Ceryx Expedition Journal #1: Introduction
Story by WozWerth on SoFurry
Decided to add a swatch of lore to the creation of creatures in my mindspace. I'll be establishing a bit of information and narrative through the logs of a stuffy archivist named "Ceryx Dorogan" as they explore the outer reaches of the far future. Several of the creatures and places were made with collaboration of friends and I'll be sure to thank them properly <3
The third-fleet takes off to explore the reaches of space. The galaxy as it is now still recoils from a devastating phenomenon that occurred 90-thousand years ago. Humanity has lost earth, but not hope. Knowledge will be our greatest weapon if our kind are to survive.
Welcome to the fleet, soldiers. Read these logs well, log any questions, and keep your rifles clean.
DHE Silverfish Expedition. Third-Fleet Expeditionary Studies. Ceryx Journal #1
I am Ceryx Dorogan, a low-level Archivist working within the Third-Fleet Expeditionary Force. And by the orders of Admiral Dumond I have been tasked with recording our discoveries in easy-to-digest journals and logs. All to be disseminated among the fleet and sent back to headquarters in time. Or, in the case of our obliteration, to retain a record of our journey into its final moments.
Be aware these are not intended to be comprehensive logs on any of the discovered subjects. Those may be explored later in greater detail by the appropriate entities assigned to such a task by administration.
With that out of the way it is best we begin in the past to understand our future.
The year is 2730AD. Our origin planet of Earth has been uninhabitable for roughly six centuries due to careless industrialization. However, before our species could die out, colony ships were prepared and dispersed towards habitable targets. It is confirmed only one succeeded in reaching it's destination. Our current home planet of "Bastion". As named for being our last hope of survival.
We have spent the last two centuries after making landfall rebuilding our civilization. And with good fortune we have again taken to the stars.
We are the third major fleet of the DHENC "Democratic Human Estates Naval Core". Lead by our Capitalship the DHE Silverfish. The Silverfish is a revolutionary new model utilizing a silvered plating that vastly enhances the ships stealth and cloaking capabilities, hence the name. Apologies for not elaborating further, but the Admiral determines such information a security risk for public logs. Thusly I will catalog the features of our noble vessel in greater detail at a later date for the admirality.
The first and second fleets remain within the borders of our colonial territories while the third (us) is tasked with broader discovery and cataloguing throughout our galaxy.
While first contact with an extraterrestrial species 50 years ago was refreshingly civil (The Churrlin. Which will receive a species log for posterity later). It remains there are potential threats in the wider galaxy and perhaps an even greater one in it's past. One of the key focuses of our research is the mysterious "Astral Horizon" event. -To note: The galaxy as it is now is shockingly devoid of intelligent species and advanced races compared to what it should have. While those we know of now cooperate in a loosely defined federation, evidence suggests that a galaxy-wide extinction event occurred some 90-thousand years ago. An event that seems to have utterly erased any and all machine life and reduced organic life to isolated pockets of primitive civilization.
Due to the nature of the event destroying virtually anything digital, records and information is largely circumstantial or speculative. What is known is that this event happened near instantaneously and seems to have originated from outside the borders of our galaxy.
This is referred to as the "Astral Horizon Event".
Fortunately humanity was too primitive at the time to be affected. But the event appears to have altered the fundamental physics of our universe. There are an abundance of theories, but these may be expanded upon later in a separate log.
As of this journal we are on course to a mixed-species settlement outside of our borders. Where it is likely the subjects of my first species log reside. The locals call them the "Ghillie Spider".