Galactica: Book 1 - Via Lactea

Atlantis is reborn after 19,000 years, a lot of misery and trauma, just in time to escape the destruction of their second home. How this come to pass is exposed in the Prophesy saga, which covers something like the last decade leading to the evacuation of Earth. Seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven year seven months and seven days after the Humans self-destroyed in a Nuclear War, the Atlanteans re-emerged from the left-over Human gene pool and left the planet that had been their second home as series of catastrophes of planetary and astronomical origins combined to see Gaia, Earth, die and melt as the Moon fell on its surface and the planet itself left its orbit to head for its Primary, the Sun. The Atlanteans of what was Atlantis II had foreseen the events and had seen to it to distribute around the globe the components required to build the giant spaceship, capable to save what could be, and leave the solar system to navigate the stars anew.

Atlantis Two, as Atlantis One, had many enemies, none more ferocious than the Elohim, or Soul-Eaters, that fed on emotions, parasitising the Soul of those life-forms capable of emotions and conscience. Atlanteans had been forced to leave their Home World when their Primary star had been artificially detonated into a super-nova, and a select few had managed to migrate to Earth while it was still inhabited by the precursor of Homo Sapiens. Unfortunately, the Soul-Eaters had landed well before the Atlanteans had set foot on Earth, and had begun a farming project with the Human species as its focal point, raising them as cattle for their food supply. There ensued an epic series of battles that resonated across the prehistory and history of humanity for thousands of years. Two hereditary enemies were cornered on the same bit of wet rock, both interested in the fate of humanity for differing purposes; two enemies unable to leave, because the Atlanteans had nowhere to go, and the Soul-Eaters had been trapped on this plate of food like Flies in a Venus Fly-trap set up by an unknown, and probably now extinct, species, generally going under the name of Founders.

The spaceship, named the ASS Thebes, escaped Earth after another series of battles with the Elohim, that had congregated to the Solar System in the hope of reaping what their unfortunate precursors had promised: an unending supply of emotion food. Unfortunately for the Elohim, things turned bad once more and they lost a sizeable amount of their ships in the battles leading to the escape of the Atlantean space ship. They were not the only ones present on the site of the battlefield: like sharks around a naval battle, Scavenger species converged on the field, ready to reap the left-overs, and getting trounced in the process.

But escaping the Solar System was only the beginning: the Atlanteans were tracked by the Scavengers, hot on the trail of blood, and also met another old Nemesis: the Enemy, or Cyborgs, Borgs for short. It was another short but bloody battle, and the Atlanteans managed to rescue three more intelligent life-forms, before heading for their Home World, Atlantis One.

There, a transponder, dormant since the Colony ship had left the star system in catastrophe, responded to the mental signature of the crew of the ASS Thebes and revealed the true nature of the cataclysm that had done Atlantis One in, but also who was responsible: the Borgs! Unfortunately, the destruction of one of their Mother Cubes had triggered an alarm. The Borgs again converged on the location of Atlantis One, intent on destroying the Atlanteans once and for all. They met their match as the Atlantean space ship dove in the Black Hole that had become the star of Atlantis One, bringing with it the Borgs and detonating the Worm Hole associated with the Black Hole, effectively destroying the Borg fleet found in the Galaxy.

This is where our story stands, and it will continue with this new saga.

***

Many individuals will carry from the previous saga, mostly the members of the Imperial family of Atlantis Three. A quick introduction may be in order so as to ease the reading of this story. Most of the Imperial family is reborn from the destruction of Atlantis Two, many, after several incarnations finally recovering their memory. First, there is Horus, reborn Harold, Pharaoh of Atlantis, and his wife Annabelle. Queen of the Legions, their biological sons Ian, Heir of Atlantis, and King of the Wolf Throne; Alexander, second son of the Imperial pair; Paschal, Imhophet, Architect of Atlantis and adopted son of the Emperor, or Pharaoh; Sitar, Montue, Grand Master of the Blade and God of War of Atlantis and adopted son of the Pharaoh; Harp, Merlin, Prince of Magic and King of the Equines, blood brother of Paschal; and, to complete the list of immediate family members, Viola, Banjo, Cello, Piano and Violin, blood brothers and sisters of Harp, also adopted by the Imperial couple, in that order. Other princes include Yamato, Dunbar and Williams, to name a few.

Then there are Elves: King Enron, and his dad, King Father Samson, and a plethora of princes, Archdukes, Dukes, Marquis, Barons, Baronets, Counts, and Viscounts. The Imperial Court also includes a lot more than the run of the mill Atlanteans. It includes Canines, including, but not limited to Wolves, Foxes and Coyotes; also present are Equines, including, amongst others, Lord Agramon Silver Moon, Asses, Zebras, Donkeys, and others. But it does not stop there: Mutant species of Equines are also present. These include Centaurs, Unicorns, and Pegasuses. To complete the picture of natural fliers, and difficult to miss in the inner sky of Thebes, are Dragons of varying shades and sizes, governed by King Typhoon.

