A Death in the Family

Chapter i

In the year 2157, Humanity found its place among the stars. Scientists found a way to manipulate the space-time continuum and send space-faring vessels to far away star systems within years instead of centuries. Each great nation on the Motherworld (as post-Earth colonists began to call her) sent their own probes and teams into the great beyond, seeking a new planet on which to plant a seed and begin anew. By the turn of the millennium, dozens of planets capable of sustaining life as we know it were discovered, and the Interstellar Colonization Treaty of 2214 guaranteed those planets to the nations that discovered them. Colonization began, and new ideals created new forms of governments, causing periods of revolutionary war between a few countries and their colonies. The United Kingdom, however, had learned its lessons from the colonization of the Americas...

The Royal Space Agency had discovered three planets within two months travel of each other, and within 17 months of the Motherworld. The usual arguments of freedoms and land ownership and religions dominated the requests of citizens seeking fresh starts on new worlds, and by 2239, an agreement was stuck. The Northern Alliance, consisting mostly of Irish and Scottish citizens was granted the privilege to colonize the first world and create their own government, free from the ideals and philosophies of the United Kingdom. The second planet became the property of a varied group of British citizens, who wished to preserve certain aspects of British society, but exclude the Monarchy. The final planet, however, was granted by Parliament to the throne, and select groups of elite citizens, scientists, farmers, ranchers, architects and so on journeyed to the new world in an attempt to return the crown to its glory days of the First British Empire. This planet became known as Planet Britain, and it became the shining jewel of the three planets that make up the patch of the galaxy that soon became known as Greater Britain. These three worlds shared a common trade agreement and currency, which made Greater Britain some of the most successful colonies in the galaxy.

Although widely expected to be an elitists' kingdom for the rich for famous (and an utter failure), Planet Britain indeed became a world of Renaissance, with traditional 19th century architecture mixed with modern technology and flavor. The planet flourished, with several thousand applications being submitted yearly from colonists of other planets and citizens of the Motherworld. While the Planetary Parliament made laws and kept taxation in check, the monarchy took on a larger role within the political structure of the planet. The world itself became entirely self-sufficient; actually exporting more goods to other worlds than it imported. The poverty and unemployment rate was a minimal 3%, and although crime existed everywhere in the galaxy, Planet Britain's crime and murder rate was among the lowest of all inhabited worlds. A lot of this was attributed to the fact that no firearms were permitted on the fledgling planet (It was determined that outlawing firearms wasn't enough, they had to be prohibited from the very beginning). The planet did have a military, but it was restricted to the three-dozen orbiting space stations that strategically surrounded the globe; with training and wargames taking place on the system's other uninhabited planets. Hunting was allowed in certain sections of the wilds, but only with primitive bows or spears; which indeed attracted eager sportsmen from any planet within three months travel. Citizens were allowed to carry knives for self-protection, which lead to an entire fashion industry for intricate blades and jeweled scabbards.

By the Year of the Motherworld 2335, Planet Britain was a fully functional world, surpassing colony status by having 7 major cities on its three continents and boasting a population of nearly 9 million people.

***

Suri Kymata sat with her eyes closed in silent meditation, as the imported incense filled the room with a musky flavor. She sat in the middle of her personal dojo, made from the many varied hardwoods found in the wilds. The walls around her simulated the rice-paper squares that were found in many ancient Asian cultures, but in reality they were a semi-translucent white wood imported from the planet of the Northern Alliance. The chi tea sat steaming on the floor where she sat with her legs crossed. Each of the four walls contained a weapon rack, which boasted everything from traditional Japanese katanas to Scottish claymores. As she gracefully reached down to retrieve her tea, she felt and heard the light, but still obvious footsteps of her assistant, Michelle McAllister. She sat quietly; fully aware of Michelle's presence at the open door before she finally acknowledged it. "I assume you have something for me, Ms. McAllister?" She asked in perfectly enunciated English.