Eternal Gothic Empire in threat

The bright days turned black, when the news spread from one corner to the other throughout the Eternal Gothic Empire. Alaric the Supreme Emperor was frowning and in the most miserable state since long. He thought of his Empire…being strong united and never expected terrorist complots in one of his farthest planets. These terrorists tried to make a coup on the planet. They were able to paralyze the military over there and cut most of the communication with the central planet of the Eternal Gothic Empire. The Far Beyond Telling Horizon, the place where that happened, was never considered as important region to Alaric. The further the place, the less he actually cared for it. But he thought of himself as good, kind and strong emperor. He subconsciously used these far regions to let his prestige skyrocket. Commoners never had the glimpse of a chance to go so far…or well they’d spend a huge amount of time travelling there.

Alaric was in his black clothes and his imperial cape waiting for the generals Siegfried and Winfried. They’d probably already be in his gigantic palace. The palace was a huge place. It was grey outside and had a very Roman, yet modern look. It encompassed the size of 100km2. It was a megalomaniac building and it took more than 100 years to build it. Inside the palace there are almost 200’000 people living inside. Only a minority is the imperial staff per se. Others who live there are family members from nearby and far away. Other people are employed by staff or needed by them. It’s like a self-sustaining small economy. The top administration resides in there. You need to get driven through the palace structure. There were gardens, polar, tropical, beach, wooden, hill and mountainous areas. There was EVERYTHING… The palace marked the most prestigious era of the Gothic time and was the peak moment of it. As usual all visitors get impressed by the monstrous sight and the generals had few opportunities to spend time in there. But when they had to spend time, it was for important orders.

When Alaric got the news he had to contact his best generals. They were the two highest generals in the ranks of the Gothic Army. The Emperor Alaric prided himself with their prestige. Obviously he could do so as it was since eternity where the Emperor pf the Goths could do so. It was a tradition dating further back than even the birth of Theodoric the Great. Every emperor could take credit from others, but in return these people were compensated. This system eventually became accepted, spread globally and later was introduced to new planets. And nobody complained so far.

The Supreme Emperor went in circles with his hands behind his back and thought of this situation quiet thoroughly. He looked at one of many portraits of his dynasty; the Amal dynasty which ruled for a legendary and long time. They were true rulers and in times of need he looked up at them.

The generals came and Alaric gave them his order and discussed in detail about the situation. He was a very independent ruler; he tried to make his own picture of the situation, which made him quiet popular. Many people could identify with that, since they never liked emperors who used too many advisors or never showed off at any place. After the discussion was almost over, Alaric made some things very clear.

'Sigh Generals, you have my utter trust.' He smiled at them,' I put my confidence in your hands and if it wasn't for you, the word 'Eternal' would be removed from the Eternal Gothic Empire. So you can assume I have high expectations. Meet them and I’ll reward you and you'll be the prime example of deepest loyalty within my realm. Fail and you will disappoint billions of people.'

'Yes Supreme Emperor, we won't let you down.'

'Show them what it means to insult the empire and show them that the word eternal has its rightful place within my realm'.

The Emperor truly believed in everything he said. For him, his reign was equal to prosperity. The continuous struggle for global dominance since long was the motor that drove Gothic expansion. After the colonization of the Alpha Centauri system by his ancestor Wilgiric the Glorious, the Gothic Empire saw a new age of prosperity never seen and never recorded before! They never suffered from rebellions and the most serious rebellions dates back long ago when the Gothic Empire was divided. Then Alaric got taken back the reality after general Winfried spoke.

'Supreme Emperor! May I allow myself to ask you about the provision, supply and how many divisions and ships will be assigned under our order?', asked Winfried.

'You will order a big fleet of about 5'000 interplanetary ships, about 2'000 interstellar chasers and I will personally hand over to you about one fourth of the imperial elite fortresses. Manpower? I'd say one billion including 10% of our elite warriors.'

'Thanks for your great planning supreme emperor. We won't let you down and destroy the enemy without mercy,' announced Siegfried with fake enthusiasm.

'No, listen...first I want you to infiltrate with some of our men...I already have some spies in the place and once you are on your way you will get further instructions from them...However if you think of them as not good or even as stupid I allow you to act against them. You will be excused for all losses as I prepared a temporary imperial decree.

Oftrehn!,' ordered Alaric.

A fierce yes supreme emperor was shouted and both generals marched off. They were immediately brought to the Imperial Head Quarters where some parts of the forces and ships were prepared.

'Generals, our brothers and sisters from the other systems will meet you halfway to The Far Beyond Telling Horizon. Please notice that there are about 10-12 stony clouds and one nebula also notice that our knowledge from the far beyond telling horizon is not concluded to 100% be cautious.', informed the military leader advisor.

'Hmmm I see we can choose the faster risky way or the other longer less risky way...too bad we don't have teleportation yet...arghhh.' Complained Winfried

'Listen Winfried if my estimation from previous experiences may be right we are there in like one week. Every ship has now the faster than imaginary matter speed module.', argued Siegfried.

