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A New Era

September 21st, Year 3

Anthony looked with interest at the two captives that kneeled before him in the throne room, casually polishing his Terran revolver. Takeshi and Mansume. The masterminds behind the assassination attempt on him in the Summer Conspiracy. The cause of over 120 Terran deaths in this siege alone. They were quite formidable opponents.

And possible allies. But that was for him and Cain to judge, alone. No one else was in the throne room. The main force was directed with securing the rest of Erie, giving all four military leaders some private time.

"Who leads?" Anthony asked, beginning with a simple icebreaker. The two stared at him, unwilling to answer. The Terran Commander sighed and shoved his revolver back in its holster. "Alright, the weapon is gone. Happy?"

"You have no control over us!" Mansume growled, tugging at his bonds. "You are a tyrant, a dishonorable leader who leads peons!"

Cain, standing next to the prisoners, made to slam the butt of his new rifle into the offender`s head, but Anthony held up a hand and the General stopped. The Commander knelt down to Mansume`s level, trying to gauge the look in his eyes. The man`s response to his captor`s act of kindness was a glob of phlegm to the face.

Anthony sighed again and wiped the liquid off his face. "Do you two have anything to say that might spare your lives?" He asked, but there was no reply. Alright, time to poke some nerves. "Cain here tells me that Lord Julian`s son is among you two."

"He speaks the truth," Takeshi replied, his voice low. "He is indeed among us."

"And he is me!" Mansume raised his head and slowly got up, weary of Cain`s rifle. "I am the son of Lord Julian! My father is the great conqueror of the recent past, and his legacy lives on through me!"

"Legacy?" Anthony turned around and looked at the door, deep in thinking. "Does legacy constitute your strengths? Do your genes determine your success in life? Are we all just fighting the war our parents fought, and the war their parents fought?"

"No." Mansume said with resolve. "I believe that the war you fight is utterly pointless. You have no cause, no reason behind it! That is why you have no honor for legacy, and thus do not care about it!"

"Honor…is that what drove your men to attack me? A suicidal action to justify the past?"

"Yes, for victory wipes away the dishonor they clung onto all their life!"

"You care about the past then. Like your father?"

"Yes, indeed, like my father!" Mansume breathed before gaving one final conclusion. "The legacy my father has brought will shine in the future, if you will have me as a general!"

Anthony fell silent at the proclamation, and then turned back around. He nodded at Takeshi, indicating for Cain to stand him up. "And you: what do you fight for? The past? The future?"

"Neither." Takeshi looked up, his hood slightly falling away to reveal pale blue eyes looking from the darkness of the cowl. "I fight for my rights."

"And they are?"

"The right of identity." Takeshi used his body to shove Cain back. His hands still bound, the hooded figure took a step forward. "The right to shape my own destiny. The right to make myself anew. The right to control my own fate!"

"You want control over yourself?" Anthony turned away once again. "Is that all you desire? Or do you want to do something greater?"

"Takeshi, do not talk to him!" Mansume ordered. "You are still my servant! Even if he is dishonorable, you have no right to talk to a higher rank yet!"

"You still lack understanding!" Takeshi suddenly laughed, an eerie sound coming from him as it cut through the throne room. "You never will get it, you fool! I was the master, not the servant!"

"A puppeteer," Anthony mumbled, his hand edging downwards.

"What is this! Just a minute ago, you talked about having your own identity! Your ideals are razor thin and are ever changing to fit the situation!"

"Yet again, you lack true sight! Never going beyond the legacy your family established, you would be content to fulfill the wishes of dead men! But unlike them, we live! We can create the world in the image we seek!"

"A deceiver." The chamber was fully loaded as it snapped back in.

"You seek to uproot all that is the norm for us!" Mansume roared. "Years of our blood have been spilled on these lands, and you want to throw it all away! Your father would be most ashamed of you to hear that!"

"My father?" Takeshi`s voice suddenly adapted a low tone. "But what`s my father have to do with anything? I am not Julian, I am Takeshi!"

"And a liar." Anthony, without any warning, turned around and pointed his revolver at Takeshi. "That`s a danger to the world."

BANG!

