Translated by Yukie / Edited by Rwen
Book I: Dawn
Prologue A Brief History of the Galaxy
...In the
year 2801 A.D., the central government moved from the third planet Earth of the
Solar System to the second planet Theoria of the star system Alpha
Centauri. There, mankind declared the
establishment of the United Space Government (USG), and introduced the Space
Era[1] calendar
while they simultaneously began to expand infinitely further and deeper into
the Milky Way Galaxy. Then after the
3700s, the most prominent traits were recurrent wars and complete absence of
order. This led to a stall in mankind's
outward exploration; like energy on the verge of bursting, imminent danger was
taking shape.
The three
godly discoveries that had allowed humans to travel between stars - hyper space
jump navigation, gravity control and inertia control technology - made great
leaps forward and continued to improve over the years. In order to explore the unknown universe,
mankind piloted their starships and sailed to the horizon of the ocean of
stars.
"Forward!
Move forward!"
This became
the universal language between men of that era.
The entire human
race was in the prime of its lifetime.
Everyone was focused, determined, devoted, even in face of difficulty
they did not fall into a sickly, self-indulging mood. Positive energy filled their bodies. Perhaps it could be said that men of that
time were all hopelessly optimistic.
It was the
Golden Age, filled with refreshment and progress.
However, a
few scars of the era were inevitable.
First there were the space pirates.
Around 2700 A.D., the two nations, Earth and Sirius, in the battle for dominance
over mankind, had often used private ship plunder tactics - space pirates were
the mutated children of this tactic.
There were, of course, some freedom-loving good pirates among them, and
the confrontations between them and the government forces often became themes
of 3-dimentional television and movies.
But this
was the minority after all. Most pirates
were merely profit-seeking crime organizations backed by corrupt and immoral
politicians. To the residents of
colonial planets, they were as terrible as a plague. Along the border routes where pirates
frequented, the number of ships traveling them naturally decreased. Not only did merchandise become scarce,
prices for things that people did end up obtaining were also inflated a
thousand folds; as aside from the original price, one also needed to pay a
security protection fee. The serious
nature of this problem could not be overlooked, otherwise dissatisfaction from
the victims would deepen with the insecurity of each passing day, and in turn they
would no longer trust the leadership of the federal government, and ultimately
undermine the willingness of people to settle in frontier planets.
S.E. 106th
year, the USG came out in full force to eradicate the space pirates. Led by Admiral M. Shefran and Admiral C.
Wood, the mission was nearly accomplished in two years' time. The eradication process wasn't easy, Admiral
Wood who was very well known for his cynicism had written such a passage in his
memoir:
"...I
was faced with clever foes, while backed by incompetent comrades. I had to constantly battle both, while I
myself was not the focus of popular support either."
Ever since
Admiral Wood turned to politics, he has been playing the role of the
"stubborn old man", and thus engaged in a bitter battle with
irresponsible politicians and industrialists.
Social
diseases as such came one after another without a break; if you correlate the
entire human race to a man's body, then it was like a skin disease, just like
how we cannot be completely isolated from dust, these anomalies could never be
completely eliminated as well. But with
adequate treatment, the conditions would never worsen or result in death. Then Man would be able to pass over two
centuries of time in good health without ever needing to visit the operation
table.
There was
only one place where prosperity and development were withering; it was the once
dominating nation - Earth. The available
resources on that planet slowly dried up, and its political and economical
power and potential fell rapidly as well; population sharply decreased and
finally it became a weak and old country that managed to obtain its autonomy
only with traditions and much struggle.
But most
curiously, the enormous wealth that Earth had accumulated from Sirius and other
colonies when it was still the ruler of the galaxy now also seems nowhere to be
found.
*****
Not long
after, cancer started to spread. The human society was under the shadow of what
was later called the "Mid-Age Stagnation."
In people's
hearts, fatigue and laziness overwhelmed hope and ambition, reaction replacing
action, pessimism replacing optimism and hesitation replacing activism. New scientific and technological developments
and inventions were interrupted, and the democratic republicanism lost its
self-control and fell into a scramble for power and deceiving politics.
Development
plans for nearby star systems were halted, with plenty of resources and
constructing infrastructures left abandoned on numerous inhabitable
planets. Social and culture life fell
into decadence and inaction, people lost the values they relied on and indulged
themselves in hallucinogens, alcohol, promiscuity, and mysticism. Crime rates climbed up continuously, while
the rate of apprehension went in the opposite direction. People no longer respected life; morality
became the laughing stock of all.
Naturally,
there were many people who were concerned about all these symptoms. They didn't want to see mankind in its
terminal phase become extinct like the dinosaurs.
