Cowboys and Aliens Ch. 51

51. Braga

For right now, the first stop was to visit Braga. The shuttle left Caprica and made its way toward the gate, then less than a minute later they approached the blue-green planet called Braga. It was an exquisite-looking planet, but didn't seem to have many heavily populated areas.

When the planet was first discovered, it had an estimated population of about 10 million people... mostly nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes, but there were larger communities forming in every region.

The planet had one island that didn't seem to have any humanoid life on it; so, a few centuries ago a group of Federation citizens, that wanted religion to be their primary focus, and didn't want technology involved in every aspect of their lives, colonized it.

The Federation checked in now and then during the first few years, but eventually were told to leave and never come back; there had been no check-ins since then. There was some debate about whether to visit them, but Mark convinced everyone that if we have not contacted them for centuries, they could just stop by, if for no other reason than to inform them of the fate of Cantara. Inevitably, if they've progressed at all, there's likely a portion of the population that might not be buying whatever stories they based their religion on, plus maybe they could help the indigenous people of the planet, since they would have evolved too.

One downfall to simply using the shuttles for transportation between planets was that a small ship like a shuttle didn't have any long range scanners, so they couldn't really get any detailed information about the planet. Also, with little knowledge of the planet and no existing Federation technology, they were flying blind.

Mark voiced his opinion that they should revisit the idea of building their own ship, something slightly larger than the shuttle and with some more amenities, plus he wanted a ship with FTL capabilities. They didn't need something as big as a Defender or Sentinel, just something big enough for their gang and some amenities for more travel comfort.

Since they weren't hailed and the shuttle had very limited scanner range, they flew around the planet at an elevation of about 5,000 metres along the northern and southern tropic zones, since that was likely where the population centres would be. Then once they knew where the population was, they could go down to the most populous area and try to find some leadership -- or ask for directions.

As they were flying around the planet, the group started discussing the design of their new ship. After seeing the private jet that Admiral Caldwell used when the Americans first visited Atlantis, Mark admitted that there was something to be said about Earth's ingenuity and aesthetics. So Cricket, reading Mark's mind, actually started with a jet-like design and made changes from there.

Cricket had been displaying a hologram and changing it based on what everyone was saying. In the end, the exterior still looked like a private jet, but that was where the similarities ended. The cockpit was much more shuttle like -- way simpler and easier to get in and out and had a full field-of-view, although it didn't appear transparent from the exterior. The recessed central walkway allowed for a central ceiling height of 2.5 metres, so Solara, Luna and Astra wouldn't have to hunch over.

The ship would have all the basic shuttle features of inertial dampeners, AGCs, shields, cloak, foldable wings, and the ailerons had lateral thrusters for maneuvering in space. Then it also had some features of the larger ships: an FTL drive, full scanner array, a mass fabricator and even a miniature asteroid harvester in the undercarriage in case they needed to retrieve something or take on matter. Hidden in the larger fuselage area that connected the wings was a smaller version of a mass TRD driver, and the AGCs also allowed the ship to take off and land vertically.

The forward compartment had the port side entrance and, as you entered the ship, you faced the washroom, complete with a shower and clothing synth, and beside it was a small galley. Then, across from the galley, was a small private office with a computer terminal for Mark to use if he needed to. The central compartment had two sets of single seats facing each other, with a table in the middle. Each seat was oversized, comfortable and could recline into an ergonomic bed. The aft compartment had two couches facing each other, and by simply pressing a button, the compartment could convert into a bed spanning the width of the ship. Then, at the very back of the ship, was a hatch to allow access to the undercarriage mass fabricator and storage compartment.

Since something fabricated the first time took considerably longer than subsequent fabrications, Mark tasked the Sentinel at Norsvund'ka to manufacture it. They could transition to their new ship once they finished at Braga and made their way to Norn space.

***

With the new ship design being analyzed and uploaded to the mobile shipyard, they had now orbited the planet twice and had some rudimentary information about the population's distribution.

Just like all planets, most of the population was along the shorelines of major bodies of water, and the largest population centres were near the areas where the temperate zone transitioned to the tropic zone. Other than some rudimentary observations made in passing, they were still practically flying blind.

As they headed toward one of the larger population centres, Mark asked aloud, "Cricket, you would've had knowledge of where the Federation citizens had originally settled. Is that where we're headed?"

Cricket's hologram popped into existence. "Actually no! They are on an island continent on the other side of this planet from where we are. They're probably all asleep right now, but it'll be morning for them soon."

"Let's go down and look around. It looks like it's the middle ages, I saw castles!"

They cloaked the ship as they approached the surface, only then realizing that the new ship, being much larger, wouldn't be able to do what they were about to do. They'd need an open area at least 30 metres by 6 metres to land, so they might need to rethink the new ship a bit, or come up with some other solution.

"Cricket, hold off starting the construction of the new ship, I'm having second thoughts."