Takeshi, out of instinct, shut his eyes as the blood sprayed across his robes, the warm liquid trickling through the fabric and onto his skin. But it was with startle realization did Takeshi open his eyes to find that the blood was not his. Rather, it was the blood of his former leader.

Mansume laid on the floor, gasping weakly from the bullet puncturing his lung. Anthony looked at the lord with no pity in his face, no emotions besides anger showing through the Terran Commander. "But I would rather have a danger exist for the world than have a fraud save it. I forgive lies. I do not forgive stealing lives. "

"But…that…is…paradoxical…" Mansume choked on his own blood, coughing it out. "Takeshi…cannot trust…"

"You are right. Takeshi would be the type who would backstab me the minute I make a mistake." Anthony gestured and Cain reluctantly drew his knife, cutting right through Takeshi`s rope bonds. "But that`s what I need. Somebody who isn`t afraid to criticize me as a normal person. Humans- no, Terrans- will always make mistakes. And that`s why people like Takeshi exist to make sure we don`t make the mistake twice."

"Twice…?" The dying lord let out a wheezing noise, possibly a laugh. "One mistake…it all falls…"

"And I`ve learned from that," Takeshi icily replied, walking over to his former lord`s confiscated sheathe. He picked it up with a gloved hand and held it out, examining the blade`s ornate design as he pulled it out of the leather. "I made the mistake of trusting you once. You took advantage of my naivety and stole my identity as my father`s son, with me not able to do anything about it. I suffered five long years under you, never knowing when you would finally allow me to fly free from this birdcage that is your legacy. But now, it is over."

"Escape…? Boy…you are still caged!" Mansume spat blood as his sword hovered over him, held by an emotionless Takeshi using one hand. "The Terrans…will never trust you!"

"I know, but do you really expect man to trust another man?" Takeshi flipped the blade downwards and stabbed directly down, right into Mansume`s heart. The lord gave one last gasp, his arms feebly grabbing at his own blade as it impaled his chest before falling limply to the side. The hooded figure sighed as he withdrew the sword, smoothly sliding it back into its sheath in his other hand. "I wash my hands with the blood of Hanar."

"But how about the blood of Lord Julian?" Anthony asked, holstering his firearm. "Do you want to cut all ties with him?"

"No, no." Takeshi slowly reached up and removed his hood, revealing his face for what may be the first time in five years. Deep dark ridges were practically etched under his bright blue eyes, something that Takeshi should not have when he was only 18, barely older than Anthony. His black hair covered some of it up, but it wasn`t much was most of it just spiked up from his natural Hanarian blood. He did not posse the flat face most people from Hanar have, but had a rather angular bone structure that was more reminiscent of the mainland. "I still respect my father as a strategist and instructor. I must get word back to him of my existence; he must be worried!"

"He wasn`t worried." Cain grunted with a dark tone, poking at Mansume`s body with his rifle to confirm the death. "Rather, Lord Julian was sure that you were taking care of yourself well and only asked us to seek you out for our ranks. Why he wanted that is beyond me."

"My father wanted me to help you?" Takeshi reacted with genuine surprise, dropping his new sword. "I…But he is better than me! Why ask me?"

"I think it was because he knew that his era had passed," Anthony replied, taking the leather sheathe and holding it out to Takeshi. "Like a tiger, he knew that his time had come and was passing the mantle to you."

"His time…?"

"I`m sorry Takeshi, but your father passed away this year," The Terran Commander quietly said and the strategist froze. "He died peacefully in his bed from old age, satisfied to know that we would take you in when the time was right."

"My father…the invincible Julian…is dead?" Takeshi asked with a trembling voice. "I am the last of my blood on this world?"

"It would appear so."

"…If what you say is true and he died peacefully, then I have no need to weep for his passing." He sighed, regaining his composure quickly. "And now he is gone from this life, I can begin shaping my own legacy."

"I thought you hated it, with that entire speech about 'legacy being useless,'" Cain pointed out with glee, finding a fault in his new colleague`s argument. The strategist turned and glared at him, obvious tension appearing between the two. But it passed as the two Generals turned back to their Commander.

