Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 7 Read online

  Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Vol. 7: Tempest

  GINGA EIYU DENSETSU Vol.7

  © 1986 by Yoshiki TANAKA

  Cover Illustration © 2008 Yukinobu Hoshino.

  All rights reserved.

  English translation © 2018 VIZ Media, LLC

  Cover and interior design by Fawn Lau and Alice Lewis

  No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the copyright holders.

  HAIKASORU

  Published by VIZ Media, LLC

  P.O. Box 77010

  San Francisco, CA 94107

  www.haikasoru.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Tanaka, Yoshiki, 1952- author. | Huddleston, Daniel, translator.

  Title: Legend of the galactic heroes / written by Yoshiki Tanaka ; translated by Daniel Huddleston and Tyran Grillo

  Other titles: Ginga eiyu densetsu

  Description: San Francisco : Haikasoru, [2016]

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015044444| ISBN 9781421584942 (v. 1: paperback) | ISBN 9781421584959 (v. 2: paperback) | ISBN 9781421584966 (v. 3: paperback) | ISBN 9781421584973 (v. 4: paperback) | 9781421584980 (v. 5: paperback) | ISBN 9781421584997 (v. 6: paperback) | 9781421585291 (v. 7: paperback) v. 1. Dawn -- v. 2. Ambition -- v. 3. Endurance -- v. 4 Stratagem -- v. 5 Mobilization -- v. 6 Flight -- v. 7 Tempest

  Subjects: LCSH: Science fiction. | War stories. | BISAC: FICTION / Science Fiction / Space Opera. | FICTION / Science Fiction / Military. | FICTION / Science Fiction / Adventure.

  Classification: LCC PL862.A5343 G5513 2016 | DDC 895.63/5--dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015044444

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  First printing, August 2018

  Haikasoru eBook edition

  ISBN: 978-1-9747-0606-8

  GALACTIC EMPIRE

  * * *

  REINHARD VON LOHENGRAMM

  Kaiser.†

  PAUL VON OBERSTEIN

  Minister of military affairs. Imperial marshal.

  WOLFGANG MITTERMEIER

  Commander in chief of the Imperial Space Armada. Imperial Marshal. Known as the “Gale Wolf.”

  OSKAR VON REUENTAHL

  Secretary-general of Imperial Military Command Headquarters. Imperial Marshal. The “heterochromatic admiral.”

  FRITZ JOSEF WITTENFELD

  Commander of the Schwarz Lanzenreiter fleet. Senior admiral.

  ERNEST MECKLINGER

  Rear guard commander in chief. Admiral. Known as the “Artist-Admiral.”

  ULRICH KESSLER

  Commissioner of Military police and commander of capital defenses. Senior admiral.

  AUGUST SAMUEL WAHLEN

  Fleet commander. Senior admiral.

  KORNELIAS LUTZ

  Fleet commander. Senior admiral.

  NEIDHART MÜLLER

  Fleet commander. Senior admiral. AKA, “Iron Wall Müller.

  ADALBERT FAHRENHEIT

  Fleet commander. Senior admiral.

  ARTHUR VON STREIT

  High deputy to the kaiser. Vice admiral.

  HILDEGARD VON MARIENDORF

  Chief secretary to the kaiser. Often called “Hilda.”

  FRANZ VON MARIENDORF

  Minister of Domestic Affairs. Hilda’s father.

  HEIDRICH LANG

  Chief of the Domestic Safety Security Bureau.

  ANNEROSE VON GRÜNEWALD

  Reinhard’s elder sister. Archduchess.

  JOB TRÜNICHT

  The Free Planets Alliance’s former head of state.

  RUDOLF VON GOLDENBAUM

  Founder of the Galactic Empire’s Goldenbaum Dynasty.

  DECEASED

  SIEGFRIED KIRCHEIS

  Died living up to the faith Annerose placed in him.

  HEINRICH VON KÜMMEL

  Hilda’s cousin. Failed to assassinate the Kaiser.

  HELMUT LENNENKAMP

  High Commissioner to the Free Planets Alliance. Destroyed himself over a personal grudge.

