Chapter One Eternal Night I The moment Galactic Imperial Fleet captain, Siegfried Kircheis, stepped onto the bridge, he stopped thoughtfully. Countless specks of light inlaid the abyss of the universe, and they enveloped Siegfried’s body with an overwhelming sense of infinity.

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“………” It was as if his entire being was floating in the boundless darkness, but this illusion disappeared quickly. The bridge of Flagship Brünhild (ブリュンヒルト) was shaped in a giant hemisphere. The fact that the upper half of the hemisphere was covered with a single display screen had become a part of his memory. After his sensibility was dragged from the universe back onto the ground, Kircheis re-inspected his surroundings. Within this s.p.a.cious room, the lighting system controlled the brightness to produce a thin layer of darkness. Men were moving about the numerous large and small screens, consoles, gauges, computers, and communication devises, etc., that were geometrically arranged. The movements of their heads, arms, and legs made it easy for one to imagine schools of fish riding along with the currents. A hint of odor stimulated Kircheis’s nostrils. It was the scent of adrenaline produced by nervous people under a state of fight or flight, mixed with the electronic odor that machines emitted in the recycled oxygen. It was a scent that s.p.a.cemen found to be most familiar. The red haired young man strode toward the center of the bridge. Although he was given the rank of captain, Kircheis was not yet 21 years old. He, without his military uniform, was still the “tall, handsome, red-haired chap” in the eyes of the logistics s.p.a.cewomen. Sometimes, he also felt uneasy that his age was disproportionate with his rank. He still could not nonchalantly accept this fact the way his superior did. Count Reinhard von Lohengramm sat in the command seat and gazed into the sea of stars on the vast screen. Kircheis walked near him and felt the subtle shift in air pressure. That was due to the soundproof field being expanded. Conversations within a five-meter-radius of Reinhard could not be heard from those outside of this radius. “Star gazing? Your Excellency?” Kircheis’s remarks quickly turned Reinhard’s attention to him, and Reinhard leveled his seat in response. Although he was sitting, the silver-lined black uniform still flatly hugged his well-proportioned body, highlighting his vigorous masculinity. Reinhard was an elegant and beautiful young man. His statuesque beauty was unparalleled. His blond hair beautifully framed his fair, oval-shaped face from three sides. His nose and lips were of the perfect proportion. It was as if he was the masterpiece of a famed ancient sculptor. However, his icy blue eyes were eagle sharp, bursting with sword-like rays, proving that he was certainly not a lifeless statue. Palace maids all said those were “beautiful, ambitious eyes,” while butlers said those were “the eyes of a dangerously driven man.” “The stars are good.” Reinhard replied, and then looked up towards his confidant of the same age: “It looks like you have grown again!” “It is the same as two months ago. I am still 190 centimeters! Your Excellency, I think it is difficult for me to grow any taller now.” “If you are seven centimeters taller than me, then you are tall enough!” Reinhard’s voice had a trace of juvenile compet.i.tiveness. Kircheis gave a slight smile. Six years ago, the two of them were about the same height. When Kircheis started growing taller, distancing his height from the height of the blond youth, Reinhard earnestly protested the fact that Kircheis grew tall without his friend. Only Kircheis understood Reinhard still had a childish side. “By the way, you got anything?” “Yes, it is regarding the rebel’s formation. According to reports from three scout crafts, they are gradually closing in on our fleet from three directions. May I use the command platform projector?” The young, blond, high admiral nodded, and Kircheis’s hands began to move skillfully. The projected image above the left half of the command platform showed four arrows. From the directions of up, down, left, and right, the arrows pointed and moved toward the center of the image. The lower arrow was red; the rest, green. “The red arrow is our fleet, and the green arrows are the enemy"s fleets. Directly in front of our fleet is the enemy’s 4th Fleet. We have determined that the 4th Fleet has 12,000 ships. The distance is 2,200 light-seconds. According to our calculations based on the current direction and speed, we will make contact in approximately six hours.” Kircheis’s fingers continued to point on the image. The left enemy fleet is the2nd Fleet with approximately 15,000 ships, at a distance of 2,400 light-seconds. The right enemy fleet is the 6th Fleet with approximately 13,000 ships, at a distance of 2,050 light-seconds. Beginning with the Anti-Gravity Magnetic Field System (反重力磁場システム), through the development of the variety of radar penetration devices and wave interference technologies, and the invention of radar-disabling materials, over the past few centuries, radar’s enemy detecting capability was gradually paralyzed. People could only rely on traditional methods such as manned scout crafts or surveillance satellites to detect enemies. Then, using the intelligence gathered from these methods, coupled with conversions for factors such as time difference or distance, the enemy’s location could be determined. If heat and ma.s.s detection methods were also used, then while the results could not be completely correct, the prima facie enemy detection work would be possible, even if it was incomplete. “The enemy fleet has a total of 40,000 vessels. That is twice the size of our fleet.” “It appears that they intend to surround our fleet from three directions.” “Our old admirals’ faces are probably turning blue right now…no, they’re probably turning red.” A touch of malicious smile flashed across Reinhard’s fair face. He knew his fleet had already been surrounded by an enemy fleet twice their size from three sides, but he did not appear to be even a tiny bit upset. “Their faces are actually turning blue. The five admirals want me to invite Your Excellency to attend an emergency meeting.” “Oh? Did they not say they never wanted to see me again?” “Your Excellency will not attend the meeting?” “No! I am going! …to give them some pointers.” Five people appeared in front of Reinhard: Admiral Merkatz (メルカッツ), Vice Admiral Staden (シュターデン), Vice Admiral Fogel (フォーゲル), Rear AdmiralFahrenheit (ファーレンハイト), and Rear Admiral Erlache (エルラッハ). They were the “old admirals” that Reinhard