The Galactic Republic had ruled the galaxy for over twenty-five thousand years.
Throughout this immense stretch of history, the Republic had brought prosperity, wealth, and security to the stars.
Yet, across those tens of thousands of years, the Republic had failed to establish a centralized, efficient administrative system.
Bureaucracy, oligarchy, and a loose political structure had turned the government into a massive, glittering bubble.
It was grand, magnificent, and vibrant, but entirely fragile.
Rather than a unified nation, the Galactic Republic resembled a loose alliance of sovereign worlds, leaving countless hidden dangers buried beneath its glamorous surface.
Spreading outward from the deep prosperity of the Galactic Core, the galaxy was divided into the Core Worlds, the Inner Rim, the Mid Rim, and the Outer Rim.
The closer a planet was to the edge of the galaxy, the poorer and more underdeveloped it became, though their numbers grew exponentially.
Among the countless frictions fracturing the Republic, the true undercurrent of danger lay in the divide between the impoverished Outer Rim and the wealthy, developed worlds of the Inner Rim and Core.
It was the eternal friction between the exploiters and the exploited.
Slowly, the forces of separatism were beginning to rise.
Before these contradictions could finally drag the Republic down to its ultimate destruction, a massive vessel descended upon the Moddell sector at the edge of the galaxy, charting an unknown path into a galaxy destined for a storm.
“You must make a choice, Daemon Kane.”
“The stars are burning, the people are suffering, and millions of innocents die every single day.
Now, destiny places an opportunity before you.
Do you accept, or do you refuse?” A deep, mysterious voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
Daemon Kane found himself standing in the endless expanse of space, looking down at countless brilliant stars.
Am I dreaming?
Accept?
Accept what?
He lifted his hands before his eyes.
They looked translucent, yet entirely real.
Suddenly, a gargantuan warship sailed right over his head.
The vessel was so colossal that he felt like an ant beneath its shadow.
Countless cold gun barrels adjusted their tracking before unleashing a terrifying beam of light.
Another fleet had materialized in the distance, and the two forces were locked in a ferocious firefight.
Blinding laser fire filled the void, tearing the quiet, starry space to ribbons.
Starfighters launched from the hangars, buzzing around the massive capital ships like flies, their dogfights punctuated by sudden flashes of fire.
In the vacuum of space, it all unfolded in total silence, yet the absolute brutality of the clash remained plain to see.
The warship directly above Daemon Kane took a heavy hit.
Its outer hull tore open, and fires began to spread across the deck.
He could clearly see crew members sucked into the vacuum, struggling in absolute despair against the freezing void of space.
“That’s…” Daemon Kane looked toward the opposing fleet.
Those massive vessels featured distinct triangular hulls and towering bridges, surrounded by swarms of H-shaped fighters.
A memory suddenly unlocked.
TIE fighters.
Imperial-class Star Destroyers.
This is a Star Wars battlefield.
The surrounding scenery shattered like glass, and Daemon Kane found himself back in the pristine, brilliant starry void.
Yet, as he looked down from his vantage point, he could see fires of war erupting across every single planet below, the mushroom clouds of nuclear detonations rising one after another.
“You have made your choice, and destiny shall deliver its reward,” the deep, mysterious voice echoed once more.
“Hey!
What did you even let me choose?
I haven’t picked anything yet!
Hey—” Daemon Kane could not finish his sentence before an invisible force sucked him backward, sending him spinning through the void.
The sensation was awful, exactly like being dumped into a toilet and flushed away.
“Hey!
Let me go back!”
Target system reached.
Name unknown.
Coordinates unknown.
Initiating planetary scan.
Diameter: 4,900 kilometers.
Orbiting a gas giant.
Rotation period: 18 standard hours.
Orbital period: 402 standard days.
Atmospheric composition: Class A2, breathable for humans.
Primary terrain: forests, mountains, savannas, plains.
Surface water coverage: 8%.
The planet’s surface is primordial, showing signs of severe tectonic activity.
Conclusion: The planet is habitable for human colonization, but its small scale cannot support long-term societal development.
Overall rating: B+.
An unknown anomaly has occurred in the hyperspace core.
The core is unresponsive.
Until contact is re-established, the mothership cannot jump.
Terminating cruise mode.
Initiating interstellar colonization protocols.
According to Chapter 7, Section 1 of the Interstellar Colonization Act, when the AI determines that colonization protocols can begin, it must awaken the Administrator.
