Last Order

## Basic Premise

Last Order is a story about the Bandorian rebels who refused to acknowledge the Empire and proclaimed their allegiance to the Protectorate, despite officially being rejected by the Protectorate once it allied with the Empire. At the start of their movement in 2196 they held most of the outer regions of the Mystic system, including a large part of Mystic 5.

## Story

Mystic 5, Mystic star system, 1 April 2196

The cold wind whipped over the hillside, wafting the fog of the early morning onwards and upwards. From the porch of his small house on the hillside, Manuel 'Manny' Andrez watched the valley, keeping a careful eye on the road leading through it. The fog was slowly dissipating from the valley, leaving a smell of wetness in the air. On the hillsides there were many trees, including pine and spruce evergreens imported from Sol, while in the valley there were mostly only small bushes to disturb the uniform ranks of tarl grass, the most common flora on Mystic 5. The sky was mostly cloudy, and the light was fairly dim this early in the morning, but he could still occasionally see patches of the blue-green sky between clouds. After a few minutes, a small groundspeeder came down the road from the direction of Lunokhod City to the north. It stopped next to the path leading up to Manuel's house, and two people got out. He recognized them as Nikolai 'Kolya' Veldenin and his friend, Carmen Dalshan. Standing up, he put down the plasma carbine he had been holding and walked down the path from the porch a little ways.

"Kolya, and Carmen, good morning!" he said.

"Good morning, Manny," said Kolya. "Have you heard the news?"

"No. I don't listen to news much," said Manny. "Is it important? Did we win the war yet?"

"You could say that," said Carmen. "The Supreme Leader's disappeared, and Grand Admiral Lu Weng declared himself the Emperor of the Galactic Empire."

"Galactic Empire? This is Protectorate territory, he can't just declare a new faction," said Manny. "How stupid is this man? He swore an oath to serve the Supreme Leader. Unless Spiakov's dead, he has to serve him; and even if he is dead, all the Grand Generals and Grand Admirals are supposed to elect his successor."

"He's said the Protectorate is ended, and the Empire will succeed it," said Kolya. "And he has most of the military and navy behind him."

"Traitors, all of them," said Manny. "Well, I'm not bowing to any Emperor. We should probably wait for a bit and see if the Supreme Leader is really dead; if he's alive, I'm sure he'll send out a message to confirm that. Have we beaten the Union yet, though?"

"That's another strange thing: Wu Leng managed to force their fleets out of the system, and he's declared victory," said Carmen.

"We'll wait a few weeks to see what happens," said Manny. "But I'll be gathering weapons and supplies, and I suggest you two do the same, and tell all the true Bandorians you know of our plans. I'll get the old Phoenix ready to fly as well, and if you know anyone with ships tell them to get ready. I know no true Bandorians will stand for this treachery."

Kolya and Carmen nodded, said their goodbyes, and left for the nearby homes to tell the people there about the plan. Manny walked back to his house and grabbed the plasma carbine, then walked over to the speeder parked nearby. A short drive brought him to a semi-hidden landing spot 1500 meters away where he kept his ship, a Skymaster-class bomber that he called *Phoenix*. The forty-meter, roughly cylindrical ship lay in an opening in a thicket of tall turine trees, a local tree species with light green, triangular leaves, that grew to over fifty meters in height. It was currently in need of repairs, and he did a thorough check of the ship to find out what supplies he would need to fix it. Mostly the ship needed new fuses and replacements to sections of the power transfer conduits; there was one section of the armor plating that needed replacement, since it had been hit by weapons fire. The turrets were all intact and functioning properly, though Manny decided to wait to test-fire them until he got the bomber into space. He was relying on Kolya and Carmen to get two others to help crew the ship, as it required a total crew of five people. After finishing his checks, he walked back to the speeder and began powering it up, when suddenly he heard the drone of an aircraft overhead. He looked up just in time to see the aircraft emerge from the clouds, heading for the nearby city of Sharman. He relaxed, realizing the aircraft was not landing anywhere nearby, and walked back to his speeder. He headed back to his house, and went inside, picking up the plasma carbine as he did so and locking the door behind him.

After sitting down for a few moments to collect his thoughts, Manny collected all his weapons from the various rooms in the house, laying them out on a table in his workroom. He had one plasma carbine, which was a weapon that fired concentrated heated plasma charges; three modified 12-gauge shotgun firearms with oxygen canisters to allow them to fire in different atmospheres; and a rocket-pistol which fired small rocket rounds. In addition, he had materials for making small rockets and explosive devices, which he decided to begin constructing over the next few days. Pulling up a chair, he sat down at the table and started work.

New Severodvinsk, Mystic 4, Mystic star system, 1 April 2196

On the balcony of the Strakha, the building which had formerly been the center of the Bandorian government in Mystic, Emperor Lu Weng, several of his close associates and his bodyguards looked out over the Krasiva Square, where thousands of soldiers and citizens had gathered. The Emperor stepped forward and addressed the crowd, his voice amplified by the microphone on his lapel which transferred the sound of his voice to the large multipurpose speakers in the square.

"Citizens of the Empire, we, the Galactic Empire, are now the most powerful faction of humanity. The Bandorian Protectorate is gone, its Supreme Leader disappeared, most likely dead. In the place of the Protectorate, I, Emperor Lu Weng, will lead the Galactic Empire to glory and honor. You have no need to worry about the Union; our brave soldiers and pilots have driven them out of Imperial space, and destroyed so many of their ships that they will not trouble us for a long time. Together, we will bring a new era of glory and power to the human race!"

The cheering and applause after the conclusion of the Emperor's speech were notably subdued. Several scuffles broke out in the crowd between squads of Imperial troops and civilians, most of whom were quickly arrested.

"Your Highness, perhaps a demonstration of your power would be in order," said Vasily Glukhov, the Emperor's closest advisor, who had been one of the major planners involved in his rise to power.