Galactic Void: To fill the power vacuum

[Holeypaladin]

GNN presents: Galactic celebrities.

Volume 77: The Achenaran Emperor, Donald III

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"Good evening, Orion arm. I'm Ron Burgundy, bringing you Galactic News Network, the most galactic of all news networks in the Galactic Arm. Today we have an exclusive presentation on one of the key players in Galactic Politics. Sylvia will be presenting you with 'To fill a power vaccuum,' a biography of the Achenaran Emperor himself! Go ahead, Sylvia."

Burgundy sat back as the celebrity hot topic came on the air. "Thanks, Ron. So there have been a lot of requests to add men of power to our Celebrity Hot Topic, so we decided to start from the top: The Achenaran Emperor himself! That's right, it's Donald III of Achenar."

The display shifted to a holographic image of the Emperor of Achenar. "Handsome, isn't he, ladies? And he's single, too. My my my, but you'll have to fight me for him. However, I hear tell that despite the looks, he's actually rather clueless when it comes to romantic relationships. Isn't that charming of him?"

"The Achenaran Emperor looks young, but he's actually a bit older than he seems. Why, you ask? Well, that would be due to the chrysalis technology introduced to Achenar by the the Surian Empire. The cutting edge of biotech engineering, it can make one look as young as they like! To hell with cosmetics, give me a chrysalis any day!"

"When asked his age," said Sylvia, "The Emperor responded, 'I stopped counting at 21.' That's 21 Achenaran years, ladies... they're longer than Galactic Standard years. It seems to be some sort of inside joke from some underdeveloped world where one was not considered to be an adult until they were 21 of the local years old, but let's not get in to that currently. The Emperor's sense of humor is, admittedly, quite odd, after all."

"So, the political career of Donald III..." said Sylvia. "Well, I'm not much for politics, but apparently he was selected by the Achenaran Council of Kings due to... get this... his low charisma. Apparently, the council decided that an uncharismatic ruler would be easy to control, but they hadn't taken into account his... strong will, let's call it. Still, in his relatively short time as Emperor, Donald III has expanded the frontiers of the Achenaran Imperium to more than double the diameter of their sphere of influence. That's nearly eight times the number of star systems his predecessor controlled, for those of you like me who got a C in geometry. Wow! No wonder he has no time for dates!"

"When asked how he was able to do it, the Emperor shrugged and said, 'The Prometheans left a power vacuum when they vanished a thousand years ago. Achenar rose as an Imperium early enough to fill it, is all.' Not much mention of his own efforts there, it seems."

"That's about all the time we have," said Sylvia, "Oh, but before we go, I should point out one of our main rivals for the Emperor's affection. Rumor has it that the Princess of Purity has been proposed by her father, the King of Wirus, as a potential candidate to be the next Achenaran Empress. What competition we have, in that regard! What will Donald's response be? The suspense is just killing me! Back to you, Ron."

"Thank you, Sylvia," said Burgundy, sliding his shot glass under the table so it couldn't be seen. "A couple headline notes before we go: The Surian Empire announced the extermination of the Galactic Nemesis last week. If you missed our exclusive on it, you should be able to check it out during the review casts. Additionally, the Achenaran Emperor you just heard about released a challenge to all Achenaran Blademasters, inviting them to a Tournament of Masters on Achenar IV. Word is, the Emperor himself is a blademaster, and seeks to test his skills against the best. More on that in Sports News, so stay tuned! This is GNN and I'm Ron Burgundy. Stay Open, Orion!"

[Cosmic Fury]

"Welcome, my lords. Right this way, please." The escort was obviously boring like the rest, Adrian swiftly concluded. Once again, he found himself on Achenar, making sure the deal he'd struck with the Emperor was effective and in place. Buying out the Draconans cost him quite a lot of money, but at least he had an empire at his feet in return.

Quite the fair trade. Just another piece falling perfectly into the puzzle. Adrian followed the valet, who was taking him and some of his "associates" through the winding halls of the Achenaran palace, to see the Emperor.

=================================

"Good morning, my lady. Did you rest well?" Grand General James Morgan was never far from Lady Helen, especially after she dethroned her son. He wanted to make sure that she wasn't going mad as well, but still, she did have her desirable traits.

