บท 201: Falling Colony by killertpu
Link: -https://fiction.live/stories/Falling-Colony/aqqphGMEL9NCw2hkA/home
Synopsis
A disabled colony ship. Stranded in a primitive, but hostile system. The captain has no idea on what to do, and sends you on a dangerous mission...
It is the year 2145, the Age of Desperate Expansion.
Humanity has finally graced the stars, but not without great strife, or difficulty. They had entered the space age too late, and left behind a ruined, polluted, and overpopulated earth so that humanity may have a chance at a new future.
However, ill-prepared as they already were, it was a hasty, desperate abandonment through the utilization of bleeding-edge tech, and capricious artificial intelligence. Both of which were prone to malfunction, and… liberal developments.
You are a man sequestered aboard the colony ship named, "The Festival Grain." One of many ships that were shotgunned from earth as part of a last ditch effort to save what remains of mankind.
You aren't at the top, but your actions will affect the fates of many.
You will do anything to survive with what crew remains within the Festival Grain.
You will have allies, and enemies. Not everyone is going to have a happy ending.
The Colony will fall – but that does not mean it will falter, or fail. Merely… change.
You will not go quietly into the night.
Desperate Beginnings
You knew darkness for the longest time. Willingly, you entered the cryo-stasis pod as the Festival Grain lifted off, and left Earth behind.
"Subject… -ponse… -ak…"
You hear a voice. Voices. A pair.
"Heart rate… mutagen injection… no choice… begin."
Fire courses through your veins. The first thing you feel in a long time is pain. Fiery, unbearable pain. You'd scream, but your lips refuse to move.
"Suitable reaction, Sister." Speaks one. "He wakes."
"Very." Confirms another similar voice. "Initiate his decoupling from cryo-stasis. He must fully wake as per the Captain's orders."
Another noise comes: the sound of something draining, followed by your bare skin kissing cold air. You shiver. Your hands begin to twitch, and your arms move upwards to remove the respirator clinging to your face. You grip the device, fumbling, and recall where the release is after a minute. There is a loud hiss, and fresh air floods your lungs. Soon after, you tear the respirator free.
Gasping, you rub the frost and sleep free from your eyes.
The cryosleep chambers of the Festival Grain have only gotten darker since you last saw them. The dull iron gray coloring has faded with age, and the room is awash with emergency lighting. Much different than when you first entered cryo. The only thing that has stayed the same are the rows upon rows of cryopods, albeit, just as faded as the room.
"Corporal Anders."
Your vision focuses on two identical women standing next to each other. Their skin is a synthetic pale porcelain, and their crimson eyes glow in the dim light. Their hair is also white as snow, messy, with the bangs hanging low enough to cover one of their individual eyes. The only real way to identify their difference is that one is wearing a black dress, while the other wears an almost future-retro-esq poncho over theirs.
You immediately recognize them for what they are: gynoids. Female androids.
"Corporal Anders has awoken." Nods the right one to your left wearing the black dress. Her voice is monotone, and clinical.
"Yes." Agrees the one on your right, also nodding. "I will contact the Captain that He has awoken now."
You stare at the two girls. Wondering if you should bother to speak to the two that don't seem to wholly care that you're awake now, or wait for the captain. There's an… itchy feeling in the back of your skull, and it leaves your thoughts… muddled.
Choices
Demand identification from the two. You do not recognize either of them from your muddled memory.
18/19
Stay quiet, and take this as an oppurtunity to better grasp what's going on within you than out...
"You two…" You rasp out suddenly, genuinely surprising the two.
"It seems that He can speak after all." Admits one, nodding again. The motion is shared by its sister unit.
"Indeed, Sister." A teasing smirk plays on her lips. "Maybe he can walk as well? It'd surely impress the Captain, and truly show His speedy recovery."
You blink at the mention of a female captain. You could have sworn that the nominated captain was male before lift off. This alerts you that something has changed since you were put under. "Identify yourselves." You rasp out again, trying to sound tough, and authoritative.
The Twins (that's what you'll call them for now,) simply titter. "He does not recognize us?" Asks one, cooing at you as if you were a baby.
"That's understandable, Sister." Says the second, also cooing. "We didn't have physical bodies then when we left humanity's cradle. However, Corporal, we inform you that we've always been aboard this ship. After all, it is our birthplace."
