Sunnydale

by on September 23, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

Asteroid belts are nothing like what most of us have seen in the movies. They cover a large amount of stellar real estate with a comparatively small amount of actual solid matter. What that means is that individual asteroids tend to be tens, hundreds, or thousands of kilometers away from their nearest neighbors. The fantastic race through asteroid belts, dodging left and right to avoid rocks and random laser bolts from enraged pursuers, while asteroids smash into each other and rain pebbles all over the daringly piloted ships is pure fantasy. Almost as realistic as those nice young space Viking ladies wearing strategically-placed bits of silver plastic meant to look like old Norse armor. Yeah. Where was I? Oh. Right. Asteroid belts. The Cobbles are a little thicker than most belts I’ve seen, but still nothing like the movie version. It’s rather easy to chart a course and not have to deviate from it for hours at a time to avoid some random rock. What was that? Oh. That’s Betty telling me if I think it’s easy, she’ll let me do it next time. So I think I’ll avoid calling it easy from now on. Unless you’re a skilled navigator and then you make it look easy. Yeah. If you can see her rolling her eyes at me right now, you know her well.

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Branan

by on September 22, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

An interesting point to be made about the Branan is that they are born with six limbs. Arms, legs, and wings. The problem is that their brain can only handle four limbs, so most Branan have their wings removed. But there are numerous Branan offshoot cultures that don’t do that. Some leave all the limbs in place, and simply train their children to use the ones they need. Most others remove their legs so they have fully functional wings and arms. Those Branan can fly without any technological assistance. Some even remove the arms so they can walk or fly. But considering the usefulness of hands, those are rare. The point is that you can see Thunderbirds with any combination of limbs, though only four of them will ever work. There are rumors of some progress towards successful six-limbed Thunderbirds in recent years, probably thanks to Contact with the Seraph, but those rumors have not yet been confirmed.

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Cheyenne Mountain

by on September 21, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

Theta Tauri. Phaesula. Chakumuy. 77 and 78 Tau. HD 28307 and 28319. HIP 20885 and 20894. The stars of Theta Tauri have many names from many cultures and scientific listings. But that multiple star system is the core of the Hyades Cluster. The center. The Heart. The gravitic nexus of a cluster of over two hundred stars migrating through our sector of the galaxy from wherever it was they were formed. The War ended there. We fought for the future of humanity there. And I do not exaggerate. Either the Chinese would rule Earthborn humanity, or the Western Alliance would emerge as the predominant power in our sector of the galaxy. All of that was decided by one, final roll of the dice at The Heart of the Hyades Cluster. We named it Cheyenne Mountain.

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Sunnydale

by on September 20, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

The original surveyors designated Sunnydale’s sole asteroid belt with the ironic name of Cobbledale. Most locals call it the Cobbles, and leave it at that. They aren’t very rich with heavy metals, or anything else for that matter, but asteroid belts are large places and even small amounts of ore are easy to find and mine. That is why the Cobbles are home to an impressive number of mining operations, both small and large. They are also home to several large asteroids that were hollowed out, laced with gravity plating, and pressurized to allow humans to live comfortably. I’ve been in them, and I question any definition of comfort that applies to them. I’ll grant you that I grew up on a wide open planet Earth, so I’m certainly biased, but just stepping inside those tiny little tunnels made me feel claustrophobic. But tens of thousands of people somehow live inside those rocks and swear they love it. I think they might be a little bit insane, but I’m no shrink, so take my verdict with a healthy grain of salt.

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Branan

by on September 19, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

Many consider the Branan to be a warlike race. The truth is that they are no more warlike than us. They just don’t hide that fact from themselves. We publicly decry war while waging it on many levels all of the time. The Branan accept that war is inevitable and wage it to the best of their ability. Many surmise that is because the Albion created them to be soldiers in the first place. Whatever the reasons, the Branan have earned the nickname that most people call them. They have earned it by being implacable enemies and relentless allies across the vastness of time and space. They are Thunderbirds.

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