Contingency

by Florian Nagy

  Chapter 2

  Ten days later, Darius left on a passenger cruiser bound to the colonies in Sector 02 of the Centaurus arm of the galaxy. In the area beside the galactic center, rich resource abundant planets had been converted into the hubs of the EIF’s industry. Among these starbases, production planets, and asteroid mines, there loomed the orbital facilities at Galar. These were, to date, the largest arrays of versatile production capacity in the empire. A significant amount of ships were fabricated at this base, along with dozens of kinds of equipment and processed materials.

  Large cargo, materials, and passenger transport cruisers traversed the length and width of the Imperium at enormous speeds, stopping only briefly at each major planet. Cargoes of every kind were transported between planets aboard these carriers, and due to their large size only a handful had to exist in order to effectively connect all the planets in the empire. These also had small passenger decks where shipless members of the fleet, workers, and all classes of citizens alike could be carried about towards their destinations in the vast regions of human space. Darius boarded such a cruiser on its outward run from the small strip of stars —that included Earth— in the Orion Arm to the massive clusters that skirt the center of the galaxy. The cruiser left Earth on its way towards this central hub, across the Sagittarius arm, and into Sector 01, the first portion of the Centaurus arm.

  The massive Galar battlestation shone brightly against the blackness around it. Since the recent explosion of industry in the system and its dozens of mineral rich moons, military tensions in the area had increased tenfold. Ameerian renegades, Rekked Imperialists, and anonymous pirates had been trying to feed off the smaller cargo ships coming to and from the orbital shipyards. The construction of the massive battlestation was a reminder to all the space-faring cultures of the area that mankind was not a presence to be trifled with.

  The massive fleets’ birthing place was by no means an abandoned nest. Made up of hundreds of kilotons of heavy metal, the enormous structure stood as a silent guardian affirming the human race as the presiding military and economic power in the galaxy. Every member of the Earth Imperial Fleet felt immense pride when wearing its dark uniform and insignia. The symbol cast upon the emblem stood out proudly. It showed a disproportionately large frigate with EIF clearly marked over its hull flying across the globe.

  In all of mankind’s expedition across the stars a few other sentient beings had been discovered, but due to the inert incompatibility of genetics and raw culture, cooperation had been useless. As isolation became more and more difficult to achieve due to constant expansion, conflict sprang out of every corner. Each race that rose from its sphere was ready and fighting to secure itself in its second home. The genetic drive to succeed against one’s competitors increased tenfold when the competitors fought not for themselves alone but for the very essence of their branch of evolution and life. And so, everywhere that the empire’s ships ventured, they were met with conflict. Enormous amounts of resources were consumed in pointless squabbles fought almost for the virtue of conflict itself. The pioneers of the new age met warfare at every corner and were as much soldiers as explorers.

  As the empire grew, however, so did its military. Campaigns and organized attacks were made possible with developments in communications technology and increases in fleet sizes. Colonies were properly secured, and raiders thinned out. Large-scale construction put starbases into the orbits of planets. Silent but deadly sentinels stood guard over the homelands while the fleets ventured outwards.

  After several hundreds of years of turmoil with all the outside forces, conflict had been inscribed in the minds of Earth’s people. The original goal of peaceful expansion had been forgotten, and the people’s minds had become bloodthirsty. And so, with defenses secured and enemy advances put down, Earth’s campaign fleets ventured outwards on a warpath. In the Earth Year 2789, the Imperium had been founded. All ships wore an EIF marking as they flew out to the colonies of man’s only neighbor in the Orion arm.

  In what is now called year 0 of the Imperial Date, human ships battered against the species known as the Ghenim. The centuries-old grudge had been settled in the course of a few months. The fleet arrived at a planet or moon, stripped the facility of its valuables and destroyed it, and then bombarded the planet. The primitive, antimatter atmospheric missiles were used to destroy large military and industrial sites, and left nothing standing. The extraordinary power of these warheads flattened cities. After a planet had been crushed, freighter ships were landed on the surface, along with troop escorts, to ensure a smooth operation.

  The denizens of these crumbling worlds rarely lifted a finger in retaliation. All valuable materials were taken from the planet. The rare materials were loaded onto the freighters and shipped off. Fleets of these cargo ships came and left, taking all the planets’ wealth away. Large carriers then returned these materials to the heart of the young Imperium. After everything of interest had been seized from a planet, it was prepared for decimation.

  High-yield bombs containing precisely arrayed highly unstable materials created an effective death recipe. Several of these warheads were launched onto the planet, immediately filling the air with intense radiation. Ambient temperatures peaked, and the planet was swept clear of its life. The few colonies of the Ghenim expanse received this treatment—except for two. These were deemed materialistically superior, and colonized. By the end of the assault, not one member of the enemy was alive, and the attackers’ insatiable hunger seemed appeased. In retrospect, those events served for many foreign policy decisions of the new empire: the people were mitigated and did not want to be quite as merciless in the future. Deep moral conflicts would weigh on some people for a long while.

  Under the new Imperium, it was heavily stressed that punishment must never be delivered without due cause. Even when it was, such extreme measures were never reached again. In that millennium, mankind had proven over and over that it was a force to be reckoned with and that any offense would be swiftly and duly punished.

  Yet, small parties looking for opportunities were always searching the empire for vulnerable targets, and so military installations were built around every object of value. It was no wonder that such a large guardian was placed around the garden of Galar.

