How many funerals have I attended so far? How many more funerals must I attend in the future? The 27th Empress of the Bar Frybarec, Ablïarsec Néïc Dubleuscr Lamï, Ramaj, thought. She was aboard the flagship that also served as the emperor’s imperial vessel, the Star Force’s interstellar ship the “Gaftnosh”, slowly making its way towards Lakfakalle’s funeral hall.

Perhaps, the countless nations of ancient times had all had their own ways of doing things. However, for The Humankind Empire of Abh, the imperial vessel is always designed so that the emperor can command a battle at the frontlines. Because of this, the emperor’s imperial vessel is always a state-of-the-art patrol ship. The ship Ramaj was aboard was no exception—a Kau class patrol ship, modified to meet the design specifications of a flagship. It had one further distinction as well: of all the ships in the universe, only the Gaftnosh housed a commander's chair made of emerald jade.

Other fleets notwithstanding, within the Star Force, most frontline soldiers wished their quarters were as spacious and luxurious as the commander's. Although the emperor's quarters on the ship are not very fancy, they were still decorated exquisitely. Despite this, for one who has to shoulder the burden of an empire with more than a trillion citizens, such living quarters must seem simple and unadorned.

However, to Ramaj, this room is like paradise. After all, the title of empress entails a great deal of work and responsibility, especially during times of war. Therefore, any place that allows one to enjoy some peace and quiet is very precious. It would be even better if this precious time were not disturbed by urgent reports—but that would be too much of a luxury to hope for.

At that moment, the floors shook, signaling that the ship had docked.

Ramaj set down the jade colored wine glass, and got up from her seat. When the doors opened, she was greeted by the sight of her attendants, standing on mobile platforms, where they had apparently been waiting for some time.

“Your Majesty,” the attendants respectfully lowered their heads to the empress.

Ramaj nodded in acknowledgment as she stepped onto a mobile platform. Thus, the empress left her paradise.

The mobile platform moved smoothly alongside a painting of a grass field. Some 10 meters before her, soldiers raised their weapons, saluting the empress. Even as she floated past them, Ramaj couldn't stop from wondering —perhaps somewhere in Plane Space another funeral was taking place, a funeral that couldn't be held in a funeral hall.

No matter how many people say that it's an old-fashioned way of thinking, to a soldier in the Star Force, the best choice for a coffin is their ship. Perhaps some feel that it isn't dignified to place so many people in one coffin, but their numbers are few at best. The majority of the people in the Star Force believe that the chance to die together with family should be cause for celebration.

“Everyone on the ship is family,” she says, knowing no one will object to these words. Although no grand ceremonies were held for shipmates to become sworn brothers and sisters, when the situation aboard a ship is that either everyone lives or everyone dies, naturally it begins to feel as if the crew is a family—especially during times of war. Like now, the so called "Era of Warfare".

Currently in Plane Space, both sides have amassed countless numbers of ships ready for a head on assault: either kill or be killed. Countless funerals of grand scale, continuously, never stopping.

But let us return from talk of funerals in Plane Space, to the place here and now—“the capital of the Kin of the Stars”. Lakfakalle’s funeral hall is but one of countless funeral halls in the empire; however, it is one of the largest. The only people who are allowed to be buried here are the Royal Family, and those that obtained special permission from the emperor.

Although the Abh are not a religious people, they do occasionally display religious-like behaviors, funeral rites among them. Even the funerals of the most religiously devout landers would seem simple and cheap, compared to those of the Abh.

Then again, if we are to take an accurate view of the matter, an Abh funeral in essence doesn't really have any religious significance at all. After all, when the Abh pay their respects to the dead, beings like gods play no role; these funerals are merely a ceremony for the friends of the deceased to gather and say their goodbyes.

The mobile platform finally cleared Gaftnosh’s air lock and entered the funeral hall.

Paintings of stars line either side of the main hallway. The Abh normally prefer to have artwork depicting terrestrial scenes, but where the deceased are concerned, they consider stars a more fitting symbol.

