[SF]<Chronicles of Imperial Ascension> - Part 5 of 6
Read the previous posts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
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1352 After Ascension
Notes: Personal diary of Captain José Alfonso (1775 A.A. to 1375 A.A.). This is the only surviving first-hand account of the first wave of the Imperial colonization of the Wilds. Reliability of character is unknown, but details are congruent with other later-age sources.
“You disobeyed me!” Admiral Márcio shouted at me on the bridge of his flagship, now that we had rendezvoused at the padrão. Beneath the screen there were red and green banners, traced with real gold, draped from the ceiling to the carpeted floor.
“I did,” I said. “And look what I accomplished.”
“What?” the man shoved a thick finger in my face. “Running like a coward?”
I almost punched him. I caught my own hand mid-swing. I enunciated each word carefully, “They have declared themselves our enemy. Land, ripe for the taking. We know they have lithium. We know they trade with the Kiljm. And more. While we waited we managed to infiltrate their systems,” I handed over an otaral cube. “We extracted a log of data. Including navigation data and star maps. Dozens of new unclaimed systems. And even better: they have an enemy. Another realm, at their same technological level. Think of the–”
“Enough!” The Admiral snatched the cube from my hands. “Ten lashings, without padding.”
Marines swept in. Iron hands clamped over my wrists and lifted me from the ground. The Admiral retrieved a whip as the soldier cut my clothes open.
The whip lashed out.
I did not scream.
Even when my flesh was torn, when blood flowed, I did not scream.
I am José Alfonso, and I am not a coward.
1375 After Ascension
Notes: Transcription of sensory experience extracted from an unidentified marine in Admiral Márcio’s expedition (unknown). With the loss of other sources, this single surviving piece garnishes the later Imperial tales with vivid descriptions. However, it must be stated that their reliability cannot be asserted.
It was rumoured the aliens of this new nation were cannibals, eating not only other sentient species but even their own. I cannot say for certain. I never saw one of the ugly bastards, never set foot on their world, never even glanced at their planet. But I trusted in my Captain, and he obeyed Admiral Márcio.
We all knew of the deal that was struck. Feitorias, the nobles always cared for those. And fuel, of course, to keep our ships fed. A new ally, as long as we struck at their enemy – our enemy – the Lord of Mares. Some squads left our battalion, soldiers to man the many new forts and intimidate the locals. But all those politics were beyond me, my place was on the battlefield.
The approach to the enemy planet was smooth. Inside my armorsuit I barely felt the thudding of the rail-guns. It was pointless. Each bioship was enough to counter an entire fleet of theirs, and we had an armada. The Lord of Mares would feel our wrath.
I knew only my part in the battle to come. I waited in the drop-pod, unable to move inside the metal tube. Over the comms I could hear the sounds of battle while on my tactical display I saw the fighting, saw the marines pushing into the city from both sides. It wasn’t going well. Here our advantage was not absolute. The aliens had prepared. A whole army, hundreds of thousands, and tanks, flying crafts, all sorts of explosives. It was a grinding bloodbath. But the lines shifted. Little by little the marines pushed forward, backed by shuttles that devastated entire buildings.
The launcher thrummed.
I shot into space.
I felt the moment I hit the atmosphere. Then the pod was gone and I was falling.
I crashed into the ground and splintered the stone. All around me my squad landed. To my right there was a large copper dome: the Lord’s throne room. Just ahead I saw the aliens swarming around the dome’s bend. Bullets peppered my armor suit.
Ignoring my own projectile weapons I fired a shoulder mounted mortar even as I slipped into a run and unsheathed my over-sized sabre. I plunged into the smoke of the explosion. Each swing of my blade cut the aliens in half. Like chopping a water balloon with a sharp knife.
Something hammered my shoulder and I went flying, crashing into the dome, into darkness, as stone and metal rained over me and buried me in rubble. I was stunned for a moment, but no alarms flashed red in my visor. I pushed myself up as the stone tumbled off my back.
Ahead I saw the golden gate. It was already a legend among the crew as the Admiral intended to send it as a gift to the Emperor.
“For the Empire!”
I turned at the shout. Captain José Alfonso rushed in, sweeping the aliens from his path and rockets bursting from his shoulders. His armor was bright red, streaked with purple, a symbol of his house engraved in gold at the chest. He plowed into the crowd of aliens with astounding fury. I charged after him.
Side by side we pushed towards the gate.
The strange green blood pooled under our feet as thousands of creatures died by our hand. The dome had mostly collapsed under the fire when we finally surrounded the Lord of Mares. Even his personal guard surrendered.
“Take him to the shuttle,” Luís told me.
I grabbed the towering alien and shoved it to the ground. I dragged it behind me as the rest of the squad filtered in, swords dripping with blood.
“The rest of you, see if you can get those gates out,” José ordered.
