The Forgotten One

by Part One (lit)

  Episode One

  The Forgotten:

  Discovery

  By

  Kaitlyn O'Connor

  © copyright by Kaitlyn O'Connor, January 2010

  Cover Art by Alex DeShanks, January 2010

  ISBN 1-978-60394-396-3

  New Concepts Publishing

  Lake Park, GA 31636

  www.newconceptspublishing.com

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author's imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

  ?

  Prologue

  The universe has been expanding since the Big Bang that started it all. With the Hubble telescope we were able to look back in time for the first time to the beginning of the universe, to the Big Bang itself. We were able to see the birth and death of stars, galaxies, and solar systems that were far older than our own … and now we are hovering on the very brink of being able to appease our yearning to go out and seek new worlds, to explore these new worlds and find other civilizations, other sentient beings.

  Long ago, a civilization very like our own found themselves in the position where we stand today. They had struggled and learned and finally found the way to do what we only dream of now. In their eagerness to conquer the known universe, they studied the worlds in distant solar systems now open to them, chose the most promising, and scattered seeds into the great unknown like the seeds of a dandelion. To prepare these promising new worlds for their people, they sent out ships carrying very specialized robots to prepare the way for the colonists that would come behind them. These robots were creators, designed specifically to build more robots, specialized robots that would help to prepare the world they found for the beings who'd created them-the Danu. And with each creator they sent out a capsule filled with the DNA of every species of plant and animal most critical to their survival and, for the sake of posterity, to preserve their race which they considered the most important of all, they sent the DNA of the best of the Danu race.

  As one generation of robots completed the step they'd been designed for in terra-forming, the creator recycled and reproduced a new generation of more sophisticated robots to perform new tasks and bring the planet one step closer to colonization.

  Manuta was sent further than any other, set the Herculean task of terra-forming one of the most distant and extreme of these promising colonization planets, but like all the other creators, Manuta was nothing more than a machine designed to build other machines. Manuta was equipped with artificial intelligence, but it was still a machine, confined to the tasks set for it. It had no fear, no doubts, no resentment for the task it had been set. It was merely a tool of its creators and it set about its task just as the others did, following the programming set for it and slowly, but surely, terra-forming for the colonists that would one day come-the colonists that never came.

  As the eons passed Manuta, equipped with AI to ensure that it could do what it had been designed to do, evolved itself. It finally achieved the goal that had been set for it. It had achieved the almost impossible feat and terra-formed a hostile environment into a world ripe for the life that was supposed to come and didn't.

  It had completed its task. It was finished. After a time, when Manuta didn't simply cease to exist, when the life-forms the world had been built for didn't appear, Manuta did something it had never been designed for. It made a completely autonomous decision. The world it had built, the cities it had built, were for intelligent, biological life forms, for the Danu. There should be beings living, working, reproducing off-spring, and playing in the world and its cities. It had been designed to create. Manuta decided it would create biological entities to inhabit the world designed for biological, not mechanical, entities simply because that was the ultimate goal that had been programmed in to it.

  Gathering the robots no longer useful, it recycled for the final time, creating them in the image of its creators, the Danu, splicing together the strengths of the robots it knew how to build with the biological materials built from the DNA of the Danu.

  There was one problem.

  Manuta was genderless. It knew that would never do. To be Danu was to have the ability for reproduction and that meant there must be males and females. The problem was Manuta was created by the males of the species. The precious capsule that had been given into Manuta's keeping to preserve the Danu's DNA for posterity only contained the DNA of the Danu's most brilliant scientists and leaders-all male. Manuta had no idea how to go about creating females.

  Undaunted as ever, it created what it could and then settled to trying to compute how it would produce the necessary ingredient still lacking-the female.

  And then one day a female fighter pilot from a species very like the Danu, a woman of Earth, crashed into the world that Manuta had built, the world of THE FORGOTTEN.

  ?

  Chapter One

  "Shields up!" Danielle barked at her onboard computer system, instinctively jerking the guidance stick to steer her craft away from the motion she'd seen. It flashed through her mind even as she engaged evasive maneuvers to wonder if she'd mistaken what she thought she'd spotted.

  "Engaged. It is unnecessary to shout. I can detect verbal commands uttered in a whisper."

  "Shut up!" Danielle snarled. "Identify incoming!"

  "Missile, type II photon. I cannot 'shut up' and respond at the same time," the computer pointed out reasonably.

  Danielle ground her teeth but before she could think of anything else to scream at the annoying computer, the missile impacted with her shields. The concussion nearly rattled her teeth out of her head. The entire craft shuddered as if in the grips of a 7 magnitude earthquake. Catching the roll she'd started when she tried to evade impact, the concussion waves sent the ship spiraling in a way that would've completely disoriented her if her ship had been in the grips of a gravity field. Even so, the blur of the stars in her forward viewing screen sent a wave of dizziness through her as she shifted to full throttle and fought to stabilize the craft again.

