Chapter 12: Chapter 11

Star People

Chapter 11

Aftermath

The war with the Empire of Sath was over. And a superpower nation had fallen.

Though the Empire was deemed as middle-tier in comparison to the other superpower nations, it was still considered unbelievable that it could be defeated by a newly-founded country. And everyone took notice.

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Aug 7^th, 11 AE…

Bisra Continent, Atlans Nation…

“Did you hear the news?” Akar asked.

“I heard.” Lenns replied. “The Empire of Sath surrendered. It didn’t take Free Land more than a week to bring the Sath to their knees. And I don’t think Free Land was even close to using a tenth of its power.”

“So what now?”

“Well, it’s obvious that we further develop diplomatic relations with Free Land. Only a complete idiot would dare make an enemy of them. And we have a chance to improve our nation’s technology. We’ve got almost 300 years of catching up to do.”

“But Free Land won’t show us how their technology works.”

“They may not reveal how their current, core technology works, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn fundamental principles and how to apply them. I think we can get around certain issues with their New World Technology Share Laws. Free Land is willing to share and export obsolete technology with other nations. Obsolete to them perhaps, but highly advanced to us.”

“That still puts us behind Free Land.”

“But that will put us ahead of the other superpowers. I feel that we could even exceed the nations of Vados, eventually. Here, look at this!”

Lenns took out several rolls of paper and spread them out over a large table. Akar’s eyes widened as he recognized the drawings as blueprint schematics for a new plane, specifically a fighter plane.

“W-Where did you get these?!”

“They wouldn’t let me have any schematics for a Starfighter, but the Free Land mechanics decided to let me have these old blueprints! Look here! The dimensions, the calculations, the performance statistics, the fine details, they’re all here!”

“I can understand about half of what I’m looking at… but, the rest is genius!” Akar looked back at his superior with a bit of shock. “And the Free Landers call this as obsolete?!”

“According to them, yes it is. They said that this design was developed about 30 years after they developed the biplane.”

“I can already see the improvements. It’s got retractable landing gear… oh, I get it! That’s to reduce drag during flight. That’s an enclosed cockpit. Such a simple solution to protect the pilot. And… is that a liquid-cooled inline aircraft engine?! It’s only got twelve cylinders, but far better horsepower?!”

“Amazing, right?” Lenns affirmed. “Those mechanics said they were given permission by their Council of Prime Directors to let us have these plans. Sort of a present to improve diplomatic relations. We were just considering a monoplane design to replace our biplane fighters, but now, we can use these blueprints as our starting point!”

“I’ll say! With this, our Army Air Corps is going to take a huge leap forward, thanks to these plans! So what did they call this fighter?”

“I think its name will be perfect for our new fighter. They called it… the Warhawk!”

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The continent of Vados, the Kingdom of Naran…

“So the Empire of Sath has fallen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“It was about time that the arrogant Sath was knocked off their high horse. However, I am most intrigued with this Free Land nation.”

“Indeed! Our agents report that the Free Land nation is both a strong and highly-advanced nation!”

“Not as advanced as ours, is it?”

“Oh no, Sire! None can compare with Naran!”

“But of course. However, we still must get into contact with Free Land. As the top superpower of this world, we must set an example to the other nations.”

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In a distant, southern area of the Vados continent, two shadowy figures conversed in the Euracon Empire…

“Did you hear?”

“I heard. This Free Land nation has some very powerful weapons and technology.”

“Technology that rightfully belongs to us!”

“Correct! So let us go get it.”

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Aug 8^th, 11 AE…

The Council Chambers of the Prime Directors in Polaris City…

“My fellow Directors,” Benjamin said, “We have quite a task ahead of us.”

“Indeed.” Nerto agreed. “With the surrender of the Empire, the newly-crowned Empress Lexina Lorcra will have her hands full for the next few years. From the latest reports, around eighty or so vassal states and territories have declared their independence and secession from the Empire. Furthermore, many have begun to send their ambassadors to the Alder continent in order to establish diplomatic relations with Free Land. Our Foreign Relations Departments are going to be busy as well for while.”

