Database and Lore

Batrice and Gillan

“Many would see our system as that of nothing, but Batrice is the most important colony to exist. If you lose Batrice, you lose the war,” Heng Chanvetay, Prime Minister of Batrice, 2349 AD. The world of Batrice is one that various onlookers might possibly overlook. Many don’t consider it a pretty world to be on, but it makes up for it in other ways that make it a strategic outpost. Its history is one of hardship but overcoming the odds in becoming one of the most significant colonies that the UWA would ever see. Gillan would join up in this cause to further cement the importance of this single-star system. As of 2350, it would be believed that Batrice would be the last to fall if outside forces wiped out humanity. History In the beginning days prior to the Gabatrix Experiment, humanity began to immediately spread through the nearby solar systems to find new worlds to settle on. Trappist 1, a known red dwarf star system, was quickly chosen to be a viable settlement. However, the reasons were not as much as finding a habitable world but for something else, mining. In what is known as Gabatrix Environmentalism, great care was made by humanity to find locations that humanity could settle on without tampering with the native wildlife. This was a tricky issue, as worlds such as Cebravis would face a massive stage of immigration. Many wanted to ensure that the new world would be treated well and have the people be one with its nature. While this is mostly true, the most significant setback for humanity was that mining and much industry were outlawed entirely to ensure the landscape wouldn’t be disrupted. Many new colonies also had similar laws to prevent mining from being conducted. Trappist-1, however, would face the dilemma, and a difficult decision was made. Humanity needed raw materials to craft everything. While Trappist-1 did have a slew of planets available, Trappist-1E wasn’t the best habitable location. Unlike Aphadus, which follows a similar tidal lock red dwarf system, Trappist-1E was a rocky landscape almost devoid of life. There was no viable atmosphere, and there were the possible threats of solar flares from the star. It was decided that Trappist-1 would fall under a chopping block. The entire system consisted of seven exoplanets ripe with materials that could be harvested. Gabatrix Environmentalism was dropped for this potential colony to ensure industry and mining potential could prevail. Samantha Batrice, a former Martian military admiral, would lead the venture to colonize Trappist-1E a year after Cebravis was colonized. She would name the planet and colony after herself. The beginning stages of colonization were rather interesting. This consisted of creating mobile dome crawlers that could move around the surface and carry families, resources, and all the equipment needed to conduct mining. While construction was slow for the first few years, it proved to work rather well. With the local industry expanding and the need for the human race to find jobs, many would flock to the planet. In 2274, Batrice announced that she had a dual project of creating a gate array and having the array converted into a massive expandable shipyard facility. The shipyard project was to help ensure that raw materials could be quickly dispatched to other systems while having a central trading hub for industry. Construction of mining vessels could be constructed and maintained as well. While the gate array would be completed in a few years, the shipyard wouldn’t see operation for another 25 years. This was mostly due to the fact that the surface “cities” of Batrice were still under construction. In reality, Batrice had been in the red when it came to making income for the first twenty years. Project after project outweighed much of the financial gain. In the Admiral’s argument, she believed that the colony would gain a lot from the various actions to expand upon itself in the long run. Ultimately, she proved correct. Many UWA worlds have various cultures and former ethnicities that helped fashion the colony. Much of the Batrice population is made by those of Oceania, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asian nations of former Earth. Samantha Batrice’s father was Australian, and her mother was Cambodian. When Samantha wanted to adopt the flag for the future colony of Batrice, she chose a familiar concept of a flag to represent it that depicts the former nation of Cambodia. Obviously, the population of Batrice isn’t solely made of people of those former cultures and ethnicities, as Batrice is a stop-and-go location. Samantha Batrice would never get a chance to see the full fruition of her work. While the shipyard was completed and the economy was booming, she would pass away in 2295. However, she is considered to be one of the major heroes and founders of the entire colony. She was well into her senior years when she created the settlement. According to her words, “I never want to retire like Gabatrix. