Emperor Constantine the tenth looked over the reports as his daughter, her hair in the newest circular rings beside her head, played in his office. "Have they found the pilgrims homeworld so we can destroy it Daddy?" she suddenly asked looking up from her game. Sighing Constantine answered "though we are looking for them we are not going to destroy them right off honey. They rebelled yes but they killed very few, and there has been enough death in human history" Pouting Elizabeth responded "they rebelled daddy they should be destroyed. Premier Cassius says if we don't make an example of them others will follow and if you don't have the stomach to do so people will think you are weak." Making sure to keep the rising anger he felt out of his voice Constantine questioned his daughter "when did you hear this honey?" "Yesterday daddy" she replied "he was talking with another adviser I didn't know when you left the room briefly" Traitors everywhere Constantine thought to himself, had humanity really learned so little from the nuclear wars that almost destroyed it before they discovered how to travel the cosmic strings? More interestingly how did his Daughter discover this potential treachery when his spies had not...had he missed an opportunity here? Looking at his daughter he choose his next words carefully..."Lovely...how would you like to play a game...a game you couldn't tell anyone else about..." Putting down the doll she had been playing with she looked up at her daddy and smiled "sure daddy!" Looking at his daughter Constantine sighed to himself before continuing. "You know how people can try to hide things...like how I hid your last birthday party..to the point where until the surprise party you thought I had forgotten about it?" Frowning at her Daddy Elizabeth replied "that was mean daddy...I almost cried the night before...." Standing and walking over to his daughter Constantine picked her up and hugged her. "I know baby, and I'm sorry I thought the surprise later would be worth it, I didn't know how much it would effect you" As her father held her Elizabeth began to giggle and then leaned over his shoulder and whispered in his ear "got you!". As Constantine looked at his daughters face with a puzzled look on his face her giggles only intensified. "Mother let me in here because she didn't think anything could distract you from your reports today..I told her I could get you to leave your desk in five minutes...it only took me two". At first frowning Constantine then began to laugh deeper than he had since the pilgrim betrayal. Putting his daughter down he mussed her hair "I need to have a talk with your mother about the kind of skills she is teaching the royal princess...manipulating your own father! Hmpfh!". Then looking directly in his daughters eyes he asked her "The things you said about Cassius those were not just part of your manipulation right?" "Daddy...you know the best manipulation uses the truth! And I wouldn't lie to you!" then as she looked down and traced the Fleur De lis outline on the carpet all most under her breath she added "at least not about something like that". Getting down on his knees so he could look into his daughters eyes and stifling a smile Constantine continued "Well how would you like to help me see if Cassius is hiding anything from me like I was hiding from you...I have a birthday coming up after all!". Tilting her head to one side Elizabeth replied "so you want your sweet innocent daughter to spy on your closest adviser? Who is teaching the Royal princess dirty dirty skills now?". Laughing even more now Constantine felt his anger at Cassius all most subside as he marveled at the powerful creature his ten year old daughter was becoming...maybe he might have to reconsider the law making empresses impossible.







(I hope you enjoyed..this is going to be a little different story. I am staring a huge epic speed game aka a game that will take a year plus to finish...I am going to be recording what happens in my game world in story form here. Given time I have to play this will be a looong processes. But hopefully enjoyable for me and those following. Used to do this with Civ and it was great fun. Feel free to comment but I would prefer a separate thread for it if that is OK with the mods. This makes reading the story easier for people I have found. Going to be doing this with Easy AI but still may end up loosing with the story developing as the game develops. Again I hope the introduction above was interesting...I enjoy strong wise beyond their years female characters)

Constantine read the report again his mind going from sadness to anger:



"unknown ship firing...hull looks similar to our design...our weapons no match...attempting es..." and then the transmission cut off. The few pictures that came with the transmission did indeed show a ship that looked amazingly similar in design to the ships of the United Empire. The first in space casualties and they were not caused by an unknown and unknowable alien..but by fellow humans. All ready many were saying it was the pilgrims returned but this didn't make much sense. After taking over the early nuclear driven exploration ship only unsubstantiated rumors of the pilgrims had been heard and in none of them did they seem hostile. Still none of the various corporations charted to explore space quasi independently had reported loosing a ship, but that of course didn't mean they hadn't. Crumpling the paper in anger Constantine threw it across the room. Who ever they were they would soon come to no terror. Though he had hoped to colonize peacefully it seemed that was no longer an option.



Still the exploration corporations had reported two systems that looked ripe for colonization, it had created some consternation when rather than sending the colony ship to this system he had instead ordered it to colonize the Jungle planet in the home system. But even before the scout ships destruction, a more contained and defensible empire seemed to be prudent. If the few reports from the spies in the pilgrims (before they went silent either captured or converted) not only did other races exist in the universe (which made sense) but they were more advanced.