The Administrator shall hold full authority over all colonization efforts.
Awakening Administrator.
Cryogenic revival sequence in progress.
Welcome, Administrator Daemon Kane.
Hearing someone call his name, Daemon Kane woke up from his deep slumber, his mind feeling as though it were about to burst.
The intense discomfort forced his eyes open.
He found himself in a pristine white room, lying inside a glass capsule that was narrow but remarkably comfortable.
A white light from an unseen source illuminated the space so perfectly that shadows were barely visible.
Unusual instruments lined the room, operated by automated mechanical arms, while a few potted plants stood in the corner to give the air a fresh quality.
Wherever this was, it certainly was not the budget hotel room where he had gone to sleep.
“What is going on?” Daemon Kane muttered to himself, looking around in utter confusion.
You are the Administrator of this vessel, Mr.
Daemon Kane.
During your hibernation, the system completed your administrative knowledge transfer.
We have arrived at a habitable planet.
Please determine whether to begin colonization protocols, an elegant, synthesized female voice announced.
“Who are you?
Where am I?”
I am the mothership’s core control computer.
You are currently in the living quarters of the vessel, specifically the Administrator’s private medical bay.
Once your consciousness has cleared, please proceed to the bridge.
If you require nutritional supplements, you may request them at any time.
“Mothership?
What mothership?”
This is a colossal colony ship equipped with a hyperspace core, designed for interstellar colonization.
All records regarding our civilization of origin have been lost.
This mothership now belongs to you.
Every citizen and crew member aboard considered it their highest honor to be chosen by you to join this voyage.
There are currently 600,000 citizens and 50,000 crew members in hibernation.
Should any emergency arise, crew members can be awakened immediately.
Every citizen and crew member has undergone rigorous selection and training, mastering various professions to serve the colony.
Furthermore, the vessel houses a massive embryo bank containing five billion human embryos.
Utilizing advanced biotechnology, their growth cycle can be compressed to just five years.
Now, the entire mothership and everyone aboard stand ready to serve you, Administrator.
Daemon Kane’s mind remained a tangled mess.
First came that bizarre dream where a voice forced a choice upon him, and now he woke up to find he was in command of a massive mothership.
A vessel capable of housing 650,000 people could not possibly be small.
He struggled to his feet and walked over to the mirror above the sink.
The reflection showed a pleasant, fairly handsome young man, though his face was entirely pale.
It was still his own face, but it looked meticulously cared for; his skin was smoother, and his hair and eyebrows were neatly trimmed, giving him a sharp appearance.
He wore a white uniform with gold trim along the wide collar, made of a soft, resilient material that felt weightless against his skin.
I traveled to another world?
The realization struck Daemon Kane like a thunderbolt.
His old life, his parents, his friends, everything had vanished into thin air.
He was entirely alone in an unknown universe.
The sheer weight of the realization made him stumble.
He lurched toward the sink, wanting to splash his face with cold water to clear his head, but the water that flowed out was perfectly warm.
He tried to lower the temperature, but he could not find a tap or switch on the seamless sink structure.
Frustration flared, and he slammed his palm against the mirror, leaving his hand stinging.
He stared at his bloodshot eyes in the reflection.
“Change the water temperature to cold.
No, make it ice cold!
You can do that, right, computer?”
I am the mothership’s core control computer.
You may refer to me as the Mainframe.
The water temperature has been adjusted.
Please enjoy.
The freezing water splashed over Daemon Kane’s face, cooling his panic and allowing him to piece things together.
The dream and this sudden displacement were clearly connected.
That mysterious voice had demanded a choice, and even if he had been dragged along without a proper answer, the voice had promised a reward.
Perhaps this mothership was that reward.
But why send him here?
Daemon Kane recalled the massive fleet battle from his dream.
The warships and starfighters belonged to Star Wars.
Did I really land in the Star Wars universe?
If that were true, in a galaxy where planets were blown apart at the slightest disagreement, even a massive colony ship would not be enough to guarantee survival.
Daemon Kane sat back down on the medical bed, staring blankly into space until the Mainframe spoke again.
Administrator, resources aboard the mothership are currently highly restricted.
If your body has recovered, please proceed to the bridge to take command.
If you are still experiencing medical issues, I will summon the medical staff immediately.
“No need.
Take me to the bridge, right now,” Daemon Kane said, letting out a slow sigh as he stood up.