesion, do hereby take possession of this idle and unclaimed land, known to many as Kendall Isle, on behalf of His Constancian Majesty, his heirs and assigns, in perpetuity without let or hindrance, on this day and hour. This soil is now Constancian soil! All hail His Majesty Petros III!
Ἰάκωβος Αυγουστίνος Ἰωακείμ πρώτη αετός
στρατηγός