"Yes, that is true. What I mean is my identity. Will I take the same route as my father and become a conqueror? Or will I join the Terrans to begin my own history?" Takeshi grabbed the hilt and drew out the blade while Anthony held the leather part. He flipped the blade and kneeled on the ground, slamming the edge into the blood stained floor. "And I can already answer that question. Commander Anthony, if you will take me, I swear to serve you upon this blade. From now and until the end of my days, I will assist you in your conquest to unify the land."

"…I accept your oath. So long as you will help me, I will lead you to the future that I dream of."

O O O

And on that day, the Terran Empire had acquired a new General: Takeshi, the strategist. In the coming days, he would prove his worth to Commander Anthony by taking over the military campaign of Hanar. While reluctant at first, Anthony and General Cain agreed to hand over the reins of the primary military force and stepped back to watch the newcomer. He exceeded all expectations, quickly adapting to the advanced technology the Terrans had at their command.

Takeshi took a personal liking to Siege Tanks, creating a small group to act as his command group. As a result, his forces became a mobile strike force, moving faster than any other Terran army at the time as Cain`s War Pigs and Rorke`s Widow Mines could never match a vehicle`s speed. Another advantage of having a Siege Tank command unit was the ability to be on the front lines in a safe way, behind a defensive line but close enough to accurately target the primary dangers to the Terrans.

With these advantages, Takeshi was able to defeat all the remaining warlords in Hanar, forcing the Emperor of Hanar to negotiate with Commander Anthony for peace. It was an unconditional surrender and without any form of compensation whatsoever. Many would claim property and life damages and sue Takeshi for his "living off the land" supply tactics. But they were a minor nuisance in comparison to the major achievement that has been achieved.

The Terrans had done it. In three years, they have conquered the entire continent and are now regarded as a superpower. Smaller kingdoms would whisper in fear of them while other large world powers would scoff and dare the Terrans to disrupt the status quo of the world. But that was what Anthony was willing to do to unify this world and its people.

But enough of that future ambition. For now, in the months of October to December, the Terrans began instituting many social and economic reforms to improve their standard of living. Parliament was in agreement with Commander Anthony for once, both sides willing to negotiate new laws for the welfare of the people. In addition, Anthony instructed all his Generals to perform their own reform to improve society, a task they eagerly set themselves to for the next six months or so.

For General Cain, he addressed the problem of military recruitment and training. He specifically targeted the areas of equal service, elite training, and reserve creations.

Many women wanted to enter military service as it was a viable career choice for those with no other skills. Unfortunately, as such was the case in medieval times, gender barriers existed to forbid such equality. General Cain decided that these barriers had to be slowly broken down and began to accept female Marines. They would not have the right to fight on the front lines yet, but they could be tasked with guard duty and base management. A small step, but a step nonetheless.

It was usually expected that the children of lords to be educated in military service, especially second children and lower as they could not inherit any of their family`s land. A petition arose to automatically grant high ranking officer positions to the sons and daughters of nobles, something that Cain found rather idiotic as they flaunted the position recklessly. To counter this, he set out to construct an officer training school. General Takeshi supported this movement, assisting his colleague by creating advanced strategy courses to instruct the students in.

Opened in the City of Fale on October 31st, the Terran Officer Training Academy became the first full-time military academy. All were welcomed, provided that they were physically fit and able to pay a tuition fee. It became standard for the members of Parliament to send their children to this academy if they went into military service, as a certificate of graduation from the Academy would carry a lot of weight for any new recruit to the Terran forces. It could potentially advance their rank from a lowly Private to a Staff Sergeant immediately upon entry.

Finally, General Cain turned to address the concern of a reserve force. It was noted that the maintenance of all Terran armies was currently very expensive, putting a little stress on Terran coffers. To fix this problem, Cain reduced the number of standing troops from a random number to a standardized maximum of 200 Marines per army. All spare Marines were to be garrisoned in a base, max 900 per base. And even then, if there were still spares, they would be told to return to their homes for another job. It was heartbreaking to let go several men, but necessary to maintain the Terran budget. However, this gave all cities the ability to call up a trained emergency defense force in the unlikely case of an attack. Something that General Takeshi approved of, despite the hostility between the two Generals.

