PROLOGUE

From the “History of Galactic Civilization,” University Galaxus, Cambridge, Terra.

The ascension of the Terran species into the mix of Galactic civilization during the thirteenth kicellia is a fascinating study in the possibilities of history. Relegated to an isolated existence in the backwaters of civilization the Terran species seemed destined for no other fate than their own self destruction. Aggressive, inventive and curious to a fault the Terrans were understandably quarantined by their more “civilized” neighbors. This did not prevent the Scythians, within whose space the Terran system lay, from taking advantage of their ignorant tenants. The Scythians, an intelligent semi-telepathic species, owned a niche in galactic commerce as notable as the military career of Alexander himself. In an effort to expand this niche and hold at bay her more aggressive neighbors Scythia mounted a propaganda effort that spanned two kicellia and won them untold riches and influence. The source of this propaganda campaign was the unsuspecting race of Terrans. The Scythians reported Terran ferocity and aggressiveness diligently and to great effect. Terrans, after all, were physically more powerful than any of the sentient species then known and enormously, if destructively, imaginative. Under any light the Terran species was a formidable presence.

The crowning achievement of the Scythian propaganda was the “Legend of Alexander.” Recognizing that their neighbors had fully adapted to a stagnant state of peaceful coexistence they took the career of Alexander the Great, reporting it and amplifying it before a concerned audience. At the last, before his death, the Scythians showed Alexander standing upon a mountaintop, (now known to be the mountain passes before India), but instead of reporting that Alexander’s troops rebelled and returned home the Scythian’s showed Alexander staring up into the night sky. There he saw not the solace of heaven or the beauty of the universe; but amongst the stars Alexander saw more worlds to conquer. Scholars have long argued over what exactly gave the Scythians the idea to use Alexander as a catalyst for their strategy of commercial conquest through intimidation. Some point to the actual verbiage Alexander used, which was recorded along with the image of Alexander at the very time and place where his galactic legend begins. This direct source of knowledge is still a matter of fascination for galactic archeologists, especially Terrans, and it is especially intriguing due to the irony of the words, and their timing. Alexander the Great is heard to say in a most sober and philosophical voice, “What lands (worlds?) lie behind matter not, it is the striving forward which matters. Ever forward must we move lest we stagnate and grow rank in spirit. That which lies beyond I shall seek, and I shall have. There is enough beyond to sate even my spirit, aye, even the spirits of my descendants. From this vantage I look afar and I see countless lands (worlds?) to conquer, even to the everlasting and innumerable stars.”

Though there is little doubt that Alexander was speaking of the seemingly endless expanse of Terra his words can easily be interoperated as having a far greater, and to the Galactics a far more ominous intent. The irony of the moment is that Alexander’s career as a general had already reached its zenith. He never advanced beyond India, instead electing to return to his captured empire to avoid mutiny by his troops. Yet even as Alexander’s Terran career ended his career as a galactic legend began. The “Legend of Alexander” flourished in the imaginations of Galactics and every great Terran warlord who followed him was seen in the eyes of the Galactics as seeking to fulfill Alexander’s dream of world, and stellar conquest. One day, it was feared, the terrible troubled masses of Terra would erupt from their tiny world and fulfill Alexander’s manifest destiny. Alexander was more than a legend to the Terrans, it was felt, he was their ideal, their beacon and their destiny.

Who profited from this frightening legend? It was the Scythians, of course. The people of commerce held the key to the lock upon Terra. Should her neighbors push or threaten her Scythia could easily unleash the hordes of Alexander’s descendents upon the galaxy. For a civilization which had enjoyed over thirteen kicellia of peace and prosperity the galaxy would not, could not entertain this possibility. For the next two kicellia Scythia kept the galaxy gleefully informed as to the goings on within Terra. Caesar, the Vikings, Genghis Khan, Attila, Napoleon, Hitler; all became known far beyond their Terran audience, and the galaxy feared. For the time being the Scythians prospered with their uneasy peace, but peace persevered.

Finally, two thousand three hundred Terran years after Alexander spoke those fateful words, the Chem said “No more!” The Chem were the oldest, most traditional, most honorable race of the known galaxy. It was the great wars of Chem expansion which finally ushered in a lasting Galactic peace. Refusing to give in to Scythian demands to open trading routes into their space, the last great commercial frontier to the Scythian juggernaut, the Chem determined to destroy once and for all this Terran threat and pay Scythia her due.