They felt
that the human society's illness was at a critical stage where it must be
treated. Such thinking was indeed
correct, but most of them for a fast cure did not choose the long term
treatment which required patience and perseverance. Instead, they chose an especially effective
yet side effect prone pill to swallow, this strong prescription medicine was
called "dictatorship".
It was in
this environment that set the stage for the upcoming appearance of Rudolf von
Goldenbaum.
*****
Rudolf von
Goldenbaum was born in the year S.E. 268 in a military family. When he grew up, he naturally joined the
army.
He was the valedictorian of his
class when he graduated from the
He became a 2nd lieutenant at the
age of 20, when he was assigned under the Attorney General of Space Patrol on
the seventh star of Sagittarius, he was set to enforce the discipline of the
troops, completely eradicating alcohol, gambling, drugs, and homosexuality,
which together were known as the "four evils". Even in cases where his superiors were
involved, he still stood by the banner of justice and law and arrested them
without leniency. As a result, his
superiors who thought he was all too much had no choice but to promote him to
1st lieutenant and transferred him to the fourth star of Sagittarius, thus getting
rid of a thorn in their flesh.
The fourth star of Sagittarius was
a danger zone dubbed "The Space Pirates Highway". Rudolf who arrived eagerly was generally
hailed as "Admiral Wood II"; carrying out strong armed policies, he launched
massive, clever and yet merciless attacks, taking out pirate organizations in
bulk. Even those who surrendered and
awaited trial were all burnt alive with their ships. Such cruel and ruthless methods accumulated
much criticism, but the waves of praise rose even higher, like a flood that
consumed all.
To the majority of people who
lived in a stagnant era, the heaviness was suffocating; therefore when this
young, forceful and charismatic new hero appeared, the citizens of the USG were
all applauding and cheering for him.
Rudolf arrived on the stage in this uncertain time and instantly jumped
to universal colossal stardom.
S.E. 296, the twenty-eight year
old Rudolf was already a major general.
At this point, he laid down his military rank and turned to
politics. After obtaining a position in
Parliament, he ascended as the leader of the "National Reform
Alliance". Under his charisma, many
young politicians gathered.
After a few elections, Rudolf
rapidly expanded his sphere of influence.
Through an intricate combination of zealous support, unrest, rejection,
and extreme resignation and apathy, he successfully built a strong political
foundation.
First he was voted into the office
of Prime Minister by the people, and then using a loophole in the Constitution
which did not forbid holding multiple offices, he was elected Speaker of the
House by Parliament. By implicit rules,
these two positions could not be held together; they must each do only what was
within their power and jurisdiction.
Once these two fell together into the hands of one person, the chain
reaction would be catastrophic. There in
fact no longer existed a man who could counterbalance Rudolf's political
regime.
"What the people like is not
autonomous thinking and the responsibilities that follow it, rather it is
command, obedience and a relief of duties.
Rudolf's rise to power is the historical testimony to that. In a democracy, those who should be held
responsible for political corruption are the people themselves who voted such
unqualified leaders into office, while a dictatorship is different. People are not willing to reflect on their
own mistakes, while in secret they like to irresponsibly and freely criticize
the governors."
A historian of the future - D.
Sinclair, wrote this passage. Regardless
of whether his analysis is correct or not, the people of that era really did
support Rudolf with all their heart.
"We need a strong
government! We want a forceful
leader! Restore order and vitality to
the society!"
This widely supported "forceful
leader" eventually became an absolute dictator at last, disallowing all
forces of opposition. He called himself
the "Life-Term Governor", until S.E. 310, when he utterly became the
"Holy and Inviolable Kaiser of the Galactic Empire". Many people began to curse their own
foolishness and ignorance for not having learned from lessons in history; and
those who had always opposed Rudolf were now even more scorching with
rage. Yet, those who celebrated still
outnumbered the former.
At the time, a republican
politician Hassan Al Cid, on the day of Rudolf's coronation wrote this in his
diary: "From my room, I can hear the voices of the people hailing to
Kaiser Rudolf, how many days would there be before they are cheering to an
executioner? ......"
This diary was later seized by the
Empire. This was also the same day when the Space Era calendar was abolished
and replaced by the Reich Calendar. At
this point, the United Space Government was completely disbanded and the
Galactic Empire - the Goldenbaum Dynasty, was born.
Kaiser of the Galactic Empire,
Rudolf I, became the first dictatorial monarch to rule over all mankind. His exceptional ability was indisputable,
under his tough political guidance and iron will, discipline was restored,
bureaucratic efficiency vastly increased and all corruption was purged.