Yes the more he thought about it the more the time had come to commission defense corporations. Who knows maybe this would even quiet some of the discontent among the population for not going directly against the pilgrims? Now...who to choose to lead the fleet....?



(next time new characters...and the return of the emperors precocious daughter!)

Ivan Gagarin knelt before the emperor and some small child (he guessed the emperors daughter) nervous but proud. "Ivan you are the first human to come to grips with using dust and survive. For that I give you command of our first offensive fleet. Use it to find the pirates who have bedeviled our empire and show them no mercy!" spoke the emperor



looking up Ivan replied "I shall bring you their head emperor and if they are an advance fleet of the pilgrims I shall bring you the location of their home-world so we can rain fire down upon it".



Before either adult could say anything more Elizabeth walked from her Daddies side over to Ivan and looking him directly in the eyes told him "I am sure you shall keep us safe" and after briefly kissing the top of Ivan's head returned to her fathers side.



At a loss for words Ivan only deeply blushed as the emperor smiled wryly. "Stand Ivan we must present a united front for the media cameras". As Ivan stood Constantine spoke into the communicator on his desk informing the state media they could enter. Standing stiffly beside the emperor Ivan listened as he spoke to the nation. "Today we begin to fight back. We do not know who the enemy is if they are some returning faction of the pilgrims or if they are rebels from our own empire. Soon though they shall know our wrath and wish they hadn't."



Almost as if it had been planned, Elizabeth grabbed Ivan's hand and spoke quickly sensing an opportunity on camera focused on her face while another focused on her hand holding Ivan's then backed up to take in the whole scene. "I have every confidence Ivan shall bring death and despair to our enemies!"



Dismissing the media and an even more flustered Ivan Constantine raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "Did you see him father" she giggled "Men can be so funny!" As Constantine raised his other eyebrow she continued "yes daddy even you or do you think I haven't seen how mother gets her way?" "Anyway wasn't he just dashing! I am sure he will return victorious and..."



"Elizabeth I have you hear so you can learn not so you can give false hope to.." Constantine was cut off by his daughter



"Yes daddy I know you have to marry me to a political ally or at least someone who can become one. My tutor explained it all to me..she is even funnier than you..she acts like I don't know what happens after people get married.."



Any reply Constantine might have made was cut off by a sudden roar from the assembled crowd outside as they listened to the recorded remarks of the emperor. Later analysis would confirm that the roar peaked when Elizabeth spoke. Unfortunately the rise of nationalistic fervor would not last.

Full of confidence Ivan led his fleet to the last known location of the pirates. Finding the area empty he began a systematic search across the strings for them. Months passed as his ship moved along the strings without site of the enemy and he began to grow bored. Later he would wish his patrol had stayed boring.



"Sir unrecognized fleet ahead!" Called out the tech manning the radar station



"Does it fit the data on the pirates configuration?"



"Sir it seems like a variation of our own design so yes...SIR THERE ARE TWO SHIPS NOT THE ONE THAT WAS REPORTED"



Two pirate ships? No two pilgrim ships..no two ships from the empire could have slipped corporate control without being seen surly? Still it didn't matter, who ever they were his orders were the same.



"Helm..take us in and sound battle stations" The lights dimmed and became red and the battle stations tone sounded. Quickly the mood of the ship changed. Though they were outnumbered no one suggested fleeing. They had friends and fellow citizens to avenge!



"release the nano repair bots" he ordered. If the other ships had technology similar to theirs than this would single unfriendly intentions but then his intentions were unfriendly after all. The alpha scout ship had tried hailing only to be attacked, before they were able to release defense measures. He wasn't about to make the same mistake. "prepare the kinetic guns for firing and advance to attack speed"



All most before the words were out of his mouth the bridge became insane. The ship rocked as multiple slugs exploded near the ship and the viewport was momentarily obscured by an explosion. Oddly silent, given the lack of air in space, only the outside lights and the rocking of the ship implied that anything was happening.



"The repair bots are holding sir but just barely" replied his weapons officer before he even had to ask. "But they seem to have deployed their own and our slugs are only doing minimal damage"



"Move us in closer" Ivan replied. Risky especially as they were outgunned, they risked becoming surrounded and attacked from both sides but a draw was not an option. Slowly as the ship edged closer to the two unknown vessels the rocking of the ship and the explosions visible outside the view-screen became all but constant. Now they were completely reliant on their radar to determine where the enemy ships were located.



"Sir they seem to be trying to interfere with our gunnery systems but our nanobots have isolated the signal and jammed it" his science tech informed him. Sabotage is it Ivan thought to himself? Almost smirking he considered releasing his own secret weapon then but decided against it. This was to prove a near fatal mistake.



"Move us to melee range" he told his helm officer melee range he thought to himself..what an odd thing to call a ship location..its not like the ships were going to start swinging swords at each other. Still it was what it had been called since the first ships flew, and he doubted it was going to change anytime soon. His historical musings were interupted by alarms and screams as one of the consoles behind him erupted in flames knocking out the tech beside it before the automatic fire suppression systems kicked in.