The open door reveals many people on either side. When they realize Ramaj is entering, they promptly extend their greatest salute to the emperor.

An officer with light brown hair stepped out from the crowd. Ramaj recognized him from military ranking Insignia. His name is Shidoryua Boruju Sid Seeru and he is here to mourn the loss of a family member.

“It must have been bothersome for Your Majesty to come personally; we are all honored by your presence here, Your Majesty,” Shidoryua greeted Ramaj.

“I feel that this has been a great loss,” Ramaj says with sorrow. “This is the funeral of my chief advisor; there is nothing that could keep me from coming here."

“If my late father were to hear Your Majesty’s words, he would be extremely happy.”

“Perhaps,” Ramaj said with a smile as she stepped off the mobile platform.

Shidoryua’s father’s name is Shidoryua Boruju Cid Seez, who up to this day had been prime minister of the empire.

Before his death, he hadn't taken the concept of "rest" very seriously. Furthermore, his nature did not allow him to spend any time with others on trivial matters; even if that other person was the empress.

If we allowed him to know, in theory, that the cold and cruel empress of the Abh was present, looking back on the deceased, he would no doubt call it a stupid waste of time. Ramaj was sure of this.

The empress knows very well that Shidoryua sometimes finds it difficult to resist the temptation from the flowerbed.

The funeral hall is of a circular design with the coffin of the former Prime Minister in the center.

Ramaj’s feet lightly tapped the floor; this place does not have an artificial gravity device. With the unique grace of the Abh, she pressed against the floor with one foot, then the other, until she reached the coffin of the Prime Minister.

Ramaj silently bid her farewell to Shidoryua and allowed the next person in line to see the coffin. On an occasion like this, not even the empress receives any special treatment. After all, at a funeral the center of attention should be the deceased.

Ramaj went back to her seat and lightly placed her fingertips on a handrail on the wall to keep herself from floating away.

At that moment, a lander riding a flying machine made straight for Ramaj, rudely.

In actuality, there were quite a lot of landers in attendance: the late prime minister was a lander by birth, and many of his colleagues and subordinates were not genetically manipulated. But this particular discourteous lander is not even an Imperial subject. He is Ambassador Tin Kuihan from the Hania Federation.

“Your Majesty,” he said with the formalities of a lander. His movements are well executed. He seems to merely want to get close to Ramaj.

However, the empress' bodyguards swiftly came to her sides, preventing him from getting any closer. Their hands were on their guns, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

“Mr. Ambassador, to have you personally attend the funeral of my prime minister, I am very grateful,” Ramaj said with insincere politeness.

“You flatter me; his Excellency Shidoryua is a good friend of mine,” the Ambassador replied with a tone of great sorrow. If he was acting, then he must have been a very good actor. “To come and pay my condolences should not be a painstaking thing that requires the gratitude of others.”

“Really? Then I won't say I am 'grateful' for your presence; rather, I am 'regretful' of it.”

“I am indeed very sorry.” Tin Kuihan bowed deeply towards the empress, so much so that he almost lost balance. “If I may be so bold, could Your Majesty spare some time after this event so that we may talk?”

It looks like this is the ambassador’s real motive for coming here. If he just wanted to share stories about his deceased friend, then there should be plenty of people besides the empress that he could talk to.

“Do you have any idea what sort of occasion this is?” Ramaj said icily. “If what you said was just to be courteous, then that is still within the bounds of my tolerance.”

“Your Majesty must forgive me. I know this request is very unreasonable. I only make it in the interest of peace.” Having been given an inch, Tin Kuihan made his play to take a mile.

“If that is the case, you can discuss this with the new Prime Minister.” Even though the late Prime Minister’s death was sudden, Ramaj had already appointed a new Prime Minister without hesitation, promoting Burashu, previously a director and ambassador of the foreign office, to the post.