  FREE PLANETS ALLIANCE

  * * *

  YANG WEN-LI

  Commander of Iserlohn Fortress. Commander of Iserlohn Patrol Fleet. Marshal (retired).

  JULIAN MINTZ

  Yang’s ward. Sublieutenant.

  FREDERICA GREENHILL YANG

  Yang’s wife and aide. Lieutenant commander.

  ALEX CASELNES

  Acting general manager of rear services. Vice admiral.

  WALTER VON SCHÖNKOPF

  Commander of Fortress Defenses at Iselohn Fortress. Vice admiral.

  EDWIN FISCHER

  Vice commander of the Iserlohn Patrol Fleet. Master of fleet operations. Temporarily laid off.

  MURAI

  Chief of staff. Rear admiral. Temporarily laid off.

  FYODOR PATRICHEV

  Vice chief of staff. Commodore. Temporarily laid off.

  DUSTY ATTENBOROUGH

  Division commander within the Iserlohn Patrol Fleet. Yang’s underclassman. Rear admiral (retired).

  OLIVIER POPLIN

  Captain of the First Spaceborne Squadron at Iserlohn Fortress. Commander.

  ALEXANDOR BUCOCK

  Commander in chief of the Space Armada. Marshal.

  LOUIS MACHUNGO

  Julian’s bodyguard. Ensign.

  KATEROSE VON KREUTZER

  Corporal. AKA Karin.

  WILIABARD JOACHIM MERKATZ

  Highly experienced veteran admiral. Commander of the Yang Fleet’s remaining forces.

  BERNHARD VON SCHNEIDER

  Merkatz’s aide. Commander.

  CHUNG WU-CHEN

  Chief of staff. Acting commander in chief. Admiral.

  JOÃO LEBELLO

  Head of state.

  PHEZZAN DOMINION

  * * *

  ADRIAN RUBINSKY

  The fifth Landesherr. Known as the “Black Fox of Phezzan.”

  NICOLAS BOLTEC

  The Empire’s proxy governor of Phezzan.

  BORIS KONEV

  Independent merchant. Old acquaintance of Yang’s. Captain of Beryozka.

  *Titles and ranks correspond to each

  character’s status at the end of Flight

  or their first appearance in Tempest.

  †First called “Kaiser” by his soldiers

  on Phezzan, he officially adopted

  the title upon his coronation.

  COVER

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  MAJOR CHARACTERS

  PRELUDE

  CHAPTER 1

  UNDER THE GOLDENLÖWE

  CHAPTER 2

  DEFYING EVERY FLAG

  CHAPTER 3

  AGAIN, RAGNAROK

  CHAPTER 4

  RELEASE, REVOLUTION, CONSPIRACY, ET CETERA

  CHAPTER 5

  THE PRODIGALS RETURN

  CHAPTER 6

  THE BATTLE OF MAR ADETTA

  CHAPTER 7

  THE WINTER ROSE GARDEN EDICT

  CHAPTER 8

  THE LONG ROAD FORWARD

  CHAPTER 9

  ON THE EVE OF THE FESTIVAL

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  “Well now! If it isn’t his Excellency, Count Reinhard von Lohengramm! Yo
u’ve ascended to lofty heights, I see. And to have come so far, from a life even a peasant would blush to own…I simply can’t imagine the many struggles you must have faced.”

  “You are far too generous, Marquis. I believe your Excellency is most certainly capable of understanding. After all, my own life’s point of departure will be your final destination.”

  —January 1, I.E. 487 (old Imperial Calendar), from a conversation between Marquis Wilhelm von Littenheim III and Count Reinhard von Lohengramm, at the New Year’s celebration held in the Black Pearl Room at Neue Sans Soussi Palace. Two days later, Count von Lohengramm would depart for Iserlohn Fortress, leading a military expedition.

  I

  WHEN IMPERIAL MARSHAL Oskar von Reuentahl, secretary-general of Imperial Military Command Headquarters, ducked his tall frame through the door of the room hosting the day’s imperial council meeting, two other attendees were already present and seated: Paul von Oberstein, minister of military affairs, and Wolfgang Mittermeier, commander in chief of the Imperial Space Armada. Both were imperial marshals. It was the first reunion of the so-called Three Chiefs of the imperial military in quite a long time.