"I did, General. I can also relax, but only on the condition that I don't have to feel your breath on my neck every other time I pause more than a second or two. Relax, General; there's nothing wrong with me. I'm not old and senile, and won't be for a while. I need to call another Council meeting, if those people are awake yet." Helen stood tall for most humanoids, but then again, the Draconans fell into a category of their own, and she was special even among them.

She had the luxury of having the best of both the very ancient Furian race, and a Draconan heritage to come along with that. Even so, she sometimes missed her wise father's council in tough decisions, especially the ones she'd had to make during the last year.

She continued walking down the hall towards one of her dining chambers, knowing that there wasn't a lot of time to eat a meal before one of her now-frequent meetings with the High Council.

[paingodsson]

The screen flicked on as a beautiful looking young girl appeared on the screen, "Hello and welcome to THW or The Howling Wolf." She said with a smile, "Today The great Khan Charles introduces a new Battlemech" the screen now flicked again Showking Khan Charles.

"I introduce to you the new battlmech Zealot!" Charles yelled as a tarp was lifted off of a large machine the camera panned out as it started to go down, you could see 3 missile pods as you went down there was a bulge in the armor where somewhere in there was probably where the cockpit was. as it when down the 2 arms one of them had 5 different sized holes and then the other had 2 very large holes.

The camera went down the torso and the legs and feet all looked different, "I present!" Charles started to say "Our new torso and movement in these mechs! they are made for these mechs Charles snapped his fingers as the entire mech spun 180 in less then a second. The mech then turned 360 the next moment it startled some but made charles smile.

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The screen flicked back to THW news "Well that is interesting isn't it?" The beautiful lady said with a smile "In other news Clan Wolf has been expanding into newer and stronger territory into planets that have not yet been claimed, these plants' military have been strong and weak." She said as the screen flicked to a battle where a mech was firing upon a large battle cruiser. "Although the battles were fierce but innocent losses have been kept at a minimum" She said as the screen flicked back over to her. "Thank you for listening and we will be back with an up to date news on The Howling Wolf.

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Charles turned off the screen, as he turned to someone "Has our message to the Acheneran empire gotten our message of a request to talk about arms trade and opening an open interest between us?" He asked a man who was well dressed in a uniform with multiple metals the man had scars across his face as he was standing up straight he started to speak. "Khan Charles i do not know we have not gotten a reply the message was sent awhile ago but i hope that it did not get lost in transmission." The man said

Charles nodded "Keep me updated" he said as he walked out the room.

[Holeypaladin]

"My Emperor," said a consul, "A message arrived from Clan Wolf."

"Clan wolf..." pondered the Achenaran Emperor. "You mean that new nation that likes to use Humongous Mecha in battle? I wonder if they got that idea from Suria, or if it's original. Anyway, what do they want?"

"Arms trade, it seems," said the consul.

Donald III frowned. "Everyone wants our weapons, it seems. Comes from having some of the best. Give them the usual reply... Achenaran military grade technology is not available for trade, blah blah blah, second rate equipment available to proper citizens with a Privateer license on a limited sale basis, but actual military forces available on request given they cover the financial cost of deploying them and all that."

"I'll compose a suitable reply," said the consul. "Additionally, it appears Adrian Steele is hear to see you."

The Emperor sighed. "When did I agree to allow visits from alien civilians? But this one is actually a king, though a king of a secret society which he doesn't think I know about. Oh well, let him in."

An Imperial Guard escorted Adrian to the Achenaran throne room in the Imperial Palace, where Donald III sat on the Golden Throne, with an emerald crown on his head and a blademaster's sword at his hip.

The guard knelt upon seeing the Emperor, and Donald looked over Adrian. "Yo," he said. "Wassup?"

[Cosmic Fury]

"It's going well. My assets are all in order now, and I'm ready to start investing my wealth in other places again already. It was a pain in the neck, but hey, that's life." Adrian went over and sat down, knowing full well that the Emperor knew about his ill-kept secret.

As for his secret, it didn't really need to be kept anymore, at least not from certain individuals of note. Let the Draconans think they're all by themselves again, those that matter know where the power lies. He plucked an exotic fruit from a tray, and turned towards the Emperor.

"Actually, I came here mainly hoping to establish friendly ties on you -- official friendly ties, to clarify my words. It's high time I came out of the closet." He smiled. He was always dangerous to most, and he knew it. Sure, many of his assets lay north of the old Jasidian Empire, but that didn't mean his power ended there.