The Chem were not, however, without caution. They realized that their information concerning their prospective foe, Terrans, was limited to that information which the Scythians divulged. Therefore, a Terran was captured from a Scythian experimentation ship and brought back to their Homeworld for closer examination. The Chem, unlike the Scythians, viewed vivisection and psychological experimentation with abhorrence. Their desire was rather to examine the warrior potential of their foe; most especially the character, bravery and fortitude of the Terrans. Such were the qualities of life the Chem valued and understood, and so, in their own way, they put their captive to the test.

The Terran, who coincidentally bore the name of Alexander, was put on trial before the Chem Assemblage. Information on Alexander’s motives and state of mind during his incarceration by the Chem is a matter of tremendous debate and is dealt with in greater detail elsewhere. Some scholars believe that Alexander was already sowing the seeds of his future dominion and orchestrated his own capture by the Chem to study them, as they intended to study him. Although this is the most widely held Galactic opinion it is hotly contested by, of all sources, Terran scholars. Alexander’s own people contend that Alexander was simply an extraordinary being caught in extraordinary circumstance, and that his sole motive at the time was to so impress the Chem with a single Terran that they would not wish to come into conflict with four billion of his fellows. Whatever the reality of history the unbeatable truth of the matter is that Alexander was sentenced to die upon the horrific prison planet of Pantrixnia. Before this sentence was carried out, however, Alexander was interrogated at length by the redoubtable Nazeera, long herself of Galactic fame, though at that period of time fulfilling her duties as one of the Triumvirate who sat beneath the Elder of Chem. Before his exile Alexander and Nazeera come to know and understand each other extremely well, an important point in their future relations. Despite the growth of their relationship Alexander’s exile to Pantrixnia proceeds as scheduled. Upon Pantrixnia Alexander faces an ancient population of specifically selected predators meant to perform his honorable execution before billions over the galactic ethernet. To the amazement of all, however, Alexander does not die in the Galactic version of Terra Roma’s arena. Alexander survived and gained the grudging respect and admiration of the cultures of the galaxy. The efforts of Alexander almost, but do not quite sway the Chem from their course of action. A people driven by pride and commitment they are determined to carry out their original intent, though now with a greater fear for their own civilization than ever before. When Nazeera leads the Chem Armada into superluminal for the genocide of Terra it is with a heavy heart, and an anxious galaxy as audience.

It is undeniable that the anxiety of Nazeera and the galaxy is founded on the legend of Alexander the Great, and brought from the psychosis of legend to the panic of reality by the adventures of Alexander of Terra. In both they perceive a formidable people, but neither provides the factual capability of Terrans when faced a Galactic adversary. Devoid of hard facts the galactic ethernet is alive with talk and conjecture concerning Alexander and the Terrans, and not the least interested observers of the Chem intentions are the Terrans themselves. Since the abduction of Alexander by the Chem the Scythians were busy. They correctly conclude that their fortunes were indelibly linked with the Terrans through their own propaganda. Their obvious course: to make their own propaganda into reality. The Scythians make first contact with Terra, informing them of the threat of Chem, if not the entire truth. With Scythian aid Terra arms for interstellar war at a frantic and unprecedented pace. The vast reservoirs of Terran ingenuity and determination are called upon, and for the first time since Terrans landed on their Moon, all the petty differences which divided the species disappeared. A fleet is hastily constructed to face the Chem Armada. It is as untested as its crews when it sets sail to meet the invaders, but at its helm is a small but frightening reminder of Terran legend. Alexander is spirited away from Pantrixnia-whether by his own design or fate we cannot discern-and returned to the Terran flagship Iowa as the Terran warlord, the dread conqueror of galactic legend come to life.

