I don't remember if I already sent this to Tara... Some time ago I tried to translate the section of the Fam Aerial Log titled "World Report" (pages 118-123). I am posting what I came up with: I hope I didn't make too many mistakes
The regeneration of the Home Planet
The people who escaped to the far reaches of the sky started to return to the Home Planet whose environment was recovering. But a new dispute arose.
The previous "Last Exile" story revolved around Prester (an artificial planet), where the two nations of Anatoray and Disith had taken refuge. Now it is the earth that has become the stage for a new story that is taking place two years later.
The central characters of the previous story, who have just returned to the Home Planet, are now irresistibly involved in the whirlwind of the fights. Admittedly, in the previous work the actual existence of a “return plan” was almost unknown, apart from the Guild who originally was the group of technicians selected to oversee the plan. On the other hand, on a Home Planet now recovered to the point to allow life again, the frictions between other groups of refugees already returned and the people who had remained on earth increased.
To the groups of returnees coming from the various Presters set in outer space, the situation on the Home Planet was completely unknown. Moreover, the fact that some people survived on earth during the age of the Great Calamity was totally unexpected. It was a mystery how some people had survived in a completely wasted environment. As for the Guild people who had remained on the Home Planet to run the "Regeneration Plan", apparently they are now extinct as an organization so there are no available records about them even though many traces of their past presence remain.
It can be considered a miracle the fact that a handful of people who could not escape in outer space survived in those harsh conditions and were able to originate a nation who prospered during the regeneration of the environment. In fact on the Home Planet new land that could allow life was slowly recreated.
About 100 years ago the first refugees who were notified that the Home Planet environment was almost regenerated, initiated the return sequence by activating the Exile that was sleeping on their Prester. However, although recovering, the whole surface of the Home Planet was far from being fully revived. Both topography and climate had deeply changed, moreover only a small area with an environment similar to that of the current Baltic Sea coast was the only place where humans could live.
Unfortunately, the quick consumption of natural resources started to become a real problem soon.
Amazingly, the same situation that had requested the Regeneration Plan was repeating itself again. The whole world suffered new fights, because each returning nation was setting claims according to traditions and legends as no accurate records on the rights of each nation existed.
Little by little, given the automatic activation of the Exiles that were programmed to start the return sequence as soon as the Home Planet had begun to revive, many refugees started to come back. That's because according to the Regeneration Plan at that point it was possible to cultivate large areas around the Grand Lake. The usable land was increasing although at global scale the whole environment was not yet stabilized, so fertile lands such as the grain belt, deserts and tundras were mixed. But the descendants of those people who had survived on the planet had created their own nation.
In fact, those people who had survived in that poor environment had spread all over the usable land and had begun to live in those places. However for them lots of problems arose as soon as the refugees started to come back and reclaimed their land back.
According to the returnees, even though those people settled like pioneers on "deserted" lands, they did so without permission of the nation with ancient rights on that territory. This led to confrontations and bloody clashes between old and new settlers for the control of the land.
The returnees who had lived on Presters where the Guild had preserved scientific knowledge were able to use the defensive system of the Exiles to their advantage. So they were able to quickly win the fights and gain control of their territory. The indigenous people who were defeated had no other possibility but to flee to far, less fertile areas. Whenever a new ship arrived to the Home Planet, a dispute arose and the returnees usually kept acting in this way.
However the technology of the returnees was limited, whereas the survivors not only kept to fight back, but also had somehow maintained some scientific knowledge of the Guild.
In particular the Ades Federation still possessed the shelter that allowed their people to survive in the dark ages, which had the same defensive capability of that of the returnees. So the Ades Federation became the main opponent to the returnees who had left the planet to settle in the space, and grew its military power in 100 years of battles. The Ades Federation made a point to extend their control over the surrounding nations.
The root of division between the survivors who remained on earth and the returnees was deeper than that of ethnic or religious wars. Ten years earlier, the empress of the Ades Federation was assassinated by some terrorist group just before the signature of a peace treaty between Ades and the returnees aimed to force diplomatic solutions over any military confrontation, so the possibility of a compromise vanished like mist.
Now the Ades Federation focuses only on large-scale battles against the returnees to subdue the surrounding nations by military power and aggressive foreign policy end extend its rule.
Whenever a new ship of returnees arrives and indigenous people of the Home Planet are forced to leave their land, the Ades Federation attacks with all its military power.
This continuous state of war generated a new kind of refugees, who are not tied up to any country or nation but live freely their lives and are called "sky pirates".
As for this story, when the Ades Federation and the Kingdom of Turan are ready to conclude important peace talks, the Ades Federation Fleet starts to attack the Turanian fleet with a surprise attack. But a girl, Fam, who belongs to a group of sky pirates, jumps into the battlefield and decides to rescue princess Liliana and princess Millia of Turan.
Regeneration Plan of the Home Planet
The planet, hit by the Great Calamity needed regeneration before humans could inhabit it again.