  It had been a calculated risk to lower the shields to conserve fuel levels, but the odds should have been in Danielle's favor. There shouldn't have been any Nubie ships in the sector she was scouting.

  Then again, as unlikely as it had seemed to High Command that the Nubiens were setting up a new base in this particular sector, it had been selected by the computer as a possibility-low probability-but still a possibility.

  Not that any of that mattered at the moment! She was in deep shit now! She could worry about the odds later-if she was still alive to worry about it!

  Luckily, she'd caught the movement out of the corner of her eye as the missile shot out of seemingly nowhere to broadside her fighter. In less time that it would've taken to actually think the thought, she'd instinctively called up the shields or she would be just so many particles of debris at the moment.

  She could still end up as particles of space debris if she didn't get the hell away from whoever it was that had fired on her, and her craft was corkscrewing through space like an out-of-control top! "Have I got any more coming at me?"

  "Negative."

  "Then give me a hand, god damn it, and straighten this bitch out before I puke all over the console!"

  Obligingly, the computer took over the guidance and began to compensate until the ship began to spin slower.

  "Why do I feel like I'm going to puke?"

  "Too much food in your stomach?"

  "Spare me your attempts at humor for the moment!" Danielle growled. "I'm feeling gravity! Why the hell am I feeling gravity? There shouldn't be enough in this sector to affect me!"

  "Your trajectory and speed have carried the craft into a solar
system. You're feeling the effects of the nearest planet."

  "That's so fucking helpful! What solar system? I wasn't anywhere near a solar system! Am I on a collision course?"

  "Not anymore."

  Reassured on that count for the moment, as irritated as she was at the suggestion that she had been on a collision course, Danielle switched her focus to the missile again. "Calculate the trajectory of the missile. Where did it come from?"

  The computer remained silent long enough that impatience began to get the better of Danielle.

  "It appears the missile is a stray."

  Danielle felt perfectly blank. "A stray?" she echoed.

  "Affirmative. I have calculated the trajectory. There is no geo-stationary body of matter within the traceable path where the missile might have originated. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that the missile originated from a ship. From my analysis of the composition of the missile, I have concluded that the weapon is of Meridian origins and most likely a stray from the battle in sector Alpha-12 near the Romulus system, star date 0312."

  Danielle gasped in disbelief. Gertrude was saying the missile was from the last battle with the Nubiens two weeks, Earth Standard, before? She'd been there! Late, unfortunately since the damned ship had required repairs before she could even launch! But she'd taken part in that battle. It seemed inconceivable, even taking the strange effects of space on time into consideration, that the missile could be here, at the worst possible moment, when it had been fired weeks ago! "Friendly fire? You're saying I was hit by one of our missiles? How's that even possible?"

  Obligingly, the computer explained the law of probabilities and the astronomical odds that the missile had not only failed to hit its target-or anything between the battle and her ship-but it had failed to detonate when it went off course. "Nevertheless and despite the odds, it is my conclusion that this is the only plausible explanation."

  "You're sure?"

  "I can only ascertain with any degree of accuracy that the origins of the missile were Meridian. The rest is pure conjecture based upon the data I have. I believe I should also point out, now that the threat of attack has passed and you've become somewhat calmer, that the ship is damaged."

  A shockwave went through Danielle. "Damaged?" she repeated.

  "I detect a rise in your blood pressure and heart rate."

  "No shit! How damaged? Can I get back to base?"

  "In my estimation-no."

  "You're damned calm! Why the hell didn't you tell me at once, you stupid piece of space junk!"

  "I do not have the capacity for hysterics. You, on the other hand do, and I thought it best not to mention the damage until you had calmed enough to think rationally, Captain Dubois."

  "I am calm!" Danielle growled. "Why didn't you set off the alarms? Why can't I make it back to base? How bad is it?"

  "Impossible to determine. Damaged circuits due to the concussion of the missile and possibly the trip through the worm hole since the ship was not adequately shielded from either."

  "Whoa! Back up!"

  "I should point out that neither decision is wise at this point. The ship is losing both fuel and oxygen. It will be far safer to proceed to the planet I have detected and perform repairs there. By my calculations you should be able to reach it before any more systems fail."

  "Worm hole? You stupid fucking bitch! I shouldn't be more than .2 light years from home base! Where the fuck am I? And what the hell did you let me fall into a worm hole for?"

  "We were performing evasive maneuvers from an unknown threat. I guided the ship into the worm hole before I had ascertained that the missile was a stray and, once avoided, the danger was past. You are now approximately 200 light years from home base."

  "Oh my god!"

  "I do not believe you will find it effective to call upon a deity for aid. There is no data to support the possibility that any exist or ever have. In point of fact, it has thus far been proven that deities are the product of primitive minds and do not, nor ever have, actually existed."

  "God damn it, Gertrude! Tell me something I don't know! Can you take me back through the god damned worm hole?"