The galaxy knows the man, and links him physically to the ages old legend of Terran conquest. Therefore, his mere presence adds credibility to the Terran fleet. As the two fleets face each other, a galaxy waiting upon their every move, a suspicious Nazeera ponders the re-appearance of Alexander the Terran. Nazeera is widely, and correctly, renowned for her courage and generalship, and Alexander is faced with a seemingly impossible situation: a foe too proud to back down and too powerful to defeat. Alexander therefore strikes a balance. In a brilliant coup, Alexander’s forces attack the Scythians, subduing the empire of two hundred systems before the startled eyes of the Chem. The attack serves two purposes: it establishes Terran military prowess, and because of Alexander’s positioning of his fleets it outflanks the Chem, placing a Terran fleet between Nazeera and her Homeworld. There is, in fact, very little debate as to the author of this strategy, though many military historians insist that the Chief of CODOTS, Admiral Augesburcke, had much to do with it. (The Admiral maintained throughout his life, and long after the death of Alexander required anything but the truth, that the strategies used throughout were in fact Alexander’s; and that Alexander’s grasp of military strategy and tactics far outstripped any in his day, Terran or otherwise). The end result, whomever we choose to believe, is beyond debate. Terra and Chem reach a peaceful agreement, and Terra is suddenly transformed from a solitary planet to a recognized galactic empire.

The next Standard Solar Cycle in galactic history is extraordinarily volatile. It is suspiciously obvious, (and therefore quite doubtful), from Alexander’s own statements and actions that he considered his career as over. He had no desire to pursue the politics of power which would inevitably follow in the new Terran Federation which was forming, but he nonetheless had no desire to completely remove himself from what he termed “The game.” (The rise of Alexander to power in Terra, described in detail elsewhere is a masterful example of the political manipulation of assumptions), Alexander had himself named as the Ambassador to Chem and all other alien cultures. He joined Nazeera on her flagship, intent on culminating a challenge of honor between her traitorous husband, Bureel and himself. In another twist of fate, Alexander and Nazeera fell in love. Bureel, Nazeera’s husband was in the way. Before we become too sorry for Bureel and wrongly associate this with the David-Bathsheba, (Terran history), triangle we must admit to the reality that Bureel was in fact trying to use Alexander against his own wife in order to gain her position in the Chem Assemblage at the expense of her name, her lands and her life. In this he very nearly succeeded, and the second phase of Alexander’s career becomes primarily concerned with the eruption of the Chem Civil War. Bureel raises a rebellion and slays the Chem Elder, usurping his position with the deadly intention of renewing the war against Terra. Alexander and Nazeera recognize that should Bureel be able to hold power until his Ascension-a traditional Chem ceremony tied, as with so many Galactic ceremonies, to a celestial event-then all Chem, loyalists and rebels would unite in a war against an alien race. Therefore, acting on a standing challenge of honor Alexander and Nazeera go in secret to Chem for a confrontation with Bureel.

This challenge of Alexander is a point worth noting, as many Galactic historians still belabor the perceived sincerity of Alexander’s “newfound” code of honor. The pursuit of challenges of honor was generations into obsolescence on Terra in Alexander’s time, and yet not out of memory. The concept was romanticized, though not practiced in his day. It is, therefore, an anomaly that Alexander should return to such an outdated mode of behavior. The explanation is, as are Terrans, paradoxical. It is well documented from interviews as well as the transcripts of Nazeera’s interrogations of Alexander that he underwent a transformation of sorts after being taken by the Chem. Historians can say what they will, but Alexander of Terra was perhaps the best source to visit for an answer to this question. He explained, “It is understandable that doubt should be cast on any change of character, but in this case it must be recognized that this change in my character, if any, occurred under vastly different rules. Before my abduction by the Chem I was, as was every other Terran, subject to the rules and regulations of behavior in twenty-first century pre-contact Earth. Certainly no law abiding citizen of the time could expect to defend their honor, so to speak, in a manner befitting situations even a century earlier. It was a time of well controlled emotion, and well restrained self initiated authority. When the Chem abducted me, however, I was released from all of society’s rules and regulations governing behavior. I was, in a sense, free now to govern my own behavior as I saw fit, not as society recognized. This I did. In my own mind I took what I saw as the most noble and best of Terra in total, and tried to live what I saw as a life with a very limited future by those credos. I wanted to teach respect to our potential adversaries and I wanted to respect my own actions. It is no easy thing for any mortal, regardless of species, to look their own mortality in the eye; but to do it and come away respecting yourself is a victory. At the time it was the only victory I could expect, and as it was the only battle with which I had total control I was determined to win it. Everything that has happened since is a reflection of that philosophy and a result of it. Therefore, I would take issue with any insinuation of disingenuous belief on my part. Certainly I would not have been successful through mere bravado. You can win a game through bluffing, but you can’t make a career out of it. Some time or other you must back up your boasts.”

