The Outer Moon (A Sapphic Sci Fi Adventure)

Chapter 1

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A/N - Okay, so let's just get this out there. These works are mine. My poor little brain came up with the plots and characters, and I'd really prefer you to not steal them. If you're reading this on a site that is NOT Wattpad then it is most certainly stolen. No, I really don't want them converted into fanfics or into other languages as well.

Thanks!

Loiosh

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Six months doesn't seem like a lot of time in the big scheme of things. And yet, so much can happen in that span, that perhaps it really can be a lot of time. A baby could learn to walk and say their first words. A city could burn. War and famine could strike. Disasters and celebrations could alter the lives of many.

In the six months after the citizens of Earth learned some of the secrets that the members of the Uranus trip had discovered, even with some important ones still unrevealed, the world imploded. Truly, had they told them everything, then society might have collapsed even sooner.

Jason James was still the CEO of PASSpace and had been living in Earth's orbit for the last year or so, sending information out to Pepper and Vanessa from the PASSpace Orbital Station. Every day, Pepper and Vanessa would read the news that was sent to them from Jason's team and just shake their heads at the absurdity of what was happening back on their home world. The latest had been months in coming, but was no less shocking, for all that they'd expected it.

"It's official," Pepper said while she sat at the terminal, reading the latest dispatch from the team. "The United Nations has officially disbanded." Much like the League of Nations gave way to the United Nations back after World War Two, perhaps the United Nations might also lead to something new. But right now, it didn't appear that it would. There was just too much turmoil and distrust.

Vanessa scoffed, pouring a cup of coffee, and then adding some sugar to it. "I'm not surprised, but I'd hoped they could hold out a little longer."

The trouble had started soon after they had discovered the bridge of the Atlantis. Lena and Miles had strapped a dozen of the tiny fox ships, as well as a larger one that looked to be what humans would consider a frigate, onto their own new working ship, and brought them back to Earth for scientists to study. Many countries argued over who would have access to the ships, and the UN tried to say they would stay together in orbit, with scientists brought to the International Space Station to study them. Most countries were fine with that, but ancient rivalries flared among China, Russia, and America, and each wanted their own ships to study. They also wanted the working Atlantis ships that the team still had, though they all flatly refused to turn them over. As it was, Lena and Miles had their ship, as did Pepper and Nessa. Emily and Xavier had left one ship in orbit at the PASSpace Station for Jason's team to look over, and the other was hidden with them on Earth in Texas, on their ranch.

The issues were only exacerbated when it was proposed that a scientific team be sent to Uranus to examine the ship there. Technically, it was still a UN heritage site, but at this point that seemed to have been forgotten. The women didn't really want that, as anyone coming to examine the bridge might also find the second hangar bay with the additional four ships, much like they had, and they wouldn't trust anyone else unless they chose them. By the time they'd found the ships, the Earth was already being ravaged by political and religious turmoil, and so they never told anyone but Lena and Miles about it. Even Jason, Emily, and Xavier didn't know, because they were too close to Earth, and there was a danger that they could be taken in for questioning.

The religious turmoil was both hilarious and disheartening, though all too predictable knowing how humans worked.

The realization that some ancient Greeks may have come from a distant planet had dozens of people around the globe claiming to be descendants of the crew of the Atlantis. For some, this was just a passing fad that fizzled out in days or weeks. For others, they spent a few months being famous and gathering followers before they were shown to be liars. But there were three that called themselves prophets and commanded millions of followers in competing fellowships. Each could trace their lineage back thousands of years to ancient Greece, and each claimed to be the true king of the planet that the Atlantis came from. Because of course they did.