“Although I do agree that those nations are justified for rebelling against the Empire, this puts the Empress in a tough situation. Without those vassal states, the Empire doesn’t have the resources nor the manpower to properly rebuild itself.” Anida pointed out. “And though I commend General Kurdo’s actions in defeating the Sath, the Empire’s military and infrastructure in general is badly damaged. Their economy is in ruins and Empress Lexina believes it will take decades for them to rebuild on their own.”

“So is she asking for assistance from Free Land for the reconstruction efforts?” Nasaak inquired.

“She has no choice.” Viska stated. “Even though she is now the Empress, she only has the support of the territories that did not secede from the Empire and they were just as devastated from the war as well as the rebellions. Many of the food-producing areas had rebelled and the former vassal states are demanding reparations for years of tyranny and exploitation. The Empress simply cannot pay them all, nor support the remaining territories.”

“If she requests help from us, then she will put her nation deep into debt with Free Land.” Anida pointed out. “It will be a debt in which her country will never be able to fully pay back.”

“And I find it a bit insulting that the Empire would request aid from us, especially since they were the ones who declared war against us.” The Catian Director noted.

“We can’t blame that on the Empress.” Nerto stated. “It was her father and brother who instigated the events that led to the war.”

“Still, the fact remains that the Empire will inevitably fall apart without aid.” Ben stated. “And the Empress knows that, in asking for our aid, her nation will become subservient to ours. We can all see the irony, since the former Emperor and Crown Prince had demanded that Free Land to become their vassal state.”

“So if we do give her aid, what exactly do we get in return?” The Kyteeri Prime Director asked. “The Empire really doesn’t have much to offer.”

“Showing mercy to our former enemy may put us in a better light with the other nations.” The aged Velor remarked. “Not to mention that we could reduce the amount of animosity among the Empire’s population against us.”

“And we may be able to establish some military presences in the Merdov continent.” Nasaak added. “And in order to get the economy going, we can also allow for some of those Free Land businesses to set up some branches over there.”

“As long as we can limit the amount of technology from spilling over there, that will be fine. None of our current and future military hardware whatsoever is to be sold or traded for. And any military technology that is sent over there will be closely guarded and monitored.” Ben said. “Then it is agreed? We will begin sending aid to the Empire of Sath as well as the other nations of the Merdov continent.”

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Aug 15^th, 11 AE…

Empress Lexina nodded as she watched from her balcony, the convoy of transport vehicles passing through the main streets of the capital. It had only been a week since the end of the war with Free Land, and the Council of Prime Directors had made good on their word to aid in the reconstruction efforts. The convoy represented a vital lifeline in terms of food, water and medical supplies.

All over the Empire, the nation from the Alder continent had set up a network of land and air transports to bring much needed food and other necessities to every city, village and town. Even the former vassal states were to receive this aid in order to help them get started with their newly-won independence. A unilateral ceasefire was adopted by all, and was enforced by Free Land. However, that did not mean that those who had committed war crimes would go unpunished. Nor would any corrupt noble be spared. Lexina had made certain of that.

After the coup d’état, the daughter of Garres had received a lot of complaints and demands from the nations that had declared their independence. As a result, she had learned that many of those nations had suffered under the Empire’s rule, due to the greedy and exploitive actions of the nobles who oversaw those areas. There were countless instances of high taxation without representation, theft, kidnapping, extortion, embezzlement and murder. Nearly all of those nations were on the verge of collapse because of the reckless and irresponsible actions of those nobles. And both her father and brother turned a blind eye to these crimes as they took a sizeable cut in these ill-gotten spoils.