Compared to the previous Prime Minister, he wasn't very experienced. However, the empress has faith that Burashu has the ability to shoulder this great responsibility. Besides, the Foreign Office handles all diplomatic matters. The only countries that still have open diplomatic relations with the Abh are the “Federation of Hania”. A high ranking foreign official should know such information.

“It is unfortunate, but his Excellency the Prime Minister seems unwilling to listen to what I have to say.”

“Really? The Prime Minister mentioned during his inauguration that he spent quite some time with you.”

“Mere time does not equate to any results. Thus...”

“Even for the Empress,” Ramaj’s tone has already turned scolding, “It is a very serious taboo to take matters into one's own hands and infringe on the responsibilities of a subordinate. I will be very pleased if you can understand this concept, Ambassador.”

“It is because I understand this that I come to you today with what I have to say.”

Should we just kick him out of here? The imperial bodyguards looked toward the Empress for instructions.

That is not yet necessary —— Ramaj waved her fingertips in response. The movement was very subtle, so much so that Tin Kuihan should not have even noticed.

“If you just want to talk, then I’ll make an exception.”

“I am honored to have this opportunity.”

“However, you should not mistake this opportunity for a newly acquired privilege.”

“I understand.” Tin Kuihan glanced at the Imperial bodyguards and said, “Since that is settled, I’ll leave this place and give room to those who better suit this occasion.”

Ramaj used all her effort to restrain herself from saying, “Then do so,” on impulse, and instead curtly said, “Then we’ll meet later, after the funeral is over. We can talk while riding on my mobile platform as it takes us to your ship.”

There was a short period of silence between the two. It appears that the Ambassador is not satisfied with the short amount of time that he is given.

Actually, the embassy is within the Imperial Palace. Ramaj could have simply invited the Ambassador to board the Gaftnosh to travel with her. This way he could definitely schedule enough time to talk to his heart’s content.

Nevertheless, the Empress certainly wouldn’t offer this courteous exception to the ambassador easily. It is as Ramaj had suspected, Tin Kuihan truly is not satisfied with this. However, the Ambassador cannot allow the empress to see his dissatisfaction. Instead, he bowed deeply and said, “I am honored and grateful to have this opportunity, Your Majesty.”

While the two were talking, everyone who attended the funeral continued to bid their farewells to the deceased. When there was a lull in the number of people going up to see the coffin, the funeral hall was filled with a rumbling sound. It is a sound that carries no meaning. When it began, it is only a low moan; Ramaj adds her voice of parting regret to the sea of voices.

Those who has seen the body does not appear again. The moan grows louder, filling the entire hall. Although at the beginning the chord was a bit uneven, now everyone’s singing voice comes together to form a beautiful chord. They are singing the dirge of the Abh, a moving song that represents the end of an Abh’s journey through life.

Those that were born on a planet, when their time is up, often wish to be buried on their home planet. However, Shidoryua Boruju Cid Seez chose to have an Abh funeral as the star of his last ceremony. The empire also honored his choice with the utmost respect. Simply using this funeral hall for the ceremony made it a state funeral with the highest honors. Even within the Royal Family, only a few members ever receive such intimate treatment.

As the dirge of the Abh fills the entire hall, a black shining cylinder lowers itself from the sky. Slowly, it covers the transparent coffin. It is a shell that will protect the corpse for a hundred million years.

When the coffin has completely disappeared within the cylinder, it begins to lift from the floor, preparing to be loaded into the electromagnetic cannon. The volume of the dirge rises with the coffin.

The coffin is loaded and the breech closed. In a blink of a moment, the cannon fires the coffin towards the center of the galaxy.

The acceleration of the cannon is countered by the large mass of the funeral hall, producing a temporary comfortable gravity.

Under the weight of the gravity, the sound of everyone's heels touching the floor simultaneously fills the funeral hall. With that, the funeral comes to an end. Ramaj looked again at the closed breech of the electromagnetic canon.

How many more times will I have to view this event in the future?

She lightly kicks off from the floor as she bounds to the Hania Federation ambassador waiting at the exit.