'I am aware of it... but remember one day, two days can be quiet long and if the loyalists lose ground over there I don't want to know what could happen. We must save our Gothic brothers and sisters from these terrorists, they already paralyzed parts of the military there and we can’t let them down!'

Winfried became quiet angry and saw his job actually more in a way of taking responsibility of the people. He saw the role as a warrior and general to protect the innocent and weak. It was in tradition to the old legends that the Goths teach at school and still talk about until these days.

After preparations were done Winfried, Siegfried and a big number of Earth forces flew out. After they reached Pluto, which acted as sector station, they took more equipment and made last checks until some minutes later the green light was given and they could maximize their speed. During this travel their boarding computer calculated all possible ways in order to avoid objects or just destroyed them. The magnetic field could also just push or destroy any obstacle. The forces from the Theodoric, Alpha Centauri, New Gothia and Amalsuntha stellar system all met them during their way. So far everything went as planned and both generals had nothing to worry about. However, their concern was, why would the Supreme Emperor send such a huge fleet and so many warriors?

'Hmmmpf I guess he wants to make a show again... God he really likes to show off doesn't he?', asked Winfried.

Siegfried replied that he agreed and he couldn’t understand it but at the end he is the emperor and these terrorists were not to underestimate. Indeed, they have the advantage to be so far away, to have less infrastructure then other planets. The terrorists have their advantage. Communication was very thin and sporadic.

This question was something that kept him awake all these nights. He also went to the simulator room to check where and how the terrorists advanced. Based on several outcomes and discussions with the military staff they agreed on a first plan. The emperor’s ideas, though questioned, were included in the first plan. This first plan saw the split of the forces, first there would be an infiltration attempt for several hours, the other ships would use anti-sensor technology to suppress any trace of them. Later on loyalists would be regrouped, people in need temporarily deported to a safer spot and the rest of the forces would then come in several waves.

However, some parts had to be changed. As stated by supreme Emperor Alaric they got messages from his spies. The imperial spies explained how the faction was very sovereigntist and seeking independence by all means from the Eternal Gothic Empire. The loyalist forces were not only paralyzed but almost completely wiped out. Some deserted, out of opportunism or because they actually believed in these ideas.  The spies gave them some coordination over time, which were still largely controlled by loyalist forces. Nonetheless supply was cut as was communication as well.

‘Warriors! Listen up. As I see it…it will be worthless to send such a huge army. I propose that only the elite as well as some of our staff will go first and then try to annex key points and try to dismantle or block sensors from the planet. Unfortunately, our brothers and sisters report that there are only few places…that are hold by the loyalists. The rest is totally conquered and the forces were wiped out or deserted. Dear warriors…we have a very unique situation here and we can’t just send all our army without knowing for real what’s going on. The spies can’t do more, because they might get caught if they communicate extensively and they are right now in their first stage of undercover process. ANY communication right now with them is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!’

The words of Siegfried were tough to swallow.

‘Warriors! I require half of the elite troops going with me. Moreover, I order their staff to come with us. We will take the undercover ship and try to land on loyalist ground. For the rest I announce that you will listen to what our brother Fritighern. He will lead you in case we all die, understood?’, shouted Winfried.

A storm of yes sir shouts echoed on all the ship and through the communication devices. Siegfried and Winfried asked all the ships to stay behind two stellar systems, that were covered by the nebula. They took a small percentage of the fleet and the fiercest and strongest warriors with them. As they were more flexible now they reached a last (surprising) message of a spy.
‘Coordination 49 45 N, 6 10 E is safe, land on there…the rest is a disaster… brothers and sisters are…ped or t…rtured or even mu…ered. We have even traitors in our OWN ranks. A fifth column be careful my brave brothers. BOOOOOOOM…ttttrsssshhhhhhhhshshshshshshshsshhshsshshh…’
Though, the elite was the best army of the known universe so far, they learned what the word fear means. They never were truly confronted with such a moment and never thought of having 5^th column in their own ranks. It was highly demotivating and building distrust, as well as anger.

The main forces were now two star systems behind and slowly but surely tried to encircle the Far Beyond Telling Horizon. They could be detected or not…at this point nobody really knew what they had to await. After a signal the main forces would then advance. When communication fails for 1 week, they would be required to go on their offensive mode and bomb, ravage and attack ruthlessly as Alaric legalised that for this specific situation.
The ships could land after some time undetected on the location which was given by the spy. The ships had a specific option build which allowed them to be undetected. They became way slower than imaginary matter speed as a consequence, but could land very safely without losses. Remaining planetary loyalist forces gathered around. The spy, who goes by the name Ricimar, was awaiting them.
‘Golein! Golein! Great you are here. I’m so glad our Supreme Emperor gave the command for you to come here. Such a relief to see you here brothers. Our brothers and sisters beyond some hundred kilometres… they are totally overrun by these filthy terrorists! Our enemy was even within our own group…within our own group…it is horrible!’, explained Ricimar.

‘Golein, brother Ricimar. We must stop from being too emotional, it will just weaken us within right now. Please give our elite troops all information you have. Where is the simulation room over here? We absolutely have to neutralize key points…the terrorists spread too fast and we must take them extremely serious’, said Winfried.

