Human Time Line

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Human Time Line

Book Four -The Renascent Epoch of Mankind

Chapter 6 The Ascent of Man

Stage Two

After the successful completion of the civil war (or so it seemed), the business of the Elysium Union (EU) slowly returned to some form of normality. That is not to say that the EU was not effected by the events of the recent past. On the contrary, many were rather weary. Furthermore, tensions, whether imaginary or real, continued to remain. The leading concern was the escape of Lucifer. No one knew where he was or what he may attempt to do next.

In having said that, everything remained quiet. The previous rebel Luicferins, who had surrendered or were captured, caused no trouble at all. Most had accepted their fates & were glad that the EU had forgiven them for their transgressions. A few refused to accept defeat, though, & these were either incarcerated or expelled from the EU. Their fates depended upon whatever fortune brought their way.

Some, however, were brought to trail. The Lieutenants of Lucifer were charged with treason & sedition. It became difficult, though, in conducting any proceedings by the Assembly. Although at first this was considered an apt way of dealing with these Lieutenants, it became obvious that many in the Assembly had already convicted them prior to any hearing. Jeremiel soon pointed out this problem to the Assembly, but many did not want to know this fact. More voices, though, joined in with Jeremiel, including those of Gabrielle & Michael.

Thankfully, enough were finally convinced that, regardless of their personal opinions, the defendants required a fair trail. The Assembly authorised that an independent court conduct the hearings into those hence charged with treason & sedition. Jeremiel would, as before, preside over the court proceedings. A jury of peers was selected through random choice. These jurors were immediately reminded of their important duty by Jeremiel & to act impartially. Although the lieutenants challenged the entire proceedings, Jeremiel offered that he would hand everything, including them, back to an Assembly investigation & trail as previously. The defenders had no choice.

Coinciding with Jeremiel’s court was the punishment issue. As crime had been unknown previously in the EU, other than some civil actions & the previous unprecedented legal action against Lucifer, no penal or punishment code had been firmly established. Their were some vague understandings left over from FGCP influence that the Advisory Council had administered, but nothing was codified let alone finalised. Hence, in such an environment, Jeremiel’s court could announce punishment as anything, including death.

Many in the Assembly considered the death penalty as going too far. Debate followed. Considering many wanted to separate their lives from the experience of civil war as far as possible, it was not surprising that the death penalty was banned. Most thought that eviction & ostracism was a far more fitting punishment. Likewise was life imprisonment considered appropriate. As Sariel argued, "We should embody everything that is good & not the reverse. If our enemy wishes to be an idiot, should we? In a similar way, if our enemy behaves in an inhuman way, why should we? After all, if we didn’t with the Apparitions, how can we with our own kind?" The bulk of the Assembly agreed.

It was in this setting that Gabrielle opened discussion on what had become an almost forgotten scheme - stage two of Operation Archangel. He argued that "I can see no better way to express our ideals than beginning stage two… Not only will it bring back memories of a more peaceful time, it will grant us the possibility of a positive & powerful future. Furthermore, we may find redemption through our efforts."

Discussion on stage two was thorough. It was by far, more debated than concerns over law enforcement. Many were concerned, as was their wont, by the fact that Raphael’s UEA Mixed Units continued to find nothing about Lucifer & his surviving forces. This group argued that the EU had to deal with the current reality, that still involved much danger, than sending large numbers of UEA personnel off on missions that had nothing to do with EU security. An even greater concern was that all of Operation Archangel missions would be in the real time & space universe. If reinforcements were required in the Elysium universe, these units would be out of communication & thus could not be called upon in an emergency. In a similar way, these units could find themselves in serious trouble from Luciferins & be picked off one by one.

Little, it seemed, could convince the majority to change their minds. That was until news came back from a few UEA mixed units that Luciferins were believed to be hiding in the real time & space universe. Evidence furthermore indicated that they were gathering in strength. Exactly what for, no one knew. Strangely Lucifer was known not to be among them.

Upon receiving this information, the Assembly was given little choice but to begin operations in the real time & space universe. Stage two of Operation Archangel was drastically modified as a result. Instead of stage two being a "guiding" mission to see the young Human (Homo Sapien) race evolve & develop, first the UEA had to rid the Homo Sapiens of any threat poised by the Luciferins. Coincidently, if an opportunity presented itself, UEA explorer teams would begin their long await mission of "guiding" Homo Sapien in the right direction.

War Without End Part 2

Few in the EU even dreamt that the civil war could begin again. But with the commencement of the modified Operation Archangel stage two, many were horrified to discover that that was exactly what happened. Before the Assembly could consider other options, battle commenced in the real time & space universe. The EU was handicapped, however, by the simple fact that they had to keep a large number of their forces within their "territory" in fear of attack.