"Taking heavy fire sure, breaches on multiple decks" His defensive officer reported the strain beginning to show in his voice.



"Turn over defensive controls to my console corporal" he responded "It looks like we are going to get to try out the dust barrier after all" Ivan held no illusions. This was why he was here. Yes he was at the top of his class at the defense academy and yes he had acted bravely in trying to prevent the pilgrims from taking over the generational fission ship all those years ago, but if he hadn't learned since then to control the semi conscious dust he wouldn't be here now. Speaking into the comm he informed the crew "dust barrier activating" then blanking his mind to all else that was around him he literally consciously ordered the dust to strengthen the weak points in the ship and provide a barrier to enemy fire over the entire ship itself. He didn't know how else to describe it. Probably some tech somewhere had a mathematical model for it but to Ivan it was like he became the dust, like his consciousness or at leas part of it merged with the dust itself. It was almost enough.



"One ship has been destroyed Sir!" he heard an excited officer exclaim before everything went insane. It felt all most like he had lost an arm as enemy fire ripped through the dust barriers in the ship and he felt the fires erupting all across it before his first mate informed him "breaches on several decks, guns all but lost. It has been an honor serving with you Sir"



"Get to the escape pods you fools!" he shouted at his bridge crew before collecting himself and activating the shipwide com "This is the captain abandon ship I repeat abandon ship!" Slumping in his seat he watched as most of his bridge crew fled to the escape pods.



"Come Captain let us live to fight another day" his first mate said to him holding out his hand.



Aghast Ivan looked at him "are you insane I am the captain, I ordered us to attack a fleet twice our size, and now years of empire construction not to mention the lives of those whose pods will get blown out of the sky or never be found before the hibernation systems give out. I am finished"



"Yes you are captain which is why" his first mate responded removing a hidden side arm from his uniform "I am reliving you of command and as acting captain of the vengeance ordering you to the escape pods"



"Mutiny! At a time lik..." Ivan never got to finish his thought before the stun round removed all conscious thought.



"Good work" Cassius informed the security officer "Luscious wasn't it?" "Well lets get him to the escape pod"



"Emperor go with you Cassius" thought to himself as he closed the hatch on the hibernation equipment on Ivan's body and activated the escape pod. "live, learn the mysterious of the dust and avenge us all against the pilgrims!" Cassius thought, glad that he was able to perform this last duty as the ship exploded around him.

Ivan half woke to the feel of something cool on his forehead. Vaguely he remembered times of similar half consciousness and pain. Trying to move he found he could not and then he remembered THE SHIP! There are more than one pirate ships the emperor must be warned but wait why was he alive NO! He should be dead! Continuing to struggle he heard a voice whisper to him



"Shush you need to rest now regain your strength." Focusing his eyes Ivan saw an impossible site. The princess on his knees beside him holding a wet cloth to his forehead.



"Princess no you can't be here! Where am I? Why am I not dead?"



Still with the same questions, "Shush..I am not hear you are dreaming..perhaps your crew saved you and put you in your pod, knowing you could report back to us what happened better than anyone else"



"Dreaming...if I am dreaming then why I am tied down why am I in a hospital and not with my wife!"



"Do not question the logic of dreams!" replied the princess. "If this were not a dream would I be able to do this?" So saying she leaned over and lightly kissed Ivan on the lips.



Smiling Ivan replied "yes I must be dream.." and lapsed back into unconsciousness.



Sigh so much for the kiss of a princess waking him though Elizabeth smiling wryly to herself. It would have been a perversion of the old stories if it worked but in the two years since his pod had returned to the home planet about everything else had been tried. The doctors assumed it had something to do with his relation to dust but of course that meant there was hardly anything they could do...as even the most basic properties of dust were still not understood. "Technology so far advance from ours as to be indistinguishable from magic" that was what they had begun to call it. When he first returned some people called for him to be court martialed for not going down with the ship, especially since the report of the battle (which had arrived by faster than light communication long before he did of course) showed him attacking in a disadvantageous situation. Why could they not see that due to his dust controlling powers he was worth 100 no 1000 normal men? The empire could not afford to loose him!



There had been a few months of chaos when the reports first reports of the battle emerged. People became even more convinced that the pilgrims had returned and soon would attack the homeworld. But due mostly to her fathers leadership things had soon come back under control. Research that had been focused on finding ways to colonize the other planets in the system moved to better shielding and new weapons. Missiles using a new and strange version of titanium were developed, thicker plates, laser weapons and shielding, and even one knew ship type focused on offense that had come to be called the destroyer. Soon who ever the ships were they were forced back and slowly the United Empire began once again to colonize planets in other systems and even consider returning to research that would make other planets exploitable.