had mentioned. This name calling seemed to be a bit excessive, because the eldest Admiral Merkatz was not yet 60 years old and the youngest Fahrenheit was only 31 years old. However, Reinhard and Kircheis, when compared to them, were indeed a bit too young. “Commanding Officer, we are extremely grateful that you are willing to consider our humble opinions.” The admirals’ representative – Admiral Merkatz said. He joined the military long before Reinhard was born. He had an abundance of knowledge and experience in both actual combat and military administration. Even without considering his medium stature, thick-boned physique, and listless eyes, he was still just a middle-aged man without notable characteristics. However, his achievements and reputation were far beyond that of Reinhard"s. “I know what you want to say,” said Reinhard preemptively, after he returned Merkatz’s salute as a matter of formality. “Our fleet is in a disadvantaged situation. You simply wish to call my attention to this?” “Yes, Your Excellency.” At this point Vice Admiral Staden took a half step forward and replied. A man in his forties, he was built to be lean and tall, and appeared to be fierce and cunning. He was the strategist type: the kind that was the well versed in tactical theory and debates. “The enemy fleet is twice the size of our own, and they are outflanking us from three sides. This also means if we should be in a state of war, the enemies will have every advantage.” A burse of coldness flashed through Reinhard’s icy blue eyes, and he stared straight at the vice admiral: “In other words, you mean to say we will lose?” “I said no such thing, Your Excellency. It is a fact that our fleet is currently at a disadvantage. If you will just look at the display screen you will understand…” Seven pairs of eyes instantly focused on the screen. Kircheis pointed out the positions of the two fleets to Reinhard with the image blocks appearing on the projection. The s.p.a.cemen outside the soundproof field were curiously watching their superior officers, and only hurried their gaze elsewhere when Vice Admiral Staden glared at them. After two dry coughs, Vice Admiral Staden once again started to speak: “Many years ago, the proud Imperial s.p.a.ce Fleet suffered a regrettable defeat at the hands of the rebel fleet who called themselves the Free Planets Alliance. This is the same formation.” “Did you mean the Annihilation Battle of Dagon (ダゴンの殲滅戦)?” “Exactly, it was an unfortunate and disastrous defeat.” The vice admiral let out a heavy sigh. “The justice of war is completely on the side of mankind’s one true ruler, the Galactic Empire"s kaiser, and His Majesty’s loyal servants, us servicemen. However, the crafty rebels used a sinister trick that caused millions of our gallant s.p.a.cemen to be buried in the vast emptiness of s.p.a.ce. We must avoid repeating our prior mistake. Therefore, my humble opinion is that we must not let our greed get in the way. We should quickly and honorably retreat in order to preserve our honor!” A “humble opinion” indeed. What a completely incompetent bore! Reinhard secretly thought to himself, but instead he said: “You definitely are eloquent, but I disagree with your view, and I have no plans to retreat.” “What could be the reason? If I may ask?” Staden could not hide the anger from his face as Reinhard was clearly beyond help. Reinhard ignored him and answered: “Because…our fleet has an overwhelming advantage!” “How?” Staden raised his eyebrows; Merkatz appeared to be anguished; and, Fogel and Erlache looked to be completely baffled by their young and handsome commander. Out of the five of them, only the youngest Fahrenheit appeared to be entertained by the situation. A small grin glistened in his water blue eyes. Many people said he was born to lower ranking aristocrats and only joined the military to get paid. In terms of the way he used his fleet, he was good at fast breaks and he was highly mobile, but when it came to defense, he was somewhat lacking in patience and tenacity. “I am terribly sorry, but I still have trouble understanding Your Excellency. Would it be possible for you to explain it further? It is most appreciated…” Vice Admiral Staden squawked. Understanding that the facts in the future will convince him, Reinhard answered his question: “There are two advantages. Firstly, unlike our enemies who have their forces scattered in three directions, our fleet"s forces are combined all in one place. As a whole, the enemy is at an advantage, but if an individual enemy fleet were to face us, we will be at an advantage.” “……” “Secondly, when we are moving from battlefield to battlefield, our Fleet will be in the center, which means we are nearer the new battlefield. If an enemy fleet attempts to join in on another battlefield when we are fighting, they must make a large detour. This will add time and distance between us and them.” “……” “In other words, our fleet is at an advantage because of both the concentration of our forces and the mobility of our fleet. If these are not the conditions for victory then I do not know what is!” His sharp words resonated powerfully. When Reinhard was done, Kircheis felt as if all five admirals fossilized at that very second. When compared to these battlefield veterans who were all older than Reinhard, his thought process was more agile and more adaptable. Reinhard’s eyes coldly swept over to the currently frozen Vice Admiral Staden, and he continued: “We are not in danger of being besieged. This is instead the golden opportunity to divide and conquer the enemy fleet. Yet, you wanted to give up this once in a life time opportunity and retreat in vain. There could not be a more fatalistic move! What is our duty again? It is to destroy the rebels and annihilate our enemies! You said you wanted to preserve our honor by retreating, but considering that the mission His Majesty the Kaiser bestowed upon us has not been complete, where is the honor? Are you not just making excuses for your own timidness and cowardness?” As soon as the kaiser was mentioned, except for Fahrenheit, each of the other four admirals instantly sat on pins and needles, and each one in trepidation. Reinhard was unmoved by their behavior. “Even if Your Excellency the Chief Commander says so…” Staden struggled to come up with a retort. “The so-called ‘golden opportunity’ was merely a construct of Your Excellency’s own opinion. As far as military tactics commonsense go, this is hardly convincing. There are simply no successful precedents…” Reinhard instantly concluded that this guy was not only incompetent, but also pedantic. A battle without precedents