Amongst more exotic bipeds found at the Court and bound to it by fealty are Trolls, whose Throne is held by Timor, a young adolescent whose size outshines his dad Bjorn by a far shot, Dwarves, led by Thorsten, Harp’s bonded, Fairies led by Princess Iridia, Orcs, whose newly minted Throne is held by Tarik; Goblins, another space-faring species stranded on Earth three thousand years before the current events, and led by Rabwhaar, or, as he prefers to be known, Rockhook. There is another space-faring species rescued from Earth, and that arrived on Earth about the same time as the Goblins, the Seraphrims, led by the Matriarch. The Seraphrims are, like the Dragons, silicon-based, contrary to the rest of the species mentioned so far, which are carbon-based.

Some species are nearing integration into the Atlantean culture: the Australopithecus Regressi, the Sabre-tooth Snow Leopard, to name a few; but there are others that should join the fold eventually: the Dolphins, the Pterodactyls, and possibly the Ogres. Only time will tell.

***

Apart from the bonds of vassalage, there are other bonds that bind the Atlantean society. One of the most important is the Ring of Protection, that protects the Heir of Atlantis, Ian. The primary ring, the Protectors, is composed of Paschal, Harp, Sitar, Thorsten, Typhoon, and Enron. The second ring includes Canines, three Dogs, a Wolf, a Fox, and a Coyote. The third ring is composed of Equines and includes Lord Agramon and other Equines.

Another bond is the Dragon Bond, which binds Dragon kind to other species and gifts them with the capacity of shape-shifting. By allowing shape-shifting, the Dragons have allowed the Emperor and his family to bind the entire Empire by binds of Blood and Magic beyond the limits imposed by normal species barriers.

There are pairings also, bonds of intense love that cross over species limits. One such bond is the one uniting Thorsten, the Dwarf King, and Harp, the Prince of Magic. Ian is bonded with Typhoon. The Imperial family is extensive, diverse and a study in contrasts: One such couple is the Princess of the Fairies, Iridia, that is married to the King of the Trolls, Timor: Iridia is less then a foot tall, while Timor measures over fifteen feet in his native form and he has yet to reach mid-teen! Yes, you read right: the Troll King, like all Royals, has the capacity to change shape, and not only one or two, but into any shape he has a genetic map of. The capacity also allows for a fluid change of sex should the necessity dictate so; feeding his son eight times a day is such a necessity. Prince Harp has unlocked the gene keys so the dominant traits of the little Prince, Harold-Ian, can express themselves to their full potential. This translates in a huge, very hairy Fairy! But the most important bond is the one linking Ian and Typhoon. It was this bond that allowed the Dragons to bind to all other species, a bond forged in an Ordeal that marked the Protectors and created a Bond so tight they became One.

One last Bond exists, and links every member of a species, the Conscience. The Conscience, first apparent with the Wolves and Horses, has shown itself in pretty much every herd species, and seems to be crossing species boundaries. Some species, mostly bipeds, have issues because of individualistic mentalities, but this is being breached daily by their youngsters.

This concludes the overview of what transpired in the Prophesy Saga.

***

Technologically, the reborn Atlanteans had to go from the middle Ages to space-farers literally overnight. Luckily, they were helped by the tools left by Atlantis Two before its destruction: the Pyramids, which educated them by plunging them in deep hypnosis and filling their mind with the proper knowledge. But it does not stop there. Harp, the Prince of Magic, reborn Atlantean, as many others, had designed the ASS Thebes with the help of Paschal to be a Tessaract of humongous proportions, and able to contain other tessaracts, 32 in total. It is these tessaracts that allow the Atlanteans to rescue entire species and store whole ecosystems. Tessaracts are compressed space-time, which can be brought to a compression factor of Log 9.9, or almost 1:10,000,000,000, both in time and space dimensions. Gravity, time and, for that matter, all 11 dimensions of the Continuum are controllable in a tessaract. Even Thebes can sustain compression in its entirety or locally, up to a one cubic foot!

Furthermore, there are containers, called stasis pods, that can heal, or arrest a degradation until such time there is a healing stasis pod available. These pods, of a wide variety adapted to each species, number in the billions. Most are currently hosting those rescued through time from Atlantis One, and another group is found at the General Hospital.

Yet, there are other marvels, created by the Grand Architect of Atlantis, Paschal: these are collectors and duplicators, that can collect living organisms, genetic maps, and inert structures allowing for a complete duplication of environment within a tessaract layer, and, ultimate refinement, can travel through time to collect their targets.

Magical impediments abound: Sitar’s sword, Excalibur; Paschal’s sword, Mitsuko; Thorsten’s Axe and Hammer; Horus’ Hammer and Shield of Thor as the Dwarves had named Horus; Samson’s Trident; and Harp’s walking stick, Bata. Others may show up later, as the need manifests itself, just as the previous ones have been recovered or recreated.