Worlds of Atlan

Chapter 3: Jaya

[10 years later: 1044 AC (After Calamity)]

[Perspective: Emperor Desrius Chamba]

Emperor Desrius Chamba watched contently as his son gawked excitedly at the holographic display of the interplanetary system maps showing a realistic rendering of the 9 star systems and the 3 imperial worlds inside the empire's territory. The sheer look of excitement and curiosity plastered on the boy's face reminded him of himself when he was once a child with wild imaginations of the unknown. Oh, how he longed for the days of his youth. In the past few months, he tried to be diligent in his efforts of spending more time with the child. Desirous was now 64 and his health was failing him rapidly. Only the sheer might of his will was keeping him on his feet. His main concern was that the boy was still too young to safely assume the throne after his death. Aside from those facts, however, the days he spent with the boy rejuvenated his spirit. The child's bright freckled smile reminded him of the sweet memories he once shared with the boy's mother. A time that felt like a lifetime ago. Thinking of this was often bittersweet for Desrius but somehow he always seemed to find a silver lining, even when his one true love departed from the world...

"Father look, is that Jaya?" The boy asked in gleeful excitement.

'It seems she was still able to give me one last parting gift" Desrius thought as he looked at the boy.

"Yes, Jaya Jidan. Did you know you were named after this world Jidan?" Desrius responded as he moved closer to observe the holographic image with his son.

Jidan looked up at his father, his eyes bulging.

"Really!?

He was elated about the fact that his name originated from such a beautiful world.

"Well, of course. You are my son after all. It's a name befitting for one with such fiery red hair don't you think?" Desirous said with a wink and patted Jidan on the head.

Jidan smiled, showing a grin with his two front teeth missing.

"Father could you tell me more about Jaya."

"Well for one It is a mineral-rich world, the red hue you see surrounding the planet is a product of the abundance of Dion ore, a material used to power the interplanetary portals as well as the material used to construct the majority of our infrastructure. It is very dense and durable. The ore is also capable of holding energy for an extremely long period, like a battery. Out of the three worlds within our territory, this planet is one of the single most important commodities in our empire, it is the heart of our military and material resource production."

Desrius then zoomed in closer to the planet on the hologram where real-time data showed people working the mines, distributing ore from station to station, and endless construction sites as far as the eye can see.

" Wow. Is it really more important than Atlan?" Jidan asked inquisitively.

"In more ways than one. Don't misunderstand me however, Atlan is very important. After all, it is our capital world. Long ago before the calamity nearly destroyed our people forcing us to retreat to this isolated pocket of the galaxy our ancestors used Atlan as a lesser farming colony to serve operations for this relatively isolated quadrant."

Jidan looked at his father in disbelief.

"Atlan was a farming colony!?" Jidan was exasperated.

His reaction made Desrius chuckle a bit.

"It may seem hard to believe but a lot can happen in a thousand years. Since our arrival to Atlan, this world has become somewhat of an ecumenopolis where much of our farmlands have been repurposed for urban centers due to our increasing population size and limited planetary resources. Today most of any farming on Atlan is done By the operations of hydroponic farming centers."