From the Past

O.W.N.S Genesis, the tenth hyperdrive vehicle was the first interplanetary space mission launched to Capella. Its aim was to establish a colony of pioneers, for a bigger plan to create another colony in the fifth planet from Capella. The ongoing colonization of nearby stars began 500 years after the foundation of the One-World Nation, a federation of ten supernations. Each of the supernations were formed for economic, cultural, religious, and partially for ethnic reasons. The original purpose of a supernation was competitive, but the necessity of forming a global economy, global perspective and global understanding became stronger. As the need to preserve the environment, that the earth isn't divided, that humans evolved from a common ancestor, that we are the only entities living in a single unit called earth, drove humans to form not competitions but alliances. So alliances became the norm, and war became obsolete and eventually, they found themselves citizens of OWN.

The vehicle looked smaller than Emmer expected. Large by human standard, it is designed for long distance voyage, interstellar, but definitely not intergalactic. The way it moved shows no intelligence is controlling it, or if any, it is definitely confused. It is globular, with a large crystal structure facing its direction of motion. It has no blinking lights, no portholes and plainly designed. The diffused lights from distant stars makes the vehicle look old and gray. Perhaps it is old, but how old?

"Shall we retrieve the craft or tow it?" Lah Ribheg asked.

"Let's get inside first, if there are survivors, we can revive them, and then tow it along."

Ribheg veered the worm-rider closer, so they can make ocular inspection the spaceship.

"Can you detect their source of energy?"

"No, sir. It is just moving aimlessly. If the vehicle continues on its course, it will be captured by the Hammada Star in an eccentric orbit, it might burn if it approaches the star too closely."

Emmer felt tempted to scan the vehicle mentally - a mekholian ability that he can use although the Canon requires that they use it sparingly, on matters of life and death only. But Emmer decided this one is a matter of life and death.

"Our motion scanner cannot detect any life form, sir."

"It cannot detect motion, but not necessarily life form." Emmer corrected. "There could be life there." Then he scanned it. For a brief moment, he felt a brain wave, a bizarre human brain wave then it is gone. He realized that such short mental burst could be anything, a human with intense dream, a human struggling to live, or someone awakened from a stupor. But it disappeared, and it could mean one thing, whoever emitted it just died. Without oxygen, a brain can be revived in its best condition within ten minutes.

"Quick, retrieve the vehicle, now!"

Lah Ribheg and Leeh Xamai were startled by the sudden change in Emmer's instruction. The urgency of the requirement that they react as such. Without question, Xamai and Ribheg summoned several Sailors and Guardians and the Wormrider became busy, intensely busy. The Wormrider moved forward to the vehicle. It is big enough to take the entire vehicle, but it requires a lot of manpower as well. Airlocks were sealed as the Cargo Bay opened, like a mouth of a giant animal, it slowly swallowed the vehicle. It was over in six minutes.

Emmer signaled his two assistants. They almost ran to the Cargo Bay after its pressure returned to normal. Wearing the usual protective outfit, they entered the Cargo Bay. The prince scanned the area once more, and then he felt that brain wave again, weak but it is still there.

Automatically scanned by the wormrider, they already had a fair idea of how the vehicle looks inside, its rooms and other compartments. Guided by the weak brain wave, Emmer and his men approached the vehicle.

"The wormrider scan means the entrance is at the underside." Emmer pointed to the underside of the floating vehicle four meters above the deck. "But it cannot be opened without the proper instruction code from within. The computer inside could be as confused as ever."

"We can forcibly open it." Xamai suggested.

"Does the wormrider know anything about how it is controlled? This vehicle looks ancient, and very unfriendly." Ribheg commented.

"We'll try."

Emmer commanded the wormrider computer to override or imitate the computer within, and within a few seconds, the huge trap door like portal slid open. From the way it looks, the portal will either pull them up or beam them up. Emmer trusted the computer inside, and allowed themselves to be pulled up.

The inside of the ship looks plain but the life that slowly ebbs drove Emmer to a certain direction, while Xamai and Ribheg could only follow. Facing a long passageway, that looks large enough even for Xamai to enter, Emmer went cautiously forward, and the computer said something they cannot understand. Emmer stopped.