Certainly this return to a philosophy where honor was a central code of conduct was contagious, and it needed to be. If the renewal of the Chem threat were not enough of a problem then the birth of the Alliance made the future of the newly born Terran Federation seem fleeting indeed. The remaining Galactic cultures formed a military alliance in fear of the imminent Terran expansion of legend. They saw Alexander of Terra as the direct descendent, heart and soul, of Alexander the Great and prepared accordingly. The Alliance planned a pre-emptive strike on Terra as soon as they were able, but first they planted thousands of spies in the Terran military and government. By a stroke of sheer fortune one of those spies replaced Faizah Sadat, a widely respected member of CODOTS, and the new President elect of the Terran Federation. The Terrans who were replaced are shipped off to the Alliance, interrogated and executed. Alliance policy attempted to further disrupt the Terran government by using the false Sadat to begin an ardent anti-Alexander campaign on Terra. This policy originated from the mistaken belief by the Alliance that Alexander was, in fact, already the dictator of Terra. What it accomplished is in itself debatable, but what cannot be debated is that this campaign continuously brought Alexander, who was away in Chem at the time, into the focus of political discussion. Remember that at this point in history Alexander is nothing more than an Ambassador without a clearly defined job. Without this emphasis on Alexander by the false Sadat the Terran Senate would never have so ardently debated his merits, and the hardening of his support, which would later become crucial to Terran reaction to the Alliance threat, might have occurred too late.

Again we see Alexander taking advantage of the opportunity. He’d taken himself to the periphery, if not completely out of the political game, but the Alliance strategy thrust him right back in the center of it. This is a logical reaction to the situation from the Galactic standpoint. Alexander led the Terran fleet against the Chem and struck an accord with them. Alexander was the Terran to whom the galaxy had been introduced through the gladiatorial games of Pantrixnia. He was familiar to them, and he was seen in positions of leadership. Then taking into account all the galaxy ever knew about Terrans, that is, through the Scythians and the “Legend of Alexander,” and it all made sense. Of course Alexander was the Overlord of the Terran Empire! It was ludicrous to conclude anything else. It all fit into a nice neat package for the Galactics, and when you view their psychosis concerning the “Legend of Alexander” you understand why they came to these conclusions. Why else would a Terran burst upon the Galactic scene so dramatically? They recognized it, and Alexander recognized it; and he took advantage of it. Alexander spoke as an Ambassador during the Chem Civil War, but he never illuminated the Alliance, or the Chem, on their misconception. His speeches further infuriated the false President, and confused and divided the Senate; which further confused the Alliance. This confusion prompted the Alliance, through the false Sadat to take aggressive risks on Terra in an attempt to create a schism between Alexander and the military, a perceived link which became quite real, and the civilian populace and authority of Terra. The result was a driving of the military to Alexander, in essence for the purpose of a coup. The military realized they would have to deal with a Chem threat or an Alliance threat, possibly both, but were handcuffed severely by the false Sadat’s control of the Senate. Seeing a very real possibility of invasion they again went to Alexander, who seemed to be the only Terran able to grasp the entirety of the Galactic situation. On that fateful day Alexander covertly agreed to become the head of a coup, and he defeated a Chem rebel squadron at Stellaris; at once giving Terra a future, and giving the Terran fleet instant credibility throughout the galaxy.

The clash of Terran and Chem rebel forces without Senate or Presidential approval and with Alexander visibly at the helm caused a firestorm of political controversy, but a vast outpouring of popular approval. The Senate divided into two camps; one which saw Alexander as a threat, and another which saw him as a leader. Again Alexander was the center of political debate. As this debate raged in the political circles Alexander, now with the obvious support of the fleet, goes to Chem and kills Bureel in a duel of honor. Nazeera ascends to the seat of the Elder and marries Alexander. On Terra the political scandal over the unauthorized presence of the Terran Fleet in Chem space rises to crisis proportions, and the Alliance stands prepared to take advantage of the ensuing chaos. At the pinnacle of the crisis, however, Alexander exposes the Alliance’s espionage including the false President herself. The true danger to Terra is brought home by Alexander and his supporters easily gain control of the Senate. Alexander is elected President of the Terran Federation and named Overlord of the Terran Empire.

Yet even as Alexander ascends to power the fearful forces of the Alliance mass upon his borders; determined that he will not extend his empire any further into the galaxy. As the stability of a single voice reigns over a yearning and adolescent Terran empire, the chaos of war gnaws at her maturity.