The stars open before me like the plains of a wide savannah when the grass parts on a hill. They call to me like the siren song of a lioness on the plain. We must go to them, take hold of them, that the heritage of the galaxy may be restored through me. The people of Fierias look up to me with shining eyes, gleaming with the starshine, proclaiming my name and my destiny: Rrrref Bosasimba O'Ryan XXIV, last descendant of the O'Ryan clan, rightful rulers of the galaxy. My gaze firm upon the stars of night, I fill my lungs, and stretch my chest, and a wind picks up around me as if in answer to my breath, setting loose my flowing mane. My lips part, my paws spread, unsheathing their hidden claws. I roar like my ancestors, the great O'Ryans, rulers of the galaxy. I roar, and my people roar with me, and the great Colony Ship just completed ignites its gigantic engines, its Scout escorts reaching skyward beside it like the wings of some vast, unattainable bird of prey. Its engines' throats are joined to those of our people, and the whole of the night is filled with sound as the stars themselves seem to join in our triumphant roar.
More than thirteen centuries ago, the people of the galaxy were cast out among the stars. The O'Ryan clan that had ruled for nearly a millenium over all the races of the galaxy discovered treachery among its subjects, a lust for rebellion that could only hope to succeed because O'Ryan technological power had for so long been made available to the lesser peoples of the galaxy. What had before been supplied freely was therefore withheld. The people in rebellion were stripped of the tools of war and power whose secrets they little understood, knowing only their use in work and battle, and were dispersed to the far corners of the galaxy. Even the O'Ryans themselves left their homeworld, leaving a deadly Guardian alone to prevent the secrets of the stars from falling into the wrong hands. In the wake of the would-be rebellion, the O'Ryans had come to believe that only a people who developed technology for themselves would be able to make proper and peaceful use of that technology, and lest the same weakness should appear in their own race as in others', the O'Ryans did not favor even the Mrrshans, but went with them to Fierias to oversee but not to assist their own development of our ancient technology. The time of learning was long indeed, but now, at last, our moment has come. The Mrrshans of Fierias have learned to reach the stars once more, always under the rule and guidance of the true heirs to all: The O'Ryan clan, of whom I am the last alive.
Three years have passed since the Mrrshan people took to the stars once more, and at last we have built our first interstellar colony! Blazing like gold in the evening sky, Vulcan's gentle rays shine upon the fertile, arid slopes of a world almost as vast as Fierias itself, and it is here that we have built our first extra-Fierial city. Mrrshans are boarding transports to travel there already, and more will depart next year, all following in the wake of our half-dozen new Watch 1.0 scout ships, six of which departed over the course of the past two years to examine our portion of the galaxy. Some might say that sending unarmed ships into space is folly, since they can't frighten off even the most helpless alien fleet, but my Mrrshans are wiser: Knowledge is power, and these Watches will expand the state of our knowledge rapidly.
Two years after the founding of Vulcan, we have lost a valiant Watch pilot already - but not in vain! The presence of the Guardian at our former homeworld, a mere four parsecs from Fierias, is further proof, in case any were needed, of our heritage in the galaxy! The Guardian does not discriminate among races any more than did the O'Ryans of old, and so our Watch was destroyed, but not before its report reached us, forever marking our neighboring star, for those who had forgotten, as the homeworld of the O'Ryans. And in the meantime, another Watch has discovered a vast world in the green belt of the Phantos star system, already supporting thick vegetation of unimaginable varieties, the air thick with the hum of insects, with mists and rainfall, with bird cries, and from time to time, a small animal's screech. This planet must be ours, near as it is to Vulcan, and so a fighter goes into production immediately: The Mark 1.0 will do unto the system as its name implies, as no mere Watch could, to show all other space-faring peoples that the Phantos system is ours. Moreover, the time is swift approaching when at last, once more, we can investigate the field of hyperspace propulsion so long forgotten by the peoples of the galaxy. Unless next year's Watch reports reveal something extraordinary, we shall proceed if possible to develop containment systems for hyperspacial deuterium storage, the further to extend our starships' effective range.
It would seem, just eight years after our return to space, we are not alone among the space-faring peoples of the galaxy. Of course, if there is one race that I would have expected to make the ascension to the stars, it would have been the Psilons whose Scout our Watch just met at Firma. They were always inclined toward research, though never toward such nobility of purpose, might at arms, or wisdom of rule as the O'Ryans of old - it is for this reason that my ancestors led the galaxy for a millenium's peace while theirs huddled in their labs conducting experiments on each other and on O'Ryan innovations without fully understanding either. Perhaps now, through the hard work of building up toward space-faring technology, they will have overcome their past follies and be ready to join in earnest in the leadership of the galaxy. For now, as a sign of friendship, we retreat, and permit them to scout the Firma system. A ship as small as their Scout could not hold a battle scanner, and is surely unarmed as well, but it is better to retreat in honor than to gain by bluff and bluster what is not ours by right. If we try in little battles to claim more than we can support, how can we expect others to agree to our rightful claims in the future - least of all our rightful claim to the galaxy?
Our Watches will soon discover all the planets still in range, and the swift-growing population of fertile Vulcan will begin immigration back to Fierias next year to prevent overpopulation on our first colony. If all goes well, we'll know enough to make an informed decision on planetology research, and so begin investment in that field in 2315.
A quarter century into the new age of space travel, we have met the Scout ship of yet another species: The Humans live far to the galactic north, at Sol (northwest of my cursor on the display screen above) and the red star to its southeast - the latter being their nearest colony to us, as demonstrated by a close look at the map and the direction of their Scout's flight. The Scout in question, as it retreats from our Mark in the Phantos system, would likely be headed for the red star southwest of my cursor if it were one that the Humans controlled, but apart from that, the full extent of their empire remains to be seen. Naturally, we did not cede the scouting report at Phantos, as there was no occasion for bluffing: Our Mark 1.0 Laser Fighter was prepared to fight for control of the star system if necessary. In the meantime, our planetologists have proven their worth, discovering means to begin research on any of the three simplest technologies once developed by the O'Ryan biologists, geologists, and biosystem analysts. Research into Improved Eco Restoration is progressing rapidly, and it is good to know that at least we will not wholly lack for controlled environmental or terraforming technologies.
At last, thirty-five years after setting out from Fierias, we have finished mapping out our corner of the galaxy. Every star within eight parsecs of Fierias has now been surveyed - except of course for our ancient homeworld, still protected by the Guardian - thanks to our eight-year-old deuterium fuel cells. Most are habitable already, though we will face stiff competition for those in the northeast from the fleets of Humanity, and in the west from those of Psilonity. Hopefully, nuclear engines will help with our claims there once development is complete. More hostile worlds point the way toward the heart of the galaxy, but we will someday be able to colonize all of these, since our scientists' brilliant efforts on Improved Eco Restoration, completed seven years ago, revealed our capability of controlling even the most lifeless of planetary environments, as well as the infamous death spores, and our own true way forward: Improved terraforming techniques that should someday render any world capable of supporting twenty million citizens beyond its natural capacity. Next year will see our first colony ship since Vulcan's finally completed, with work on a second already well along its way, so that it will likely complete by four years from today, a year before the first will build our Phantos colony. That second colony ship, meanwhile, will be headed for the far northeast, to establish our forward position in the Human theater, and demonstrate our position of dominance in the galaxy. It will be a long journey, with every chance of failure, especially before our Marks can reach the system, but it will be critical to our plans for the galaxy.
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Next: Reclaiming the Throne