Information coming back from the engagements told Gabrielle that the Luciferins had learnt a lot since their last encounters. Their units had become well disciplined & past experiences clearly showed. There were no wild charges or grand plans. More often than not, the Luciferins conducted hit & run tactics. Then if the UEA unit pursued the withdrawing Luciferins unit, it was often taken by surprise. Many UEA units were thus mauled in ambushes. Only training, experience & a little luck ensured that entire UEA units were not annihilated.

Raphael’s units patrolling the Elysium universe, however, reported no activity other than that conducted by other civilisations. None of this appeared to be anything out of the normal, so at least the EU could feel a little more secure. It appeared that, for whatever reason, Lucifer had decided to make the real time & universe his battle zone.

This only concerned the EU Assembly more. After much discussion, the UEA was ordered to send more units to reinforce those already involved with the battle. Although concern was raised about the apparent draining of military resources into the vast real time & space universe, it was pointed out that Raphael’s units, along with the EU militia, was more than enough to counter any Luciferins force. This last point was true enough. The Luciferins had no where near the numbers that they once recently enjoyed. And that was their strength.

Soon the entire Guardian force, with a few exceptions, were busy conducting a fruitless campaign to patrol the real time & space universe. Occasionally, a Luciferins unit would conduct a lightning raid & then disappear before the defending Guardians could get reinforcements. It became obvious that the Luciferins were, not only using the vast expanse of the universe on offer, but also time travel. Michael was quoted as cynically stating "If we could only limit Lucifer’s activity to one universe & one billion years, we would then be able to defeat him!"

Gabrielle had few options. The Assembly were becoming more impatient as the war continued. Few successes were taking place. Above all it seemed that Lucifer could conduct his affairs with no limitations. The UEA could do nothing. Thus Gabrielle took the decision to withdraw the Explorer teams from their "guidance" missions. Although these had been successful, he needed the personnel.

The reaction of the Explorer teams was unhelpful considering the circumstances. Only about half began their new guard duties. The remainder had to be persuaded by Guardian units who had better things to do. Nonetheless, this change in duties for the Explorers ensured that many Guardian units were released from tedious work & enabled them to join in with the patrolling. These changes also brought on unforeseen events.

It did not take long for the Luciferins to note that UEA Explorer teams now conducted guard duties. Previously it would have been unthinkable to conduct missions against planets like Earth, Vargary or Lyonies, but now all that changed. Soon the UEA Explorers found themselves under attack. They had to fight desperately in order to survive. They also had little chance against combat veterans, but due to their courage, the Explorers stuck it out hoping for reinforcements.

In the engagements with the Explorers, the Luciferins became too over confident. Under the belief that the Explorers could or would not fight for long, they remained in combat longer than their usual tactics suggested. Then, when their victory was almost complete, Guardians came charging into battle. Now it was the Luciferins who were surprised due to improvised ambushes.

Soon, thanks to such impromptu engagements, the Luciferins numbers dropped dramatically. UEA Explorer casualties, however, were terrific. Gabrielle, shocked by the losses to the Explorer Division withdrew them entirely from the real time & space universe. Although their sacrifice had clearly turned the tables on the enemy, it still had not won the war. Surviving Luciferins units went back to their previous successful tactics. It was clearly noted, however, that there were far fewer attacks.

All’s Quiet on the Elysium Front

The universe that the surviving Explorer personnel returned to seemed surreal. Everything, after their horrifying experiences, was so different. Nothing was, for them, ever the same. Many found it somewhat insane that the EU worried needlessly over imagined fears, while the real battle was being conducted elsewhere. Yet upon their return the Assembly pronounced them as heroes. The Explorers viewed it differently: some even made their true feelings rather explicit.

Noting the condition of the Explorers, previous Luciferins who had returned to the fold, began to rethink their conversion. Although theirs was a misconception of the truth, they nonetheless believed that the second civil war had begun to go Lucifer’s way. Many, although not all, quietly left EU "territory" in search of their previous brethren. Although little was discovered as to their location, Luciferins clandestine units reported this exodus to Lucifer. Soon, when there was no threat of discovery, these clandestine units would intercept these wondering groups &, after ensuring that they were genuine, brought them back into the fold.

Little of this caught the attention of the UEA for a considerable amount of time. Nor for that matter did the Assembly concern itself with the occasional individual being absent. This was nothing new. Furthermore, no connection was made with absent citizens & any return of these individuals to the Luciferins. Even Raphael’s roving UEA units missed what was happening, although Raphael did report the fact that small groups of SSS were moving about for unknown reasons. It appeared that these groups were conducting travel or some other private & harmless business. There was certainly no indication of any treasonous activity.

