Prelude Part 2: Terra Aeturnus (2100-2200)
As Humanity entered it's second century on mars the expectations were high among those less taken with 'Imperial' romanticism for the Holy Roman Empire to fall apart, as it had on earth were fairly high. Mars itself however was prospering thanks to the untapped resources of the red planet. The Red Planet had vast deposits of Iron and other materials allowing more construction and and thus more space. Like in America back on earth not having to build atop old cities had allowed architects to reach the sky yet again.
The Succession Crisis Never came, Julius' Second Eldest, Alexandria Anniona had sidestepped her Elder bastard brother and other siblings and seized the throne through use of the military. The Move triggered what would amount to a small civil way as the various cities subjugated under Julius' conquest revolted and were subsequently put down.
Perhaps in a stroke of luck, Alexandria had proven to be more sane, restoring the Senate and house of Commons as an elected body (Though still with no real Power). She would continue to formalize the merging of Church and Emperor, taking the title Empress of Mars and Earth, Supreme Pontiff and leader of the Imperial Faith. Military ranks were formalized into so the called "Alexandrian' System, formalizing non knightly fighting men as Legionnaires with more traditional ranks harkening back to the days back on earth. Knight's were organized into formal orders with the various Knight Commanders at a head.
(The ISS Savannah over Mercury)
In Space, Alexandria's military reforms formalized Holy Roman spaceborne craft under the Imperial Space Command (ISC) though it would still be referred to as the Imperial Fleet or Imperial Navy depending on the context. Ships themselves were organized and each given the ISS prefix meaning Imperial Star Ship.
By 2160 however Empress Alexandria had fallen Ill and resigned to throne to her only son, Emperor Romulus I. Romulus however was rather simple as his mother had been forced to abide by Julius' laws regarding before his death. 'Pure' Blood had a tendency in Annionias to produce one of three things, a Genius, a complete lunatic, or imbeciles though sometimes it would be a mix between two. Luckily for the Empire, Romulus was only simple, and a bit eccentric. having a rather uneventful reign as his Uncles Claudius and Lorenzo did much of the ruling of the Empire while the Emperor went on various private adventurers.
The only real notable achievement would be Romulus' restoration of the Chinese system of of inheritance. The system was likely not proposed to designed by Romulus but his uncles and had been devised a means to cover up the Emperor's more personal crusades, the old House laws remained intact but now Emperors and Empresses of the Empire would have a small genetically screened Harem to produce heirs and save the Line from a repeat of what happened in Medieval times.
Governing the Red Planet fell mostly to the responsibilities of Imperial Council. The Senate and House of commons like back in the days of old earth exists mostly to rubber stamp actions the Emperor and his Chancellor put forth and held little to no power themselves. The Idea of representation while not enough for some was enough of an effort to keep the people happy so long as they believed the government was acting in their best interest. Propaganda was of course a vital part in maintaining, good times following the reign of Julius and Alexandria helped as well and for the most part the unified Martial government continued to function fairly well all things considered, at least for the moment.
By 2170 the long road to transform Mars into a second earth was now coming to an end. The Red Planet had turned green, a veritable paradise for the lucky few who managed to flee earth and spread across the world. By 2180, the Population of Mars was approaching 4 Billion and had shown no signs of stopping as Imperial domestic policy since the reign of Julius actively encouraged families to have as many children as possible. Such a growth rate however was unsustainable, Mars was smaller than earth after all. More people also meant more unrest, and the Holy Roman Empire had a spotty record in putting down rebellions quickly and cleanly in the past.
In the realm of science what had occurred was nothing short of a Miracle. The Original 'Gabriel' craft recovered on earth had been milked for all its worth, and yet how it arrived at Earth and how long the Journey must have taken puzzled scientists for decades. Hoffenburg's law had stated that no object could go faster than the speed of light and yet gabriel had seemed to have not endured a long space flight.
Since that point humanity had made great strides in other fields, discovering Fusion, and mastered electromagnetics and yet the mysterious Alien engine remained. Then apprentice physicist Anders Quinitus had an epiphany when playing with his son. If enough gravity could be generated a specific point, it could warp space around that point and allow for interstellar travel.
The Prometheus Drive, as it would later base called was, in a sense pair of Fusion Reactors powering a large electromagnetic chamber which would be filled with various heavy elements. The Resulting fusion would produce an artificial gravity and with the proper ship design could allow a ship to 'pull' itself through space as opposed to traditional 'push' style of transportation. The drive had problems of course, as interference from the gravity well of a star meant it could not run optimally and true 'warp' speeds couldn't be achieved.
In 2183 the ISS Britannia equipped with an Experimental Prometheus drive successfully reached alpha centauri and returned in a week. The event had effectively shattered notions that Humanity would be trapped forever in local system. It would now reach for the galaxy itself.
2200, would bring the resignation of Emperor Romulus and the ascension of Princess Elyria Anniona, to the throne. Elyria was in short, a celebrity throughout the Empire, loved by the Imperial Establishment and people alike. Like her people, Elyria was young, and naive and yet like her great grandfather had inherited the spark that had made the house great.
Upon her Coronation, Elyria announced the official end of the Roman Empire and the old vestiges of the Past. Earth, Human, Imperial these were but names to be cast aside. After all, The Past was dead burned away by the rapture, there was now only the Terran, and their Eternal Holy Empire. May it reign for Ten Thousand Years.
Long Live Terra, Long Live the Terran, Long Live House Anniona.
