Four months before Count von Lohengramm of the Galactic Empire confronted Yang Wen‑li of the Free Planets Alliance at Astarte, he remained merely Reinhard von Müsel. The Empire"s youngest admiral ever, Reinhard was scorned and sidelined by colleagues who saw him as the Kaiser"s concubine"s brother.
When he reached Iserlohn Fortress with his expeditionary squadron, Reinhard instantly received a directive from the ambitious and shrewd Fleet Admiral Gregor von Mückenberger: to intercept an Alliance flotilla in a nearby star zone. Though he sensed this was a covert trap aimed at killing him, Reinhard still ordered his exhausted crews to clash with the foe over Legnica"s gas‑giant atmosphere. Unknown to him, this would be the first of many historic meetings with the Hero of El Facil whose legend would echo across star systems in the chronicles of interstellar conflict.