"The computer seemed to be asking our name or password, or it is warning us." Ribheg observed.

"It is speaking in a human language. I wish we brought a human here." Emmer answered.

"How did the wormrider computer open this?" Xamai asked.

"The Wormrider computer cannot really understand humans, but it can understand machine code." Emmer moved again to the direction of the brain wave slowly weakening.

"I believe this spaceship is looking for help. Let's go."

So they moved forward, and other Kersians followed them. They did not encounter any resistance at all, until they reached a certain room, a huge room where Emmer is sure the dying person is located. The door lock seemed insurmountable, so Xamai broke it.

The entire crew of the ship were all in a room, each in a certain capsule, apparently sleeping in a semi-suspended state. But Emmer is sure that the spaceship's life support was depleted, and only the strongest one of the crew is still fighting for his or her life. Somehow, the brain wave grew stronger, and Emmer sensed its thoughts. He approached one of the capsules, pressed a few buttons. The buttons had drawings, and somehow Emmer understood their meanings. The two assistants merely watched the prince when the capsule opened. Emmer is sure that this is the only one alive, although there are twenty capsules in the compartment, most of them had died earlier. He could revive them, but they would either be disabled or mentally damaged. It would be a punishment for them to live. But most of them still have hope if his father would allow him to use the Leip crystals. However, judging from his earlier conversation, only when he becomes the Emperor, will Leip crystals be used.

It is a human male. Wrapped in a suit that gives them minute amounts of oxygen. The capsule's interior is lined with tubes possibly controlling the temperature to a level that is just above freezing. Still alive, even with very little life support, the male human looks like any Andromedan human. The man has brown skin, with thick, black eyebrows and hair. He looks more like a mekholi, except his head. This man's head is flatter, and smaller than Emmer's head. The human male is a little hairy though, possibly caused by intermarriage among other colors of humans.

Andromeda is definitely not their mission, but somewhere else and Emmer believes that they strayed in the Mother Wormhole, and got pulled in another place so unfamiliar that the computer control got hopelessly confused. They may have been wandering here for several years. If they had learned how to travel from one place to another through the Wormholes, they would never have resorted to using semi-suspended animation. These people were sent to their destination, without any hope of returning to their families or relatives. They will return but they may have accepted those consequences, so the later generation will benefit. But how many of these missions failed or got lost?

"Get him and bring him to the Emergency room."

The Guardians who accompanied them took the man, while Emmer tried scanning for others. The crew had female and male members, representing the different colors of the typical human races. It is unfortunate that they were retrieved a little late. Had they rescued them when Ribheg first sighted the spaceship, the others would probably still be alive. But Ribheg is Ribheg, and he knows the limits of his actions.

"Sir, What are we going to do with this spaceship as soon as we reach Xavenon?" Ribheg asked.

"We'll place it in orbit for study. The dead ones will be preserved for future study in Xavenon, to be specific, my laboratory, not my father's."

Xamai asked for something to be clarified, "Of what use will they be, Sir? For all we know, they might be carriers of unknown diseases."

"Humans have conquered diseases partially, although they still have a long way to equal mekholi's success in lengthening their lives. These are possibly earth humans, but the ship's log and computer database can shed more light as to their origins."

The three investigated the control room, where they found the control computer. For Emmer, banking on his previous knowledge about human technology, the control room seems easy to understand.

"The control room looks very different, sir. Do we have to study this further?" Ribheg asked.

"It looks familiar enough. The control computer's program is the typical method humans use. They have a complete database of star positions and their relative motions were used to track its position, the positions are adjusted automatically as they travel. They usually use their Sun as the reference point. When this vehicle strayed in a wormhole, it transferred instantaneously to this place. Andromeda's star positions are entirely different, confusing the computer on board."

"You mean they do not have any prior knowledge of this place?"

"Only mekholis and other human allies managed to go to Andromeda, using an idea from our human ancestors. Let's go back, we can revive the earth human in time."