Frontline

“The Golden Imperium of Infinite Starlite, also known as the Golden Imperium, Starlite Imperium and ‘those Goldie bastards’, is the former dominant power in this part of the galaxy. Ever since their attack on Imperial space nearly forty years ago, the Imperium has steadily been shrinking under the might of the Xenlongian Empire. It is Emperor Xandarius’ dream to one day free the Imperium worlds from the tyranny of their Golden Emperor and bring them into the one, true Empire.”

-Excerpt from The Newcomer’s Guide to the Empire

The ship that Solemn had provided was a spacious little Starhopper, built for traveling to nearby systems while providing descent accommodations for the passengers during the trip. Tread had offered to take first watch with Solemn as they flew through space, and the rest of the squad had been too tired to argue.

Ansaria awoke, groggy and sore, but nonetheless recharged. She exited her cabin and proceeded to the cockpit, where she was surprised to see Tread alone piloting.

“Greetings, sergeant. I hope you are rested?”

“I’m feeling better, thanks, Tread. Where’s Solemn?”

“He apologized, but said he must excuse himself a few minutes ago. He has yet to return.”

“I take it bots don’t need to stretch their legs, do they?”

“Only if they have been programmed to.”

Ansaria honestly couldn’t tell if Tread was kidding.

“Well I’m going to go find him. How are we doing, time-wise?”

“We are making excellent time, sergeant, and should arrive in a few hours as expected. However, I will need to recharge before then.”

“I’ll get Slog to cover for you.”

“I am sure he will be thrilled.”

With that, Ansaria exited the cockpit and set out for Solemn. She didn’t have to look long. The bot (she didn’t really know what to call an independent-consciousness that was inhabiting a robot body, so she went with ‘bot’), was standing at the starboard viewing window, staring off into space.

“Admiring the view?” she asked.

Solemn jerked in surprise at her appearance, and Ansaria was momentarily stunned to see that he could be surprised. He turned back to the window before answering her.

“Sergeant, forgive me. I was…distracted.”

She moved to stand next to him.

“By your impending transformation to a blob of cosmic-mind-energy?”

This brought a small chuckle from Solemn, but he was quickly quite again.

“Ever since we left Myrthal, I have felt a…presence coming from deep space,” he reached up and gently placed a hand on the glass. “I can sense…warmth. Energy. Power. It’s as though I’ve lived in a dark cave my whole life and suddenly discovered what ‘fire’ was.”

Ansaria did some quick calculations on her TIG, which confirmed her suspicions.

“Sounds like you’re picking up the Flame.”

“What flame?”

“You know, the Flame. The Golden Flame, the source of the Golden Emperor’s, and by extension his empire’s, power.”

“And this is a well known phenomenon?”

Ansaria laughed.

“Jeez, Solemn, you sound like you have been living in a cave. How do you not know about the Flame and the Imperium? We’ve only been at war with them for forty years.”

“I’m sorry, Ansaria, but my life’s focus has been on my research, not on border disputes and current events. Please, could you tell me about this Golden Flame?”

Ansaria thought this over for a moment before coming to a decision.

“Why not, I’ve got a few hours to kill.”

The Golden Imperium was first encountered by the Xenlong Empire thirty-eight years ago, ninety-two years into His Majesty’s Emperor Xandarius’ reign.

A pair of unknown ships (large, heavily armed and painted shades of gold from stem to stern), appeared on what was at the time the edge of Imperial space. These ships were detected and a small fleet was sent to investigate. The Imperial fleet broadcasted a message, welcoming the strangers and letting them know that peaceful trade and contact was always welcome. However, the ships made no reply, and after the Imperials finished broadcasting, promptly turned around and left. The encounter was referred up to the Emperor, who was intrigued by the mysterious visitors, and decided to increase the size of the fleet in the area.

It turned out that was exactly the thing to do, as the visitors returned in force. A fleet of two-dozen warships suddenly arrived and announced that this region of space was now under the control of the ‘Golden Imperium of Infinite Starlite’ and its ruler, the Golden Emperor. The Imperial locals of course refused to surrender, and the Imperial fleet was dispatched to deal with the invaders. The battle, the first of many between the Empire and the Imperium, was brief. The Imperium ships, while intimidating and heavily armed, were inferior to Imperial ships and the fleet was almost completely wiped out. A single ship remained its engines damaged and unable to escape. The survivors were collected and interrogated, and revealed that there was a sleeping dragon on the Empire’s doorstep.

