Maximilian's eyes drifted down the sloping hills outside the Château de Vadòw in northern KRATOR. The ancestral home of the Ward dynasty for nearly a millenia, the old halls were once a comforting embrace on Maximilian's tired shoulders. Now, the drafts made his arthritis flare up and left him feeling ill. He spent most of his holidays and official business trips outside, on the sprawling grounds of the palace, hoping the fresh air would stave off the slow decline of age. He was turning 70 in a few years. His mind wandered to what his dreams showed him when he first became a man - the bright light of destiny shining down on the young man, inspiring his career in politics. He was so young then. He thought he'd be finished by now. But time, and the four terms as president, had taken a toll on his body. He wondered if it was too late to try at all.
His thoughts were interrupted by a truck pulling up to the gates. Flying official Hearthian flags, the truck was let in by the guards and slowly pulled up to the fountain in the center of the palace grounds.
Kanhead was short for a Kerbal. Looking too small for the vehicle he was in as he climbed out.
It could also have been that the Hearthian Engineers had once again botched their scaling. His helmet immediately fogged up from the humid winds that rolled through this part of the crater. With an entourage of three other kerbals, he waddled up to the small glass table with two seats Maximilian was sitting at.
"May the Eye guide." Kanhead said with a bow. "It is nice for me to visit you in this… wonderful weather."
Maximilian stared at the horizon still as the butler attending poured two cups of tea for them. Maximilian waved away the president's followers, as if amused they had bothered walking up at all, and replied:
"It's not always so nice here. Such luck falls upon us to meet today."
Kanhead sat down with all the grace and suave of a drunk elephant. He took a moment to smooth out his worn out flight suit. "So Mr. uhh… Your excellency? Majesty? Supreme Leader?"
- Screenshot 2026-08-26 012515.png (5.34 MiB) Viewed 50 times
"Just call me Max, there's no need for formality here."
"Right, uh... Max… so I’m going to get straight to the point here. We’ve found another one."
He pulled from his briefcase spectrograms, audio charts, and astronomical photos. Pictures that neither interested nor could be comprehended by Max.
"These sir - Max - are signals intercepted by the Exploration 1 mission. They're coming from an uninhabited section of the Laythian Ocean."
"And this means...?"
"Years ago, we found a probe that we think was older than the universe itself. It was emitting a signal that we could not fully decipher. Just days ago we discovered a matching signal emanating from Laythe. We believe that further study of this new signal could help us in our ongoing search"
"This is most interesting, our scientists have not. What do you need from us?"
Lord Kanhead shifted, uneasy and wringing his hands as he spoke. "We alone lack the resources to explore the depths of Laythe. We know of your ambitions to start a colony on that moon, so the Hearthian people humbly request to join the Confederacy. It's not been voted on in your assembly, and I know they can be slow to act but... if I could get you to put a good word in with them, we would like to join the Confederacy and pool our resources to mount a significant research expedition."
Maximilian set his cup of tea down on the table and leaned back. His signature black moustache greying twitched with thought.
"I have good news for your cause"
"What is that, Max?"
"The assembly is gone."
"What? How?"
"I disbanded it. I am acting under emergency powers and am for all purposes the sole authority of power in the Confederacy."
"Dear god… well does that at least simplify my proposal?"
"I will let you join. But I want you to do something for me."
Kanhead looked puzzled at the ease of which Maximilian agreed. "What would that be?"
"The days of the Confederacy are numbered. The people have for too long thought power rests in the hands of the parliament and the elected bureaucrats that line the stingy offices of that terrible building Grail built back in the 21st century. The whole place reeks of geriatrics and decay."
"Where are you going with this?"
"The Confederacy is a sick man, which ails from the most dreaded of all ailments - obsolescence. Look around the world today, and see that no one is truly free. I have spent nearly two decades as a leader and for what? Has anyone's life gotten any better? Have disease and poverty been destroyed? No. Has war ended? If anything, it is healthier than ever. I charge every member of the Confederacy guilty of the most heinous crime that one can commit. They are guilty of a wasted life. A wasted country. The whole system needs to return to a more... elegant solution."
He looked around at the grounds of his estate, gesturing as Kanhead watched. "This place was built by people who could neither do arithmetics or tell the time with any degree of accuracy. They could neither predict the weather nor build beyond stone and wood, and yet their way of life withstood a thousand years of struggle. The Emperors of old stood with iron grip and led the nation through the best and worst times with the power and authority only divine right can give. Now, it is our turn to lead."
Kanhead did not appear to be fully comprehending what Maximilian was getting at. Maximilian stood up and grabbed Kanhead by the shoulders. "I need YOU to swear it to me, when the time comes, soon, you will stand with me and make this continent great.
Kanhead looked up and in that moment, saw the commanding and terrifying presence of Maximilian, drawing his sword and awash in golden light. A sense of dread filled his mind. Another dictator? One more tyrant on Kerbin? But he knew the search for the Eye was more important. Nothing was more important than the search.
“You swear to me, Maximilian Ward-Vikus, Heir to the Throne of Drekevak, your loyalty, and rise as the First Knight of the future Emperor!”
[writing credit goes to both me and Zeke. He wrote most of it and I made edits]