  In appearance alone, they made a remarkable trio: the slender, sallow minister of military affairs, with his white-streaked hair and artificial eyes; the handsome secretary-general of Imperial Military Command Headquarters, with his dark-brown hair, black right eye, and blue left one; and the gray-eyed, somewhat diminutive commander in chief of the Imperial Space Armada, whose golden hair was the shade of honey. The latter pair were not merely colleagues; together, they had faced life and death on the battlefield many times over. All three were young men, in their early thirties.

  It was October 9, SE 799. Year 1 of the New Imperial Calendar.

  Planet Phezzan’s history as home to Reinhard von Lohengramm’s imperial headquarters had only just begun. Planet Odin had served as the empire’s capital across five centuries, but in September of that year, the twenty-three-year-old emperor had cast it aside and moved his throne to Phezzan, which until the previous year had rejoiced in its independence from the greater Galactic Empire. One hundred days had not yet passed since the crown had come to rest on his head.

  After arriving on Phezzan, Kaiser Reinhard had installed his imperial headquarters in the same hotel he had used as a temporary admiralität during Operation Ragnarok, back before the crown had yet to come to him. Now, as well as then, this hotel was neither prestigious nor known for any high-class facilities. It did, however, provide convenient access to both the spaceport and the center of the city. While this was generally considered its only selling point, it was exactly why Reinhard had chosen it. Running alongside this handsome young conqueror’s dazzling looks and talent was a spirit of admiration for the pragmatic, and even the prosaic. He had even tried to make do with just a single room for his own private quarters in the hotel.

  The room that von Reuentahl had just stepped into was also hardly what one would call luxurious. Spare and simple, its furnishings had likely been costly, but did not seem to have been chosen with any great care. That said, the banner of the Lohengramm Dynasty, just recently approved, was hung on the facing wall, covering it entirely, and it brought a stunning brilliance to a room that was otherwise lacking in character.

  Up until recently, the banner had been that of the Goldenbaum Dynasty—a golden, two-headed eagle on a black background. That had been abolished and replaced by the banner of the Lohengramm Dynasty: a crimson flag with golden edgework, the image of a golden lion positioned at its center.

  This banner, dubbed the Goldenlöwe, was a flag of incomparable majesty. While designwise it was nothing terribly original, the flag gave a powerful impression both at that time and in generations to come, due simply to the fact that it symbolized the golden-haired youth who flew it, and the multitudes that followed him.

  The three imperial marshals were representatives of those multitudes. Their positions, achievements, and fame were second only to those of the kaiser himself. With von Oberstein either at command HQ or in the rear guard, and the other two on the front lines, they had taken part in countless battles—and contributed to victories in equal number. Mittermeier and von Reuentahl, known as the “Twin Ramparts” of the imperial military, had won particular praise for their undefeated service records, along with redheaded Siegfried Kircheis, who had departed this world so young.

  It was because of his loss that Mittermeier—called the “Gale Wolf”—and the heterochromatic von Reuentahl had been able to reach the highest positions of authority within the Imperial Navy by the young ages of thirty-one and thirty-two, respectively. Others followed behind them, but there were none who ran ahead of them.

  The two marshals already present nodded at von Reuentahl, who proceeded to take his seat. He might have liked to enjoy a pleasant chat with Mittermeier alone, but as this was an official setting, he couldn’t simply ignore the despised secretary of military affairs. He would have to look for another time and place to catch up with Mittermeier.

  “At what time will His Majesty be joining us?” von Reuentahl asked, although the question was a pure formality. Receiving an answer of “Shortly” from his good friend, he proceeded to pose another question to the minister of military affairs: For what purpose had His Majesty called this assembly?

  “Could it have something to do with the Lennenkamp affair?” he asked. If so, that would certainly be an important matter.

  “That’s correct,” von Oberstein replied. “There’s been a report from Admiral Steinmetz.”

  “And?”