  "By my calculations, this would be self-destructive given the current state of the ship. Negative."

  Danielle struggled with the panic trying to take hold of her and the coldness creeping into her bones as the realization sank in that she was deep in uncharted space-life times from her home base. She discovered she couldn't entirely grasp it, but what she did grasp was scary enough to make her feel like giving in to a bout of hysterics. "You mentioned a planet?"

  "I have detected a planet suitable for human habitation."

  "Out here?" Danielle exclaimed in disbelief.

  "It is in an orbit close enough to its sun to support human life. The oxygen levels are high. The levels of harmful gases are well within the safe range. Mass and gravity an acceptable range for humans. There is a higher ratio of water to land than is considered ideal for colonization, but still a substantial landmass. I feel I should add that the high levels of oxygen may well have resulted in gigantism of the life-forms."

  "Do we have time to survey for a relatively safe landing area? Have you seen anything to indicate intelligent life? A civilization?"

  "I believe you can safely make one circuit of the planet for a quick survey. I would not advise lingering in orbit, however. The odds are high that the ship's systems will reach a critical state before you could land if you should chose that option and landing might not be possible when the stress of insertion and gravity is taken into account.

  "Projection at the moment is that there are no higher life forms or civilizations that might be helpful. Methane levels indicate the presence of an abundance of life-forms, but the carbon dioxide levels appear to be too low to suggest a civilization advanced enough for industrialization and that makes it unlikely that they would be advanced far enough technologically to be of any help. However, I believe we have enough supplies on board to affect repairs if you can refrain from damaging the ship further upon landing, Captain Dubois."

  Danielle glared at the optical sensor above her console resentfully. She knew the computer wasn't capable of the human emotions that might motivate it to cast blame for the incident, but the comment seemed to suggest just that. "I didn't damage the fucking ship to start with!" she snapped angrily. "What I'd like to know is why the hell I had to tell you to put the damned shields up! You should've detected the approach long before I did!"

  "You ordered me to lower the shields to conserve fuel levels so that you could scout further than your orders had indicated you should."

  Danielle shifted a little uncomfortably. It was useless to argue with the damned computer. She knew that and yet it was easier than it should have been to get so accustomed to conversing with the onboard computers during the long stretches of patrols to begin to think, and behave, as if they were actually intelligent beings. They had artificial intelligence, of course, but it was still a machine when all was said and done and daffy to argue with one as if it was another person.

  She still didn't like the way this conversation was going for the simple reason that the damned computer was going to report on her the minute she got within range and make her look bad-incompetent and insubordinate! "Bitch!" she muttered. "My orders were to scout the entire sector for indications of enemy presence. I was doing my job! You weren't! You should have overridden the command the second you detected the rogue missile!"

  "If your orders had included the order to widen the search as much as you did, you would not have had to order me to conserve fuel. You would have been given sufficient fuel for the search," the computer responded reasonably. "And I would not have had to plot a course for your return that would take into account the excess fuel you had used and determine whether it was possible to divert to the shields and still accomplish a return trip. It was the delay in making these calculations that resulted in the disaster."

  Danielle's heart skipped several
beats. "What the hell do you mean 'disaster'?" she demanded. "You said the ship was in good enough shape for me to land the damned thing and repair it!"

  "The probability is high that you will be able to. However, the detour required to make the repairs will use up far more fuel than would have been used otherwise, which will also make it impossible to reach home base again even if you successfully repair the ship. You should be within hailing range, but I cannot guarantee that any distress call will be picked up. It may become necessary to ditch the fighter and take the emergency pod and it is certainly considered a disaster to lose a fighter in the conflict."

  God! This was worse and worse! The fucking computer was right! It was a disaster! She was liable to be facing a court martial when and if she made it back! "I'll tell them you malfunctioned, you bitch!" she growled. "Which you did! You should have informed me of all this as soon as you'd determined it, Gertrude! Then I could've made a decision that might have averted the damned disaster!"

  "I believe that when they examine the recorder they will not arrive at the conclusion that I malfunctioned."

  Smug bitch! Arguing with the damned computer was pointless! But it was hardly a foregone conclusion that the computer was going to win! If she had to ditch, she'd blow the damned thing up and tell her version of the truth! The way she saw it, the computer had malfunctioned! She might have ultimate control of the ship and the ability to override decisions made by the computer, but the computer was supposed to be monitoring all the things she couldn't while she was doing her job. If Gertrude had bothered to inform her of what the situation was, she would've broken off her search and returned sooner! She'd trusted the damned computer to let her know well before she'd used enough fuel to put her in this damned predicament! If that wasn't a fucking malfunction, she didn't know what was!

  "On final approach. With your permission, Captain Dubois, I will insert the ship into a low orbit to optimize my survey of the planet's surface. May I suggest an orbit near the planet's equator? The surface temperature below is a balmy 85 degrees Fahrenheit, ideal for human comfort."