Gabatrix: The Terrorists of Batrice

Trappist-1 has been an enigma for astronomers for some time that goes as far back as 1999. Its discovery would ultimately gain its name, but it was what was within it that made it even more of a surprise. In 2015, it was discovered that it had planets orbiting it. The location and the worlds that followed it traveled in a circular pattern that allowed astronomers to easily spot them as each sphere would fly in front of the star's sightline to Earth. Careful measurements and even the ability to tell their orbital distance was all achieved because of this simple observation.

The Trappist-1 system has been one of both marvel and shock to the field of astronomy. Located forty light-years from Earth, it was some of the first attempts to catalog a solar system and its planets other than the Sol System. While small, it proved to be of scientific discovery as more and more study was poured into it. What further surprised individuals were the distances of each planet and the strength of the star itself. Not only was the star way less hot than Sol, but the orbital habitable ranges of Trappist-1 created a zone where life could exist, at least in theory.

We have to zoom in closer and closer to the star until we can finally see it. While the exoplanets are bigger than Earth, the furthest planet, which is Trappist-1h is actually way closer to its star than Mercury is to Sol. Mercury has an orbital distance of 0.38 Astronomical Units (Range from Earth to Sol) while Trappist-1h is 0.06 AU. All in all, we come to a stop as we look overhead to see seven planets that orbit this tiny star.

Questions arise as we stare at this star system. Could life develop on these worlds? Red Dwarf stars offer certain unique aspects for the development of life. The most significant advantage is that Red Dwarf stars are not going anywhere anytime soon. Bigger does not always mean better when it comes to space. The most prominent stars are the ones that will die first, while the most petite stars are the ones that will last the longest. It is expected that Trappist-1 will outlive Sol itself in trillions of years as it continues to burn until it finally fizzles out into a black dwarf. A lasting legacy for a life that depends on sunlight is that the M-Type stars will actually be the final resting spots in the universe as it slowly burns out in trillions of trillions of years to come.

We continue to observe the Trappist-1 system. Each planet is so close to the star that the closest one (Trappist-1b) takes a day and a half to make a full orbit, with the furthest taking eighteen days to accomplish it. Life here would be much different than that of Earth. The planets are tidally locked, much like the colony of Aphadus and New Olympia. Just like Luna, we will only see one side of it as it remains forever trapped, facing one side to its orbiting parent. The illumination is also significantly less on these worlds as it would produce a dim-lit reddish hue over most of the planets. If intelligent life did develop on these types of solar systems, it would carry benefits. For one, everything is much closer. Planet hopping would be realistic and possible. Imagine if Earth had six massive moons instead of one that is smaller. Each planet would take a day or two to reach on primitive conventional drives. Tidal heating would allow the world to have seismic activity. While this in itself wouldn't guarantee precious metals or building material, all exoplanets combined together could prove to be worthwhile for that developing race.

Of course, there is one drawback that you are already fully aware of. Much like many Red Dwarfs, these stars have a tendency to produce enormous and extremely powerful superflares that make Sol's solar flares seem like a firecracker in space. With the planets having to be so close to their star, the entire system is engulfed in it when they light up. If Sol had these forms of superflares, Earth's atmosphere would be ripped off in years. This alone brings in problems for developing life. Powerful radiation surges can superheat planets by at least ten to twenty degrees for minutes. This radiation would be lethal to humankind. For developing life, they would have to endure this form of hardship.

For now, the human race was trapped with an early dilemma of its own once the famed Gabatrix Experiment was done. Should Earth be regulated to a mining world to provide the materials of an ever-expanding society? What about Luna or Mars? Even with the implementation of "Never Again," the human race still needs the raw materials required to produce homes, equipment, and even the vessels that will carry themselves out amongst the stars. The fantastic and beautiful worlds of Cebravis, Oshun, Cipra, Eutera, and Aphadus must be preserved at whatever cost. This meant that somewhere, something had to be sacrificed to provide those materials.