  Von Oberstein’s prosthetic eyes locked on the inquisitive von Reuentahl and Mittermeier, who had leaned forward slightly, in equal measure before he gave answer: “Lennenkamp, he informs us, has already passed through the gates of Hades. The body will arrive here shortly.”

  The name spoken by the minister of military affairs was that of a senior admiral stationed on Planet Urvashi in the Gandharva System—located in the very midst of the Free Planets Alliance. Last July, Senior Admiral Helmut Lennenkamp, serving as High Commissioner to the Free Planets Alliance, had been abducted by malcontent elements of the FPA military, and Steinmetz had been rushed over to negotiate with the criminal group and the FPA government.

  “Has he, then?” said von Reuentahl. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised…”

  Such an outcome had hardly been unforeseen. From the moment the kidnapping had first been reported, hope for Lennenkamp’s safe recovery had been largely abandoned. This was the “sense of smell”—the common sense—of those who chose lives of tumult during tumultuous times.

  “And the cause of death?”

  “He hanged himself.”

  The minister of military affairs’ reply was the essence of brevity, his voice low and dry, capable of penetrating deeply into the psyches of his listeners. Two famed imperial marshals exchanged a three-colored glance. Mittermeier’s vivacious grays tilted slightly as their owner cocked his head.

  “Meaning we’re in no position to declare Yang Wen-li responsible,” he said. Mittermeier hadn’t asked the question so much as raised the issue. He needed to know what Kaiser Reinhard and his minister of military affairs intended with regard to coming military decisions and actions.

  “Lennenkamp had everything a man could want,” said von Oberstein. “There was no reason why he should have killed himself. For driving him to those circumstances, Yang Wen-li clearly does bear a portion of the responsibility. As he has taken flight without attempting to explain his actions, it is, of course, inevitable that he should face questioning in the matter.”

  Yang Wen-li was not a name to be taken lightly, either in the Alliance Armed Forces or the imperial military. As an admiral in the FPA’s navy, he had been reputed to be invincible, but after the Free Planets Alliance had bowed the knee to Reinhard, he had retired from the service and started his life as a pensioner. On two s
eparate occasions, Yang had bested Lennenkamp on the battlefield, though, and Lennenkamp had never managed to forgive or forget those humiliations. After placing Yang under surveillance and plotting to have him arrested without any material evidence to support his suspicions, Lennenkamp had suffered a harsh blowback indeed.

  Many things about the circumstances had not yet come to light, and for now could only be guessed at. There was no room for doubt, however, that the regret and frustration arising from his defeats had become a heavy burden clouding the lens of Lennenkamp’s better judgment. Hounded by responsibilities that outweighed his talents, he had become a rare example of an error among Kaiser Reinhard’s appointments.

  Mittermeier folded his arms. “But Lennenkamp was always fair to his men,” he said.

  “Sadly, Yang Wen-li was not among his subordinates.”

  When it came to either magnanimity toward his opponents or flexibility of thought, Lennenkamp had been lacking. That was a fact, and there was no choice but to acknowledge it. Von Reuentahl and Mittermeier both mourned the loss of a colleague, but when it came down to it, they also held the abilities of their enemy, Yang Wen-li, in greater esteem than they had those of their unfortunate colleague. As such, their disappointment might have been far greater had things turned out opposite of the way they had. They both acknowledged von Oberstein’s point, though the minister of military affairs’ own feelings remained somewhat opaque.

  At one time, Reinhard had been so impressed by Yang’s abilities that he had hoped he might bring the man under his own command. Even now, it wasn’t certain whether he’d abandoned the idea completely. When they had learned of their lord’s intentions, both Mittermeier and von Reuentahl had inwardly agreed with him, but von Oberstein, it was said, had politely—but strongly and firmly—voiced his objection. “If you must have him in your camp, it behooves you to set certain conditions he must satisfy,” he had insisted.

  “I’ve always wondered what exactly you urged His Majesty to make Yang do at that time.”

  “Are you asking me, Marshal von Reuentahl?”

  “No, I can tell without asking.”

  “Can you, now?”

  “Make him regional governor over the territory of the former Free Planets Alliance, have him rule over the land where he was born, force him to subjugate his own former allies. Surely you intended something along those lines?”