European style Power Metal

The empire’s capital city dominated much of Aerath’s second smallest continent. It shown brightly, but the other landmasses had their own clusters of lights, more than enough to compete.

As it approached its descent vector the shuttle took a course that went under the orbital ring station that was positioned over the equator. Off to the left one of the massive towers was just visible, this particular structure curved its way to somewhere near the north pole.

The ride down gave him too much time to think, too much time to consider how things could go wrong. The royal palace’s hangar bay was practically a spaceport. From there, it was a mercifully short trip to the ceremonial hall.

The court herald’s voice boomed through the room, “Admiral Count Justinian Lucaris Hurlant, Commander of the First Battle Fleet, defender of Space Fortress Araki, hero of the Iron Star Campaign, and victor of Altairis Five,” this was followed by jubilant trumpets.

Admiral Hurlant made his way past the lines of dignitaries and military leaders. He wore a crisp white dress uniform with black trim. Shiny insignia and badges, along with three long rows of multicolored ribbons adorned his tunic, scarlet epaulets sat on his shoulders. As he walked his black cape flowed and his riding boots clicked.

The colossal hall was packed, important people had come from all around the empire for the victory ceremony. Out of all of the rooms in the imperial palace this one had seen the least use, although it had once been the sight of many such events. Countless governments had surrendered to the might of the Aerath Empire in this very place. Those were the old days, the good days, now the empire was a thin and haggard version of its former glory. Justinian looked to the flags of defeated foes that lined the walls, one day they would once again know the invincible glory of the past.

The crowds cheered. Ladies stared raptly, like animals in heat. Formations of troopers saluted with their rifles and swords. Officers looked on in awe. Noblemen betrayed their jealousy by adopting smug smiles. And there was Princess Telijä, gazing at him joyfully.

The emperor watched from his throne, his uniform was black with red trim, his medals prodigious, the golden crown on his head shine with the light from a myriad of gems. The ruler of all mankind and a thousand conquered peoples stood up, all eyes switched to him as he moved to meet Justinian. The emperor’s voice thundered with power, “Count Hurlant, your achievements have saved the empire. We owe you a great deal. A promotion to grand admiral is in order, and a move to a higher rung of the peerage.”

“Thank you, your majesty.”

Emperor Aurelius led him off to the side, toward a group of ornate globes, “You will control the Ultiar system,” he waved his hand over several of the worlds. Each was held up by a golden stand and were covered with jewels. One planet was black and grey, covered in rubies, each one signifying a mining facility. Another world sported numerous emeralds, which meant that it was the home to many military assets. Diamonds, each representing a population center and its accompanying tax revenue, were in abundance on every one of the globes.

Justinian pointed to a blue and green world that only sported a few jewels, “But my emperor, my planet is in the Traule system.”

“Yes, you will turn it over to Count Fuer when you take control of your new territory.”

“Your majesty, I appreciate the fact that you would give me a system as wealthy and productive as Ultiar. However, I would prefer it if my people stayed under my control.”

“You would rather have Traule, a system with half the population, a third of the factories, and not a single shipyard?”

“With all due respect to Count Fuer, he is not known for his subtlety when it comes to commanding the lower people.”

“Discrete as always. Hear me clearly, this isn’t a request. I need your skill to help rebuild the empire. I will see to it that a gentler hand takes control of your fiefdom.”

“Thank you again, your majesty. I will do what needs to be done to increase our might.”

“Yes, once again we will take our rightful place in the galaxy.”

“There is nothing that I want more.”

He gestured toward a long line of tables, “But now let us feast.”

The guests and dignitaries settled down for the grand meal. The princess would want him to take a seat next to her, but should he? Justinian wasn’t given a choice, Telijä grabbed him by the hand and led him to a seat.

“I saw to it that we would have plenty of Galintiaren wine, your favorite.”

“You always think of the little things. How have you been?”

“I attended three soldier’s funerals yesterday.”

He was taken aback, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’m just glad that it is going to stop, thanks to you.”

“Thanks to a lot of warriors.”

“But you were the one that ended it.”

She was right, but it felt strange to admit it, like he was stealing from his comrades in arms. They chatted lightly as they ate. It felt good to be away from work for a while.

The Tarji ambassador scuttled to the podium. Blue and purple robes covered most of its disgusting exoskeleton, sparing the humans the nasty sight. It looked at the crowd, its mandibles forming their species’ equivalent of a smile, “This armistice is the first step on the journey toward peace in our galaxy.”

It was a complete and total lie. The Tarji had surrendered, this was not a peace without victors, they were lucky that they were allowed to save face like this. And there was no way that the empire was going to stop its conquests. As soon as they had recovered from this conflict, they would go on the offensive again. Justinian planned to invest time in drawing up strategies for defeating the Yarhoth Republic, which would grant them access to several new crystal mines. Along with plans for capturing a dozen other juicy targets. The future looked bright indeed.

An assistant walked over to the emperor, whispered something in his ear. The ruler of the empire asked a question in a low voice, received a response, then he turned to look at the admiral with great concern. Justinian got up, his mind heavy with fear over what this development might be.

The emperor spoke to him in a low voice, “Admiral, go to the temple, the high priestess has important news.”