For General Rorke, he worried about the scientific community. Many still thought of Terran technology as a mystical magic that would lead the world into a better place. It was quite the frustrating misnomer. Thus, the scientist advocated for the establishment of an education system and the development of more everyday technological items.

Education was a somewhat novel thing in this time period. Normally, children would receive little to no learning at all if they were poor. Even for the rich, being literate was a mark of intelligence. Rorke tackled the problem head on by establishing schools in every city for all levels of learning. Parliament, in joint agreement with the General, passed a law requiring all children from five to sixteen to receive public education. It was rather successful, with literacy rates slowly beginning to rise in every city. Encouraged by this improvement, Rorke began planning for a university to be created in one of Polia`s cold and abandoned castles.

Once the blueprints for the university were drawn up, Rorke decided to work on a series of smaller projects while construction underwent. His name is listed on over a hundred different patents for inventions that emerged this year, not including all those he quietly assimilated into society. Elevators, refrigerators, ovens, plastic, filtration systems…all the listed are just part of a larger group of inventions Rorke added to everyday life. Who knows how the Terrans could`ve lived without them? Either way, life on this world was now equivalent to early/mid-20th century life back on Earth with all these new inventions.

However, during this time, a scandal arose involving General Rorke. It was a given belief in all residents of this world that gods or some sort of higher deity existed to control the universe. Be it a singular God or multiple gods, everyone was deeply religious in some way. So it was shocking to the public when the General was overheard stating that he didn`t believe in religion. This simple conversation ignited the wrath of many major religious factions. "Heresy!" They cried upon hearing the beliefs of a scientist.

And Rorke would reply, "Blind fanatics."

General Cain was forced to step in before this controversy got any worse. Why not the Commander? All three Terran Generals had deemed the issue minor and not worthy of bothering their overwhelmed leader. A somewhat tenuous agreement was reached between the two sides, where the issue was strictly forbidden to be brought up at all. It didn`t solve the problem, but the agreement pushed it back several years in the future, where a solution would hopefully exist.

For General Takeshi, he relished the new freedom and made the most out of it. No longer restricted by his dead lord, Takeshi aimed his reforms at rebuilding the Terran Empire. Several places all around the continent had been ruined by the warfare and death that the Terran armies left behind. Slums had unfortunately developed in several of these places due to Terran technological advancements. Services that once required a human overseeing or working at the job were no longer needed so people fell into unemployment. The creations of slums something that Takeshi made a personal crusade against. He hated it when people were stuck on the same loop, never breaking free.

First of all, reconstruction. A giant army composed of normal construction workers and SCVs swept the land, with Takeshi at its head. Supported by General Cain`s SCVs as well (ordered by the Commander), the builders traveled around each area to expand all cities. They tore down small, outdated structures and replaced them with new Terran skyscrapers to simulate new businesses and jobs to appear. They also worked diligently on restoring important monuments, so as to create a form of pride in being a Terran citizen.

To add to that pride, Takeshi created sanitation and health programs that General Rorke helped develop in every city. Public standards of health were set, so as to avoid filth and reduce disease in the cities. Trash services began, so the amounts of waste sitting out on the streets decreased dramatically. Clean water and safe foods simulated population booms as people began living longer at the same time.

While all these social reforms occurred, Takeshi also worked on economic reform. Several different factories were created under the Terran government with his help, creating assembly line jobs for the unemployed. The primary product of these factories were Rorke`s new Siege Tanks, as creating one on site was considered to be impractical compared to bringing a completed vehicle in. Many of these factories would also produce consumer vehicles, encouraging the development of road systems all around the continent. Another advantage in warfare: rapid deployment within the empire.

At the end of Year 3, Commander Anthony and his Generals held a giant military parade to show their resolution for the future. Hundreds showed up to watch it in Fale while other citizens caught glimpses of it through news stations, proud of being a Terran. It was a spectacular presentation, with all the armored infantry marching and the tanks rolling into the city amid colorful confetti. However, several watchers noted that the Commander seemed rather distant in the parade, not really paying attention to the festives. But then again, Anthony`s dream wasn`t yet achieved, so there was no real reason for him to celebrate.