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” She got her wish, and it was stated that Batrice was still drawing up and improving layouts of the colony in her final days. The creation of the shipyard Fort Darwin, also known as Darwin Mega, would usher in the beginning of the Batrice economy. It was the first time that a proper orbital shipyard had been created since the creation of the Deimos Shipyards on Mars. For the first time since the early 23^rd  century, the UWA finally had another place to construct warships. The arrival of Fort Darwin came at the perfect time for the expansion of the UHN. Deimos was no longer the absolute cornerstone in ship production. Various companies seized the opportunity in wanting to have multiple ships built and maintained. The success of the project had pushed mining companies to expand outward. Other worlds outside of the UWA were considered to be exploited in the venturing of mining ventures. Even if Batrice wasn’t the singular place for mining, it had become a mining hub. Rare metals, gems, and other hard-to-find materials could be pressed to find. Gillan also shares a similar history as that of Batrice. The neighboring planet would be colonized in 2268. In reality, Trappist 1F was an eyeball planet. Its tidal-locked state forced one side to remain facing the sun. Large amounts of melted ice loomed over the front-lit side. There was only a tiny amount of land for a proper settlement to be established. Gillan’s expansion was very slow, although its purpose was to further help in the expansion of the Trappist system. The creation of Fort Wright was never that significant when compared to Fort Darwin. However, Gillan still would have a single outpost on the planet connecting up to the gate and fortress. While there was some underwater mining, the creation of Fort Wright was the true expanse of the Gillan economy. However, even then, the population would only reach 10,000 by 2300. It would slowly expand to around 30,000 by 2335. The planet of Gillan shares a flag that’s very similar to Batrice, with a light blue background instead of red. Batrice’s expansion was the true hallmark of its success. It proved to defy the odds and become a true powerhouse when it came to colonies. By 2300, the settlement had been working with the concept of expanding its military infrastructure. The first series of warships were starting to be constructed, and basic military vehicles were being manufactured. Finally, the construction of Fort Batrice would begin. One of the colossal military projects was one that was almost never pursued due to the significant cost. However, the UHN decided to help fund the project. The enormous station would take 50 years to fully complete and mark the true success in allowing Batrice to protect itself. While Batrice had become a powerhouse, the colony did still suffer from certain issues. For one, life was barely sustainable. Outside of the domes were generally high concentrations of radiation. Mining from the surface had generated certain lung conditions that would lead to death until proper safety measures and augmented lungs were installed. Cebravis and Oshun had become “breadbaskets” in providing food. Batrice and Gillan had little food production, forcing them to rely on food imports to exchange minerals in return. Arguments raged that Batrice needed a way to help take care of its food stocks to reach true self-autonomy. While they wished to be a part of the UWA, the need to still rely on others was a lingering issue. Technically, however, the creation of the shipyards and mineral wealth still put Batrice as one of the significant UWA colonies. There has been some lingering fear in UWA talks that Batrice and Gillan may be looking at the possibility of succeeding from the UWA in the far future. If so, a “Batrice Empire” concept may be looming. However, it was clearly stated by Gabatrix that the idea of an ununified human race would lead to significant problems and possibly even lead to humanity's demise. According to most of the population of Batrice, the idea of succeeding is out of the question. There would be too much loss in performing such an act, and many also highly respect the hero and founder of gate folding technology. Fort Batrice had formed a pretense of this contention when the UHN finally had to cease funding due to the enormous cost of building it. Batrice announced it would still finish the project itself. Even if Fort Batrice is a part of the UHN, it’s still officially “Batrice Property.” Despite the opposition, most historians and sociologists consider Batrice and Gillan as more economic contenders with Mars rather than separatists. Despite their much smaller population and state, Gillan has expressed a lack of interest in Batrice policies. While Gillan is looked at as a microcolony, there have been statements that they view themselves as a “bridge” with UWA and Batrice affairs. Opinions have more variation among the Gillans and don’t always agree with Batrice in return. While Gillan still looks at Batrice as a protector in the system, the politicians are more likely swayed to outer colonial concepts. *Spoilers if you haven’t read Gabatrix: Minerva* When the Human-Itrean War began, Batrice was in good shape. Fort Batrice was almost entirely built and quickly rushed