Prologue
Changing of the Guard
HIMS Ignis Splendentis, Orbiting Planet 'Merkab'
In a large room filled with holoprojectors, a lone Naval officer walked among dozens of projections. Some were video feeds, others were charts and similar abstractions. The officer was a grey-haired woman with a gentle, grandmotherly look about her. Indeed, she went about the projections much like a retiree in her backyard flower garden.
The door opened and in walked another Naval officer. He was younger than her with one less stripe on his sleeve.
Without even turning to look at the new arrival, the female officer said, "Ah, Admiral Javad, welcome to the Ignis Splendentis."
The male officer—Admiral Javad—furrowed his brow and said, "Frau Admiral, is it not custom for the commanding officer to greet their replacement?"
She did not answer his question and instead asked one of her own.
"Admiral Javad, how long have you worked in Reclamation?"
"This is my first assignment in Reclamation," Admiral Javad replied. "I have mostly worked as a staff officer. In my last assignment, I was the flag lieutenant of the planetary governor of Orsino."
The female officer shook her head.
"You're taking command of an expeditionary fleet even though you don't have any experience?"
Admiral Javad fidgeted with the collar of his jacket as he said, "I served well in my previous capacity and this command is my reward."
"I've been working Reclamation for 68 years," the female officer said, "the vast majority of my career." She sighed wistfully. "I would keep on doing it, but even with the treatments, the human body has its limits. There's a lot you have to learn if you're going to take the reins from me."
"It is a simple matter of going to the assigned location, performing a planetary survey and then asserting His Majesty the Emperor's claim on the world," Admiral Javad said. "The rest is simple pacification... or purgation if the planet's inhabitants prove to be obdurate."
For the first time, the female officer turned from her projections to face Admiral Javad and told him, "It isn't nearly as simple as all that. The expeditionary fleets are a finely tuned instrument, not some club to beat people over the head with. The more intact a world when you deliver it for final evaluation, the greater your reward. Do you think His Majesty is pleased at the sight of burnt worlds?"
Admiral Javad shrugged.
"If burning one world allows you to deliver two, it is worth it."
The female officer wagged her finger and chided him, saying, "Firstly, word doesn't travel nearly so easily on these worlds. Even if you did make a name for yourself as a butcher of millions, it means nothing if no one bears witness to it. Besides, His Majesty is the Father of Humanity. All humanity. What father delights in the slaughter of his children?"
"His Majesty delights in justice," Admiral Javad insisted. "To reject the Emperor's will is treason and the penalty for treason is death."
"You remind me of my cousin Menahem," the female officer said with a sigh. "He commanded the 483rd, you see. So short-tempered, so impatient..."
Unwittingly living up to the comparison—in impatience if not short temper—, Admiral Javad said, "Frau Admiral, I will be relieving you of your command. Whatever objections you may have to my methods, they are immaterial."
The female officer gave him and amused smile and asked him, "Is that what you think? It's a poor attitude to have. Are you aware that I'm the planetary governor of this world?"
This made Admiral Javad pause.
"I was not," he replied stiffly.
"Well, so far as this world is concerned, you answer to me. Unless you receive higher orders from His Majesty himself."
"What is so special about this world?"
The female officer shrugged.
"Inherently, nothing much. There's a slightly higher percentage of Other DNA in the gene pool, a number of interesting creatures that managed to survive Reunion, but that's about it. Some 70 nations, all pre-industrial. A few close to crossing the threshold, but I've had them delay development for the sake of the experiment."
"The experiment?"
"I've reclaimed 13 planets in my day and studied dozens more. Each world has its own unique qualities, but too many fleet commanders are overeager to drag these people into modernity. I think we'd all do well to study these societies more, to understand how humanity adapted to worlds that were hit hardest by Reunion."
"So this planet is your toy," Admiral Javad said, unimpressed.
The female officer smiled and replied, "I prefer to think of it as more like a garden."
With a gesture, a large geographical map of the world appeared behind her. She then clapped her hands and the image shifted to a political map.
"Here is my beloved Merkab. This continent running all the way north to south is Midgart or the Girdle as some of the locals call it. Four of our tributaries are here. From north to south, Severia, Zadok, Ostrik and Aurea."
"Tributaries?"
"Yes. Although I want to leave the locals to their own devices, His Majesty must have his taxes, so I made contact with eight of the more promising nations and made a deal with them. They exact the requisite taxes by whatever means they deem fit and in turn we lend them our support. Nothing to the point of fast-tracking their development, but we see that they enjoy all due prosperity as a reward for their good service."
"His Majesty is surprisingly indulgent of your eccentricities, Frau Admiral," Admiral Javad said, making no effort to hide the disapproval in his voice.
Undeterred, the female officer replied, "His Majesty is generous to those who win his favor. Perhaps you'll learn that yourself one day."
If for no other reason than to move the conversation forward, or perhaps because he too was beginning to indulge her eccentricities, Admiral Javad said, "Tell me more about these tributaries, Frau Admiral."
"I didn't tell you about the other four. You can see these three island continents. This one in the northwest is called Atun and our tributary is Gandhar here. Down to the south is Sebring. The country has the same name. They've got a bit of a separatist problem here in the southwest of the continent. Then there's Barda in the southeastern sea. Our last two tributaries are Shuma and Changyu."
"Your sphere of influence seems rather limited in the northwest."
"Well, Atun isn't very interesting anyway," the female officer said blithely. "The real fun is here in the Girdle. I know I shouldn't play favorites, but Zadok is my little joy. A bit rough but very good at what they do. After our contact, they managed to expand into several of their neighbors." The red of the nation she called Zadok bled into several of the surrounding countries and even crossed the sea to a small corner in the far northeast of Sebring. Motioning to these countries, she continued, "All these nations here are their tributaries." The purple of Aurea and the yellow of a country she had not yet identified also spread as she said, "Aurea and Ostivar responded in kind, so you've got a lot of tension built up here in the center."
"This Ostivar is not one of your tributaries, though," Admiral Javad noted. "Why do you allow it to build so much power?"
The female officer gently ran her fingers down the length of Ostivar on the map and said, "The Ostivarians have three of my tributaries around them and yet they still put up enough of a fight to have three tributaries of their own and hold their ground. That's a testament to the human spirit, Admiral Javad. It's exactly the kind of thing I'm trying to foster."
"You consider your experiment here to be some sort of testing grounds?" Admiral Javad asked.
"We can cultivate some great talent to serve the Emperor and humanity. It's not unlike the Heritage Preserves that were so popular before the war."
"So rather than properly reclaiming these worlds, you would put them in bottles for your amusement?"
"Not all of them. Just the interesting ones."
"I feel like we are going in circles, Frau Admiral. I would like to excuse myself."
"Very well, Admiral Javad. You're dismissed."
As Admiral Javad turned to leave, the female officer called out to him once more.
"Admiral Javad."
He stopped and replied, "Yes, Frau Admiral?"
"You'll see what I mean," she said. "This is really is an interesting planet."