THE END OF AN ERA
And the beginning of another
Today, at 1am local time, the procession across New Tau came to an end.
Over 7 Billion people came from across the STE to view the event.
And almost all 18 Billion Tau's watched from across the cosmos.
The procession started at smallfield, and went on a journey across the surface to the outskirts of Steltin.
There, a graveyard able to house the 700, alongside a memorial wall for 30,000 has been built.
Along the way, the procession visited many towns, cities, and landmarks.
Vast plains, a microscopic desert, and the beginnings of a space elevator to name a few.
Thousands of civil spacecraft touched down over the past few days, and many stayed up in the air to follow the procession.
Tiark co. Have announced a new ship to memorialize this day.
At the moment, only prototypes exist.
It will be the biggest they have made, and will be a great addition to their already produced ships.
The STE navy have announced many changes too.
Namely reducing crew count to a minimum, now only two crew are present at all times, excluding fighter and shuttle pilots. A new line of ship is also on the way.
As the event came to a close, two Tau's now famous for their part in the rebellion made two speeches today:
"Throughout our history, many different people have used us,
Manipulated us, or even enslaved us to achieve their goals.
Today, we stand on our own two paws, and we look up to those same stars with curiosity.
We stare long into the night, at those just out of reach.
But unlike before, when we would stare hoping for escape,
We now look on in awe, at those stars we where unjustly prevented from visiting.
Once, humans mistook our kindness for weakness.
And now, they do the same.
But this time, they mistake our Empire's size for that same thing.
Those million or so rebels who died for our freedom,
We must not waste the opportunity they have given us."
"The rebellion changed us.
It made us realise we where destined for more than slavery,
We embraced the behaviours we hid from,
and though the sacrifice of our own lives, we emerged victorious.
However, our industriousness must not be forgotten.
We worked hard to produce ships for our captors,
We watched, and learnt how to do it ourselves. And now, we stand here today alone.
For the first time in our history, humans have no direct control over us.
Many of my friends are gone, either from Tau-A1, or the rebellion,
But we must not let this stop us.
We are destined for great things, and our numbers prevent us achieving them...
Or so they say! We have expanded far beyond what others have with hundreds of billions of people,
We must show that we might seem small, we might seem weak.
But you do not pick a fight with a Tau."
Grand admiral Akio also made a speech:
"Our progress has far exceeded that of many entire groups of others out there.
This alone would be enough for most, but we, are not most people.
We are those who defy all expectations, we go and do the things thought impossible.
Not things that may be ground breaking, but things that even huge empires seem to find difficult.
Peace, unity, and civilians being able to contribute.
We may be the first ever to allow for cheap, civilian ships, with an interface and control method even a child could use.
We exist as equals, our rivalries might go on to this day. But us! We as Tau's have survived longer than many others out there.
Us Tau's created the Echo-Drive! We revolutionised easy to use FTL travel.
But most importantly, we are Tau's.
The name Tau was made as an insult, humans thought that we where irrelevant, they named us all Tau's regardless of species to hurt us, they thought it would insult us, a general term for those so unique.
But instead, we wear the name with pride, we may be different, but we are united in a way many others seem to fail to achieve.
Once fallen, once forgotten, now free.
We might not be the first, but we are free.
We are the Second Tau Empire."
The empress herself made a speech from Jarl's hope station:
Today is the end of an Era.
But, we must not look back at the past in sorrow,
We must look to the future with hope, only there lies happiness.
Those who have wronged us in the past...
Would we, be just like them to seek revenge?
Would we be lowering ourselves to a level lower than the deepest oceans?
And most importantly,
What do we gain from doing such a thing?
Nothing,
From now on, we must make the second move.
Only expansion comes first for now,
We defend ourselves and our allies with that same ferocity we held in our paws when we listened to humanity those 500 years ago.
That, was the beginning of the end, and the day we realised that we must stand alone.
We will not let others control us.
As this era comes to an end.
The next one rolls in, what will this new one have in store?
There is only one way to find out.
Progress into it.
We stand united