The Golden Imperium had begun on the planet Tamia almost two thousand years ago. During the early days of the Tamian’s space program, they landed a member of their species on their natural satellite. The Tamain astronaut discovered a cave that contained within it a massive, towering flame of shimmering gold. The astronaut, for whatever reason that is seemingly lost to time, stepped into the flame and became infused with it, transforming his body into a towering figure that was transfused with the incredible pyrotechnics. Using his new powers, this lone astronaut returned to his homeworld and promptly seized absolute power. The birth of the first Golden Emperor and the Imperium as a whole.

After the Emperor secured his power on his homeworld (by effectively enslaving the planet’s population and setting himself up as a god), he turned his attention to the stars, to countless unknown worlds that would soon feel the power of the Imperium. Every planet they encountered was enslaved and assimilated. Each new species was given a place in the Imperium, with everyone working for the good of their god-king and the ever expanding empire. After two millennia, the Imperium had grown to encompass thousands of worlds, and had yet to encounter a force that could challenge them.

That all changed after the first encounter with the Xenlong Empire. The Emperor recognized the threat of the Imperium, and promptly assembled a fleet to meet this new threat. The Imperium, meanwhile, grew curious about the lack of update from their invasion fleet, and sent a second one to investigate. This fleet was quickly destroyed by Xandarius’ assembled fleet, and it was here that the advantage became clear: while the Imperium was numerically superior, the Xenlongian forces had superior ships, their weapons and shields more than a match for the Imperium.

Thus began the long war (known to the Empire as the Imperium War, while amongst the Golden is known as The War Against the Gray Wyrm) between the two interstellar powers. For the last thirty-eight years, the war has followed a pattern of escalation, followed by ‘lulls’ that primarily consist of border clashes. In the beginning, both leaders led from their respective flagships; however, after the loss of a massive fleet and a narrow escape, the Golden Emperor withdrew from the front for a time to coordinate the war from Tamia. Xandarius, desiring to eliminate the Golden Emperor personally, and seize his place at the top of the local galactic power structure, withdrew from the frontline fighting as well, turning his attention back to conquering new worlds to add to the Empire. Occasionally, the Golden Emperor will reappear with a fresh army, only to be met by Xandarius and defeated, forced to flee and rebuild.

The war will likely continue until one of the two rulers is dead. Xandarius seeks to free the Imperium from the tyranny of the Golden Emperor and give the conquered peoples a place in the Empire. The Golden Emperor, meanwhile, wishes to destroy a credible threat to his power and plunder the Xenlongian’s technology.

“That’s why I enlisted,” said Ansaria, after she had finished informing Solemn. “The thought of all those people, enslaved by an egomaniac with godlike powers that only thought ever thought about getting his mitts on more and more? I had to do something. We’ve had enough of stuff like that on my planet. But wouldn’t you know it? I enlist, make it through basic, get promoted to sergeant, and I’m assigned to guard some dust ball on the other side of Imperial space. How’s that for life?”

“You mean, before you and your squad were assigned your current mission, correct?”

Ansaria quickly realized what she had said and silently kicked herself.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Yes, but Ansaria, please,” said Solemn. “You still haven’t told me exactly what the Golden Flame is yet.”

“Oh.” She said simply. “Well, we don’t exactly know what it is, you know? All we know about it comes from prisoners and captured enemy equipment. All we know is that it’s an intense energy force that the rulers of the Imperium are somehow able to wield. We don’t know if it needs to be recharged, if it’s harmful to its host, or exactly what the power is capable of. But, this power was enough for one lone guy to conquer a whole planet. We certainly can’t leave it in the hands of warmongers, can we?”

Solemn was silent as he mulled over what Ansaria had told him. He continued to stare out into the depths of space for a few moments before speaking.

“I must admit: I’m feeling some professional regret. Perhaps if I hadn’t been so buried in my own work, I would’ve found out about this Flame sooner, and perhaps gotten a chance to study that. Still, I mustn’t dwell on what could have been, not when I’m so close to achieving my goal. And who knows? Maybe I will get a chance to see the Flame, in some form or another.”

“That reminds me Solemn: how exactly did you get involved in all this mind freeing business?”

“There’s not much to tell, I’m afraid. My parents were good people; my father, a successful engineer, my mother a professor. Still, it was clear I was exceptionally intelligent from an early age. When I was thirteen, I was accepted to the Imperial Academy of Junior Sciences and Technologies on Mordin. It was there that I discovered my fascination for the study of consciousness and the potential of the mind. After years of study, I eventually came up with the theory that there was a means to completely separate the mind from the body; transforming a person into a being of pure conscious thought. The rest is, well, what I told you back on Myrthal.”

Ansaria thought this over before she remembered she was supposed to be getting Slog.

“I’ve got to go Solemn, but I want you to know that it sounds like you’ve been through a lot. I hope you get what it is you’re looking for.”

“Thank you, sergeant. And if all goes well, you and your squad will do exactly that.”