Since both the Emperor and Crown Prince were in on these crimes, the corrupt nobles were extremely careless in hiding their records. It wasn’t hard for the Emerald Thorn Knights and Free Land to collect the evidence needed to convict them. As a result, Lexina had sentenced many to be imprisoned, exiled or executed. Their lands and belongings would be re-distributed towards either the poor, or be made as part of the reparations demanded by the former vassal states. As for the families of the corrupt nobles, they would be judged according to how involved they were with those crimes. Some were imprisoned or executed along with the criminals, while others were either stripped of their titles or exiled. And a few second or third sons and daughters of those nobles replaced their fathers.

As for the former Emperor and the Crown Prince, many in the Empire demanded for their deaths for dragging their nation into a hopeless war against Free Land. Not wanting to see her only family sent to the executioner, Lexina instead had them permanently banished from the Merdov continent. Both her father and brother swore revenge as they were forcibly sent away.

At present, Lexina was busy negotiating with the former vassal states and stabilizing the infrastructure and economy. The Empire’s armed forces had been devastated during the war, and the expansionist and military-first protocols of its former ruler left the nation in a severely weakened state. The Verlado, the currency of the Empire, had been greatly devalued after the conflict. Before the war, it had been worth at least 100 Neublins per coin. Now each coin was only worth 5 Neublins.

Furthermore, the Sath could no longer claim extraterritoriality rights for the slave traders, as well as for their citizens. As a result, no citizen of the Empire or slave trader could commit any crimes on foreign soil without suffering the consequences. Slavers could no longer buy or kidnap people against their will. This would also cause considerable harm to the Empire’s economy.

However, with the promise of Free Land businesses setting up branches in the Empire as well as the surrounding nations, the economy of the Empire would surely recover. Though they weren’t exporting military hardware or any kind of technology that could be used for war, the Free Land merchants were eager to sell consumer and commodity goods that made daily living far easier for the common person. Roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects made transportation of goods more efficient. Electrical power stations and grids were being set up in some areas, thereby lighting up the night and making use of the consumer goods that relied on that power to operate. Other improvements such as indoor plumbing, waste disposal and construction greatly enhanced the lives of citizens of Sath and their neighbors. And when it came to food supply, the Instant Ration Packet took center stage.

Until the Empire and the other nations involved in the war became self-sufficient in food production, Free Land agreed to distribute the Instant Ration Packets to those who were suffering food shortages.  As a result, for the first time in history, famine would not come to the losing country after a war.

However, since Free Land was the victor in the war, most of the Empire was under the occupation of the Star Alliance and the Empress had to make concessions to the Council of Prime Directors. Several military bases were set up in various locations, and the Sath military was restricted in terms of rebuilding itself. In essence, the Sath were now subservient to Free Land.

Things began to change at a very rapid pace.

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Aug 16^th, 11 AE…

“Amazing! So this magical device is able to extract metals from ores and purify them?” The dwarven ambassador asked. In front of him was a mineral extractor-separator. The device was about the size of a vending machine and was able to separate metals at the atomic level. This was the basic, commercial model.

“Well, it’s not magic, though I guess to you it would be.” The engineering officer stated. “It’s a much more efficient process than normal smelting and doesn’t produce the toxic wastewater.” He demonstrated by taking a large chunk of magnetite ore and placing it into the hopper. He then punched in a few commands on the control panel and let the machine do its work. The chunk of ore disappeared down the hopper and in less than five seconds, a panel opened up above a conveyor belt.

The ambassador’s eyes widened in shock as a cube of iron, the size of a baseball, appeared before him. He picked it up and visually gauged its purity and color.

“Impossible! I can’t believe it but this may be the purest sample of iron I have ever seen!”

“It’s about 99.99% pure iron metal.”

“Nearly a hundred percent pure? And in such a short time period? That’s impossible!”

“You’re holding it, aren’t you? There’s virtually little to zero impurities in that sample. And it can easily be combined with other metals to form steel alloys far superior to what you have created in your forges. I imagine that this mineral extractor-separator would be quite useful in your country.”

“Indeed! I speak for my nation in saying that we are extremely grateful to Free Land for allowing us to use these wondrous devices! Will you be able to teach us how to make these incredible machines ourselves?”

