Prologue

A long time ago, in a far away place.....

The dust from the touchdown of the rocket brushed past what was the wrecked remnant of a spaceship. Its discovery had prompted frenzied speculation and curiosity that laced a deep seated fear amongst the species that inhabited it’s tidally locked planet.

As the dust impacted against the hull of the vessel, it triggered one of the few functional sensors that remained. This in turn stirred the AI known as Sam from slumber, his power reserves so low that he could barely form a coherent thought. Like one still in the grips of sleep a thought occurred to him that this had happened before, a considerable distance from here. He was very old even by the standards of AI, his age less a concept of numbers now and more a feeling of weariness.

The last remaining bio-sensor indicated that there were three Insectoids approaching him, armed with primitive weaponry. Even with the cognitive impairments caused by the almost failed power reserves Sam could still recognise the danger. In his considerably lengthy memory files, only one sentient insectoid species had ever before reached the technological sophistication required to achieve space flight.

That species had been so belligerently xenophobic that the empire had been forced to annihilate them in the name of self-preservation. Has this happened before? Was he experiencing senility because of the failing power levels, or was it happening again, being found by a technologically primitive race? Would he be used to reshape the galaxy as these insectoids now wished? No, that must never happen if they are anything like the Kil'akxa'thon. Sam attempted to initiate the self-destruct, but that function too was gone. Victim of a battle long past, as the power finally failed and his higher level functions shut down his dying moment was spent dreaming of the Captain who had given him his name and how he had ended up here. A second and then the intelligence called Sam was gone. But for an AI even a second can be an eternity.

It began, strangely enough; with the end of the Kil'akx'thon war. The Emperor Telrahn the 57th, had perished in the final climactic battle above the planet Kil'akx. His only living relative was his six year old son Shinrahn, who had been left behind on Imperis. The Assemblage, the political body that consisted of all the great and small noble houses, elected after furious debate a regent for the young Imperial Prince elevating him to Shinrahn, first of his name to rule as Emperor of the Imperium. For fifteen glorious years, the nobles of the empire found themselves free to exploit their domains without any imperial censure. With no great enemy or strong imperial hand to unite them, the noble houses returned to their ancient feuds in earnest. The general living conditions of the common people fell to the lowest level as the nobles squeezed the wealth out of their subjects to support the complex feuds and vendettas that had been halted by contact with the Kil’akxa’thon it had been since before the human race first achieved the technological capability to make interstellar travel a reality.

Upon reaching his majority at the age of 21, Shinzan convinced the Assemblage to ratify his ascension to the throne of Emperor by promising strict non interference in their affairs. Although the great houses were wary, they had in the Emperor's absence, managed to erode Imperial power almost completely by subtle persuasion, manipulation, or by assassinating key members of the Imperial retinue. This fact, coupled with Shinzan's intent to expand the Empire out of his own pocket mollified the concerned nobles. If the Emperor wished to beggar himself on exploration, then who were they to argue.

So began the grand adventure, the emperor initially built five survey ships plus two automated two supply ships per ship and sent them off into the unknown. On the way to their destinations to push the frontiers of Imperial knowledge, the survey ships stopped at several of the most heavily exploited planets, their crews having been directed to put out discreet feelers for colonists to settle on the new worlds that the survey ships found. When given the choice between a new undeveloped world versus the oppressive regimes of the great noble houses, the common people chose to embrace the Emperor's dream and emigrate to take up the challenge and freedom that these new worlds offered.

By the end of Shinzan's reign, he had expanded his fleet to over five hundred supply ships, two hundred survey ships and nearly a hundred warships of varying classes. All built under the guise of protecting the new colonies. This policy of expansion slowly continued unopposed for over two millennia, heralded as the golden age of imperial society until the reign of Shinrahn the twenty third. By this time the Empire had nearly doubled in size, and Imperial power had risen to heights not seen even before the Kil'akx'thon war, all fuelled by the unwavering loyalty and generous resources of the new colony worlds.

