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Establishment and abandonment

RHantarcticMountain

Prior to their invasion of Earth, the Old Ones dispatched the Mi-go to Earth to gather intelligence on humanity. The Mi-go set up outposts in remote areas such as Antarctica, Greenland, the hills of Vermont, the Himalayas, the Australian Outback, and many other such locations.

For the Antarctic outpost, the Mi-go diverted underground lava tubes to create an underground habitat. This habitat was located in a cave, located beneath an Antarctic mountain range.

When the Old Ones were sealed up in an empty dimension, following their defeat by the forces of Good and Evil, the Mi-go, left on Earth, went into suspended animation. At some point, all the Mi-go in the Antarctic outpost all died off, leaving the outpost deserted for thousands of years.

Like all Mi-go outposts on Earth, the Antarctic one is mentioned in the Oban Compendium, a book, written by Sumerian mystics, who were under the influence of the Old Ones. This book was a blue print for the human servants of the Old Ones, once their invasion of Earth was complete. The Compendium was meant to help the servants, and the rest of humanity, acclimate to whatever world the Old Ones would have built, had their invasion of Earth been successful. Copies of the Oban Compendium would be destroyed throughout the subsequent centuries, until only one copy apparently remained.

Rediscovery of the Mi-go habitat

Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte

In 1806, a man named Marcel Duvall, who was a close friend of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, discovered the last known copy of the Oban Compendium while travelling in the Ottoman Empire. Intrigued, he brought the book back to France with him and showed it to Napoleon himself. After reading about the Mi-go habitat in Antarctica, Napoleon organized a secret expedition, headed by Duvall, to confirm the existence of said habitat.

The expedition reached Antarctica in 1808 and did manage to locate the habitat.

However, on the way back to their ship, Gaston Petien, a member of Duvall’s Antarctic expedition, froze to death after he became separated from the rest of the party in a snow storm. However, before he died, he recorded in his journal that the expedition had been successful in locating the Mi-go habitat in Antarctica.

Duvall made it back to France in 1809 and informed Napoleon about finding the Mi-go habitat in Antarctica. Napoleon then began to make a plan to use the habitat to his eventual advantage.

French Exodus to the Mi-go habitat

Following his defeat in Russia, in 1812, Napoleon put his plan, concerning the Mi-go habitat in Antarctica, into effect. The plan called for his most loyal followers, including Marcel Duvall, to leave France and embark on a journey to Antarctica, and settle in the habitat. Fearing that the Oban Compendium would fall into enemy hands, Napoleon gave the book to Duvall to take along to the habitat.

Despite the risks, Duvall and those that chose to go to the habitat eventually made it there. There they would remain undiscovered for more than two centuries.

Rex and Hannah visit the habitat

In late 2014, Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster were contacted by Randolph Carter and informed that a scientific research base in Antarctica, maintained by Miskatonic University, had made a major discovery. Worried that perhaps the personnel of the base had discovered the Antarctic habitat of the Mi-go (that Rex and Hannah had already discovered information about), Rex and Hannah travelled to Antarctica accompanied by Randolph.

When the three of them arrived at the base, they found out that the base had discovered the frozen corpse of Gaston Petien, which had been preserved for over 200 years. All were intrigued as to how a soldier from Napoleonic France ended up dying in Antarctica. Rex then read Petien’s journal, which mentioned the expedition he had been on. All were puzzled, as history had no knowledge of Napoleon ever sending an expedition to Antarctica.

Hoping for answers, Rex, Hannah, and Randolph headed out to where Petien’s body had been found. Soon after, they headed for some distant mountains. Not long after, the three of them were captured and taken to the Mi-go habitat, located beneath said mountains. Their captors were revealed to be French soldiers, dressed in uniforms of Napoleon’s time.

Soon Napoleon’s legacy was revealed to Rex, Hannah, and Randolph. A hidden colony populated by descendants of Napoleon’s followers who had left France in 1812. Leading the colony was Gilles Duvall (a descendant of Marcel Duvall), who told the trio of how his ancestor led the settlers to the habitat on Napoleon’s orders. When asked just how Napoleon knew of the habitat, Duvall showed them the copy of the Oban Compendium, which Rex quickly recognized. Soon after that, Duvall escorted the trio to an inn, where they were invited to stay for the duration of their visit to the habitat.

Soon after, Rex and Randolph headed out to investigate the habitat. They soon found the remains of the long dead Mi-go in a cave. They thus realized that, since the Mi-go had died off, they could not have stopped the French settlers from taking over the habitat.

At that same time, Hannah had befriended a young maid named Marie, who was curious to learn of the outside world. Marie was astonished at how much the world had changed in the two centuries since her ancestors had left France.

At that point, Rex and Randolph returned and informed Hannah of their discovery. Not long after, an earthquake hit. Marie informed the trio that quakes had been happening for some time now, and slowly escalating. Rex concluded that whatever equipment the Mi-go had used to divert the lava flows, to make the habitat, was now malfunctioning. Unless the equipment was repaired, the habitat, and everyone in it, faced certain destruction.

Armed with the Oban Compendium (that Rex convinced Duvall to lend him), Rex, Hannah, Randolph, and Marie, headed for the Mi-go cave. They soon discovered the malfunctioning equipment and Rex, using the Compendium as a guide, managed to repair it. However, he informed them that this was a stop gap measure. Unless further action was taken, the settlement would remain in danger.

Thus, Rex convinced Duvall that the only hope for the settlement was for them to reestablish contact with the outside world. A group from the Miskatonic base soon arrived (having been contacted by Rex, Hannah, and Randolph) and promised to send more help to aid the settlers for their eventual return to civilization. Rex and Hannah then prepared to say good-bye and return home. Randolph told them that he planned to remain at the habitat and look for more Mi-go artifacts. Marie promised to come visit Rex and Hannah when the time was right. Finally, Duvall, as a parting gift, gave Rex the copy of the Oban Compendium.

With a final farewell to their new found friends (and a promise to keep their names out of it when the news of the settlement was revealed to the outside world), Rex and Hannah began the long journey home.

Aftermath of the visit

Rex and Hannah were living in Arkham by the time Randolph returned from Antarctica. He informed Rex and Hannah that the French settlers were adjusting well in their preparations to return to the outside world. He also told Hannah that he'd given Marie their new Arkham address, so she could come on her promised visit.

As to what will become of the Antarctic Habitat itself, only time will tell.

References

Rex and Hannah Chronicles Story No. 33: The Emperor’s Legacy

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