As they approached the settlement, the level of technology indeed looked medieval. They flew slowly through the walled cities; right by the castles and other large buildings made of stone. Most of the buildings, though, were constructed of wood, and it looked like the primary mode of transport was by boat or animal. They continued on and check out other population centres around the planet to see if they could find anyplace that looked more advanced than the others.

They really missed the scanning ability of the larger ships.

After checking out many cities and their associated castles, the place looked like feudal Kings, with armies and knights. They even got to witness a battle. It was just like you saw watching those kinds of things on TV. There were foot soldiers and mounted soldiers, with the commanders bringing up the rear along with catapults and ballistas.

Sure, they had Solara's personal shields, but would that really stop a sword or spear from stabbing you? Solara wasn't sure, but explained that anything moving at speed the shields would protect, even if it was quickly swung, but she wasn't sure about a close quick thrust.

Deciding that there were too many unknowns, they opted to visit the former Federation colonists.

Cricket guided the shuttle to the colonist's island, just south of the equator, as they were waking up to the new day.

They circumnavigated the island to assess where the population centres were. The island was roughly 60,000 square kilometres and shaped kind of like a heart or a shield. There were mountains scattered all over the island and it riddled the place with deep gorges, rivers, and lakes. The entire west side and most of the south were pretty rocky and would be difficult to travel with the technology they had seen so far. The convex northern side of the island was definitely the most populated area, with a handful of communities forming along inlets or bays. There were a couple of other smaller communities on the east side of the island, near large bays, and there was a wide valley that ran between the major mountain range and the smaller mountains on the eastern shoreline. It looked like it was mostly farmland, punctuated by a few large lakes.

Another thing they noticed was that catapults, ballistas and even a few trebuchets and cannons protected any of the shoreline that weren't all rocks or cliffs. There were also watchtowers, taller than the surrounding trees, placed along the shoreline. Each watchtower could see at least two other watchtowers, so they probably acted as some sort of signalling system in case of attack. There was also a small settlement at the very top of the big mountain. Its vantage point would see many of the watchtowers around the entire island, so it probably acted as a relay if there was an attack on any of the settlements near any of the usable shores.

Upon closer inspection of some villages, they didn't see any castles or as many stone buildings, they pretty much all had one large stone building near the centre of each community. A few of them were rectangular, although most were round. Maybe churches?

Everything else looked much the same as other locations they had seen on the planet, but more refined and better crafted. They also noticed that they were flying the Federation flag, or at least a close approximation of it. Upon seeing the flag, they revealed the shuttle and decided to land in an open area near a crowd. If their ancestors had passed on any stories of the Federation, they should recognize that they were not from this world, and hopefully they'd also realize they were there in peace.

One community that was quite far inland, along one of the major rivers that led to the northern shore from the big lake in the centre of the valley, definitely stood out as the most developed, it was also fairly central to the entire island, a perfect place for a capital. They slowly floated over the community before landing at a grassy space between a pile of rocks and one of those large stone igloos.

Mark thought, "Cricket, based on our fly over, what would you estimate the population of this island to be?"

"I would estimate the entire island has a population of 200,000 people, most seem to live in 5 large communities."

As expected, people were already gathering around, but giving them space. A half-dozen men and women were approaching the shuttle as the ramp lowered and they began exiting the shuttle.

They were all wearing fairly nice clothes for the time, but a few people wore togas and one older man had a sash that hung around his neck and went down to about his waist. It was a black sash and contrasted nicely with the white toga, so Mark guessed he was likely the leader.

As the group reached the shuttle, Mark had just stepped towards the man in greeting when he said, "I am Mayor Jonah Nakusp. You are from the Federation, are you not?"

His assumption surprised Mark, as he stepped forward and offered his hand in greeting. "I am Mark Phoenix, the King of the Atlantean Federation. I was just touring planets and wanted to visit some other non-Federated planets just to introduce ourselves and see if any countries would be interested in joi..."

Abruptly cutting Mark off mid-sentence, Jonah dropped to his knees like he was begging, "Please allow us to rejoin!"

"That's great! It's not that simple, but that's great! We obviously need to talk."

Jonah got up off his knees. "As soon as I saw your ship, I summoned for the senator. He should be here soon."

Mark looked over the pile of rocks that was beside the shuttle. "What's with the rock pile?"

"This pile has been a nuisance for years. It was to be a monument, but it toppled mid-construction because of a major storm. These days the kids climb on it and usually end up getting injured."

Mark then turned to look at the large stone building, which reminded him of a very large stone igloo. "What is this building?"

"This is our storm shelter. The island gets a few severe storms each year. The rectangular buildings are easy to build, but tough to build a roof that can withstand severe storms, so we considered pyramids, but then settled on the dome shape. They're easy to build, strong and with no edges, it doesn't matter which way the wind comes from."

Cricket spoke to Mark. "If they have been living like they're already part of the Federation, I can't see them voting NOT to join. The defence battlements stationed near the shoreline show they have security concerns, so you're going to need a bigger ship with mass fabricators and a mobile shipyard. I'm redirecting a Sentinel this way. I'll start it building some seeding ships, a drone dropper, and get a small Space Station started."