Hearing of the travels of these private groups, & the hint that they maybe exploring, gave the surviving UEA Explorers itchy feet. Gabrielle had withdrawn them from all of their duties due to the fact that, without protection of the Guardians, they were clearly in danger of attack by Luciferins forces. But the Explorer’s unofficial leader Sarah argued that they be allowed to return to their original duties. Still Gabrielle refused.

Sarah would not take Gabrielle’s no for an answer & presented her case to the Assembly. Sarah stated that "… an important anomaly is before us & I would argue it’s the fundamental reason why the Explorers must continue their work. As you know, the time line has been altered. In our one, Homo Sapien returned in time to generically alter their ancestors in order to create themselves. But we know this hasn’t happened in the new one. I can only suggest that we must have done this. If we don’t, the time continuum will be dramatically altered & there will be no Homo Sapiens."

It was a controversial issue. Many in the Assembly could not believe Sarah’s theory. Even Gabrielle argued against it. Many others, however, including Sariel, Uriel & Mary understood Sarah’s position. The new Homo Sapien time line had already been drastically altered - everyone knew that. Hence their future was thus different, possibly in a dramatic way. As there had been no evidence to suggest that Homo Sapiens had commenced any time travel in this new time line, it meant someone else genetically altered the first Humans.

Although the decision was close, the Assembly made the Genesis Project their first priority. However, it was not really Sarah’s arguments that ensured that Genesis would immediately go ahead, but news from the front lines. The latest reports confirmed that Luciferins activity had all but ceased. Importantly this meant that Gabrielle’s objection to the immediate go ahead for Genesis were undermined. To placate Gabrielle’s concerns, he was to direct various Guardian units to protect the Explorers as they did their work.

Still Gabrielle was not happy over the situation. Furthermore, the directive from the Assembly in regards to the Guardians, meant to say that he had fewer units to patrol the real time & universe. Michael, however, suggested to Gabrielle that they could use this situation as an opportunity. The Explorer teams could act as bait while simultaneously conducting their important work. Thus an ambush could be set in place. When the Luciferins arrived in numbers to attack the Explorers, the Guardians would be waiting. Instead of searching for the enemy, Michael pointed out that such a strategy would see the enemy come to them. After careful consideration, Gabrielle concurred. The final battle appeared to be within their grasp.

Soon the Explorer teams crossed over to begin their mission in the real time & space universe. It would be a tedious & long mission. The Explorers would have to search Earth for the most appropriate specie as the candidate to become Homo Sapien. As part of Genesis Project, numerous Guardian units were withdrawn from their patrol missions & assigned to protect the Explorers. Most of these, however, kept a low profile while waiting in their ambush positions. However, enough numbers of Guardians were made visible in order to create a verifiable illusion that no ambush was set in place. Having said that, the numbers of Guardians were also low enough to make a large attack very tempting.

Just after the implementation of Genesis Project, the last group of dissenting secret Luciferins quietly left the EU. Their absence, like previous individuals, seldom caught anyone’s attention. Unlike previous individuals, though, this group were fully aware of the current activities of the EU. This especially included the grand Genesis Project. As previously, the group travelled around until a Luciferins clandestine unit approached them. Immediately the traitors shared what they knew of Genesis with the clandestine group, who inturn issued instructions in how to locate the Luciferins secret "bases". The clandestine team was not far behind these new friends, as this new information was critical for future operations.

The Luciferins were not overly interested in what the Explorers were up to. Instead their interest lay in the part that the Guardians were to play. Although it was not well known, the Luciferins nevertheless managed to deduce Michael’s plan, which meant that a large number of Guardians had to be taken away from their patrolling duties. Inevitably these numbers had to be replaced in order to ensure that nothing suspicious was taking place. Further Luciferins clandestine operations discovered that Raphael was not overly happy when a large number of his UEA mixed units were withdrawn from their duties in the Elysium universe & crossed over to reinforce the Guardians. It meant that Raphael’s remaining units had no chance of patrolling everywhere - especially in areas that were regarded as suspicious. This meant a great opportunity presented itself. But allies would be needed to ensure that any attack on the EU would be successful.

