CHAPTER 1

The Guardians

Roughly 6,335 years ago (or the Year 6414 CHE—of the CurrentHistrorical Era), the third "historically" important event occurred inthe Terran System. The first, of course, was the Elder Visitation (andSettlement?). The second, from our perspective, was our discovery ofEarth and its civilizations. The third follows, taken from a number ofpersonal accounts available to this lecturer.

The corvette Ixtel Avan lay silently at her post, circling the planetEarth. She lay not too far distant from the newly positioned satellitefortress Grumbolt. Due to its positioning, Grumbolt was invisible to theinhabitants of Earth. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the planetcould, under ideal conditions, actually see Ixtel Avan whisk across thenight-time sky. Of course, even if they noticed the IA, they'd have noconcept of what the rapidly moving light was.

Grumbolt was not in an Earth orbit. It had been towed from Paradise,and placed into a solar orbit only a year earlier. It was now stationedat the LaGrangian L1 point defined by the Sun-Earth system. AlthoughGrumbolt had mobility, and could move about in the Sol System, itwas very slow when compared to both merchantmen and war ships.It had no Faster-Than-Light (FTL) capabilities, and traveled ratherinefficiently. So, unless it needed to move to some other locationto better defend the planet Earth, it sat in relative stability at theSun-Earth L1 LaGrangian point.

[See Appendix B for a discussion of LaGrangian Points, especiallyrelated to the Sun-Earth System]

The captain of the Ixtel Avan was a man named Gian JonmothXiteroceph Bath. He was simply called Jon Bath by those who weren'tcompelled to call him either by his military position, Captain (of theIxtel Avan), or by his rank, Commander, or by his hereditary title, theHonorable Xiteroceph of Bathe.

Jon Bath sat at his command console, leisurely surveying the ninescreens he had displayed before him. Ixtel Avan's bridge was quiet.Six officers and spacers sat at other consoles, each monitoring aplethora of screens, displays, and devices, keeping tabs on all of theactivities and movements of a dynamic stellar system.

Three maroons were also assigned to the IA's bridge. One, MaroonShield Sergeant Yosho Quinridge, stood directly behind Bath'scommand chair. He was Bath's aide, and in charge of Bath's personalguard. In the short hallway between the bridge and the remainder ofthe ship were stationed Maroon Flag Corporal Tartis Korollian andMaroon Corporal Tollo Yertigas. They were there to guard the bridge,and as the remainder of Bath's security detail.

Despite himself, Bath could not stifle a yawn. It was just another routinewatch ... on a boring day ... above a barely inhabited planet ... in abackwater star system.

Jon Bath was a man of his times, of his planet of birth, and of hisbreeding. He was born in year 6375 CHE (Current Historical Era),in Castle Rhising, on the Isle of Bathe. Bathe, of course, lies nearthe equator of the planet Annanabi, in the heart of the HasdradanHome Worlds. Born to the Cephe of Bathe, Jon Bath was raised andeducated as an aristocrat.

[See Appendix B for a clarification of "Oligarch" and "Hasdradan",and Appendix C for a more detailed discussion of the Oligarchy ofHasdrada.]

As a young man, he had excelled through much of his educationand training—a double major of Astro-Navigation and Exo-PlanetaryEngineering at the University of Trothbert, and post-graduate work insub-atomic bonding at Deems. Then he took the mandatory tour in themilitary (something a Xiteroceph could easily have avoided if he choseto), where he did adequately well in ground-trooper training at theWarbanks Outpost. The next three years were spent first commandinga small ground unit in the Arfgot Conflict, and then acting as adjutant toa one-star admiral in the Higby system.

This latter was followed by a nomination to officer candidate schoolin the Higby system's Space Navy Academy. The nomination wasprobably due to his boundless energy, his attention to detail, and hisbetter than average intelligence, as well as his impeccable lineage,his hereditary title of Xiteroceph, and the admiral's good will. At theNaval Academy he finally excelled, especially in his favorite subjects,those involving both the logistics and operations of space navies, andthe fighting tactics of individual ships. These latter skills got both theattention of the Admiralty Staff, and admission to Oligarch Jane WarCollege, located on Higby. Jon Bath graduated from the War Collegewith honors, and showed a particularly brilliant flare for battle fleetmaneuvers in the midst of a hot fight. He won most of the war gameshe participated in, ranging from ship against ship, all the way throughtask force versus task force. He was thereafter watched as potentialadmiral material, although his career was anything but...