“Well, at this point, this technology is far beyond your common understanding and you’ll have to learn the basic concepts first. It’s not something you can learn overnight. And my government doesn’t want to have the other nations possess technology that can be dangerous.”

“I am quite willing to learn new ideas and concepts, if it will allow my people to grow and prosper.”

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Aug 25^th, 11 AE…

On a road toward the nation of Ivers…

“I can’t believe the roads are so smooth!”

“The Free Landers were able to make these roads seem like a single piece of stone. And they did it so quickly. You would have never thought this was a dirt road a week ago.”

“It certainly puts the old cobblestone roads to shame. And what happened to your wagon? Even before we got onto this road, your wagon didn’t shake and bounce on the ground very much, if at all.”

“Yeah, the Free Landers did something to the underside with these springs and jelly stuff. Don’t know what but they call it an impact gel-cushion suspension. I can’t even feel any bumps or holes in the ground. My backside is especially grateful to them. Long trips to the capital on these roads and this suspension are no longer torture.”

“Maybe I can get my wagon rebuilt by Free Land.”

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Sept 4^th, 11 AE…

“No, I’m afraid that is not possible.” The Free Land Diplomat stated. His name was Ikes, a Velor.

“Why not? My country will pay as much as you want!” The Ardelous ambassador insisted.

“It is not a question of money.” Ikes replied. “It has already been stated that no Free Land military hardware can be exported to other nations. We cannot sell you Battle-Mechs, Starfighters or any kind of advanced war material.”

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Sept 9^th, 11 AE…

“Look at this!” The merchant said as he proudly displayed a device strapped to his arm. “It can tell the time, even when the Sun is not out or when it is night, and will last practically forever. You don’t need to wind it and there’s virtually no maintenance. It is waterproof and will even withstand hits that would have damaged the mechanical ones!”

“Really?” The customer asked. He had bought the mechanical time pieces from Atlans and had depended heavily on them to keep his delivery services on schedule. Now he was looking at something that kept accurate time all on its own. It was sleek and simplistic-looking, but it was also a marvel. “So this is from Free Land?”

“Yes! And that’s not all!” The merchant excitedly began showing the customer various consumer goods that he had obtained from a Free Land company branch in Anderan, a small territory east of the capital of Garres.

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Sept 14^th, 11 AE…

New Pearl Harbor…

Admiral Tarhesse nodded as she read the latest reports at her office on the Yorktown. After the surrender of the Empire of Sath, it seemed that the reconstruction efforts had been going smoothly overall. They had encountered a few bumps along the way, but they had eventually been smoothed out. The economy had started to prosper and the daily lives of the common citizens had also begun to improve. The best part was that the tired fighter pilots and ship crew of the Yorktown had finally been given some down time.

As soon as reconstruction in the Empire and its former vassal states started, a good number of the Star Hawk and Byatta pilots, as well as various other crews, requested extended shore leaves, which was granted. At this moment, the Yorktown, the Johnston, the Missouri, and all other ships had reduced or skeleton crews aboard them. In orbit, several more capital ships had completed their atmospheric upgrades and will be making planet-fall within a few days.

“Admiral?”

Tarhesse looked up from her desk and noted that the Head Chef of the Yorktown, Culinary Specialist Andrew Vest, was standing at the door, pushing a food cart in front of him.

“Sixteen hundred hours, Admiral. It’s time for dinner.” Vest stood up and saluted his superior and his wife. Like many other Terrans, he had married a Kyteeri woman during the Cryterian War.

“Andy, you know you can dispense with protocol when we’re alone.” She stood up and walked over to embrace her husband.

After sharing a kiss, Vest lifted the covers off the trays and presented his wife with their dinner.

“I made my specialty chicken lasagna today.”

“Looks good.”

“By the way, I got a message from Tila and Mick today. They want to know when we’ll be coming home.”