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We stood proud on the Admiral’s cargo bay. I was to the left of Captain José, a place of honour for my role in the battle, a recognition of my bravery. The golden doors towered above us, resplendent with all kinds of valuable metals and gems, inlaid in amazingly detailed pictograms that coalesced into a forest of towering aliens.
“Admiral, I present you–”
The Admiral shoved Captain José to the ground, a blade at his exposed throat. I almost reached for him, but stopped myself just in time. Stand still, I told myself.
“Admiral?” José asked. “What is the meaning of this?”
“You… You piece of lowborn shit,” the Admiral shouted for all to hear. “Who the fuck do you think you are? I made it fucking clear I would take those gates. I promised on the First Emperor, I gave my word for all to see. And you took them!”
“Admiral, they are yours. I captured them in your name. Gift them to the Emperor.”
“I am not interested in stolen glories, Captain. You stole mine,” the Admiral turned to his marines. “Eject that ugly thing.”
“No!” José shouted but a soldier pushed him into the ground and laid a knee on his neck. My hands twitched over my pistol.
The door was unceremoniously shoved into the vacuum. The planet caught it, in days it would be burning in the atmosphere.
“Throw him too,” the Admiral nodded towards the Captain. “The Imperial fleet does not accept insubordination, Captain. You are not Luís Carvalho, and I will remind you.”
I started to unholster my gun. If I could shoot the Admiral…
“And those two,” the Admiral nodded towards us.
I slipped my gun out.
A large metal hand wrapped around my throat and lifted me off the ground.
My hands shot towards my neck. I pulled desperately at them. Air! My pistol clattered to the ground.
They shoved the three of us in an airlock. José turned towards me. He gave me the imperial salute. With all my will I saluted back.
The airlock opened.
1376 After Ascension
Notes: Letters from Admiral Márcio Nogueira (1161 A.A. to 1413 A.A.) to Emperor Jonathan. Bias in the reports are evident at first glance. Please refer to the annexes for detailed first-hand accounts.
To my most glorious Emperor,
I have asserted our control over the planet of Moz. The Lord of Mares is in my custody, held in a station under my command. New feitorias and forts are being built under my watch. I have tasked two captains to remain in orbit, the brothers Gonçalo and Li de Magalhães, they are loyal and ambitious. They will hold the fist of the Empire above their heads with orders to bombard cities that defy our peace.
As per your holy instructions, I have begun the institution of the Cartaz laws. All merchants and ships will pay the tax or face the might of our fleets. Our allies were reluctant but relented, as you knew they would. The other scattered primitives will pay too. I will visit each and every one of them and remind them of our might. The reinforcements have arrived and the armada has swelled, I most humbly thank your majesty for this sign of confidence. We shall venture into the Wilds and wrest control of all the independent states.
I also report my newest victory for your glory. As we were departing the system we intercepted three incoming ships. They demeaned us with offers of valuables as they thought us pirates. They fought fiercely as we boarded the ships. Corridor by corridor, a bloody and glorious battle. We learned they were not traders, but pilgrims, heathens of their peculiar religion. I strapped explosives to their ships and evacuated our brave soldiers. But the aliens were more tenacious than I thought, two ships managed to survive after some of the explosives were disarmed. But I did not disappoint you, glorious Emperor. The armada closed on them from all sides. I reduced all ships to small pieces. Nothing survived, living or otherwise. I have sent them a message that they will have to heed: the lanes are ours, the trade is ours, the sky is ours.
Your most humble subject,
Admiral Márcio Nogueira.
1391 After Ascension
Notes: Video message from Captain Li Magalhães (circa 1391). I believe the source to be reliable, given the assumption of guilt.
My dearest love,
I yearn to hold you in my arms again, to breathe the sweet scent of your hair and feel your hands folded into mine, yet I fear I will never see you again. The Admiral is not a forgiving man, and the Emperor does not even know my name. It was Gonçalo, as always. He strafed under the leash. Glory must be earned, he always said, his fist in the air as if speaking to an audience. The Admiral left him in charge, the older of us, yet the most foolish. I was a loyal brother, I followed his orders even as we betrayed the Admiral in search of greater glory and loot to redeem our family name. We left our post and set a course for the Kiljm border systems.
We found the denizens of the Wilds to be both greedy and eager to please. Even amidst the anger of what the Admiral did to the pilgrims, they all fear a worse fate for their planets. When news of the burning of Altukman reaches them, I fear the resentment will outgrow the fear, even as the armada rampages. But what my brother and I intended is worse. We found the hub, the point where all the trade concentrates, courtesy of our spies.
Slowly we are mapping this vast and mostly empty expanse and I have learned something new: the Kiljm and Oll have exhausted their own supplies of lithium-6 and dark matter. All that they consume, they import, and it flows through here, coming from somewhere far away. That is why we struck. Gonçalo dreamed of hulls filled with riches and the Emperor’s praise showered on him for his deeds.