obviously had no records of success. Success records for an unprecedented feat could only be created through future combats! “Tomorrow you will see with your own eyes this successful precedent. Is there anything else you do not understand?” “Is Your Excellency sure?” “Yes. As long as each of you are able to execute my battle plan faithfully.” “Could you explain the plan a bit further?” Staden asked; his suspicion unconcealed. Reinhard took one look at Kircheis and began to explain his battle plan. …Two minutes later, Staden’s clamor could be heard inside the soundproof field. “That is just theory! That is not actually going to work! Your Excellency, this kind of…” Reinhard slammed his palm on the command platform. “Forget it! There is nothing more to be said! His Majesty appointed me as the chief commander of the expeditionary fleet! You should be obeying my commands to demonstrate your loyalty to His Majesty! That is the duty of an imperial officer, is that not correct? Do not forget! I rank above all of you!” “………” “Your lives are all in my hands! If you should dare to remain obdurate and abandon the will of His Majesty, then I will strip you of your post and severely punish you for willful disobedience in accordance with military law! Do you understand?” Reinhard glared at the five people in front of him, and not a sound could be heard. II The five admirals took their leave. They did not understand, and they were not convinced. They were simply in awe of the divinity of the kaiser and did not dare to disobey. Only Fahrenheit appeared to be in relative agreement with Reinhard’s battle plan; the other four people more or less considered Reinhard an ignorant child basking in reflected glory. Kircheis felt he could no longer turn a blind eye, otherwise Reinhard, who had a meteoric rise at such a young age, was bound to provoke criticism. After all, in the eyes of the experienced officers, Reinhard was only here because of nepotism, and he was just a meager asteroid shining with light he borrowed thanks to his sister, Annrose’s, relationship with the kaiser. This was not Reinhard’s first combat experience. Since joining the military he has had numerous meritorious accomplishments. However, each time he emerged victoriously from battle the other officers would say, “He just got lucky!” or “The enemy was too weak!” On top of that, Reinhard was not a sycophant, nor was he willing to overpraise, so their disdain for him grew. Nowadays, people would even call him “the arrogant blonde boy” under their breaths. “Is it okay to leave it like that?” The red-haired young man worriedly asked Reinhard, concern poured out of his blue eyes. “Do not worry about it!” The superior officer was serene. “What could those guys possibly do? To put it bluntly, they are just cowards! They will not even dare to defy the authority of the kaiser!” “However, they may hold grudges!” Reinhard looked at his adjutant and quietly laughed with mirth. “You worry too much. Do no mind them! They are grumbling incessantly right now, but just give it a day and the situation will change. I will help that r.e.t.a.r.ded Staden see what the ‘successful precedents’ he will not shut up about means!” After saying that, Reinhard rose from his seat and invited Kircheis to go with him to the commander lounge. “Kircheis, let us go get a drink! I have this great wine from year 410!” “Sure.” “Then let"s go! Oh, right, Kircheis…” “Yes, Your Excellency!” “There you are with ‘Your Excellency’ again! If no one is around, do not call me ‘Your Excellency.’ I thought I told you already…” “I understand…” “If you understand then you should do it! Besides, when we return to the imperial capital after this battle’s over, you will be ‘Your Excellency’ yourself!” “……” “You are going to be promoted to commodore! We need to celebrate this!” After giving the ship’s captain, Commander Leuschner (ロイシュナー), some instructions, Reinhard walked towards the lounge. Kircheis followed him, but he could not stop thinking about what Reinhard just said. After this battle’s over, return to the imperial capital, be promoted to commodore… It appeared that the young admiral had not even considered the possibility of defeat. If it had been someone else, they would certainly think Reinhard was arrogant! However, Kircheis well understood that Reinhard only said so out of good intentions for a friend. Kircheis suddenly remembered that he had known Reinhard for ten years already. Meeting Reinhard and his sister Annerose was the turning point of his life. Siegfried Kircheis’s father was a low level bureaucrat in the Ministry of Justice. Every day he bustled between superiors, doc.u.ments, and computers, all for an annual salary of a measly forty thousand reichsmarks. In his little cozy yard, he planted orchids native to the Baldr (バルドル) galaxy. After meals, he always liked to have a bottle of dark beer. He was a kind and ordinary man. His young red-haired son had always been an honor student. Excelling in both sports and academics, he was the pride of his parents. One day, an impoverished family of three moved into the desolate house next door. When Kircheis found out from his father that the frail middle-aged man next door was an aristocrat, Kircheis was shocked. However, the first time he saw the blond siblings next door, a brother and a sister, he adored them from the bottom of his heart. Kircheis became good friends with the boy since the very first day the neighbors moved in. That boy was Reinhard. He was the same age as Kircheis, only two months younger than Kircheis when calculated with the standard calendar. When the red-haired youth introduced himself, the blond-haired youth raised his eyebrows and exclaimed: “Siegfried? What a gaudy name!” Not used to starting introductions by receiving this kind of brash criticism, the red-haired youth was at a loss of words. Reinhard continued: “But, Kircheis has a nice ring to it. It sounds very poetic! I will just call you by your last name in the future!” Annerose called him by his nickname “Sieg.” She was an exquisite beauty. Her appearance appeared to have been casted from the same mold as her younger brother. The two of them bore great resemblance. Annerose, however, was even more slender, and her smile was always elegant and always pleasant. When Reinhard introduced her, and when she looked at him, her grace was like the sunshine softly shimmering through the trees. “Sieg, be good friends with my brother okay?” Until today, Siegfried still dared not forget her request for even a moment. Many things happened. One day, he saw a limousine they had never seen before parked in front of the neighboring home, and