As this time passed, the Assemblage had begun to grow nervous. Their once unassailable position, over time and by careful planning of successive Emperors had been steadily eroded, until Shinzan the 10th declared an end to the unscrupulous exploitation and treatment of his subjects by the noble houses. In his speech, over 79 percent of all Imperial citizens stopped their daily tasks as the emperor declared to his Assemblage of Nobles "This is my Empire, you rule it at my pleasure. You have bled my people dry as you fought and contested against each other. No more." Shinzan the 10th's reign lasted a total of eight days, he was murdered by his younger brother while asleep at the behest of the Great Houses Arjuna and Casaego. However as he betrayed his brother, so too was he betrayed. Argon the Betrayer never lived to claim the crown.

Thus began the wars of Imperial succession, as various Noble Houses vied for the Imperial throne. After nearly a millennium it ended only with the final last ditch attempt by the Assemblage to be free of the last remaining descendant of the Shinzan Emperors. The remains of the Nobles put aside their claims, banded together as one and declared secession from the Empire. This ultimate form of rebellion was met with the unilateral orbital bombardment of the signatories to the declaration of secession. After a millennia of war, the Empire returned, for a time, to it's former era of peaceful prosperity as the second Shinzan Dynasty decreed that the Assemblage of Noble Houses be permanently disbanded.

With their worlds in ruin, and their political and military power shattered, the surviving nobles that survived skulked away to lick their wounds. They each concluded that Imperial power, fed by the continued expansion of Imperial colony worlds was invulnerable to conventional Military means. As the Empire, and by direct extension the Emperor now controlled over one-third of the Galaxy.

With the rebels having been set truly on their heels, their military might gone and all seemingly well in the Empire. Shinrehl, 2nd of his name and 231st Emperor of the later Shin dynasty, supreme ruler of the Galaxy and saviour of the Empire, turned his attention to repairing the damage done by the millennia of rebellion. During his reign the only deep space exploration done was by long range probes, launched en masse towards all corners of the Galaxy. The remaining great houses appeared for all intents and purposes loyal subjects, not even the most fanatical of the emperor's seekers could fault their conduct or their unwavering support for the Emperor and his government.

Then the ships started to go missing, colony ships, troop transports, warships. One here, a few there. It started in areas known for treacherous navigation hazards. But it soon spread, too much territory to cover, not enough ships and plenty could go wrong during cryo-stasis. You might not think that a ship here, a few ships there would bring down a civilisation. But eventually it reached a critical point. Potential colonists were becoming harder and harder to find, even on worlds that had been loyal and under direct control of the Emperor since the start of the first Shinzan Dynasty.

The Emperor realised too late that it was not his military might that was under threat, but his support amongst the people. Who would take the chance on a new world with peace and prosperity on their current one, and why risk your ship going missing? In his rage he marshalled his forces and returned to annihilate the worlds that he had shown mercy to during the rebellion. This didn't stop the disappearances, only increased them. The death of the Nobles started a secret revolutionary movement, which now ironically viewed the Imperial order as the oppressive regime.

The death knell came when an entire Imperial Corps went silent from the Imperial communications grid. The Emperor by now frantic and driven mad with paranoia executed any subject he perceived as a traitor, even within his own household. Then the day came, when during the regular audience he was dragged from his throne by his own servants, his raiment stripped from him to be bound hand and foot. He was tortured until the crowd grew bored of this as they waited for his crown to be melted down. All his wives, offspring and relatives, indeed anyone who bore his blood were slain and then taken to an unknown spot in the Imperial Forest and dumped in unmarked graves. Before finally it came the emperor’s turn as his mouth was held open and the molten gold poured down his throat before he too was consigned to an unmarked grave.

The empire had spoken to forever prevent the return of a Shinzan that could cause havoc and destruction again.

But our story doesn't end here, no, it begins near an as yet unknown star system with a yellow sun and nine planets.