The Banquet of the 300th Year

Two Thousand Years Later：Galaxy Series
First Volume: Foundation Dreams
Part Six
Bayta Darell

Chapter 11：The Banquet of the 300th Year
Episode　４４

Three hundred years have passed since the founding of the Foundation, and its former glory was gradually fading. Under the rule of the Indbur hereditary regime in Terminus, dark clouds loomed over the era, with only a few feeling the change: psychologist Ebling Miss, trader Randu Darell, and Bayta Mallow also shared concerns about the future of their time.

Bayta Mallow married Tran Darell and, on their way to Tran’s hometown, Haven, they were invited on a honeymoon trip to Kalgan. What was intended to be a simple honeymoon turned into an involvement in a universe-shaking event.

In Kalgan, they met a jester named “Bobo,” who was actually the Mule, a powerful psychic who once shook the Foundation to its core, and whose plans were still ongoing. By helping Bobo, Tran and Bayta became embroiled in the Mule’s schemes.

Upon returning to Terminus, they felt the Mule’s influence strongly in the city of Mauve. The Mule’s telepathic powers gripped the hearts of warship crews and the populace, causing them to completely succumb.

Meanwhile, taking refuge in Haven, Bayta and the others decided, at Ebling Miss’s suggestion, to head to Trantor. Preparations for a 300th-anniversary celebration were underway in a self-proclaimed rural community of Comporellon located near the old Storyring University. The village leader, Lee Senter, welcomed them warmly.

Welcome Party at the Rural Community

When Bayta and Tran arrived at the village mansion, Lee Senter greeted them.

“Mr. and Mrs. Darell, this is my daughter, Wanda Senter. And this is Ms. Vena Bili, who has come from Neotrantor,” Lee said with a smile.

Bayta exclaimed in surprise, “Mr. Lee Senter, this person (pointing to Vena Viri) looks just like my ancestor, Dors Mama, the wife of Selden, who is in the portrait in my home on Terminus!”

“Your dress is just like the design of my three-colored pendant!” Bayta continued, even more astonished.

Wanda looked at Bayta curiously. “Ms. Bayta, we should be the ones surprised. How do you have something exactly like my mother’s pendant?”

Lee sighed and began to reminisce. “Long ago, a young man who greatly admired my wife’s pendant came here. He crash-landed and was nursed back to health by my wife… He was Randu Darell, a member of the Independent Traders Association. He turned out to be Tran’s uncle.”

Hearing those words, Bayta suddenly recalled a past event. “Tran, I understand now why you kept your uncle Randu’s visit here a secret. When your uncle first met me, he was staring intently at this pendant. Not at my beauty, but at the pendant…”

Tran smiled, though he was inwardly astonished. As the hidden history of this family was revealed one after another, they began to realize that the fate of the Foundation was entrusted to them.

Wanda looked at her father Lee with a deep sense of emotion. “Father, I think I’m going to lose my mind.”

The Fate of the Foundation

The events they became entangled in were no mere coincidence. After 300 years, their actions would greatly change the future of the galaxy. With the Mule’s conspiracy, the decline of the Foundation, and the imminent emergence of the Second Foundation, Bayta and her companions had to prepare for the upcoming battles.

Still, their journey had only just begun. And the dream of the Foundation was beginning to shine anew in the galaxy.

To be continued…