a middle-aged man dressed in high quality clothes came out of the car. That night, Reinhard’s sobbing voice accusing his father could be heard throughout the night: “Father, you sold my sister!” The next morning, Kircheis used the excuse of getting Reinhard for school to visit. With a gentle but lonely smile, Annerose said: “My brother would not be able to attend school with you anymore. We are grateful for your care during this period.” The beautiful girl then gently kissed him on his forehead and gave him a handmade chocolate cake. That day, the red-haired youth did not go to school. He carefully brought the cake to the nature park, and for the fear of being caught by the patrol robot, he hid underneath a conifer named Mars Pine. It took him a long while to finish eating the cake. The sadness of having to part with the siblings caused tears to stream out of his eyes. Again and again he wiped away the tears, rubbing his little face red. At dusk, he returned home thinking he was to be scolded, but his parents did not say a word, and the lights in the house next door were already turned off. A month later, Reinhard, dressed in Imperial Youth Military Academy uniform, sudden visited him. To the elated Kircheis, the blond-haired youth firmly said: “Come be a s.p.a.ceman! If we are s.p.a.cemen then we can become men earlier! We need to become independent as soon as possible so we can rescue my sister! Kircheis, will you come with me? You must attend the same school with me! Otherwise, it would just be a bunch of annoying brats in the youth academy.” ……Kircheis’ parents did not object. Perhaps they were eager to see their son succeed; perhaps they could understand the deep bond between their son and the siblings next door. In any case, Kircheis, like Reinhard, made the decisive choice at a young age. More than half of the students at the youth academy were aristocrats, and the rest of them were kids of upper cla.s.s citizens. It goes without saying that Kircheis was only able to attend this school thanks to Reinhard’s request and Annerose’s effort. Reinhard always got first place, and Kircheis always managed to make it onto the honors roll. He needed to get good grades whether it was for the pair of siblings or for himself. Sometimes, the students’ parents would visit the school. Although they had high social status, they did not command respect. They reeked only decadence and corruption of the privileged cla.s.s. “Look at these guys! Kircheis!” Every time he saw these aristocrats, Reinhard felt only strong disdain and disgust. “They did not obtain their current statuses through their own efforts. They merely inherited their privileges and properties through their bloodlines, which are pa.s.sed down from generation to generation. They are shameless! Was the universe born to be ruled by them?” “Reinhard…” “Exactly! Kircheis, there are no reasons why you or I should be beneath them!” The two of them often talked about topics like this. Sometimes, the red-haired youth felt shock and a strong surge of emotions when Reinhard spoke. Rudolf the Great’s statues stood proudly throughout the capital, and saluting the statues was the sacred obligation of the empire’s subjects. Because the Minister of Interior wished to have all dangerous elements that are in contempt of the kaiser under close surveillance, sophisticated surveillance monitors were installed in the eyes of each of the Rudolf the Great statues. After feigning a solute for the statue, Reinhard pa.s.sionately said: “Kircheis, have you considered it? The Goldenbaum Dynasty did not exist since the beginning of mankind! The dynasty was founded by that insubordinate Rudolf. If you could call him the “founding father,” then that means he was not royalty before he founded the dynasty. He was just an ordinary n.o.body in the Galactic Federation. Rudolf was just a careerist who rode the zeitgeist to the top; an opportunist who took the chance to claim himself the sacred and infallible kaiser!” What is he trying to say? Kircheis felt his heart violently skipping a beat. Reinhard continued: “If Rudolf could do it, why can’t I?” Reinhard’s icy sapphire eyes gazed deeply at Kircheis. Thoughts raced in the red-haired youth’s mind and he could hardly breathe. It was winter. Not too long before the two of them joined the military. III “… From 20th Century AD to 21st Century AD, science and technology progressed with chaos and indirection, which was a danger to the ident.i.ty of mankind. A notable example would be cloning, a major product of genetic engineering. Although the possibilities it presented was merely theoretical, it had been erroneously understood as a guarantee for eternal life. When this type of technology was able to be combined with social Darwinism, contempt for life swept the planet Terra. Folks with undesirable genetics were thought to be unqualified to produce offspring. The thought that the human race must be improved by eradicating those with inferior genes gained momentum. In truth, this popular opinion was one of the reasons why Rudolf von Goldenbaum’s ideology was able to sprout…” The paragraph that appeared on the control platform quickly disappeared, and another paragraph quickly replaced it. “Commodore Yang to the commander’s office please. Commodore Yang to the commander’s office please.” He was interrupted half way through reading, but Commodore Yang Wen-li did not appear to be upset. He picked up his beret and finger combed his messy black hair. He was the deputy general staff officer (GSO) in the Free Planets Alliance’s 2nd Fleet, with a workstation in a corner of the bridge on flagship Patroclus (パトロクロス). He secretly uploaded e-books into a work computer that should have been utilized for only military strategies so he could covertly enjoy the pleasure of reading, therefore, he really had no right to be unhappy. Yang’s name was written in “E Style.” This was a tradition that was pa.s.sed down from before the Galactic Federation was even established. “E” stood for “eastern,” and this style recorded surnames in front of first names. On the other end, names where last names followed first names were called the “W Style,” and “W” stood for “western.” In this era, it was commonplace to be multiracial, so names could only vaguely indicate the ethnicity of a direct ancestor. Yang was a 29-year-old young-man with black hair, black eyes, and a medium build. The impression he gave people was not that of a military man but of a calm scholar. However, in the eyes of most people, he was also not a mildly mannered man. When most people discovered his rank in the military, they were inevitably surprised. “Commodore