With the island positioned in the tropic zone, it was already quite warm despite it being early morning. The gang was all sitting on benches in the shade of some trees. Annabelle was bouncing Joseph on her knee as she asked, "So what's the plan?"

"You should all look around while I'm meeting with the senator. They're begging to join the Federation, so I'm going to meet with the mayor and their senator. We should probably set up an outreach centre, to allow them access to food, water, washrooms, showers and medical. Plus, if they can read, they can access the library."

"We can all read, education is important for all citizens." Jonah assured them confidently.

"Jonah, is there someone here that could give my people a tour and maybe help them find a suitable spot to build an outreach centre?"

"Sure! Sandra here can do that, she is my daughter." Jonah gestured toward a young girl that was part of the original greeting group.

Sandra was about 18 years old, 5'8", with brown hair and brown eyes. She looked quite skinny, as most of the people they could see were. She had a pleasant smile, and her eyes were sparkling with wonder and amazement.

Solara then said, "If that building is simply a dark storm shelter and this rock pile is a nuisance, why don't we just build the outreach centre here? It's central and we can use land and material that's currently unusable."

Jonah said, "If you can rid us of that nuisance, please go ahead."

Solara went into the shuttle to grab a construx, as Sandra took the rest of the gang for a tour.

Just then an older grey-haired man wearing a blue sash over his white toga arrived.

The mayor took it upon himself to make the introductions. "Senator Frobert, this is Mark Phoenix, the King of the Atlantean Federation."

They shook hands and the Senator immediately asked, "May we rejoin the Federation, my King?"

Mark laughed, "Please call me Mark. That seems to be a popular request this morning. It's not quite that easy though, the decision has to be made by a majority of the people."

"Call me Edward. Whatever needs to be done, you have my support to do it!"

"We can do it quickly and easily enough, but before that, I'd like to know what all has happened around here. How come you're so eager to join the Federation? Our last instructions were to leave and never come back. In all honesty, I was skeptical about even coming here today."

Edward grit his teeth and clenched his fists. "I knew they lied! The Federation would never willingly abandon their own people. You may not recognize religion, but you wouldn't exile people unless they violated laws, or they requested to be left alone. The King of the time had told the people that because of their religious views, the Federation wanted nothing more to do with the colony."

Edward sighed, calming himself as he talked. "When our forefathers first colonized this island, they had grandiose dreams that they could build a thriving society, with religion as the central focal point and keeping technology use to a minimum, thus the original capital of Lordstown. Without technology they knew it would be a lot of hard work to establish the colony, so they had brought hand tools and some ancient machinery for making lumber, metal, glass, textiles, mining, milling and farming. They recruited people with knowledge of agriculture and ancient trades for blacksmithing, masonry, carpentry and so on. Despite their view to not rely on technology, they had a mass fabricator so they could build parts for those ancient type machines.

The Federation visited a few times to check on us, but each time they visited, some people would leave with them. That's probably why the King cut off ties with the Federation. He probably thought it would motivate everyone, since they couldn't go back to the Federation. Many were skeptical that the Federation was the one that cut off ties and the cracks formed in the community.

The King eventually banished all the non-believers from Lordstown, calling them sinners and heathens. Those non-believers eventually found this place and created Federation City on the shores of the Great Lake in the middle of the island, far from any shores.

Less than twenty years after the last Federation ship visited, there was a sickness that wiped out much of the older population. At that point, the people in Lordstown were completely convinced that their Lord would save them, because they had devoted their lives to making religion the central focus of their community.

They all died, of course, and their faith and religion died with them. A survivor then travelled inland and found this city that those they had banished had created. The sickness hadn't affected this city, and the community was thriving on the shores of the Great Lake. They reported back that those they had cast out hadn't been affected by the sickness and had a thriving community in the central area of the island. The survivors then realizing that maybe the Federation was right and religion was all just make believe. After all, the 'heathens' had been spared from the plague.

With the King and most of the elderly dead, they came to my forefather, as the mayor of Federation City, and begged him to correct their ways and lead them into the future as the King of Lordstown and Salvation Island.

The only reason he had come to the colony was because they had offered him a new life, where his skills as a mason would be appreciated, but he had planned to return to Caprica someday.

As the new leader, he abolished the monarchy, and named Federation City as the capital. We already flew the Federation flag, followed Federation laws and had the community focus on education, figuring we needed to advance our society and help us live more productive lives until your return. I think they recorded his words as, 'We need to work hard and stay smart, so we don't look like dummies when the Federation comes back.'

They then visited Lordstown, renamed it to Landstown and burned the religious flag with the cross on it and hoisted the Federation flag, informing everyone they were returning to the Federation ways and laws. During that trip they got attacked, but fended them off using basic hunting weapons like bows and arrows, crossbows and spears.

That attack and their narrow victory changed their way of thinking. Rather than relying on the handful of machines they had brought solely for the construction of building materials. My forefather moved the mass fabricator to Federation City and created all the components needed to create more and different machines. The plan was to increase production and also to decentralize production to take advantage of local resources.