On the other side, setting out at the same time as Yu Lian was the whole crew of the Ten Treasures Fleet—seafarers... no, a bunch of "righteous citizens" who had surrendered.
They would split into two groups. One would travel with the Imperial fleet under the command of the newly promoted Knight First-Class, Sir Gong Ao. Their destination was the Empire's Jinsen Sector, the fief of the Suliuka royal family.
Gong Ao now had a noble title and military rank, and had officially become a retainer of the Suliuka King. Most of the more than twenty thousand battle-hardened bandits under his command would be taken in by the prince's household guard. From then on, they could eat the Suliuka family's rice—which, by a generous bit of rounding, meant they'd be eating from the Empire's coffers. The rest had been taken in by the royal family's businesses and estates. If they didn't want to be lackeys of the court, working for the court was still a decent option.
The last group would travel for a while with the Community's joint task force under Yu Lian's command. After leaving the nebula route, however, the task force would continue "west" into Alliance territory. The Ten Treasures' righteous citizens, aboard two large transports and one immigrant city ship—captured from the marauders—would instead turn "south," pass through the territories of several "friendly neighbors," including the Cherk Kingdom, and enter Community territory from the border of the New Atlantis Sector. Their journey would be escorted by a reputable regular mercenary force. Once they crossed the Community border, the escort mission would be taken over by the Arm's Fleet stationed in New Atlantis—in other words, the Seventh Fleet.
If all went smoothly, this immigrant fleet of more than four hundred thousand people should reach the New Shenzhou