"Continuing where we left off on Galactic History, today's lecture is on the Menagerie of Julian..."
"Uh, miss?"
Crap, the TA thought, Buddy has a question already. Does that kid know anything? "Yes, Buddy?"
"Why is it called the Menagerie of Julian? That's a weird name..."
"Did you even
do the assigned reading for this class?"
"Um, no, I was too busy trying to steal booze from my roommate..."
"Right. Forget I asked. Now, on to the lecture for the day."
"As you can see, the Galactic Sector is rather large, and split between a number of warring Empires or Countries. In the middle-ish of the Galactic map lies the planet known as the Menagerie of Julian.
No questions! You can ask them when I'm done with this part, or we'll never get anywhere!"
"But once, several centuries ago, the territory now highlighted in white was controlled by the Galactic Brikzantine Imperium! Note that said territory covers much of known space, including much of what is now the Immortal's Empire, Trattorian territory, and so forth. Ruins of the Imperium can be found on worlds throughout this sector of space, and the most famous ruler of this Imperium was Julian the Apple-state.
Julian was a master of tactical combat and diplomacy, and kept most of the fledgling nations at bay and each other's throats during his reign. The Imperium was at its peak during his rule, and many of the great ruins you see today were made by him. And yes, when I say made by him, I mean he ruined them. Alas, Julian's successors to the throne weren't so skilled, and less than two hundred years later, next to nothing remained of his Imperium. Torn apart by the very factions Julian used to bounce off of each other, only one core element remains: The Menagerie of Julian."
"Miss?"
"*SIGH* Yes, Miss Fluffyhair?"
"What the fuck is a menagerie?"
"It is an old word, meaning 'zoo' or 'collection.' As I was saying, the Menagerie was Julian's greatest creation. As his armies traveled about, expanding his Imperium, they came across and defeated countless inferior alien beings. Julian, in his wisdom, decided that keeping examples of them alive for future generations to scorn and gawk at was a must, so he designated the planet known as the Menagerie to be his zoo."
"Miss?"
"Yes... Buddy..."
"Why is this place so important if the Imper-whatsis is gone?"
"I'm glad you asked that! While the Imperium is gone, the Menagerie remains. Alongside the various alien beings that have been brought there over the years are groups of scientists that study their behavior. The Menagerie is, as a result, the only true 'neutral' zone in the entire Galactic Sector."
"Well, I say neutral, but in reality it is a massive battlezone. You see, it was on the Menagerie that the Dark Temptress known as the Nega-Blocktrix hatched a feindish plan! Her cultists..." *RING-ING-ING-ING-ING*
"Nevermind, we'll pick this up next session... if I actually get to teach anything.
."