The answer lies in the worlds that prove to be of little interest. Something must be sacrificed, and it was decided that Trappist-1 would be on the chopping block. As we zoom in closer to the system, we can begin to see the numerous worlds in their better glory. Each one is beautiful in its own right. While life was found to exist to certain degrees on some of these worlds, humankind had to turn a blind eye to it. Seven exoplanets meant that there was more than enough to supply the material wealth that could be provided to every planet on every human society in the thousands of years to come.

It is here that we begin to zoom in on the great colony that is Batrice. Located in Trappist-1e, the combination of the right amount of heat from its star has caused the ice to melt into a liquid. This, combined with tidal heating, causes the rocks to be messaged and molded after billions of years into the most significant materials ever found. It is easy to extract and mine the gems below. We zoom in close enough to see that it is a rocky world with large purple lakes on its lit side.

Batrice......its history is one of strife and achievement. The great dome cities that lie on its surface are designed to be mobile. It provides the ultimate defense in case the star decides to unleash a devastating superflare on its surface. Each dome city consists of enormous and powerful drills that claw deep into its crust. The human populations that reside within them know only one thing: to look beneath its feet. There is a saying in this world that you have never met a person from Batrice until you decide to lower your head and follow your gaze to the ground with them. It is there that you look up and then behold the fact that they managed to accomplish far more than that.

Established in 2263, the colony of Batrice's first action was to dig. While the extracted metals and material results were nothing better than Earth, it didn't matter. For the people here, it was life. For them, Earth was a forgotten and ravaged relic. Its poisoned waters made things unthinkable in the desire to go towards. With hopes that one day Earth could be restored, the need to mine from the Trappist-1 system grew.

In the far distance of the planet, we can see another planet. The neighboring world of Gillan or Trappist-1f was chosen next to continue the expanse in the desire for material wealth. A planet mostly covered in ice. One side consists of melted water, while the other dark side is frozen solid. Consisting of a couple of tiny islands that float on the surface, the small colony would become the sister of Batrice. As we look closer at it, we can see that it almost has the appearance of a large purple eyeball. It seems to be looking at its brother and companion in the system. Established in 2268, Gillan would join up to become the two great colonies of the other developing worlds that would lead to the United Worlds' Alliance. Cebravis would become paradise and a carefully farmed food planet for other worlds as Batrice and Gillan would provide much of the needed materials for the rest.

While the results were slow at first, Batrice knew that its place was important in politics' societal infrastructure. The people were not stupid, and many of the rich were starting to come from these two worlds. Much like Earth's history, those that have the material wealth, the mines, and the resources could, in effect, control the destiny of other civilizations. Mars was becoming a slowly abandoned world thanks to Cebravis, but it still provided the equipment and resources to build a military. Its place as a capital is more than understood. While Cebravis kept the military away from them, Batrice and Gillan knew that it had an opportunity that the other worlds didn't.

We instead get closer and closer to Batrice near the western hemisphere, where the light and darkness meet. This is the area where the temperatures meet in the middle. Trapped in a tidally locked position, it will forever be dawn in this zone of the exoplanet. We begin to see something that looks like a ring at first, but as we fly in, we begin to see the object's full size. Tethered to the ground in high orbit, the ring is nothing more than a gate array. Thanks to the great experiment of the past, the people of Batrice can make a trip from one system to another quickly. It serves as a massive port, but the population wanted more. In the wisdom or greed of society, it was seen that Batrice could give something that only Mars was providing at the time. We can see on the ring an extensive series of construction platforms attached below the array.