Even as we burned into the system I knew it was a mistake. Our weapons were ineffective as always. Our bioships are more resistant, yes, but we cannot penetrate their dark matter armor no matter what we do. Without the Oll to hold them back there was nothing we could do as they deployed the singularities. I watched Gonçalo’s ship fold into itself, like a piece of paper crushed in a fist until only a dot of swirling fire remained. When it burst we were bathed in radiation.
I ran, my love. I ran, thinking of you. I run still, but it is too late. The bioship is dying. The radiation from the singularity… we are all doomed. Cancers grow wild. Systems fail and leak. One by one my soldiers die. The Kiljm are right behind us even as we push the engines to their limits. I will lead them to their deaths, I hope, it is the only thing left to do, for if I survive the Admiral will kill me for my failure.
Just know, darling, that I think of you in these last moments.
1401 After Ascension
Notes: Message sent by the Lord of Mares to Admiral Márcio.
Honorable Admiral,
I plead for your most serene mercy on behalf of my people. It was with good intentions that they liberated me from the station, against my advice. It was too late to stop the violence in the feitorias. I have ordered the sieges on the forts to withdraw.
I beseech you and your Emperor, have mercy on my people. Please, I invite you into my court to hear your demands, offer compensation and proclaim my subservience.
Your subject,
Lord of Mares.
1401 After Ascension
Notes: Intercepted message by the Lord of Mares to all the independent rulers of the Wilds.
To all those that see the evil of the human Empire and have the courage to stand,
I am Junglash, Lord of Mares, master over five systems and billions of souls. You have heard of me, I know, for once my fleets ruled uncontested. You might resent me, but I ask you, was I ever as cruel and greedy as the humans? Did I impose taxes on the flow of goods, on the transport of people, on existence itself? The humans choke us and will not stop until we are all their slaves, until our worlds are stripped bare and no fleets contest the skies but their own.
I have prepared a trap. I shall strike at the head of the snake. I shall face their armada. Will you forgive the Miri? The slaughtering of hundreds of innocent pilgrims?
Will you cower in shame or stand up for yourselves?
1411 After Ascension
Notes: Letters from Admiral Márcio Nogueira (1161 A.A. to 1413 A.A.) to Emperor Jonathan. Bias in the reports are evident at first glance. Please refer to the annexes for detailed first-hand accounts.
To my transcendent Emperor,
I am humbled you have named me Governor of the Wilds. I shall not disappoint and I shall rain glory upon the Empire.
The Lord of Mares is a beast without shame. Under the pretense of negotiations the honourless creature lured me towards his capital. As my ship drew into orbit they came in their hundreds, small improvised crafts, drones, missiles, even asteroids flung in our direction. I did not give them any mercy. Our rails swept the sky in golden showers of annihilation. Nothing got past our defenses and none of their ships could keep up with our acceleration.
The loathed Lord of Mares assembled a large force. I have noted the planets that contributed their own ships and I shall give answer. For the burning of our feitorias, I shall answer. For the slaughtering of our countrymen, I shall answer. Their planet now drowns in ash. I have erased their cities and factories. I have cleared them from the skies and established a blockade. As we speak, new fortified stations are being built. The loss of production will be easily made up by forcing all trade routes to pass through our hands. No more will these petty rulers dodge their obligations and taxes.
The coward, Captain Li, has been apprehended. Despite his shame, he has given us a gift without meaning. One Kiljm ship pursued him out into the voids until they too ran out of fuel on the retreat. I have captured the ship and sent it back for study. Maybe the great Emperor will decipher their secrets of singularities and dark matter.
Your most loyal subject,
Admiral Márcio Nogueira, Governor of the Wilds.
1413 After Ascension
Notes: Letter from Vice-Admiral Bruno Leão to Emperor Jonathan. Notice the patterns of omission from subjects of the Emperor, indicating the earliest stages of imperial decline.
To my wise Emperor,
I bring you the sad news of Governor Márcio’s demise. His achievements cast a large shadow, but I will do what the Empire needs. I have assumed control of the armadas and work to stamp out the dissent flaring across the Wilds. The natives were emboldened by the coward Li’s retreat from battle but I have shown them our true might. They sought to starve us of fuel and food but our allies kept us supplied. I have split our fleet and the revolt will be handled in just a few years.
Our cargo ships depart for the Empire filled with lithium, dark matter and slaves. Year by year our exports grow and as we blockade the heathens control of the trade lanes will fall to us. We shall starve the Kiljm and we shall make the Oll dependent on us. I am humbled to play my small part in the Empire’s glory.
And more, my Emperor, I have finally discovered the source from which all resources flow in endless streams. The natives call them the Celestials. An empire, they claim, as vast as the Oll, hiding in the depths of space. I have prepared an expedition, if we can establish our monopoly then all will need to bow to the Empire.
I hope this letter finds you in good health.
Glory to the Emperor,
Bruno Leão
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Final part of the mini-serial arriving next Friday!
Let me know what you think!