to completion. Its lingering impact meant that UHN forces in the system could be rushed to other UWA colonies to help provide defense since the station was capable of delivering sizeable protection for Batrice. However, this didn’t save a tragedy that occurred in the early months of the war. A small Aksren scouting force had successfully bombarded the planet before it was destroyed. Sadly, the damage inflicted on the surface would lead to the death of Heng Chanvetay’s daughter. The event became a watershed event as the Prime Minister carried his daughter’s corpse from the rubble of the school for the media to see. Chanvetay vowed to increase Batrice’s defenses to ensure that the colony could meet whatever additional threats were out there. Regardless, Batrice was still in the best situation and, during the early days of the war, was considered to be one of the three most vital planets in the UWA. Mars served as the hub and construction facility. Cebravis served as the most populated food production world, and Batrice was a mining hub and construction yard. If one fell, then humanity was in severe jeopardy. *Spoilers if you haven’t read Gabatrix: The Terrorists of Batrice* By the mid-years of 2350, Batrice still remained a vital colony to the UWA. Its shipyards were busy working on new battleships and taking steps to create powerful dreadnoughts to supplement the UHN further. Fort Batrice was fully completed and made the colony a bastion to UHN and UWA interests. Even Gillan’s shipyards were expanded three-fold. However, Batrice was also in a political disagreement with the UWA. The recent alliance with one of the Itrean clans, the T’rintar, had caused Batrice to be used as a bargaining chip. In exchange for Earth (Itrea) to the T’rintar and rare minerals extracted from Batrice, the T’rintar clan would provide protection. Politically, it seemed like a feasible agreement because the clan could provide a defense for humanity against the other Itrean clans that invaded the UWA systems. However, there was a disagreement that Batrice was never included in the bargaining table, nor were the Batrice politicians ever invited to help negotiate. Disputes rose that the colony was being forced to provide mineral wealth to the clan as tribute. At the same time, anti-Itrean feelings had begun to further spread throughout the planet and stations. Ambassadors from both UWA and T’rintar clans agreed that the negotiations were rushed and failed to consider Batrice interests. At the same time, efforts were installed to bring the colony into the bigger picture when it came to their mineral wealth. Unfortunately, there is some claim that some of this came in far too late to an already disgruntled population. While talks on Batrice seemed somewhat promising with drastically decreasing mineral tribute, an incident on Fort Batrice would jeopardize the negotiations. An attempted assassination of the UWA and T’rintar clan Ambassadors would lead to a small crisis. The aids of the ambassadors were arrested in the conspiracy to murder the two ambassadors. Fort Batrice would hold the two as prisoners as the T’rintar clan demanded to have the aides returned to face proper trial. Fort Batrice refused and would almost lead to a much stronger standoff with Batrice and the clan. Amazingly, however, a pilot had managed to play a role in breaking the aides from their imprisonment. He successfully fought his way out and stole a shuttle to make their escape. Fort Batrice was extremely close to having an all-out engagement with the T’rintar clan warship that saved the shuttle from certain destruction. While the aides would later be found not guilty by UHN tribunal, the pilot was supposedly sentenced to live his days on Earth instead of being handed back to Batrice. The decision angered Batrice. The colony claims that the UWA has severely served against the interests of Batrice and, at the same time, that the UWA is desperate to maintain the alliance. The threat of Batrice succeeding is increasing. With Fort Batrice, the planet believes that they can adequately handle further Itrean assaults and build the necessary warships to supplement their defenses even without the UHN. What further disturbs this alliance is the fact that claims mount that Batrice is rewriting its own history and changing its government to a possible totalitarinist regime. In addition, many families outside of the UWA claim that it's difficult for them to talk to their families on Batric, hinting that some Batricians are either “brainwashed” or living under fear from their own population. However, Batrice still believes in maintaining its seat with the UWA. It continues to provide warships and vessels to the rest of the UWA. However, it disavows claims that its history is being rewritten and counterargues that the UWA is attempting to subterfuge the population with its own “fabricated history.” Batrice nationalism is at an all-time high, and it is unknown how much longer Batrice can be held as a member. However, Gillan still remains an unknown as their desires are to stay in relation with the UWA and adhere to the demands of Batrice, themselves, and the outside.