Tarhesse and Andrew were one of the few Terran-Kyteeri couples that been blessed with a daughter and a son. Due to their genetics, Kyteeri were unable to give birth to males of their own species, hence their need to mate with other humanoid races. Furthermore, children born from these couplings would almost always be Kyteeri. However, one in a thousand would be born male and would take on the genetic traits of the father. Their son Mick was a full-blooded Terran, despite having a Kyteeri mother.

“We should be able to get some leave within two weeks. I miss them.”

“I hear that some of the other pilots are beginning to settle down and start their own families.”

“Speaking of families, I just got a message from the Missouri.”

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The observation deck of the Missouri…

“What did you just say?” Mark asked as he and his First Officer stood together near a viewport window.

“Rachel is going to have a sister. I’m pregnant again.” Reelan said with a smile.

“SWEETHEART!” The captain of the ship embraced his wife and swung her about. All around the observation deck, officers clapped and cheered. It seemed that they were all in on the secret.

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Dec 7th, 11 AE…

The Council of Prime Directors…

“It’s been about three months now.” Benjamin stated as he looked over the reports. “So far things have been well enough.”

“There have been a few skirmishes between the former vassal states and the Sath though.” Nerto pointed out. “After years of oppression and exploitation, one cannot expect those people to just let bygones be bygones. There’s a lot of deep resentment and some places are just powder kegs waiting for a spark to ignite them.”

“Then that means we’ll have to increase our military presence in those hot spots to contain them.” The Catian Director mused.

“Well, on the bright side, the economy in the Merdov continent has begun to recover.” Viska pointed out. “Overall sales of Free Land consumer goods are up 20% in most towns and major cities. We can also begin reducing the distribution rate of the Instant Food Packets, as farmlands and major food supplies have started to stabilize. Although most places still want to have a large provision of Packets for emergencies.”

“Speaking of the economy, the Verlado currency value has gone up a bit.” Anida added. “It’s now worth six Neublins instead of five. The Sath Empress is promoting her nation’s complete cooperation with Free Land and that has earned the country a bit more trust in the stock exchange. Of course, the Free Land credit is what many of the world’s currencies are being valued against. At present, one Free Land credit is worth 2,500 Neublins.”

‘Well, I suppose that’s to be expected since our technology pretty much has no rivals here.” The Terran Prime Director commented. “Now, what about foreign relations?”

‘We’ve been approached by most of the countries on the Merdov continent.” The blue-skinned Director stated. “We’ve been received especially well by the dwarven Kingdom of Merin. Even though we can’t teach them any of our core technologies, they have still been able to improve their metalworking industry with our exported goods and services. They have now begun mass-producing good quality steel using the Bessemer Process we showed them. And it seems they’ve taken to arc-welding like a Meldor to water.”

“Speaking of outdated technology and processes, what about Atlans?” Nasaak asked. “As I recall, we did give them the plans for the P-40 Warhawk. Have they made any progress?”

“As I recall, they’re close to testing their first engine prototypes.” The Velor Director replied. “Though I’m little surprised we didn’t give them a more advanced aircraft like the P-51.”

“Considering their level of technology, a P-40 would be more attainable than a P-51. I can imagine them having teething problems with that old Allison engine alone.” Ben stated.

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Atlans nation, a testing lab at the Rikkor Air Base…

KA-BOOM!

“Damn! ” Hodder exclaimed as technicians rushed in to put out the fire with extinguishers.

Both men looked over the now ruined prototype engine. It was a perfect replica of the one depicted in the blueprints, but it seemed that the materials they had on hand were not sufficient enough to handle the stress of the increased power ratio. The engine block was made from their best steel alloys, but it would already warp and crack under the heat. The rubber seals were not sufficient enough and the various fluids would leak out. And their best synthetic materials couldn’t withstand the increased pressure and temperatures generated by the engine.

“Those were our best materials and we still can’t get that engine to function!” Akar stated.

“I think we need to rework the engine with a stronger steel alloy than what we have.” Lenns commented.

“That was our strongest alloy and it STILL buckled. If we try to add more metal to strengthen it, then we’ll add more weight and that will cause a drop in overall performance!”