Designed in the early 2270s, construction of the Batrice shipyards began in 2274. Its construction would not be complete for 25 years, and even to this day, it is continually expanded to provide additional ports and facilities to build more spaceships. Unlike the Deimos shipyards of Mars, these facilities were not restricted in size. We can see one of the great dreadnoughts being manufactured in one of the yards. More significant than any UHN battleship ever built from Mars, it is only a semi-mounted skeletal frame, but the words "UHN Cancrinite" are written on the side. The cylindrical body is only in the very beginning of stages of construction. Numerous other ships are those of mining vessels. Designed to be launched to other worlds, the Batrice economy exploded all in due thanks to the shipyards created. The large cross-sheeted platform is lined with numerous defensive guns and missile launcher batteries to help protect itself from harm. Below the massive shipyards is an immense spinning centripetal habitat to help provide gravity for the numerous staff, workers, and population. They make regular trips back and forth to the tether that leads down to the surface of one of the domed cities.

It does not end there. Our destination is not this location. Instead, we back away from the shipyards. It begins to get smaller and smaller as we have a fantastic view of the great surface below. Ahead of the gate array is the planet Trappist 1D. It is little more than a planet of dirt and rock. Heated by its star, it is barren of life, but the world's close proximity provides comfort in this crowded solar system. We continue to move further and further away until we begin to see one of the great marvels of the human race.

In high orbit near the more northern section of the planet is a titan of construction. It stands almost like a beacon. It is so large that you can only marvel at how tall it is as you look up. More extensive than the tallest of skyscrapers of Earth.....taller than the World Trade Center of former Earth......taller than the Shanghai Tower.......taller than the Burj Khalifa.....it is nothing more than a colossus. It appears almost like a giant pill in space that stretches over 10 kilometers long. It carries two massive spinning drums on it on the top and bottom. The might of Batrice seems to point straight up.

It is nothing more than the great Fort Batrice. It is the ultimate achievement of human engineering. Its construction began in 2299, and it is only nearing completion. Only the bottom drum is currently spinning as the top portion is still being worked on. The sight of it dominates the fact that additional warships also sit in-formation to protect it from harm.

It is so much to see and so little time to admire it. Our journey is not here, but we are getting closer. The sight of this marvel is awe-inspiring. Like a monolith, we stand to admire it as if it serves as a religious symbol like a gift to the gods.

We stretch our arms wide. We lean our backs parallel to the surface and begin to traverse downward. Gravity takes hold as we begin our descent towards the ground. The great fortress begins to shrink in size as we fly through the little atmosphere on the planet of Batrice. Even the warships shrink till they are little more than dots in the sky.

Our journey is coming to a close as you turn yourself to look upon the ground of Batrice. We see nothing but the dirt and tapped mines of the surface. Nearby, one of the great mining dome cities of the colony comes into view. It is none other than New Phnom Penh, the capital of the settlement. The enormous overhead dome spans a diameter of fifteen kilometers in length. Near it are other domes that all interconnect to it. Unlike the main center structure, the other domes all appear to have massive tread systems so that they can move. The capital is much like that of Aphadus. Great care is taken to ensure that the buildings are radiation-shielded.

From above, the domes don't look impressive, but as we get closer, we can see that it provides a transparent but covered ceiling. The sides utilize large landing ports that seem to be busy picking up or launching shuttles and gate jumpers that make trips back and forth to the gate array to other systems. There are also a couple of weapon emplacements mounted on the sides of the capital. While the central dome is not significantly oversized, the combined domes provide adequate population protection against the star's harmful radiation.

We close in as we begin to see the numerous city structures that line the inside of the central dome. We fly past the clear heavy-duty, shielded top as we find fresh air and a seemingly crowded area. New Phnom Penh is only just one of many of the city domes as we can slow down near the ground. In one direction, we can see numerous city blocks allocated to housing apartments, facilities, schools, hospitals, subways, and roads. The center is where the main administration building resides. It consists of five jutting curved towers, with the center being the tallest. Modeled after the famous temple of Angkor Wat, it serves as a testament to the people that descended from the Angkor Empire of former Earth thousands of years ago. Painted in green, gold, gray, red, and blue, it gives a pristine, radiant glow to the people. It serves as a reminder to them of their ancient ancestry, even if they are forty light-years from that planet long forgotten.