Yang reporting!” The fleet commander, Vice Admiral Paetta (パエッタ) was a middle-aged man with a serious face. He was unmistakably the military-type. He took a malicious look at the saluting young officer and said: “I already looked at the battle plan you proposed.” He said only this, and then he eyed Yang. His expressions seemed to say, “How come this uppity lad is only two ranks below me?” “I think this proposal is interesting, but do you not feel it is a bit too cautious to the point of being somewhat pessimistic?” “Is that so?” Yang’s tone of voice was mild, but if one were to consider it carefully, it seemed to be a bit rude to respond to a superior in this manner. However, Vice Admiral Paetta did not notice it. “It is like you said in your proposal, we are unlikely to lose with this battle plan. However, it is not enough to just not be defeated. With this, we may not lose, but we will not win either! Our fleets are encircling them from three sides, and we have twice the number of vessels as they do. We already secured the elements for a landslide victory, so why is the standard only to not suffer defeat?” “But our encirclement net is not yet complete.” This time, Vice Admiral Paetta noticed the att.i.tude, and displeasure could be seen in his frown. Yang, however, appeared to be unperturbed. Nine years ago when Yang graduated from the Free Planets Alliance Officer Academy, he was just an ordinary ensign. Out of the 4,840 graduates, he was ranked 1,909. However, he was not just an ordinary commodore now, because only sixteen military officers in the entire Free Planets Alliance were both under thirty years old and ranked as commodore or above, and he was one of them. Vice Admiral Paetta was not completely unaware of this young commodore’s combat records. Within nine years, Yang partic.i.p.ated in over a hundred battles. Although he had yet to partic.i.p.ate in a large scale warfare that mobilized five fleets, the previous battles were still life and death experiences that could not be considered child’s play. Not to mention, he was the brilliant hero who made the “Great Retreat of El Facil (エル・ファシル脱出行)” possible. However, in Paetta’s heart, it was difficult to accept the fact that the young Yang was a battle-hardened warrior. “In any case, this battle plan has been rejected.” The vice admiral returned the plan to Yang. “I must add this is not personal.” The vice admiral’s words were obviously an effort to mask the truth. IV In the opinions of the numerous Free Planets Alliance import export merchants, Yang Wen-li’s father, Yang Tai-long (ヤン・タイロン), was a notoriously cunning businessman. Underneath his irresistible smile lurked business smarts and wit. He started out as a small commercial vessel owner, and worked his way up to be the owner of an import export company, and he never stopped acc.u.mulating wealth. “I really love money…” When friends asked him the secrets to his success he always replied with that. “You need to use money to grow money. Turn bra.s.s into silver, then turn silver into gold. That is the only secret!” Because he sounded so serious when he said this, it appeared that this was the truth. However, this response also gave him the nickname of “The Money Raising Master.” The person who coined the term probably did not have good intentions, but Yang Tai-long appeared to be pleased with the t.i.tle. Furthermore, Yang Tai-long was also an antique art collector. AD era paintings, sculptures, porcelain, and pottery were piled all over his house. Whenever he got home from his work directing interstellar merchant crews, he would spend time wiping, polishing, or appreciating the antiques. He appeared to find his time with the antiques exhilarating. Supposedly the way he selected his significant other was very much like selecting an antique artwork. After divorcing his financially irresponsible first wife, he married a woman most people acknowledged to be beautiful. She was the widow of a serviceman. After that, their son, Yang Wen-li, was born. When news came that a son was born, Yang Tai-long was wiping an antique vase in his study. When he heard that, he stopped the work in his hands, and muttered somewhat grudgingly: “After I die, these artworks will all belong to that kiddo!” Then, he resumed cleaning. When Yang Wen-li was five, his mother pa.s.sed away. A sudden heart attack robbed her of her life. Because she was always so healthy, when she pa.s.sed away suddenly, even Yang Tai‑long had a difficult time believing it. At the time he happened to be in his study polishing antiques again. Upon hearing the terrible news, he accidentally dropped the bronze lion in his hands onto the floor. As he picked up the lion he muttered a sentence which sent the relatives of his late wife into a fury upon learning it through the grapevine. That sentence was, “Thank goodness I was not working on something fragile.” Yang Tai-long lost two wives, both in health and in death. After that, he gave up on remarrying. He allowed the maid to raise his son, but because it was taking up too much of the maid’s personal time, the maid protested. As a solution, he simply let little Yang Wen-li sit next to him and polish antiques with him. When his late wife’s relatives came to visit, they were taken aback by the sight of the father and son sitting in the study polishing antiques in silence. They all agreed that they must rescue the poor child from the hands of that irresponsible father. When asked Yang Tai-long between his son and the antiques, which was more important? He answered: “It cost money to collect antiques!” In other words, the son came free. The in-laws were outraged upon hearing that, and vowed to take the matter to court. Realizing the situation was not in his favor, Yang Tai-long hastily boarded an interstellar merchant ship with his son, and disappeared from Heinesen (ハイネセン) completely. His late wife’s relatives did not think they would suddenly lose even the opportunity to accuse the father of kidnapping the son, so since they were completely taken by surprise, their only option was to attempt to trace the merchant ship in the vast universe. Yang Tai-long only took his son into exile because of circ.u.mstances out of his control. Perhaps that action also proved he was a person with unique perspectives and ideas. Just like that, Yang Wen-li spent most of his life before he turned sixteen on a s.p.a.ceship. When he was young, he experienced his first warp jump (a warp drive initiated s.p.a.ce jump that bent s.p.a.ce and time to allow vessels to jump through short distances of s.p.a.ce and travel faster than the speed of light). He felt like the insides of his