The Uprising, Introduction

An Invitation by Jesse Grant

"Commander, the instability is spiking."

"Time remaining?"

"Unsure, two minutes or less."

"Savior? Progress?"

"Another sixteen million, three hundred thousand."

"Engineering, how's the gate holding?"

"Badly Commander, we're getting high flux values."

"Can you boost the-"

"Commander, the star's breaking up.  It's going right now."

"Savior?"

"Nine Million.  I'm transiting them as fast as the system allows!"

"Time to impact?"

"Seven eight four seconds!"

"Pilot, begin moving us towards the gate. Sorry Savior, I'll hold us here as long as possible, but-"

"It's okay commander, I understand.  five million four hundred thousand."

"300 seconds.... 200... 100..."

"Pilot, take us through."

The massive yet graceful form of SYL Rescue Vessel Salvator slipped through the distortion just as the titanic wave of stellar debris smashed the planet and it's remaining two million, two hundred and sixty two thousand sapient residents to incandescent dust.  Salvator bucked, flipping end over end as the leading edge of the super nova blasted through the closing distortion.

Klaxons wailed, glowglobes exploded, and all over the bridge personnel were shaken violently in their restraints, yet the Mechanicians had built Salvator well and within moments she settled down, righted herself and surged away.

The commander turned to the blue winged woman floating serenely next to him.  "How many did we get?"

"Just under three hundred million of the Bakash, plus breeding samples of approximately 70% of all non-micro scale land creatures and 43% of all major pelagic sea creatures."

"Hmmm... I guess that's as good as can be expected... now, has the Board decided what to do with them?"

"No idea.  Trying to relocate a planet full of people is challenging enough.  Doing it with pre-rational societies is a thousand times worse, even with populations this small.  The last thing the board wants is a repeat of the Gaguna-Limursh Incident."

"Forgive me Savior, I'm not familiar with it."

"It's the reason the Resettlement Board exists.  It was about 300 years before I was born, back in '686."

Gaguna-Limursh Resettlement District (Sherkun V, Maganth Galaxy, Fief of Flowers, Aspect 15,446)

499.999,686, Fifty-first of Hulf

The history: Approximately 21 years previous, an Explorer Vessel in the employ of Dov Quistin (Count Breshu-Raganao) surveyed the Maganath-Mysiner-Miahav Gamma system.  Discovering that the system's second planet had a pre-rational (stone and bronze age level) sentient population they declared the system unexploitable per Standing Order 14.2.  A cultural studies group was sent in to  make a general catalogue and examination; instead they discovered that MMM Gamma II was geologically unstable. After three years of failed attempts to stabilize the planet, a decision was made to evacuate the planetary population.  Contact was made with local leaders (none of the various cultures exceeded the city-state level and most were semi-nomadic or isolated villages) and the situation explained.  A fleet of transports was commissioned and in the end some 61 million Limursh were evacuated, much to their amazement.  Dov Quistin donated one of the continents of the fifth planet of the Sherkun system to the Resettlement and several Resettlement Districts were created.

The situation:  Gaguna-Limursh Resettlement District is home to 17 million Limursh divided into thirty-three tribes.  Most of them are city builders.  The District Center is a compound of Imperials, mostly colonization experts, medical personnel, non-missionary priests, plus support staff and families.  The population of the Center is 15,000, give or take.  There are 18 Legionnaires forming a combination Garrison / Watch, commanded by Legionnaire Third Holisana Polglase.