  The Rekked Empire had lingered in this center. It had proven itself to be one especially vehement enemy for the humans. In Earth’s Year 3486, the Emperor Terryk had had enough of human expansion into the stars around him and had declared war. The space armada had been unleashed, and any and all Rekked ships had been either broken apart on sight and scrapped or carried into carriers to be refitted at the nearest starbase into more ships of the EIF. The war had raged on only a few years, with many of the outlying Rekked stars surrendering almost immediately. They had been spared completely and given independence. As the Rekked armadas continued to shrink, more systems surrendered to mankind's onslaught, with a few planetary bombings becoming necessary.

  In the year 3490, the Rekked homeworld, Trellak, was stormed and the emperor’s flagship neutralized. The ship was boarded and the emperor taken prisoner. The emperor was executed and the empire dissolved.

  In the empire’s stead a republic was created for the Rekked colonies. A large assembly of rulers over each planet met, with a human chairman presiding over all actions.

  In order to inhibit the development of any effective military or industrial force, the system of government imposed upon the Rekked population was a democracy. This would assure that the people would never come to one strong objective that they could collaboratively achieve. It was taken care of that there would always be dissent and opposing forces working against each other. Without a way to effectively combine people’s efforts into one task, the Rekked population fell into an array of semi completed, useless enterprises. They were broken as a whole.

  A slow-moving and slightly corrupt democracy was created out of the old Rekked Empire. A human manager ensured things always ran the
ir course while turning a friendly face to Earth. This was a crippling blow to both the power of the Rekked Empire and its pride. Many planets had been left untouched, but now they were spread over a quadrant of the galaxy, leaderless, and with an extensive board of men making their choices. This group was far away and wholly unconnected with them.

  Any production of a military force of ships or movement of such ships could never be carried out and was always lost in an endless maze of bureaucracy and indecisiveness. No one had the power or authority to do anything, and so, slowly, power was sapped away from capitals of the old empire. The once mighty industrial centers remained unsupplied. Shipyards grew quieter and quieter. Few shipping lanes were active, and so each planet became involuntarily more and more independent until the New Rekked Republic was all but gone.

  A democracy is a heavy form of government, and the only way that mankind had advanced to its current magnitude was through a set of wise rulers having ultimate power and appointing the right successors and wisely moving their fleets through all enemy lines. If at the whim of the public choice of hundreds of worlds, rulers would have to contend with the divergence of trillions of people. The entire collective would amount to nothing, and the groans and cries of the galaxy would fade into an irritating drone.

  Although thousands of years ago it may have been possible to have a single person with a board of officials making all the decisions of a small empire, the current size of Imperium required a new form of government. Though not a direct empire, a set of rulers had control over sections of the empire and had full authority over what concerned their areas of influence. Together, the handful of people served as one entity: the emperor of mankind.

  This was Collective Gov. In the current Imperial Year 1198 (Earth’s Year 3987), there was a collection of sixty-three governors ruling over sections of the Orion, Sagittarius, and Perseus arms as well as small parts of the Norma-Outer Arm and Scutum-Crux Arm of the Galaxy. Each governor served until the age of sixty or until they were taken down from their position by receiving ten or more demerit votes from their peers. In a session where all the governors met either in reality or by neural-image transfer, the faults of the governor in question were reviewed and discussed.

  The rulers formed an official objection, and the impeachment was carried out immediately. The official was taken to a detention facility for life. This facility on Earth was by no means uncomfortable; it included all the facilities that were available to any citizen, free of charge. The man or woman led a very good life until his or her death. However, this precaution was not made in vain. The person was kept under strict supervision so that he or she could cause no upheaval. Media access was unlimited to the person but interaction and input were fully monitored and censored.

  To ensure maximum impartiality in the appointment of new governors, the rulers were not allowed to have children. Producing an heir entailed an immediate withdrawal from office. In the few cases that this problem arose, all contact between the governor and his or her child was severed in the detention facility.

  The induction of a new ruler in the Imperium was carried out by the existing governors as well as the top ranking members of the EIF. There was always a confidential stand-by list of potential candidates. These were people who had proven their worth with either the EIF, the ITN (Imperial Trade Network), or through various accomplishments worthy of recognition. People were weeded out, and their histories reviewed for qualities required of a ruler. The governors met once every two years to update this list. Each person’s file was reviewed by five members of the group, and all five had to accept that person for them to be added to the active roster. When a governor aged out of his position or was removed by other means, or when a new sector required a governor, the governors met by neural image with the admiral and vice admirals of the EIF to appoint a new member. Several criteria were taken into account such as the person’s familiarity with the area in question and his or her background, but above all counted proven capability. The governor had to have had something that had made them able and competent. New governors were given a two year trial period, after which most remained in their positions, but some were removed.

  In addition to these rulers of general affairs, in terms of fleets, ships, and war, the admiral and vice admirals of the EIF carried immense influence. The admiral held the power of the fleet in his own hands. If he gave a movement order, the only security against a truly insane move was the combined objection of all four vice admirals. The admiral could then be disposed of, and only if two thirds of the governors conceded with such a motion. The assembly of rulers would then choose a new leader of the fleet from the four vice admirals.

  Various fleet commanders moved squadrons of ships and worked together with captains to create plans for current tasks. The higher levels of command dealt with all manner of shipping routes, passenger ships, public ships, and fleet distribution and usage. The governors of the partitions of the empire were not wholly disconnected with warfare. Thus they were sometimes involved with the EIF members in matters dealing with their area or its surroundings.