Ebi, The Allmother

The Blue Gem of the Skies

"The blue gem of the skies. At least, that's how my co-workers like to call it - A bit of an anecdotal remark from the fact that every world we'd came across until then were sterile, dusty wastelands. The locals call it the Allmother - which is a very accurate description, if you stop to think about it. Ebi is a magnificent place, when I first arrived I was stunned to discover that such beauty was even possible, only having heard from the places with diverse life like Earth, or the jungle homeworlds of the Phagis or Kharkans, but Ebi goes way beyond. From lush rainforests with unforeseen diversity in their plant life, coral reefs greater and more colourful than any on earth, unfathomable depths and mesmerizing heights, going on and on and on. And the fauna, such diversity! Creatures as if they'd come from the fairytale books of ages ago, four-armed simians, thirty-meter-long snakes, fish the length of a corvette, flying lizards, and even some truly absurd creations such as mammals capable of invisibility and rodents faster than a motorcycle. As a scientist I'm amazed at how life can be sometimes so similar to what we had on Earth, and at the same time so alien. The thing that truly baffles - and excites me - to no end, however, are the intelligent creatures. I'd argue they're even more intelligent than us, because it seems that after thousands of years their planet seems mostly intact from the lasting damages of industry and colonization. Our first contact with the inhabitants had us call them the 'Dragon skins', referring to the Altherians, And the other most prominent folks from here were lumped together and called the 'Elves'. I don't blame them, I probably would have said the same then, if I didn't knew what I know now. But, even though our arrival in their home was dramatically unexpected and brought such terrible connotations, the denizens of this world were so quick to take us in and hear us out, and an alliance was built between our kind even though our cultures, languages and technologies were so different. It has been over a decade since I've made my home in Ebi. Each day our recons bring news of the approaching Imperial fleet. How whole battalions of spacecraft are torn to shreds as they attempt to distract and slow their approach, so many lives lost. But each day, our peoples come closer. Before, they had never seen a computer - now, they're commanding the constructions of massive hyperstructures to fortify against the advance of the Empire. We've built fortresses, dreadnoughts, bombers, and heavy artillery to rival the greatest achievements of humankind - our world will not be defeated, not without a fight. But, even the thought that all of that was made to protect us still... wounds me. We have protected our home, yes, but we've damaged it in the process. We've brought industrialization and natural exploitation to a world whose people had never had a need for those things, and could subside from the resources the earth and the sea gave them. and even though our presence here has been short, we've permanently changed this world. It is still my home, and it is still the most beautiful place I've known, but the thought that these things might come to an end, by our hand or theirs... It fills me with dread. I truly, deeply, intensely hope such a day never comes."
-Philip Gerhart, Human Historian & Philosopher, Circa 35 BE