For the EU, the withdrawal of many of the UEA mixed units was not without good reasons for other concerns. Raphael received numerous reports that clearly indicated that the Tempilous & Orville had begun to take an interest in the activities of these units. Like many others in the Elysium Universe, they had heard of the internal strife of the EU, but kept out of the mess even though the no violence protocol had clearly been violated. After not hearing much of the civil war, & assuming that it may not have been as bad as first thought, little more was done about it. That was until the UEA mixed units came closer to their respective "territories". In reaction, the Tempilous & Orville readied their military forces, not knowing what was about to take place. It was at this point, many of the UEA mixed teams were recalled for other duties.

Not long afterwards, delegations from the Luciferins arrived. It was Lucifer’s intention that the delegations would tell all, albeit with a certain angle. Soon the Tempilous & Orville discovered that the EU were the ones responsible for the Vale Gateway catastrophe, the annihilation of the Essence & the Delquin, & the real reasons as to the resent events involving the Apparitions. Both civilisations were incensed & readied themselves for battle. Lucifer’s attempts at manipulation had been thoroughly successful. Soon an assault of unimaginable destruction would fall upon the EU. Just as the first Homo Sapiens were born, dawning the entire future, it appeared that that same future was about to violently end.

The Unexpected

Unlike their previous stay on Earth, this time everything was peaceful. The UEA explorer teams went about their business knowing that the Guardians were protecting their every move. Not one alert involving the Luciferins was reported. To the Explorers, this meant life without stress & tension; to the Guardians, however, it meant the reverse.

Yet some of this tension was worked away when a Blurgiss Empire scout ship, from a period early in their space travel history, jumped into Earth’s solar system. First it stopped at Mars, which by this time had already become a dead world, then it ventured onto Earth. By now a small tribe of Homo Sapiens had established themselves in a lush valley in Africa. A river that flowed through it ensured a constant water supply. Thus enough food for various species of animals was guaranteed. Essentially, though, these first Humans were ensured survival like no other creature. The UEA explorers had done their job well. It was truly the Garden of Eden.

Although the Blurgiss Empire scout ship was very primitive, its sensors were enough to locate, after much effort, the Homo Sapiens enclave. The Explorers at this point became alarmed & spread among their "children" to ensure that no harm would come to them. But that was not all. When it became apparent that the Blurgiss Empire ship was going to land on the planet, probably to capture & study a Human specimen, the Guardians intervened in a god like manner. Taking hold of the scout ship, the Blurgiss were pointed in another direction without any effort. And if the Blurgiss did not get the message, the Guardians revealed themselves clearly indicating that the Blurgiss were trespassing. After this display, they most certainly got the message. The ship took off in a wild panic, with the Guardians escorting the little scout ship out of the solar system. The Blurgiss captain immediately declared the entire region of space "extremely hazardous" & "to avoid at all costs".

As these trivial events were taking place, none of the Explorers or Guardians had any inclination of the events occurring in another universe. It was only thanks to luck that a UEA Mixed Unit spotted the movements of the Tempilous. It was clear, after a better inspection, that the Tempilous military was on the move. Even though this was surprising enough, the real shock came when a small group of Luciferins were among them.

Gabrielle immediately sound the alarm, so to speak. The militia was called up as were calls for volunteers. Even though the Assembly considered Gabrielle’s reaction as alarmist, the report of Luciferins being amongst the Tempilous caused much concern. Raphael, like Gabrielle, suspected that the Tempilous’ intention was to do sever harm to the EU. He also went one step further. Knowing that the Orville were sometimes allies of the Tempilous, Raphael ordered a Mixed Unit to observe the activities of the Orville. This unit did not take long to report that the Orville military was also on the move in large numbers. More importantly, again, there were small numbers of Luciferins among the Orville.

War Without End Part 3

Now with the knowledge that the Luciferins were involved, the Assembly gave its authority to Gabrielle & the UEA to defend the EU. To Gabrielle & Michael, however, the word defence seemed ridiculous. Almost all of the Guardians were absent as well as about half of the Mixed Units who could be involved with combat. Only the militia remained in strength. Against a large assault from the Luciferins, the militia would win, but against the forces marshalling currently against them, they had little chance. Needless to say, Gabrielle issued desperate orders for all Guardian units, regardless of size or duty, to return immediately. Although Michael knew that they would be lucky to get half of the Guardians back in time, it was better than nothing. At least it would give the EU a fighting chance.

The two large armies advancing upon the EU rendezvoused with a much smaller force prior to any engagement with any UEA units. Needless to say, Gabrielle issued orders not to commence any hostilities, just in case this show of strength was part of a ploy to demand some kind of negotiation. It would not be the first time in history that such a tactic was used. This order to withdrawal did not mean, however, that the combined "Grande Armee" was not to be observed. On the contrary, if the EU had any chance of victory, it needed to know what the enemy was up to. Observation also permitted discovery of its leaders. Sure enough, it was quickly concluded that Lucifer was in command. Somehow he had managed to gain the allegiances of the Tempilous & the Orville.

