Linneland IV organizes the Steel Fleet Expedition

The Falkish King Linneland IV modernizes Falkeswin's navy and intends to display its power, prestige, and ability.

After the relative defeat in the Steel War and having lost their once unmatched status as the owner of the seas, the Falkish King Linneland IV moved to heavily modernize every ship in the Falkish Royal Navy. What became known simply as, "The Steel Fleet" employed every major shipyard, metallurgist, and engineer that the Royal Navy could afford and then some.
Most efforts were in modernizing the war fleet and merchant marine. Battleships were laid with the largest displacements ever, cannon bore increased constantly. Destroyers traveled faster and bristled with guns that would put yesteryear's cruisers to shame. Cruisers became the backbone of the fleet, variations filling a multitude of roles within Andoria's naval doctrine. Trade ships were improved, up-sized, and made faster.
Little attention was paid toward ships fit for Brumefringe expeditions. Expeditions to the beyond had almost entirely halted during the Steel War and had not returned post-war, save for a very limited number of private investors. A national expedition had not been conducted by any nation in Edeoxes that anyone could easily recall. Even those decades past were usually small investigations or highly specific, highly specialized expeditions.
Linneland IV recognized the potential in a highly public, successful breach of the Brumefringe in a modern, steel warship. Even private expeditions in modern ships seemed ill-fated. Many theories surfaced as to why: A sail ship better rode 'magical' winds through the fog, or modern, steel ships blocked some unknown magic between a Navigator's maps and the magical aether. Whatever the reason, most private organizations trusted in superstition and preferred modern-styled, but still wooden, primarily sail-driven ships. By royal decree, Linneland organized a single cruiser, the latest to be laid down, to commission a highly specialized crew and set forth into Brumefringe.
The stated mission is a circumnavigation - Proceed into the fog and come out the other side - which had not been done for over a hundred years. Even then, it was exceedingly difficult to prove the historical accounts of circumnavigations as they took much longer than any straight journey should have, and were often plagued with issues of documentation and communication. This expedition would be different, as modern methods of communication and record keeping would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt if this mission were successful.
King Linneland IV was no fool, though, and suspected that such a mission into the beyond was fraught with a high chance of failure. As a hedge, he added to the expedition's goals, saying it would be a diplomatic, good-will voyage to any peoples or civilizations beyond Brumefringe. Linneland hoped this would assauge criticisms should the ship never return from the fog: Perhaps they hadn't fallen to the depths, but were instead held up with problems in the beyond.