However the returnees are now facing a new problem...
Humanity, after having polluted their Home Planet, planned two projects at global level for survival. The first was an emigration plan to artificial colonies called Presters. Making use of new technologies some artificial heavenly bodies were built as a refuge to evacuate people until the return back to the Home Planet was again possible.
On Presters, the Exile ships were sleeping, waiting for the signal to return when the regeneration of the Home Planet was completed. However these Exile ships could only be operated if activated by “living keys”: special people usually born into royal families. The management of both the artificial environment and the society was entrusted to the Guild who operated behind the scenes. As soon as the signal that the Home Planet is regenerated is detected, the Exile ship is programmed to reach the royal family to begin the return procedure of the colony back to earth.
As a matter of fact the Regeneration Plan to recover the environment was put in place quickly. However, several generations passed between the age of the Great Calamity that destroyed the planet and the coming back of the first refugees, so the memory of the plan and of its actual goal was eventually lost. Only oral traditions and incomplete documents were preserved by each nation.
This created the deep divide between these returnees and the people who were not chosen for the Exiles and were left on the planet. Those who remained on earth started to consider the people who left with anger, as people who betrayed and abandoned the planet. This viewpoint spread among those who remained on earth together with the sensation that they had not been allowed to escape in space too.
The returnees could not imagine to be considered as "invaders from space" by the people remained on earth.
Although an organization equivalent to the Guild existed also for the Home Planet to manage both the technology and the society, now it has disappeared as an independent group, leaving only ruins called "ruins of white"scattered all over the place.
But, what once was this Guild kept to send the "twins" (as bodyguards) to the Augusta, the supreme leader of the nation of Ades.
It was a miracle that the people who were not chosen for the Exiles, people who refused to abandon the planet and the few chosen to manage the Regeneration plan were able to survive.
Most of them perished without being able to endure that severe environment, but the descendants of the few who survived now constitute the Federation of Ades.
In the capital of Ades there are still the remains of the shelter that constituted the last place of refuge for the survivors.
Of all the places where there are now ruins of white, this was the only place with available materials and resources.This was also the last facility operating with the technology lost in ancient times.
The regenerated environment is similar to a natural one, although traces of artificial facilities are still visible. The same ancient technology used to build the Exiles was widely used on earth, for example the Grand Exile could be made using lots of exceeding spare parts. Water and Claudia were originally produced by the Exile ships during their dormancy. So that technology was also applied at planetary level.
Even if it is clear that the regeneration of the Home Planet was not self-produced but it was obtained through technology, its product is not an artificial world.
At the moment there is limited fertile soil around the Grand Lake, an area surrounded by a stable environment that can be considered the center of the world.
Moreover, the holy place called "The Hole", a huge deep hole at the center of the Grand Lake, is said to be the water source of the huge Grand Lake. The lifespring of the whole world.
Although it is believed that life will be possible for mankind all over the world once again, at the moment it seems impossible for the little area around the Grand Lake to sustain the life of all its inhabitants in the long run.
The topography around the Grand Lake has deeply changed but it is unknown whether it is a by-product of the Regeneration Plan or of the crustal movements. For example the heights that are now used as headquarters by the Sky Pirates did not require too much large-scale work, but they are clearly too steep to be natural mountains.
Each place is built above the height of 5,000 meters, far beyond the limit of 3,000 meters of the aerial battleships.
Also, it is hard to believe that the slits that constitute the crevasse of the Boreas fortress are natural. Since their depth exceeds the flight limit, it is an area where cracks extend for more than 3,000 meters into the ground.
It may be the by-product of the Regeneration Plan, which needed to cause large-scale change to the earth crust.
The Anatoray-Disith Union, which started to return to earth two years ago, was lucky to easily settle in a fertile area similar to the Ukrainian Grain Belt without finding any problem.
Since the Exile is used to transfer supplies and people from Prester, they are still able to use the ancient technology to manage their environment.
Unlike other Exiles that are no more in use, this is also considered as a deterrent to other nations.
When an Exile has terminated its duty it is placed into orbit in a dormant state, as the six "crescent moons" testify, however it is possible to reactivate it by reciting the appropriate mysterion.
Then, if something tries to approach it or if an enemy even attacks it, although it is an impossible move, a matchless protective mechanism will destroy it. When this is used in a battle, it has a high cost in human lives, given the extraordinary destructive power of the automatic defense system - as shown in the previous work - but Luskinia is able to use it without hesitation and without any feelings.
The armed forces of the Ades Federation led by Luskinia are by far the best in the world, probably the strongest tactically. But they were not superior strategically. However in the armed forces there is no system for shared decisions, but everything is under Luskinia's control, who decides on his own as Commander in Chief.
So the world has begun to walk towards its end for the obstinacy of Luskinia.