In an attempt to at least buy the EU some time, Lilth was authorised by the Assembly to contact the leaders of the "Grande Armee". After several unsuccessful attempts, the Tempilous commander gave a short reply clearly declaring the EU guilty of several offences, many of which included the Vale Gateway business, murder of the Delquin & the same of the Apparitions. He made it clear there would be no negotiations. And with that the "Grande Armee" commenced their advance.

Defence of the borders of the EU were pointless, even though the small number of defenders fought with much courage. It basically came down to numbers & that was decisively in favour of the attackers. The small engagements, however, did gain some time & several more Guardian units arrived. Yet even with about 50% of the Guardians present, the "Grande Armee" gave no respect to the defenders. The only plausible strategy was one of a fighting withdrawal. Civilian EU citizens were told to leave & leave quickly. Their choice was to either scatter off elsewhere in the Elysium universe or crossover into the real time & space one. Many did, but others remained.

Yet even with the strategy of a fighting withdrawal, it became rather obvious to all that at some stage the EU forces would have to stand & fight. It would mean annihilation, but it would guarantee that most of the civilians would survive the onslaught - at least for a while. As Gabrielle, Michael, Raphael & others debated where & when to do this, the issue was decided for them. Reports came in that the flanks were being pushed in. As had been Lucifer’s tactic from the first civil war, so now he was attempting to encircle his enemies. This time, it appeared that he may succeed.

All appeared to be a fait accompli to the EU defenders. Then, unexpectedly, an enormous Vale Gateway opened to the rear of the "Grande Armee". The fighting soon died down as everyone wondered who was coming through the Gateway. The "Grande Armee" became concerned that they had run into an ambush, while the EU defenders had no clue as to who it may be. Analysis of the Gateway indicated that the "frequency" that radiated from it was from an unknown origin. This only confused everyone even more as such an event was considered impossible for some time, thanks to the SSS & the disastrous Vale Gateway experiment.

It did not take long for hundreds & then thousands of extremely powerful looking ships to exit the Gateway. To the Tempilous & the Orville they were thoroughly unknown. Yet to the Luciferins & the citizens of the EU they appeared vaguely familiar, although again even they did not know who they were. Everyone assumed that a new civilisation had just crossed over into the Elysium universe at the most inconvenient time.

These uninvited guests, however, indicated no sign of leaving. Furthermore, the "Grande Armee" realised that they appeared to be, especially the Luciferins units, the targets for their weaponry. Before any signal came through, the SSS, regardless of faction, sensed the impossible. There were Homo Spiritous everywhere among the warships. Almost as if on cue, a signal came from the fleet’s flagship: "This is Admiral James Jones of the UDF White Star representing the United Federation of Planets. I must order the waring parties, most notably the Tempilous & the Orville, to cease all hostile activities & withdraw at once. Non compliance will result in with a deadly response."

Before the "Grande Armee" could even laugh in scorn at the demands of these puny creatures, not knowing the true nature of Homo spiritous, another Vale Gateway opened between the combatants. Again all wondered who was coming out of it. Soon 20 enormous ships, the size of a moon, entered the Elysium universe. Leading the way UDF Thermopylae, although again not appearing exactly the same as many remembered, soon showed to the "Grande Armee" that this was no laughing matter.

It was too much for many of the Luciferins. It was one thing to have to fight the EU, especially when the numbers & position were in their favour, but this completely unexpected & unexplained intervention by this huge fleet was another. Many further remember the last time their enemy appeared to their rear & they had no intention of going through that experience again. At first only a few of the Luciferins left, but soon this greatly increased. Admiral Jones later commented that "It looked like an dam giving way. At first it appeared to be a harmless drop of water, but soon it was like an unstoppable river when in flood".

Lucifer did all he could to stop the deserters. But it was futile. Soon even the Tempilous & Orville began to withdraw as fear & panic began to spread. This was further encouraged when large numbers of Guardians began arriving from the real time & space universe. These new arrivals were just as curious to witness the dispersal of the "Grande Armee" as to discover a huge unknown fleet in alliance with their fellow kind. They were not the only ones, however, wondering how & were the UDF fleet came from, not to mention it arriving at the crucial time.

In all of reality, Michael thought, the events that he had just witnessed simply do not happen. Then Michael recalled a ancient quote from Dyn Lishary "Reality is an illusion, or so my professor argued, until one day I drove over his foot". Only now did Michael understand what Lishary meant.

On to Chapter 7

This creative work is the property of David Mark Atwell.

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