UGT (Unified Galactic Time): 9th Revol (July) 280 a.G.A. (after Galactic Armistace) / 4:54 p.m.

  Location: City of Kharon's Reach, Au'Shalis Prime, Clinton's Beak system (red dwarf), Republic of Nox, Second Human Federation, Milky Way

  The holoscreen in front of him made it quite clear just how bad the situation in the system was. What remained of the once-proud Au’Shalis ringworld was a lattice of broken fragments drifting around the red dwarf star in a mostly stable orbit. On another holoscreen, Commander Selian Tharos ad Astra de Virelion-Kaelis could see Aetherian drones in permanent motion, silver motes threading along invisible paths, dragging girders and shattered spires into new alignments. Piece by piece, they pulled at what was once the pride of Au'Shalis, the citadel of reason, art, and dominion. Now it was a carcass under reconstruction, and he its lone caretaker. The Central Core called this process structural recovery. Selian called it resurrection.

  Another holoscreen flickered alive in front of him the moment he gave the mental command, this one showing the latest orbital corrections to the other ringworld fragments. Magnetic tethers arced between two segments of the inner framework, fusing together with arcs of ionized light. He was quite lucky that the micro-technology implanted in his head still worked even after a millennia of cryostasis. Otherwise interfacing with the Aetherian systems would've become quite a bother. But luckily, Aetherian Productions truly prided themselves on the quality of their work. Their technology wouldn't stop working after a mere millennia.

  [ The Au'Shalis Delta alignment is within acceptable parameters. Yield strength lies at 72% and the structural cohesion is stable. ]

  It spoke without emotion, but its precision carried something close to satisfaction. The Central Core was slowly but surely working on realigning the different fragments that once formed the Au'Shalis ringworld into one greater whole again. A project they had already worked on for over 40 days. Without any space-capable ships he stood no hope of defending space forever. Just the Aetherian drones the Central Core commanded wouldn't be enough and the Clinton's Beak system lacked the necessary resources to build truly powerful Aetherian warships.

  That wouldn't be a problem in the long-term of course. For the Aetherian Empire, it wasn't an impossibility to create everything they could need just from energy. But building the necessary infrastructure would take months and the production as well. He would not trust that this so-called 'Second Human Federation' decided against sending reinforcements to shut his reclamation down. No, it was better to centralize the ringworld into a single functioning defensive grid again, instead of risking its fragments being picked off one by one. The risk of that was minimal, but it was not zero. And when he already fought for the legacy of a destroyed Empire, he should remain as risk averse as possible.

  "Proceed to reinforce the curvature," he replied. "Also begin rerouting secondary power conduits to feed the outer skeletal nodes. I want the rotation sequence tested within two days."

  [ Affirmative, Commander. ]

  Her acknowledgment faded into the hum of the machinery. Selian allowed himself a quiet breath. It was lucky that the Central Core was willing to follow his orders. She didn't need to, strictly speaking. But she was quite adamant about keeping the only living Aetherian she had access to in the loop, and he was thankful for that. His gaze slid to the next holoscreen that flickered to live with a mental command, this one showing security footage of the half-built arc below.

  The humans that had dared to call the fragments of this great Aetherian ringworld their home worked there, tiny dots against the white glare of the construction lights. Across the entire system they managed to make more than 1.4 million prisoners that could be reasonably put to work. They had been taken when his robot army swept through the system after the Federation’s retreat. He could not feed them all comfortably, not yet, but their hunger made them pliable and in exchange for their work, he made sure the humans that were too young, too old, or sick got the best care he could reasonably give them.

  Most humans in the system were engineers, miners, and technicians. Imperfect and lacking in understanding of Aetherian technology, but capable enough to do simpler tasks. Under Aetherian guidance, they became an expendable workforce. Not slaves, of course. That was decidedly not their way. Tools were maintained, refined, and rewarded in accordance with their performance. It wasn't like the Aetherian civilization allowed something like that to happen in peaceful times or stable regions of the Aetherian Empire. But they did allow the use of 'external elements' for the preservation of civilization in times of an 'existential threat to local stability'. The Federation would have called it cruelty, slavery and maybe even torture. To him, it was a temporary necessity.

  He descended to the lower command tiers hours later, the doors opening into the main coordination hall, once an Aetherian council chamber, now filled with scaffolding and the hiss of welding torches. Two overseer automata awaited him, their bodies encased in polished silver armor etched with the insignia of the ASST. They stood motionless until he approached. "Status," he demanded.

  The left automaton turned its head, photoreceptors glowing faint blue. "Human workforce efficiency: 84%. Minor resistance in Sector Three. Containment drones dispatched."

  "Resistance?"

  The automaton transferred a fragment of visual data, which Commander Selian instantly threw on the holoscreen. It showed a cluster of humans huddled near the ore lift, refusing to work after one of their own collapsed. A single warning burst from a drone’s shock projector had sent them scrambling back to their duties. "Central Core, can you hear me?" Selian asked.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  [ Loud and clear, Commander. ]

  "Reduce labor rotations by one hour," he ordered. "If possible, reduce the rationing and check on everyone who collapses due to weakness. We are more civilized than to trample the lives of perfectly subservient vassals due to negligence. As long as they don't resist, no harm is to befall them due to us. If we expect them to help rebuild the bones of Au’Shalis for us, they must be treated accordingly to make that goal possible."

