Leopold Schumacher
From Gineipaedia, the Legend of Galactic Heroes wiki
 Leopold Schumacher (798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE)) | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Affiliation: | Galactic Empire (Lippstadt League, Imperial 'legitimate' government) |
| Rank: | Commodore |
| Status: | Unknown |
| Played by: | Nakata Jōji |
Leopold Schumacher (Japanese: レオポルド・シューマッハ) was an Imperial military officer who sided with the Lippstadt League during the Imperial Civil War. He was later involved in a Fezzani-conceived plot to abduct Kaiser Erwin Josef II and establish a "legitimate" Imperial government-in-exile on Heinessen.
Contents |
History
Lippstadt War
When the Imperial Civil War broke out in the Empire in 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE), Schumacher was a captain serving as a staff officer under Baron Flegel aboard his flagship, the battleship Wilhelmina. It was later noted by Reinhard von Lohengramm that Schumacher must have been a talented officer in order to rise to that rank as a commoner. Towards the end of the battle outside of Geiersburg Fortress, Flegel wanted to sacrifice himself and the crew in single 'ship-to-ship' combat with an enemy flagship. However, Schumacher denounced this idea and began to leave the bridge. The enraged Flegel attempted to shoot him, only to be gunned down by several other bridge officers. When the captain brought up the idea of fleeing to Fezzan and living there, the crew decided to join him. (LOGH: 'Courage and Loyalty', 'Thunder')
Upon arriving, he disposed of the weapons systems, sold the ship to a merchant, and distributed the income to the crew. He expected the crew to find their own respective ways in this new lifestyle, but found that many still looked to him for leadership and did not trust their ability to create a new way of life in a new society in competition with the Fezzani merchants. In the end, Schumacher could not turn away from the crew who had saved him from Flegel, so he chose to purchase some land in the Assiniboia Ravine and they began farming.
Kidnapping the kaiser
In March 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE), Schumacher was contacted by Rupert Kesserling, assistant of the Landesherr of Fezzan, Adrian Rubinsky, asking him to get involved in a plan regarding the Empire. The former captain initially did not want to get involved despite promises of wealth. After some threats against his and his crew's livelihood, Kesserling was able to convince him to go along with the scheme. He later met with Count Alfred von Landsberg, another former Lippstadt veteran, and learned of the plan to kidnap the child emperor, Erwin Josef II, and smuggle him into the Alliance. Unbeknownst to them, they were being used in a plot to keep the war between the Alliance and the Empire by giving Lohengramm a reason to invade. The two of them departed Fezzan for Odin a few months later, using fake passports, in which Schumacher used the name 'Ferdinand Locke.' (LOGH: 'Lost Things', 'Determination and Ambition')
Upon arriving on the Imperial capital, their presence did not go unnoticed. Lohengramm was informed of their arrival by Ulrich Kesler, the Military Police chief, but decided to let them carry out their scheme so that he could have an excuse to attack the Alliance. Schumacher and Landsberg waited in a hotel as they planned out their kidnapping and made arrangements with Nicholas Boltik, the Fezzani high commissioner on Odin. The former captain suspected that the Fezzanis had ulterior motives, noting that life in the Empire seemed to have become better under Lohengramm, and briefly interrogated Glazunov, the high commissioner's secretary. However, Schumacher ended up continuing with the plan. He later met with Boltik at a park and made arrangements for a smuggler's ship to take them to the Alliance, and for the Military Police to discover a republican arms factory as a distraction so they could break into Neue Sanssouci. (LOGH: 'Thunder', 'The Abduction of the Young Emperor')
In July 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE), Schumacher and Landsberg entered the kaiser's palace using an old underground tunnel system. Landsberg guided him through the palace to the kaiser's room, where they took the child with them and fled, using the same tunnels. They then departed Odin aboard the Fezzani ship Rocinante, fleeing to the Alliance. (LOGH: 'The Abduction of the Young Emperor')
Later career
After arriving in the Alliance and meeting with Jochen von Remscheid, the former Imperial high commissioner on Fezzan who also took part in the scheme, a 'legitimate' Imperial government in exile was proclaimed on Heinessen. Schumacher was promoted to the rank of Commdore by the government, and continued to act as Erwin Josef's caretaker, along with Landsberg. It was mentioned that Count Remscheid promised to confer an Imperial title upon Schumacher for his role, but it is unknown if that actually occurred. (LOGH: 'Thunder', 'The Arrow Is Released', 'The Cold Spell Arrives')
His actions after the invasion and fall of the Alliance in 799 UC (1 NIC / 490 IC / 3599 CE) were never directly revealed, but it was mentioned that Landsberg and Schumacher both escaped and disappeared, along with the child kaiser. (LOGH: 'Long Live the Emperor!')
On 8 July 801 UC (3 NIC / 492 IC / 3601 CE), in the aftermath of Rubinsky's suicide attack on Heinessenpolis, Schumacher was discovered by the Imperial military police for having forged his identification and was promptly interrogated, during which he revealed about the escape of Erwin Josef II from Landsberg's care and that his whereabouts were unknown even to him, as well as the plan by the last remaining cell of Terraists to assassinate Reinhard von Lohengramm. Two months later, Schumacher was pardoned for his crimes and released from detention, but when he returned to Fezzan he found out that his farm in the Assiniboia Ravine was already dismantled and his former subordinates dispersed. After which, under the recommendation of Arthur von Streit, Schumacher managed to get reinstated as a Commodore in the Imperial Fleet, however he became missing in action during a battle with space pirates and his ultimate fate is unknown. (LOGH: 'Dream: To See It to the End')
Rank history
- Captain — 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE) (LOGH: 'Courage and Loyalty')
- Commodore — 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE) (LOGH: 'The Cold Spell Arrives')
Appendices
Appearances
- LOGH:
- 'Courage and Loyalty' (first appearance)
- 'Lost Things'
- 'Determination and Ambition'
- 'Thunder'
- 'The Abduction of the Young Emperor'
- 'The Cold Spell Arrives'
- 'Dream: To See It to the End' (final appearance)
Background information
Leopold is a Germanic given name that combines the Latin roots leo ("lion"), while the second part was taken from the German word bold ("brave"). The name hence originally meant something close to "as brave as a lion". Schumacher was a common German occupation surname meaning "shoemaker."
