First Attempt - Stahl. -not to be used-

STAHL

While the story of the United Stars of the Galaxies is the story of many, no one doubts it would have been a very different story if it weren't for one pre astro Terran marine.

His name like no other is spoken with an almost religious pride by Union citizens; and with open fear and respect even by the Unions greatest enemies.

They call him the Eternal Soldier, the Eternal Warrior, the Fist of the Union; those who wore uniform as members of the armed forces, call him the Old Man, but to everyone he always was Admiral Richard Stahl.

The year is 6220 OTT and for this paper I like to stick to Old Terran Time instead of using official Standard Time. (Not that anyone really uses OST anyway.)

I am Par Veew, Professor Par Veew of the New Cambridge University on New Cambridge. I am a history scholar and I am a Leedei.

The Union will celebrate its 4000th birthday in only four month during Union Week.

As one of the foremost experts on the subject of Union History, I was asked by the Hive of Minds to write a paper in honor of this momentous occation.

I pondered for almost a year now just what to write? What would be the core of my presentation?

Should I focus on the fact that the United Stars of the Galaxies changed its official designation and was now called the Union, as it was unofficially known almost since it was founded in 2220? Should I talk about the victory over the Tomradi? A war and battle that secured Union safety in the entire Local Group.

Perhaps the official decommission of the last Lyrec class battle ship?

All these were recent events and while these were hailed as historical milestones, they were insignificant to the whole picture.

We Leedei were Union Members now for almost 2000 years, and not even the mystic Armu-Leed opposed our membership anymore. In fact you could get into a fierce argument with those ancient Psi Warriors saying something critical about Leedei Union Membership.

Yet 1500 years ago, they were opposed to Leedei joining the Union.

Four thousand years was still not much in terms of Galactic societies, but none of the old Mega civilizations that existed and we know about could compare to the Union. Not the Pree, not the Celtest, not the Ikla ruling over the Andromeda galaxy, not even the Tomradi who had spread over several galaxies. They all were empires ruled one or the other way by one individual or group. Not so the Union, it was ruled by all and the complicated, untested way doing over an Assembly with representatives of everyone, where every voice counted and not the size of a group. Yet the Union had its challenges, like the attempt of Rex Schwartz to become the sole ruler of it all in 5900. To be truthful it was not a challenge. The Union and the Assembly simply was stronger and Rex Schwartz learned that even all the money in the Universe could not buy him the leadership he craved. His attempt was thwarted by his son in law and his daughter. Roy Masters and his wife stopped the megalomaniac, gave him a public beating and made the entire attempt pointless.

But even without Roy Masters interference, Rex Schwartz would never have been accepted and even he was not powerful enough to change the system.

There was one man however, if he had decided to become the sole leader. The fleet, the Marines of course and most likley every Union Citizen would have followed him and not because they were forced but because they loved and respected the man like no one else before or since.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Heck even I would have followed him, even though I was not born when he supposedly died.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">A word of Richard Stahl would have been enough and the Union would have crowned him to be the ultimate ruler.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">This year marks the first anniversary of a Narth being Union President, and through him I know even the Narth Supreme would have accepted Stahl as Ruler of the Union. This perhaps says more about Stahl than anything I could write in words.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Most of those who heard about the Dark One, dismiss this entity as myth and farey tale. Yet I know he exists. I have seen the evidence and visuals of Workgroup Olympus and I have talked to the Narth and the Coven. A being able to stop the Galaxy from spinning with a mere thought, or destroy the very Universe even the Dark One respects Stahl and would act on his behalf.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Yet all this power, all this influence could never tempt the man synonymous with integrity.

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