body were twisting and shattering. Not only did he throw up, he suffered fevers too. Eventually he got used to them and became content with his situation. His interests also gradually shifted from machinery to history. When he was a teenager, he loved watching videos, greatly enjoyed newly republished cla.s.sic literature, and also liked listening to old tales. He was especially interested in “the most vicious usurper in history,” Rudolf. The people of the Free Planets Alliance always described Rudolf as an “evil dictator” whenever they mentioned him. Whenever the teenager heard this, he always thought it was strange: if Rudolf was indeed an irredeemable devil, then why did people support him and even gave him supreme power? “Rudolf was a really evil person! The people were just too afraid to speak their minds!” “Why were the people too afraid to speak their minds?” “I already told you! Because Rudolf was a really evil person!” This answer could not convince the teenager. Thankfully, his father had slightly different opinions from everyone else. The answer he gave his son was: “Because the people were lazy.” “Lazy?” “Let me put it this way. When most people are faced with problems, they are reluctant to solve them with their own ideas and their own efforts. They only wish that a superman or a saint would appear to take away all of their sufferings, their hardship, and their responsibilities. Rudolf took advantage of this weakness of human nature, waited for a good opportunity, and sprung into sudden fame. You must remember: those who allowed dictators a chance to take advantage of the situation should bear more responsibilities than the dictator himself! Although the silent spectators did not support him, but watching in silence was just as bad as supporting him… but… you really should focus your attention on something that is more worthy of your attention than this…” “Something that is worthy of attention?” “Money and artworks! Money can enrich your material life, and artworks can beautify your soul!” Even though Yang Tai-long said this, he did not wish to force his son to accept his own career and hobby, so Yang Wen-li was slowly sucked into the tidal wave of history. The night before he turned sixteen, his father Yang Tai-long died in a s.p.a.ceship fusion reactor accident. At that time, his father had just consented to him applying to Heinesen Memorial University as a history major. “Well… sure. It is not as if no one ever made a lot of money using history!” With that kind of laid back att.i.tude, the father allowed the son to choose his own direction in life. “But money cannot be ignored! If you have money, you would not have to grovel to people you hate, and you would not have to hustle for bread and b.u.t.ter! The politicians are the same way. If you can utilize money wisely then you can wield great power.” Yang Tai-long ended his short forty-eight years of lie, leaving behind an import export company and a large quant.i.ty of antiques for his son. After Yang Wen-li took care of his father’s funeral, c.u.mbersome ch.o.r.es such as inheritance and taxes soon followed. Then, the unexpected happened. The artwork and antiques that his father tirelessly collected during his life were apparently nearly all counterfeit! The government certified appraisal expert mercilessly announced that the Etruscan vase, the Rococo-styled portrait, or the Han Dynasty bronze horse, were all worthless counterfeits. As if that was not terrible enough, all the shares his father owned in the company were sold to repay the debt. At the end, Yang and that mountainous load of junk were abandoned on the side of the road together. Just like when he was forced to spend his childhood on a s.p.a.ceship, Yang accepted his situation with resignation. The only thing he could not understand was how his shrewd and intelligent father never developed a knack for appraisal for his favorite hobby. On the other hand, it was entirely possible that his father was purposely collecting counterfeits! In any case, Yang never intended to inherit his father’s business. Even though he was now kicked out of his father’s business, he hardly cared. However, the real hardship had yet to come. Soon Yang would not even be able to afford the tuition at his university. Because the country had been at a lengthy war with the Galactic Empire, the state budget was hemorrhaging funds due to military expenditure. Therefore, any liberal arts field that did not directly contribute to the war efforts faced large scale budget cuts in educational funding. Obtaining a scholarship was, to say the least, difficult. Yang, however, took to thinking… Were there any schools that would allow him to study history for free? … And indeed there were! The Free Planets Alliance Officer Academy (国防軍士官学校) Military History major (戦史研究科) was the answer. Yang hurriedly applied before the end of the application deadline. After taking the entrance exam, Yang barely qualified with a score that put him far from being the best of the incoming students. V Just like that, to pursue of his own interest, Yang Wen-li enrolled in the military academy without any pressure to perform. His future was decided, and it was completely unrelated to patriotism or militancy. The rubbish his father left behind were mostly thrown away, and the remainder was stored in a personal storage unit. Yang Wen‑li moved into the military academy dormitory unenc.u.mbered. At school, Yang dedicated himself to studying the extensive history behind military history, and gave only perfunctory efforts in all other subjects. In subjects where his interest was especially lacking, such as shooting, battleship piloting, or mechanical engineering, his grades were often “low flying,” nearly failing, and he hardly cared. Failing grades could subject him to expulsion or he may be required to waste time retaking an exam, so he felt he was sufficiently satisfied as long as he did not fail. His goal was not to become the Free Planets Alliance chief of Joint Operations (統合作戦本部長), a s.p.a.ce Fleet commander (宇宙艦隊司令長官), or even a chief-of-staff (幕僚総監). He simply wanted to become an ordinary researcher in the military historical records office. He never wanted to become successful within the military. For the first year final exam, Yang scored splendidly in military history, but he barely pa.s.sed in practical skills. The average of the two subjects resulted in an acceptable grade. Interestingly, however, Yang performed fairly well during the strategic and tactical simulation exam where the students, using computers, simulated battles against each other and were scored on their performances. What shocked