Ginny Picton's first encounter with the daughters of the Matriarch stays vividly in her mind. It was just before the pivotal Battle of Nexus Rameses. Picton's starship, MSS Selene, had been assigned a vital role in the highly unconventional plan of action formulated by Regent Tara. Even though Selene was one of the most formidable battlecruisers in the Matriarchal Navy, this was a tough assignment. Tara looked hard at the holomaps and then moved the MSS Endymion alongside the Selene. "Endymion will answer to your command, Commodore Picton." Thanks to this decision and the heroic defiance of the two starships, the battle was won and the New Scandinavians, unaccustomed to defeat, soon put out feelers about peace talks. Now, in peacetime, but still on the bridge of her beloved Selene, Ginny Picton has finally met the other Matriarchal Princess, Artemisia, who has joined her crew as a junior officer. Artemisia was preceded by a reputation for being aloof, arrogant and humourless, none of them characteristics likely to endear her to the crew of the Selene. Picton is pleasantly surprised, though, to find Artemisia modest and respectful, a keen and apt learner and eager to make friends. And, as the holocasts never tire of reminding the viewers, Artemisia can't half shoot. Selene has been conducting peacetime manoeuvres with the former enemy, the New Scandinavian Navy. The NSN has stumbled upon a series of heavily fortified lairs, now believed to be the bases for a string of piratical attacks in both NS space and in the Matriarchy. Although the NSN is not likely to require assistance from the MN to deal with the problem, Picton promises any help that may be required. She invites some of her junior officers to propose a plan of action, using the Selene's principal holotank (not something lowly officers get to play with very often). Picton is fascinated when Artemisia demonstrates the same flair for tactical ingenuity that Tara displayed back at Nexus Rameses. When she passes the plan to the NSN Admiral, he immediately guesses the plan's authorship: "Nice to have one of those princesses fighting on our side for once."