“I think we can find better and lighter steels in the Kingdom of Merin.”

“The dwarf country? Aren’t they further behind in metallurgy than we are?”

“Not any more. It looks like they’ve been getting some help from Free Land as well. They’ve begun making very durable and surprisingly lightweight steel alloys. They seem to have learned some new techniques in mining, forging and refining metal ores.”

“Well, that might solve our engine block problem, but what about the gaskets?”

“We could go to the territory of Veen.”

“Veen? Why?”

“Like Merin, the people of Veen has been getting some technology help from Free Land. I heard that their rubber products have risen in both quality and durability, thanks to some lessons in chemistry from the Alder continent.”

“And the synthetics?”

“I believe that the wolfkin and catkin artisans of Restor are experimenting with a new material called Neo-plastic.”

“Neo-plastic? What is that? Is it anything like regular plastic?”

“It’s some kind of polymer material that can be easily molded and has surprising durability and strength. The reports say that an ounce of Neo-plastic can withstand temperatures that would either melt or crack a pound of mild steel. There’s no toxicity involved, unlike regular plastic production. It looks like Free Land trusted Veen enough to give them the basic formula for Neo-plastic. I think we can have the artisans create the components we need for our engine.”

“It’s really amazing how fast the nations in the Merdov continent are improving. It wasn’t that long ago that most of them were stagnating under the Empire of Sath’s control. Some of them were on the verge of total collapse.”

“Not just the Merdov continent, but ours as well. Both Excra and Bisara have benefitted from our association with Free Land. The agricultural cities in Excra owe their success to Free Land’s advanced farming techniques and fertilizers. The industries in Bisara have increased in production, thanks to Free Land’s advice and technological improvements.”

“We’re still behind in comparison to Free Land.”

“But we’re starting to catch up to the nations in Vados. And we don’t need to rely on magic as much. I hear that the Kingdom of Naran is finally taking notice of Free Land and will be sending an emissary at the beginning of the new year.”

“Hmm, so it took the collapse of a superpower for them to take notice?”

“Not just Naran. Remember that other nation in the south of Vados? With such high technology, knowledge and power now existing in the world, I really doubt Euracon will do nothing.”

“Do you think they’d really be foolish enough to try?”

“This is Euracon we are talking about.”

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Jan 1^st, 12 AE…

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

At their home in Andromeda, both Mark and Reelan celebrated the New Year with their daughter Rachel and several of their friends. Surprisingly, the world of Istaria had a calendar year that was divided up in exactly the same timeframe of 12 months as Earth’s. All over Free Land, the Star Alliance celebrated the arrival of the 12^th year After Earth.

At this point, Reelan’s abdomen was swollen and she was only a month away from giving birth. Unlike Terran women, who normally gave birth nine months after conception, Kyteeri were able to give birth in five months, due to the accelerated development of the fetus. Kyteeri looked like an Earth woman in her 8^th month of pregnancy. And many Terran mothers were jealous over the fact that Kyteeri suffered no labor pains. For them, giving birth was a piece of cake.

As the family celebrated, the main holo-phone started to ring. Not wanting to interrupt the festivities, Mark took the call in the master bedroom and closed the door.

“Captain!”

“Lieutenant-Commander!”

Both the Terran and Catian officers saluted each other as they exchanged greetings.

“My apologies for interrupting your New Year’s festivities.” Harken said. “But I thought you’d like to know about the attempted break-in incident that just occurred on the Missouri.”

“What happened?” Mark asked with a bit of concern. At present, the Missiouri and all the vessels in New Pearl Harbor were operating with skeleton crews. As a result, security wasn’t as tight as it usually was.

“Well, believe it or not, a few suspicious characters actually managed to get aboard the ship to try to steal whatever weapons and supplies they could get their hands on.”

“How did they get on the Missouri?”

“Well, we’re a little embarrassed about that…”

The third-in-command of the Missouri began to tell the tale.

To be continued…

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