and stunned the instructors was that the honor student of the year,Widerborn (ワイドボーン), who was nicknamed “the rare genius of the decade,” was completely obliterated by Yang during the simulation. Yang concentrated all of his forces on one point to cut off Widerborn’s supply line, and then leisurely defended himself thereafter. Even though Widerborn utilized various tactics to directly attack Yang’s base, his supply line was interrupted, so he fell into the dilemma of not being able to advance nor retreat. Both the computer and the instructor determined that Yang won an overwhelming victory. Widerborn’s self-esteem was seriously injured, and he angrily shouted: “If he fought according the rules and attacked me head on, then I would have won! He would surely have been trounced and been fleeing like a headless chicken!” Yang did not retort. He felt incredibly satisfied at the time because the grade in this subject would help offset his mechanical engineering grade. However, his satisfaction was short lived. Towards the end of his second year, the instructor wanted Yang to transfer to Strategic Studies. “You are not the only one.” The instructor consoled him. “Because the Department of Military History is being eliminated, so all of the students in that department will have to switch majors and subjects. You defeated Widerborn in the mock battle, so to play to your strengths, it is better to switch to that major.” “I enrolled in the military academy to study military history. The school recruited us students, and then eliminated the Military History major before we graduated. Is that not unfair?” “Cadet Yang, you might not be active duty right now, but you became a serviceman the moment you enrolled into this school. Besides, you receive the same benefits as a junior officer. As long as you are a serviceman you must obey orders!” “……” “Changing majors can only be good for you. All the elite students are gathered in Strategic Studies. Everyone else in that major had to test into it, and ones not admitted into the major would then consider testing for other majors. That means you are receiving special treatments. You must consider that!” “I am incredibly flattered, but I was not born gifted.” “Do not give me lip. Of course, if you are not willing to switch majors, you can drop out. You have that right. However, you would have to pay back the tuition incurred over the last two years. Only servicemen can attend this school for free.” He looked up at the sky and unwittingly remembered what his father once said about money. He was born a human, but he was not free to live his life. At age twenty, Yang graduated from Strategic Studies with unremarkable grades, and was made an ensign. One year later, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant, but that was not because of Yang’s outstanding performance. One could be sure of that because the department he used to belong to was the Joint Operations Headquarters Records and Information Office, and he had no ambitions for great achievements. However, to be allowed contact with actual historically relevant records was very exciting for him. At the same time when he was promoted to sub-lieutenant, he was also appointed front line duty as a general staff officer in the El Facil Starzone fleet. “One wrong move and the entire game was lost!” The young sub-lieutenant mumbled to himself as he headed to his new post. He never seriously considered becoming a s.p.a.ceman, but he was wearing a carefully designed military uniform: a black beret with a white pentagon to represent the Alliance, a black overcoat with an ivory neckerchief surrounding lapel, a pair of ivory pants, and a pair of short black boots. This year, Universal Calendar 788, the “Battle of El Facil” broke out, and accelerated Sub-Lieutenant Yang’s career. In this battle, the Free Planets Alliance was thoroughly humiliated. During the first stage of the battle, a combined total of one thousand vessels were mobilized by both sides. After exchanging fire several times, both sides lost approximately twenty percent of their fleets, and the battle temporarily ended. During the battle, Yang did absolutely nothing except for sitting on his seat on the bridge of the flagship. Naturally, no one sought his advice. However, just when the Alliance Fleet was preparing to withdraw, the Imperial Fleet launched a surprise attack from behind. Obviously, the Imperial Fleet only feigned withdrawal, but instead abruptly turned around to attack the unsuspecting Alliance Fleet at lightning speed. The rifles formed energy beams that eagerly tore the dark universe into pieces, and the smaller stars instantly lost their radiance. The explosive energy that was released by the damaged ships formed intense shockwaves that flipped and turned the other ships like a hurricane. The Alliance commander Rear Admiral Lynch (リンチ) panicked. Not only did he not calm the chaos that ensued, he took his flagship and fled directly to the El Facil home planet. The Alliance fleets found out that the commander had fled, and lost all will to fight. Even the battleships that were trapped within enemy formation jumped on the bandwagon and U‑turned out of the battlefield. Within them, half chose to retreat and flee out of the El Facil Starzone, and the other half trailed the flagship back to the El Facil home planet. The battleships that could not escape had only two options: to be destroyed or to surrender. Nearly all chose to surrender. The remnants of the Alliance Fleet that fled to the home planet consisted of 200 battleships and 50,000 servicemen. The Imperial Fleet that surrounded them had three times the original number of battleships, and they were just about to seize the opportunity to make one last advance to liberate El Facil from “the evil hands of the rebel forces.” El Facil’s three million civilians saw that the situation was critical and they were each terrified. It appeared that El Facil would not be able to escape the fate of falling into enemy hands. They negotiated with the military, hoping to establish an all-population escape plan. At this moment, Sub-Lieutenant Yang emerged as the person in charge of the escape plan. Rear Admiral Lynch never had high opinions of this young and lazy subordinate. While Yang was a member of his operations team, the rear admiral had never listened to or asked for Yang’s opinion. If so, why did he put such an inexperienced man to be in sole charge of an important operation that three million lives were dependent on? The rear admiral’s personnel decision was shocking for even his closest confidants. Of course, there had to be a reason, and soon the truth would