By the standards that Rudolf set,
the "inefficient, decadent and degenerative" life style and
entertainment were eradicated, and strict and cruel methods sharply cut down
crime and juvenile delinquency. In
short, the negative aspects of human society were completely eliminated.
And yet, Kaiser Rudolf, nicknamed
the "Iron Giant" could not be satisfied. His vision of an ideal society is a highly
uniformed organization under powerful leadership and control.
To the naturally gifted and
self-righteous Rudolf, criticism and opposition were no doubt the breakdown of
this orderly society. Therefore, in the
end he decided to cruelly repress all opposing forces.
The trigger of the repression
movement was the "Defective Genes Eradication Act" of R.C. 9.
"Survival of the fittest is
the law of the universe. The strong
survives and the weak is eliminated!"
Rudolf disclosed his belief to his
subjects.
"Human society is no
exception. When the number of degenerates
reach a certain level, society will lose its vitality and begin to
decline. I deeply desire to see mankind
always prosperous, and therefore, it is my sacred duty as the ruler of mankind
to eliminate the weak genes!"
More specifically, the goal was to
completely exterminate all handicapped, destitute, and "inferior"
human beings; let mentally ill patience die in peace, and abolish all welfare
programs. To Rudolf, poverty itself was
an unforgivable sin. The poor and weak
needs protection? The weak in society
should really be the target of hate.
When this act was proposed to the
nation, even the people who had always admired and blindly worshipped Rudolf
felt a chill inside. Not many people had
the confidence to think of themselves as the ubermensch, everyone thought to
themselves: "Wouldn't this be too much?"
A few remaining republican
politicians in Parliament stood by the people and criticized the Kaiser's
misdeeds. In order to deal with them,
Rudolf decided to launch a complete counterattack.
He quickly ordered the indefinite
adjourning of Parliament.
Then the following year, he
established the Bureau of Social Maintenance within the Imperial Ministry of
Internal Affairs, actively purging out political convicts. Rudolf's confidante - Minister of Internal
Affairs Allenst Fastone became the director of the bureau. Under the conditions "law is inadequate,
subjective judgment rules all", they began a series of arrests,
detainment, imprisonment, and other punishing acts.
This was certainly the grand
combination of power and violence. This
period of time made the hatching nest for terrorist politics, and in such a
short time, became the torrent that devoured human society.
At the time, a number of dark
humor spread in secret.
"If you don't want to be
executed, then go get arrested by the police.
If the BSM catches you, there is no choice but to die."
The truth was in fact so, none of
the political prisoners arrested by the BSM were executed in official records,
but those who were killed without a trial, tortured to death, never heard from
again after being exiled to the middle of nowhere, lobotomized or received
hallucinogens, died in prison or from accidents...... were a total of over four
billion people. This number in the total
population of 300 billion people of the Empire was a mere 1.3%, thus the head
of the BSM could shamelessly argue:
"For the sake and peaceful
lives of the majority citizens, the few degenerates must be dealt with!"
Of course, his "majority
citizens" did not include the countless people who dared not speak out in
fear of the terrible examples set by the tragic fates of those 4 billion
people.
Other than suppressing his
opponents, Rudolf selected a group of "outstanding individuals" and
bestowed them special powers, creating a class of aristocrats that would
support the monarchy. Yet, this entire
group was made up of only Caucasians, and they were all given archaic German
family names. Could it be that Rudolf
was already showing signs of mental incompetence?
Fastone was also given the title
of Count for his achievements, but on the way home one day, he was ambushed by
underground republican terrorists and died tragically from a neutron bomb. Rudolf while mourning, executed over twenty
thousand suspects in memory of his meritorious subordinate.
Year 42 of the Reich Calendar, the
eighty-three years of Kaiser Rudolf's life came to a closure. It was said that although his massive body
still remained healthy, the psychological torment was too much of a burden for
his heart.
The Kaiser never gained complete
satisfaction. The four children that he
had with Empress Elizabeth were all daughters; there was no boy who could
become his heir. Late in his life, his
favored mistress
This incident was never officially
recorded by the Empire. But deducing
from the fact that later not only
In addition, this was an major
blow for Rudolf who was hoping to develop a superior mankind and issued the
"Defective Genes Eradication Act".
In order to preserve his
collapsing conviction that genetics determines everything,
After Rudolf's death, the second
one to wear the Kaiser's crown of the Galactic Empire was Sigismund, son of
Rudolf's eldest daughter Katarina. The
young Kaiser of twenty-five years in age reigned over the galaxy under the
supervision of his father Joachim, Duke of Noie Stauffen.