The independent Sky Pirates' strongholds
In the world there are people who do not belong to any nation or race. They are called Sky Pirates: do they, who fly freely in the sky and are not limited by borders, hold the key to a new world?
The Sky Pirates, who possess a deep knowledge of the ships of the surrounding nations, originated as refugees from the increase of the returnees. The Sky Pirates do not belong to a state or a nation but are proud to live according to their belief alone.
On Presters usually the interchanges between common people and the Guild were limited, but on earth the Guild became extinct, and part of their technology spread out. In fact by living together under the shelters, the Guild was slowly assimilated into the people left on earth. Although a secret organization that provides bodyguards to the emperor of Ades still survives, the actual situation is a mystery. Everything about the Guild is wrapped in mystery..
The current technology developed along different paths in each nation. But the technical knowledge of Sky Pirates knows no borders.
The main occupation of the Sky Pirates groups, where gathered those refugees who hated a foreign rule, is the capture of the aerial battleships of the Ades Federation, indeed the largest world power, which continues to expand itself by the annexation of the surrounding countries.
The Ades Federation are the descendants of those people who chose to live on earth instead of abandoning it with the Exile ships and survived during the Regeneration Plan.
Eventually it became a state with a strong military, having built several battleships in recent years.
Moreover new-model battleships conceived using diverted guild technology were also built.
The Sky Pirates built their bases in places above the battleship limit of 3,000 meters and could freely move from one place to another. They developed trades using these aerial routes and developed Vespas, small-size vanship using technologies both from the other nations and from earth. The different models of vanship developed on each Prester were subject to technological limitations by the Guild. On the contrary the Sky Pirates were able to use even the technology of the Guild. They abandoned the steam engines and used Claudia-circulating-batteries like those used for the Guild starfish fighters, so it was easy to down-size their machines.
Collecting technologies and scientific knowledge all over the world, the Sky Pirates could develop the small flying machines called Vespa. Compared to normal vanship, they were superior in agility but they had shorter flying range and could carry only limited payload. Therefore the Sky Pirates developed the Floating Docks to carry heavier loads such as the captured battleships, and to operate as vanship carriers.
Since the Floating Docks were built using the technologies developed by the Sky Pirates, manoeuvrability and altitude limits are superior than ordinary ships. The design solutions for the units used as power sources were more flexible than those used in other countries and with better operating performances, allowing the transportation of payloads and even vanship.
The capturing of battleships is known as "skyfish hunting" among Sky Pirates. They know quite well every Claudia engine model and can develop specific strategies for the captures, making good use of the agility of their vespa.
Since the target can easily learn their strategies, although there are some basic tactics such as the use of specific weather conditions or geographical features, they usually don't play the same strategy twice. So in a sense it is correct for their targets to speak of surprise attacks from the Sky Pirates.
The groups of Vespas that attack a battleship are similar to hunters who attack a whale. The Sky Pirates make a living by dismantling the captured ships, keeping the state-of-the-art components and selling the other spare parts collected in this way. Main battleship engines can be used to generate electricity for a village while the weaponry can be used to fight against the Ades Federation.
Even if the captured ships are old models, the Claudia Units can be sold at high price, but also the other parts can be re-used as spares. As nothing of a whale is trown away, so nothing remains of a ship: even the armor can be melted in a furnace and used to produce raw material.
The Sky Pirates live in high places where the battleships cannot fly to avoid the retaliation of the nations that suffer their attacks. This is why cereals are usually obtained by trade and bread is not a common food. On the other hand fresh vegetables need abundant water to grow. Potatoes are a perfect cultivation for these high places, so the Sky Pirates put a big effort in growing them and are used to make potato pancakes.
Among the Sky Pirates a small Claudia unit called Melitta was developed, which is widely used.
Melittas are used to move between the lower and higher parts of a Pirates' hideout. It is used in the same way as an elevator or a bicycle. These mini Claudia units are common among the Sky Pirates to cover short distances at low speed in the everyday life but they do not exist in other nations.
Given the dimension of this Claudia engine, the maximum speed is not high. But this constitutes an example of the ability of the Sky Pirates in mixing the technology of different nations with that of the Guild in the everyday life.
The Sky Pirates can fly up to an altitude of 5,000 meters with their vespas without any fears, having learnt how to fly since their childhood using melittas. To compare this situation with our world, it is like those people who are used to live in the Andes and learnt to use tricycles in their villages, so that later they are able to use other machines to reach the mountain top without any difficulty.
On one hand we have nations that emigrated on Presters supported by the Guild, people who remained on earth but whose Guild has disappeared. This brought them to hate each other eventually. On the other hand we have the Sky Pirates who abandoned their original nations to become a nation without a country These Sky Pirates symbolize the new generations of earth.
Looking at way of life of Atamora, the head of the Sky Pirates who grew up Fam, the baby who survived in a vanship crash, together with his daughter Giselle like siblings, maybe the Sky Pirates will play a pivotal role to build the world peace.