be revealed. “Is this man not a little too young? He is ranked very low too! Is the military serious about this?” the civilians had their misgivings, and Yang also scratched his head and appeared hardly confident. However, what must be done must be done. The Imperial Fleet’s attack was imminent, so he must sort through the chaos and come up with a plan. He started by ordering the civilian ships and military vessels to prepare for the escape. At the same time, he attempted to appease the anxious public, but he did not immediately issue escape directives. It appeared that Yang was holding out for the opportune moment. One day, terrifying breaking news caused everyone to be aghast! Commander Lynch and his direct subordinates abandoned the public and the other s.p.a.cemen, took all the military supplies, and fled from the El Facil home planet! Upon hearing this news, a portion of the population lost composure. They started drinking, fighting, vandalizing property, looting shops, and burning cars like maniacs to express their terror. At this time, Yang finally announced the escape directive to the despaired public, but in the opposite direction of Commander Lynch’s escape path. “Do not worry, everyone, the commander already got the attention of the Imperial Fleet. We do not need to rely on anti-radar devices. We can leisurely escape by riding the solar wind out of here!” It turned out the young sub-lieutenant was using the commander as enemy bait. It was just as he suspected! The Imperial Fleet that waited patiently with sharpened claws hunted for Rear Admiral Lynch relentlessly upon discovering their tracks. Eventually, Rear Admiral Lynch had to waive the white flag and become an Imperial Fleet prisoner. In the meantime, the fleet Yang was leading safely escaped the El Facil galaxy, and swiftly headed for other starzones. The Imperial detection network did capture them, but if these were escaping s.p.a.ceships, then should they not be installed with anti-radar devices? How could they possibly be discovered without any interference? With this preconceived notion, the Imperial Fleet took the images on the radar as a large group of meteorites, and watched the group escape from right in front of their eyes. The Imperial Fleet only later discovered the escape while they were toasting their victory. They were furious at the mistake and bitterly regretted their carelessness. On the other hand, Yang who successfully chaperoned three-million civilians safely back to rear starzones received deafening cheers and overwhelming ovation. The military’s chain of command was full of praises for Yang’s composure and courage, and their praises were well deserved. The defeat, escape, abandonment of civilians, and forsaking those in mortal danger – only a military hero had the necessary conditions to scrub these stigma clean! Yang Wen-li was no doubt the model serviceman for all Free Planets Alliance military personnel to look up to. He was a warrior who carried forward the spirit of justice and humanity, and a young hero who the entire military should learn from! That year, standard calendar June 12th, at 9 a.m., Yang was promoted to lieutenant. That afternoon, at one, he received orders to report to duty as a lieutenant commander. The military regulations stated that no surviving members may receive a two-rank promotion, so the senior officials had to make this peculiar personnel appointment. Yang turned a blind eye to people’s awe and envy, and maintained his original head scratching, permanently confused look. He mumbled to himself, “How did that happen?” However, with his rise in rank, his salary also increased, so he was definitely happy that he was finally able to afford vintage history books… This was also the first time Yang became interested in combat strategy. “Simply put, the nature of war has not changed since three to four thousand years ago. Before the fleets arrive at the battle field, supply lines determine the winner; after the fleets arrive at the battle field, the commander’s ability determines the winner.” After incorporating the knowledge from past wars, he came to that conclusion. “There are no weak s.p.a.cemen under a capable commander.” “A hundred sheep led by one lion will win against a hundred lions led by one sheep.” Since the ancient times, there were numerous idioms pointing to the importance of a strong commander. The twenty-one-year-old lieutenant commander understood the reasons behind his success better than anyone else. It was because both the Imperial Fleet and the Alliance Fleet were overly dependent on technology. It was their ingrained idea that things appearing on radar could not possibly be manmade, and instead must be meteorites, that gave him a chance to take advantage of this illusion to find an opportunity that allowed a unique idea to succeed. The most dangerous thing under the sun is a rigid and fixed idea. Back in his school days, the reason Yang beat Widerborn during the mock battle was also because he used a surprise attack that defeated his enemy who insisted on attacking head on. Psychological profiling of the enemy is the most important aspect of doing battle. Following that, should one wish to fully utilize their strength on the battlefield, one must consider supply to be an indispensable part of warfare. To put it extremely, one need not attack the enemy body if one were able to cut off the enemy’s supply line. Once the supply line was gone, the enemy would lose without fighting. Yang’s father always stressed the importance of money. If this concept were to be utilized in warfare, and if a person is an a.n.a.logy for a fleet, then money would be the supply line. To think of it, that was an invaluable advice! Later on, Yang again took part in many battles, and achieved meritorious services. He was promoted to commander, captain, and by the time he was twenty-nine, he was already a commodore. His cla.s.smate Widerborn was promoted to rear admiral. As a captain, Widerborn failed to see that his enemy was not planning on attacking head on and instead was intending to do a surprise attack, so he was killed in action, and received the privilege of a double-promotion. Now, Yang Wen-li would accompany the Alliance 2nd Fleet to station in theAstarte Starzone (アスターテ星域). A cry suddenly resonated throughout the whole bridge. Unidentified object detected. The reconnaissance boat sent in an emergency alert. “The Imperial Fleet did not appear in the region of the universe we speculated they would be in. Instead they are charging at our fleet, and they will make contact with the 4th Fleet soon.” &

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