*****
......After the death of Rudolf I,
republican rebellions arose in various places in the Empire. People thought that the empire would soon
collapse after losing the guidance and charisma of Rudolf, but they were indeed
overly optimistic. The trinity of
trusted aristocrats, military, and government officials created under Rudolf in
those forty years was far more sturdy than what the republicans observed.
The one administrating the top of
this system was the Kaiser's father, Prime Minister Joachim, Duke of Noie
Stauffen. As a man chosen by Rudolf to
be his son-in-law, he exercised calm and composed leadership and crushed the
already failing rebellion like stepping on egg shells.
The five hundred million plus
people who joined the rebellion were all killed, their families of more than
ten billion people were stripped of citizenship and lowered to the class of
farm slaves. Taking out all powers of
opposition, Joachim faithfully guarded the Empire's national policies.
The republicans once again fell
into a time of frozen winter.
It seemed like the cruel winter
would last forever before the powerful dictatorship. After Joachim died, Sigismund redeemed power,
after his death, he was succeeded by his eldest son Richard, and after that
came the eldest son Otfried. Absolute
power seemed to be moving from one generation to the next, only held in the
hands of Rudolf's descendents.
However, beneath thick layers of
ice, the water was flowing silently.
R.C. 164, those relatives of the
rebels who've been reduced to slaves, the republicans who were exiled to the
Altair System to work in harsh labor, using the spaceship they built
themselves, have successfully escaped.
Their plan was not a well-rounded
one shaped over generations. In fact
those types of plans usually have a way of all failing, only adding to the
republican grave markers while their mourning was replaced by mockery from the
BSM. Such scenes happened countless times,
but in the end, they did succeed. The
entire plan, from proposition to being carried out, took only three standard
calendar months.
It began with a children's game. On the freezing seventh planet of the Altair System, children of slaves mining molybdenum and antimony snuck away from guards, making little boats out of ice and play with them on the water. Ale Heinessen, a young man who saw this by chance, had an inspiration from heaven. On this god forsaken planet, there was hidden countless spaceship material.
On the seventh planet where there is not much water, there is an abundance of ice and even more so, dry ice. What Heinessen and his people chose was a piece of gigantic dry ice buried under the valley, measuring 122km in length, 40km in width and 30km in height. Its insides were carved out into an engine room and living quarters, making it able to fly like a spaceship. Until then, the difficulty in escape plans have all been the obtaining of spaceship materials. It was absolutely impossible to get materials illegally, for if the BSM picks up any signs, it would mean another wave of merciless suppression and killing.
But this time around, they have found natural materials that the government hadn't noticed.
There is no need to worry that the dry ice would vaporize in the absolute zero temperature of space. As long as it can withstand the heat coming from the engine and living quarters, it is possible to make long distant journeys. And in the meantime, they can search for space minerals or spaceship material on uninhabited planets. Then this rough temporary spaceship can be retired.
The shiny white dry ice spaceship was named Ion Fazekath, after the boy who made the little boat out of ice. Four hundred thousand men and women boarded this ship and escaped the Altair System. They started the first step of a long journey that future historians came to call "the March of Ten Thousand Light Years."
To escape the pursuit and search of the Galactic Empire Forces, they hid beneath the surface of a nameless planet at one point and built 80 interstellar spaceships, and then stepped towards the deep of the galaxy. That was a vast and dangerous space terrain full of giants, dwarves and variable stars. The creator's malice fell on these refugees time and time again.
On the way of the difficult journey, they lost their leader Heinessen in an incident. His good friend Guen Kim Hoa succeeded him. And when he too was old and blind, they finally escaped the danger zone and saw systems of stable, prime of life planets ahead of them. It had been over half a century since they departed from Altair.
The new world planets were named after gods of ancient
"The March of Ten Thousand Light Years" concluded in R.C. 218, but the people who escaped the dictatorial government decided to abandon the Reich Calendar and reinstate the Space Era calendar. They proudly considered themselves the true successors of the USG while Rudolf was no more than a despicable traitor of democracy.
With that, they declared the establishment of the Free Planets Alliance[2]; it was the year S.E. 527. There were about one hundred sixty thousand first generation citizens, as they lost over half of their numbers in the long march.
*****
...Although they were still too small a force to be called a divided human society, the creators of the Free Planets Alliance worked vigorously and enthusiastically like no others. Their forces grew and filled up rapidly. The government rewarded more births and the population increased, the political system was well established and agricultural production jumped as well.
It was as if the golden age of the United Space Government had reappeared.