  [ I am well aware of our laws Commander, do not worry. As long as they don't revolt, the automata will not act with lethal force. However, I must advise you that we lack the proper resources to rebuild the food plants that were destroyed when we took over the ringworld fragments. We'll need to continue rationing for at least a few more months until we have a steady supply flowing again. ]

  "Just do whatever you can reasonably do," Commander Selian ordered before continuing his walk along the edge of the chamber, past the suspended view of the ringworld’s horizon. He knew well how the human mind worked, for the First Human Federation had been the closest thing to an actual ally the Aetherian Empire ever had.

  Just like the Aetherians, humans adapted incredibly quickly. Give them a purpose, a system, even the illusion of reward, and they would build empires for their masters. That alone however wouldn't have ever made them worth the trouble to suppress their notions of freedom and democracy. No, they'd had better uses as loyal partners than as a part of the Aetherian Empire. It was unfortunate that fate had now turned them into enemies.

  [ Commander Selian, the energy output from the reactors that the Federation didn't blow up when they realized they're losing has stabilized. We can begin reactivating the central manufactories, at least the ones on Au'Shalis Prime and Alpha. I recommend prioritizing weapons foundries over habitation decks. Based on everything we got out of the FSF personnel that we managed to catch alive, as well as the things we managed to decrypt, they will be back soon. Survival demands it. ]

  He smiled faintly, hands clasped behind his back while staring into the distance. "You are correct in that assumption. A civilization without defenses will die before it can rebuild its homes. It will never gain the power it needs to see through with their goals. And in this particular case I still need to find the Inheritor one day. At least if that Ascendant AI isn't faster than me."

  [ I think it would do you good to remember that I am far older than you are Commander. I know all of that. You really should try to rein in your monologues. And statistically speaking it is unlikely that either you or Naori will meet the Inheritor any time soon. We are trapped in this system, and Naori's directives are decidedly different from what you hoped. ]

  It was not meant as mockery, but the subtle echo of judgment in the Central Core's tone irritated him. " That is what worries me the most," he said evenly. "What I am doing right now? This is reclamation. The humans and their Federations occupy what was once ours. We built the skeleton of this galaxy, they are merely draping themselves upon it. I will not let the Aetherian name vanish into myth while these lesser empires squabble over our ruins. All of that, however, is worth very little should that damn girl meet her end in her reckless push forward. We can only hope for the best."

  [ Based on what I found out during the Inheritor's stay here, you shouldn't overly worry. While she is more than willing to throw herself into danger, she has a capable AI at her side and a good head on her shoulders. Together with the Aetherian technology under her command, even if outdated, she should be safe as long as she doesn't do something stupid. ]

  "Good. It's not like we can change anything, so we should simply put our trust into the Inheritor. Now divert ten percent of drone labor to mining operations. The ring’s core veins hold sufficient raw mass to begin reconstruction of our armament platforms. The humans can handle the smelting under supervision."

  The exchange ended, leaving him in silence once more. That silence stretched through the days that followed. His existence had become a ritual that repeated itself time and time again. Command, evaluate, repair, command again. The Central Core and he formed a strange partnership, logic and will entwined in mutual necessity. Never before the fall of the Aetherian Empire had he exchanged more than a few sentences with her. He was a soldier, not an accountant. It had never been his responsibility. Now all of that had changed.

  Most of his time he spent in the city of Kharon's Reach, close to the Central Core. He spent his rest cycles in one of the surviving Aetherian audience chambers of the old Au'Shalis capital city, a hall of obsidian and silver veins, its walls marked by murals of the Aetherian Empire. Figures of light and shadow danced across the metallic reliefs, great Aetherian minds who had repeatedly done what everyone thought impossible, both in the field of research, but also in military victories. Sometimes he felt like they stared down at him like silent judges. He often wondered what they would think of him now, most likely the last of the Virelion-Kaelis line, reduced to rebuilding from rubble with the hands of another species. What must these great figures think of their descendants, who had let the glorious empire they had once built and protected fall into such a state?

  It took longer than he had wanted it to, but the reconstruction finally reached the next phase. The Central Core had finally managed to get the orbit stabilizers active. Together with the recalibration of the gravity systems, they had finally regained everything they needed to start merging the ringworld fragments into a proper shape around the star again. When the massive outline of Au'Shalis Beta had closed in on Au'Shalis Prime it had been quite the piece of work to convince the humans that everything was going according to plan and that they were only preparing to reconnect the two pieces of the ancient ringworld with each other.

  When the ringworld pieces actually connected, a small tremor ran through the entire fragment. The humans were awed by what they saw, and he could entirely understand why less advanced species would look at what Aetherian technology could accomplish in little to no time like that. For the first time in many cycles, he allowed himself a sense of progress. Perhaps, in time, they could restore at least this one system to its former glory, a fragment of living Aetherian space, where industry and war could once more flow like blood.

  Still, Commander Selian had other things to do. He had the Central Core scour the Aetherian archives, trying to secure as much Aetherian knowledge as possible from the ancient ruins. He didn't know how many of the ancient archives survived, but he would not risk the cultural heritage of the Aetherian people just because he lacked the foresight to secure what little he could still source locally. The Aetherian population was most likely nearly wiped out. He expected less than a million Aetherians to still lie in cryostasis somewhere across the entire galaxy. And an Empire was more than just a name and a species. It was also an identity. He would not see this identity get lost."