As for the lords of his personal council were gathered outside, they did nothing, but sit there playing their part. He honestly grew tired of having his incredibly wealthy toadies around him all the time, but it did have a rather nice effect when even the very rich appeared to hover around him like that.

[Holeypaladin]

"I see..." said the Emperor, leaning back. "Does that mean you want Achenar to realize the Furians as an official state? You would need to first meet the definition of a state, for that to happen. In order to officially be considered a state, you would need a way to keep order through the legitimate use of violence. Meaning you would need your citizens to recognize your authority to use police and military assets to control them. And you would need an official police and military force in order to do so, not just financial holdings."

[Cosmic Fury]

"An official state? No, my assets and kingdoms are far too scattered at the moment for that. As for police, my money is my police. No, I want this alliance to be on a more personal level. We both are powerful people. You've got Achenar, I've got... well, you'll know what I've got when the time comes." Adrian grinned, and extended his hand.

"I much prefer personal treaties of simple friendship, than boring things written on paper. The paper can come later."

[Holeypaladin]

"Hmm...." The Emperor of Achenar considered this Furian's proposal. He was young and still quite naive, despite his intelligence and success. If he thought he could win the cloak and dagger battle against Achenar, or even compete, he would be in for a shocking lesson in the future.

Still, he could be quite useful, if properly applied. Handling secret societies was much more delicate work than manipulating nations, however. It would have to be dealt with by a much more subtle force.

"Judging by how much power your secret Templar order holds," said Donald III, "It would be foolish to simply dismiss you. However, know that the Achenaran Imperium is self-sufficient and won't be easily manipulated, should you choose to extend your order's operation into Imperial territory. I think a mutually beneficial relationship may be possible, however. And I'm sure you know enough about the Imperium to realize that the economic stability of the entire Galactic Arm is dependent on our economy. So what's good for us, is good for you."

He stood up from the throne. "It's too bad you Furians place nationalism before reason, however. Achenaran citizenship would cause your assets to skyrocket, after all." He needn't explain what Achenaran citizenship entailed, however, as Adrian was already quite knowledgeable on the subject.

[BrotherhoodUK]

Andrei watched as the parade marched past his balcony on the palace on Kislev II. He was tired, he was stressed and he was finally sick of the Socials. Yesterday, Khrushchev had made a fervent speech in support of a republic which was jeered by the population - but supported by some of the Duma. Andrei sighed. Should he call a general election? He was losing the Duma's support, although the population adored the Royal Family, even after Anna's affair with Vladimir was revealed. They found the whole affair amusing, instead of shocking. They cracked jokes about Anna being a fearless, strong woman who followed her passions. Vladimir was somewhat less well-regarded...

"Andrei? Oh, please come in, it's late and you look tired."

"Anna, I'm calling a general election. The Socials have gone too far."

Anna walked over and put one arm around Andrei's shoulders. "Think about that - that is a big decision. We can't afford to lose this election, especially not against the Socials. They are trying to bring down the monarchy..."

"We have the support of the people."

[urukhai9]

Ian sighed as he walked down the corridor, he hated being home. Every one bowed, no one looked him in the eye save the advisers and council members. As he turned the corner he heard his father Hegemon Peter the II yelling from the conference room he was headed, " I don't care if the systems were nothing but ash and a dead star! Those systems are too close for my comfort, that clan needs to stop encroaching now!" As he entered the room Ian saw that some of the advisers were nodding in agreement taking this lull in the yelling he spoke up " Father, I am here as you have requested." Upon seeing him the Hegemon's face brightened, turning to his secretary he spoke "Send The Clan a message, if they don't stop their encroachment upon Fed Star space ill bring my foot down on their neck. Only make it sound less....." "Offensive" Ian said unable to keep a small grin off of his face, also grinning his father continued "Right that's the word Offensive"


After the meeting had ended Walking the hallways toward the space port Ian listened to his father speak, as he had done many times now for the past week, speak "Thank you for giving up your leave to come and visit. I know this isn't your favorite place in the Federation, but your training to be the next Hegemon you need to know how politics work. Now I want you to be careful you hear? The last thing I need is for you to be killed by a Clanner." Then Hegemon Peter II did something that slightly startled his son, he bowed "I wish you well health and safety Ian Davion." Bowing lower than his father Ian reciprocated "And you as well Hegemon Peter Davion" After witch he boarded the shuttle that would take him to the Tyr class his lance was stationed on, and then back to the front lines