The journey is at an end as we see three individuals walking together. It consists of two older teen brothers named Mizu and Chuang and a young little girl named Keiko that walks through the crowded sidewalks. Towering over them are more and more apartments. Electric cars drive through the busy roads as the three are seemingly talking and enjoying their time together.

All three seem to have similar facial features. Both men have a pale complexion but have a look similar to people of Japanese and Chinese descent. They both had short black hair and looked so similar that they might as well be twins. Both of them were dressed in their civilian attire of blue shirts and blue pants. The little girl, on the other hand, is more of mixed ancestry as she has an even paler complexion than the two men. She is dressed in a black and yellow formal dress, almost as if she was heading to a place of importance for the day.

"So, brother," Mizu said in a faint Japanese accent as he put his arm around his brother's shoulder. A big smile appeared on his face. "After we get Keiko to school, you think you might be ready to meet Boupha?"

"I....don't know," Chuang said in the same accent as he almost seemed to brush off his brother's arm. "I heard that Boupha is sort of a.....well.....I can't say it in front of Keiko."

"A bitch?" Keiko remarked as she spun around and began to walk backward, looking at the two men. Her voice was piercing as it caused another person in the moving crowd to look back at them.

"Ugh....." Chuang remarked. "Keiko, I don't care if you are our cousin. Try to at least watch your language. Wow, where did she get that mouth?"

"Hey.....hey!" Mizu added. "Don't you worry about it. Keiko is just being ahead of the game."

Chuang smiled and shook his head. "Ahead of the game by cursing?"

"Why not? She is turning eleven. She needs to be ready for the teen years."

"I don't think her parents are going to be happy about that," Chuang continued.

Mizu shrugged his shoulders. "Keiko, keep your head ahead of you. We are reaching near the street crossing." He happily pointed at her, gesturing to the street sign where the crowds were slowing to a stop in preparing to cross.

Keiko happily turned around and came to a stop as Mizu began to scan the surrounding area. He saw the green grove where the three rectangular structures that represented the school were located. It was not that far from the administration building as he was all too familiar with the location. He even saw the local food stand that had a few chairs available for the numerous customers that come and go. He then turned to his brother as he patted his shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry about Boupha," Mizu told his brother. "She acts like shit so she can push away any of the men that try to cling to her. Once she gets to know you, she will be all over you."

Chuang went and scratched the back of his head. "We will see....honestly, I feel like I have seen better women."

The light turned green for the pedestrians as they followed along with Keiko to the other side of the street. They began to proceed in the direction of the school.

"So.....have anything you are looking forward at school today?" Chuang asked Keiko.

"Nah....just boring history," Keiko snickered.

"Oh, I understand that," Mizu commented. Chuang simply shrugged.

"You always preferred mathematics," Chuang said. "I can see you getting into engineering a lot."

"Nah.....who needs to be an engineer when you can fly," Mizu remarked. He looked over at his brother as he gave the big nod to him. "That will really draw in the ladies."

Keiko mocked the two as she began to make smooch sounds with her lips. She skipped a little bit as she turned her head enough to look at the two. Both the brothers seemed to chuckle.

"Wait until you are older, Keiko," Mizu said.

"You still thinking about joining the military?" Chuang asked his brother as they were closing in on the school building.

"Hell yeah," Mizu answered. "I want to fly the next gunship and start blasting those Itreans straight to hell."

"I am still debating about it."

"Why not? You can become an engineer in the marines like you hinted a couple of times."

They reached the doorway of the main building of the Ardern Primary School of New Phnom Penh. The schools in the capital were beautiful. For a 24^th century design, they were built with all the most modern equipment. Each school was unique to look at and offered the most comprehensive curriculum ranges for developing minds. Numerous other students were coming in and the occasional parent that was coming with them.

"Ehm...." Mizu said. "We can just go ahead and leave now. Keiko already knows where the classroom is."

"Hmmm.....not this time," Chuang commented. "Remember what her mother told us. She likes to try to skip class. She wants us to be with her completely......at least until she in class."