Within a single day, the entire Ring World had descended into chaos.
Under the terrified gazes of the populace, three million Army troops stormed into the bustling districts of the major cities, filling the streets with artillery fire.
The bourgeoisie were caught completely off guard. It took them half a day to organize a resistance that made plenty of noise but accomplished little, only to be swiftly bombed out of existence by warships waiting at low altitude.
Army units poured into the cities, took over all security duties, and temporarily closed every major entrance and exit, sealing off the urban districts.
They stormed the homes of capitalists and the wealthy, executing these exploiters on the spot. Capitalists guilty of the most heinous crimes were publicly tried, had their charges read out, and were then blasted to pieces.
This was the bourgeoisie's day of reckoning in the Interstellar Human Military Junta, and the day of liberation for all the oppressed ordinary people.
In areas that had been cleared, the military lifted restrictions so that workers from the lowest rungs of society could enter and see the extravagant lives these exploiters had led.
Under the orders of Xi Yan, Grand Marshal of the Empire, the purge was swiftly completed within ten days. The hunt for surviving remnants and the takeover of local authority followed, after which a campaign began to root out corruption in the Empire's local institutions.
The entire Interstellar Human Military Junta seemed to have been washed in blood, with every corner, from top to bottom, dripping red.
Xi Yan issued an uncompromising order: completely eliminate the bourgeoisie and purge the parasites from every institution of the Empire, while ensuring that no citizen at the bottom of society came to harm.
The Empire's propaganda machine also sprang into action, flooding the public with explanations of the operation's purpose while placing particular emphasis on the crimes of the bourgeoisie.
After a dozen or so days, this earth-shaking operation finally drew to a close. The Empire's institutions, its local administrative systems, and its social classes had all been transformed.
As the sea of blood receded, a brand-new Empire emerged.
Xi Yan had utterly shattered the old world and built a new Interstellar Human Military Junta, based on public ownership, upon its ruins.
There might have been wrongful killings during this great upheaval, but absolutely no one had been missed.
Xi Yan briefly expressed regret and sorrow for those wrongfully killed, but no remorse, and declared that the effort must be intensified.
So be it. A few wrongful deaths were merely necessary sacrifices. The new world would remember them.
"What a born bastard!" was the legendary AI Beta's comment.
The Marshal then swiftly ordered a campaign to nationalize the middle class's private assets, confiscating their private property and compensating them through a new currency system, bringing all social resources under state ownership.
Some people had plenty of complaints, but this was not a bad thing. Once the new system came into effect, they would naturally come to appreciate Xi Yan's painstaking intentions.
In short, driven single-handedly by Xi Yan, the outlines of a brand-new Empire had emerged.
And it would become one of the greatest empires in the Sea of Stars.
----------Your friendly scene divider, currently building a science ship----------
After ten standard days, Science Ship One of the Interstellar Human Military Junta finally crossed the hyperlane, traveling from the Kolmakian System to a system named [Amat Eiro].
Amateur arrow, meaning an amateur's arrow.
During those ten standard days of travel, there had been no celestial bodies within reach anywhere along the hyperlane. All they could see was the brilliant river of stars countless light-years away.
After enduring ten days of solitude-in reality, the crew had enjoyed a ten-day vacation-the science ship finally crossed the hyperlane and entered the system with its dim orange dwarf star.
Science Ship One abruptly slowed. After leaving the hyperlane, its speed rapidly dropped from faster-than-light to sub-light.
The crew had prepared well, and no one was injured during the violent change in speed.
Once they had slowed down, everything around them became calm. A small orange star appeared ahead of the science ship, along with the planets orbiting it.
The science ship's sensor module swiftly scanned the entire system and drew up a preliminary star chart.
The Amaterro System had seven relatively small planets, marked on the chart with Roman numerals.
The science ship slowly came to a stop in orbit around nearby Amat Eiro IV and began remotely scanning the planet's composition.
It was a barren world. From the science ship, the entire planet appeared blackish gray and utterly lifeless.
There were no signs of life on the planet, nor anything else worth noting.
It was as ordinary a planet as could be, somewhere between an asteroid and a normal planet in size.
After a preliminary scan confirmed that the surface posed no danger, the science ship deployed several landing pods from its underside, carrying researchers down to the surface.
In just one day, the scientists surveyed three units of mineral resources, then returned to the science ship in their landing pods with detailed survey reports.
The science ship immediately submitted its survey records, requesting that Military Headquarters dispatch a construction ship to build a mining station. It then activated its sub-light engines and began exploring the other planets.
Incidentally, after they crossed the hyperlane, Mardun Elwin, the director of scientific research back on their Ring World homeworld, finally connected to the robots aboard and began directing the science ship's exploration.
He ordered the deployment of sub-light exploration craft to investigate the other asteroids.
The science ship focused its exploration on Amat Eiro II and Amat Eiro III.
Amat Eiro III had anomalous readings that warranted research. In the Marshal's words, it could "produce physics research"?
In any case, they remained in orbit around Amat Eiro III for several days, compiled detailed research records, and uploaded them to the Academy of Sciences database.
The Marshal personally ordered: explore the system first; there was no rush to conduct research.
Meanwhile, Amaterro II differed somewhat from the other planets. Its entire surface was lush green, and it had a very thick atmosphere.
They did not know whether it was a toxic world or a Gaia Planet. Either way, it required a thorough investigation.
An experienced crew member piloted the faster-than-light science ship past the orange dwarf star and Amat Eiro I. They noticed that this small planet was ideally positioned; establishing a transit station there to develop trade would be a good option.
Mardun's eyes, however, remained fixed on another planet on the star chart: Amat Eiro II.
After passing the orange dwarf star and crossing another planetary orbit, they immediately spotted something strange in orbit around Amaterro II.
A spindle-shaped structure hung in synchronous orbit around Amat Eiro II. Telescope scans suggested that it was made of metal, and it did not look like a naturally formed celestial body.
"Move closer and take a look! That looks like the wreck of a warship!" Mardun instructed excitedly.
The crew member at the helm changed course and increased their sub-light speed, rapidly approaching Amat Eiro II's satellite orbit.
The scientists quickly returned to their stations, ready to begin their investigation.
Indeed, a ship was floating just beyond that entirely green planet.
"Judging by its design, it's a colony ship, and it matches the style of our human vessels," a crew member reported.
"Could another humanoid civilization have explored this place already?"
Mardun shuddered.
That would be no laughing matter. If a civilization that had already reached the stars was nearby, expanding the Empire would become especially difficult.
Unless they followed the United Nations of Earth's original example and sent colony ships to more distant systems to establish colonies.
"Send them a signal and ask for basic information!" Mardun ordered sternly. "If they're confirmed to be aliens, relay the signal to the Empire and let our linguists translate it!"
"Yes, sir."
Several crew members quickly got to work on the bridge.
Before long, the colony ship hovering in planetary orbit hurriedly sent a reply.
"Mr. Mardun, they can use our language, and their technology is almost identical to ours. We believe they're human too!"
Mardun frowned, realizing there was more to this than met the eye.
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