‘Alright… this situation is even for me, with all my experiences and my current rank too difficult to understand. I can just say…it took everyone by surprise. Funnily enough, a big amount of the civil population supports it as well, which I never saw before. Many of our planetary elite soldiers joined their cause…I can’t understand.’
‘Right, right, we are not here to understand anything now. We must now neutralize key points and advance as fast as possible with our plans. People are dying there in this chaos caused by these anarchists. We have to save them and never forget the Supreme Emperor and billions of people are putting all their hopes in our hands.’

Everyone went straight to the point to the simulation room. High ranking military leaders were discussing the issue and under constant time pressure. Many messages passed about frontlines falling down, ships being stolen, not working, lack of ammunition etc.

Thereupon a soldier arrived, all devastated and totally exhausted. He was without any permission and screamed he had an important message and had to deliver it fast. When he came he fell with his head on the table, leaving a blood mark on it. The warriors took him and asked him if he was okay.
‘Brothers we have a serious problem. I’m afraid that…this was just the beginning…’

Gothia/Amalingian Empire

The first turning point for Gothia was the battle of Vouillé in 507. The Visigoths fought against the Franks. With the help of Burgundy and the Ostrogoth, the war turned into white peace. Alaric II and his son survived. The Ostrogoth launched a surprise attack through the Alps, which forced the Franks to retreat. After the death of Theodoric a regency was formed for his grandson. The mother Amalasuntha and the king of the Visigoths Alaric II were part of the regency. Sine Alaric II was respected and since Theodoric wished Amalasuntha to be part of the regency, there was little to no opposition leaving both Gothic kingdoms stable. First step for the unification was done. The Byzantines, only retook Exarchatus Africa, continued their endless wars with the Sassanid Empire and left Italy alone.

The 530s brought many changes. The pope, as well as the Senate, feared Justinian the Great and saw him as threat. Alaric II understood this and tried to use the pope and the Senate in his favour. Alaric tried to adopt Catholicism step by step to win the pope and the Latin majority in both kingdoms for himself. It was met with opposition by many Arian Gothic nobles. The Goths lost wars and were in intern trouble for some years. Eventually in the 540s they united and the plague was less devastating for the Italian peninsula, as there never was a war with Byzantium to begin with.

Around 550s-570s the unified kingdom of Gothia conquered almost all of Iberia. The new Gothic king would be officially proclaimed Emperor; thus the Gothia/Amalingian Empire (Amal = his dynasty) was born. In the 590s Gothia participated in a war against Byzantium, which made them a dominant power in the Western Mediterranean. Years later they allied themselves with Breton kingdoms and took on the Franks. Through extensive fights and an alliance with Heraclius (who ruled separated from Constantinople’s authority), the Amalingian Empire made considerable improvements in warfare technology. During the Arab invasions (much smaller than in our timeline), they were able to repel them by the use of Greek fire. From the 680’s onwards to 700’s they took more or less indirect control of North Africa. They promised to protect the Exarchate of Africa from the Arabs.

The Vikings in the North didn’t bother the Amalingian Empire too much. The Gothic marine could handle them with ease, as they continuously improved Greek fire methods on sea. But the power grip on the Frankish/Celtic/Slavic borderlands weakened, resulting in powerful local dukes and a feudalism-like system for these regions. The rest stayed very centralized, much as Byzantium. Despite their stable situation, their army was never neglected, as it was the duty of almost every subject to be a good soldier. Cavalry was largely used, which helped them to fend off the Hungarians, Pechengs, spontaneous Arab mercenaries or the Mongols from their Empire. Their core land could evolve continuously and technology advanced in many areas. Intern trade was never interrupted and there were continuous international routes from the British Isles to Sahara.

Due to constant wars between Byzantium and New Persia, trade from Asia was very limited. This lead the Gothia in 1200s and 1300s to expand on the seas. Hearing from ‘Vinland’ and retaining many maps from antiquity, they established a trade system similar to the one of OTL Portugal. They competed with Great Brittany, Jutiea and Norse kingdom for colonies. In the Old World, they were in a permanent Cold War with Byzantium and the Franks, who solidified in the 1500’s, became a strong rival.

Gothic allies were mostly found eastwards, like New Persia or Polska-Rus. The Americas were never totally conquered, comparable to today’s India, but the Goths established Fidusism in there (similar to feudalism). Native countries promised to pay the Goths, while getting protection in return.

There were less wars, then in our world but more devastating ones. The worst wars, were World War 1 and World War 2 mostly initiated by the Franks, who lost. The Amalingian Empire expanded steadily. A multipolar Cold War followed, where Byzantium, Polsko-Rus, New Persia and the Amalingian Empire lead loose alliances. In the 2000’s Gothia saw violent political tensions, between Loyalists, Christian Fanatics, Democrats, Fascists, Imperialists, Republicans, Latin/Germanic/Celtic separatists and technocrats. Afterwards, it became clear that the Fascists, Imperialists and technocrats ‘won’ the tensions, which lead the Amalingian Empire to an unknown path. People predict, that the Amalingian Empire will conquer the world and become an interstellar empire in the far future.