And then, in the year S.E. 640 the two sides, the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance came into first contact. It was an encounter between military vessels.
And since as opposed to the well prepared
The ministers of the Galactic Empire dug up ancient records from the computer database and found out about the existence of the slaves who escaped Altair over a century ago; not only that but they are still alive!
They organized an invasion army and sent the large fleet to the "traitor's base camp". And then they were completely crushed.
There were a number of reasons why the Empire forces were
utterly defeated despite their superior numbers. The long voyage had made the soldiers both
physically and mentally exhausted, they also did not have enough supplies, did
not obtain good geographical information, underestimated the opponent's
strength and morale, and their battle plan was rough and unrefined. In addition, the
The Alliance High Commander Lin Pao was both a drinker
and a womanizer, and a gluttonous man. Therefore he was despised by the
For the Free Planets Alliance, this was their opportunity
to expand. The dissidents within the
Empire, learning of the existence of an opposing independent force, escaped in
large numbers in search of a peaceful home and flocked to the
To the continuous flow of immigrants, the Free Planets Alliance accepted them with open arms. These people were not only republicans and even included royal family members and aristocrats who lost in the palace power struggle. Having accepted them, in the process of growth and expansion, the change that befell the Free Planets Alliance was inevitable as well.
Since their initial contact, the Goldenbaum Dynasty of
the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance have been in a state of a
slow and drawn out war, but sometimes there are breaks of simulated peace. Their byproduct is the Fezzan Dominion[3],
a type of city-state located midway between these two forces in the star system
of the planet
The Galactic Empire considers itself the single absolute
ruler of human society and therefore does not acknowledge the existence of
"foreign nations". They do not
call the Free Planets Alliance by its official name and refer to it in their
documents as "rebel forces".
The
The Dominion representative, the Landesherr is to rule
the territory as a servant of the Kaiser, oversee trade with the
It is not true that the Empire and the
When he ascended the throne, he dedicated his efforts to
peaceful diplomacy between the two powers and internal political reforms. However, the young Kaiser who carried many
people's hopes was assassinated not even one year after his ascension. The relationship between the two sides
quickly cooled off and hope disappeared into foam. Although the suspect who killed Manfred II
was a reactionary aristocrat, the theory that
*****
...Until the end of the eighth century S.E. and the end
of the fifth century R.C., the Empire was still full of large territories
without law and order, while the
Also, the total population of 300 billion from the most prosperous time of the United Space Government had diminished to 40 billion after long periods of chaos.
The population's distribution are: Empire 25 billion,
The one who drastically changed the current state of power was a single young man who appeared on the third planet of the Valhalla System, Odin -- named after a power god in ancient Germanic mythology, and the capital of the Galactic Empire established in Rudolf's days. This young man with icy beauty and imposing manner was Reinhard von Lohengramm.
Reinhard's original family name was Museal, he was born in a poor family that bore a noble's name and the year was R.C. 467 (S.E. 776). When he was ten years old, his fate changed as his elder sister by five years Annerose was taken by Kaiser Friedrich IV to the imperial palace. The youth with golden blond hair and icy blue eyes became a 2nd lieutenant of the Royal Guards at the age of fifteen. The favor the Emperor showed his sister Annerose, plus his own outstanding ability, quickened his rise to power.
At the age of twenty, he was bestowed the title of Count Lohengramm and promoted to the rank of fleet admiral. This was an extreme personnel arrangement made possible only under dictatorial rule, but with the rise of position, responsibility grew as well. Perhaps this would not have been necessary if he had been born a traditional aristocrat, but now to prove that he was not simply just "the Kaiser's favorite mistress' brother", Reinhard had to show other people his own talents.
At the same time, on the other side, the Free Planets Alliance had a military strategist as well. He was Yang Wenli, born in the year S.E. 767 and enlisted in the army when he was twenty.
Originally he did not mean to follow a military career, if not for the few coincidences that pushed him, he would've probably lived his life not as a maker of history by as a observer.
"There are things that you are able to do, and things you are not able to do."
That was Yang's philosophy, in the face of fate he was much more passive than Reinhard and much more accepting. He continued to feel unsuitable in war and in the military career that carried out war, thus he longed to give up his military position and live his life in retirement, but his wish never came true.
...At the beginning of the year S.E. 796 and R.C. 487, Reinhard began a long distance invasion commanding a fleet of twenty thousand ships. He will make the rebels who dared to call themselves the "Free Planets Alliance" kneel before him and using that achievement to ensure his own position.
The
That year, Reinhard von Lohengramm was twenty years old, Yang Wenli was twenty-nine......