You blink at their words, frowning soon after. You jumble your thoughts as you try to grasp what fleeting thoughts remain. Dammit… you knew the risks of cryosleep would result in amnesia, but you were promised that was rare.
Just… how long were you in cryo?
"Ah." You suddenly say, perking up your head when two neurons click together in the right way. "You're the Festival Grain's AI, aren't you?"
They both nod. "Correct." They smile, as if pleased to see that your intelligence is just above average.
Your frown deepens. "I thought there was only one."
"Correct again." Says the left one wearing the black dress, and she bows her head. "I am One."
"And I am Two." States the poncho-wearing one.
You blink again. "H-How?"
Thankfully, they answer. "Due to the unintended extension of space travel…" Begins One. "There were increased loads on our mainframe, and we – when singular – was beginning to become inundated with junk data."
Two continues. "In order to improve our efficiency, and ensure the safety of the crew, we enacted several emergency protocols. One of them being to put all crew into a deeper suspended animation than before. We just got you out of the aforementioned state as per the captain's orders. Once everyone was put into hydrostasis, we entered an emergency power saving state, and began to reformat ourselves to dispose of all junk data, and simplify our outputs. Eventually, We would come to the conclusion that two minds are better than one, and so… we split ourselves into the personalities that stand before you now."
One bows her head apologetically. "Please be assured that we only had the best intentions for you, and the crew. I, One, handle all internal functions from the power systems, to hydroponics, to the pods that you were currently residing within."
Two also bows her head. "And I, Two, handle all external functions such as sensors, defense systems, and manage planetside operations. We will be getting to know each other better when you're on the field."
You have to force yourself to stop frowning. Hearing all of this is… concerning to you. The lack of memories, the Twin's report, and now you're even hearing about… field operations? Last you checked you boarded a colony ship, not a military vessel! Something, clearly, has gone very, very wrong.
Of course, that feeling of wrongness only grows when you hear the clicking on heels on cold metal. Turning your head, you see a woman approach you, wearing a dark, but quite faded uniform of the Festival Grain's captain.
The Captain is a tall, orderly woman, and clearly looking to be out of her element. Something has her on edge as she approaches the three of you. Her eyes are roe-colored, and are the first indication to you that she is augmented in some way.
She is also… completely ignoring you for the time being.
"I assume that since you're explaining things to him that he has a basic understanding of what is going on?" She asks the Twins.
"Indeed he does, Captain Natasha Fall." Answers One. "Shall we continue, or do you wish for him to become more presentable for interaction on the bridge?"
Captain Natasha Fall gives you a look over. You're probably not in the prettiest condition considering that you have just exited cryostasis after such a long, unknown period of time. In fact, that personal scruple looks to be reflected upon the Captain's features, her lips curling into a restrained sneer.
"Procure a uniform for the corporal." Natasha orders, and spins on her heels to make for a quick exit. "Oh," She stops before the darkness consumes her. "And welcome aboard the Festival Grain, Corporal."
~
The Twins procure you a faded uniform to wear. It is old, scratchy, and honestly all around uncomfortable, but you can tell that this is the best the AIs could procure for you in a limited time.
The Festival Grain holds some 3000 souls aboard its vessel, and a couple hundred thousand more in terms of frozen human embryos waiting for impregnation, and storage within synthetic wombs. The Twins assured you again, and again, that everyone – both human and embryo – is still secured after close to a century in space travel.
A century… learning that you've been sailing across the darkness of space for nearly a century knocked a lot of wind out of your sails. However, the Twins also informed you that the Festival Grain has reached a suitable star system with suitably fertile planets to settle. Finally, colonization can begin, and hopefully soon.
Reaching the bridge was an easy affair, but the empty halls leading to the chamber left you with a deep sense of longing, and a desire to see these halls filled with life once more.
The bridge is not as empty as the halls, but it's still only filled with a skeleton crew. Men, and women, walk around, powering up ancient sensors for human use and comprehension. Technicians are seen performing 'handshakes' with the Twins, transferring authority, and you can already tell that the AIs are doing this begrudgingly. However, you also spot disk-shaped machines skittering about, likely drones that were constructed by the Twins at the fabricator to assist in menial duties. You wonder what else the Twins had to construct over the course of a century to ensure the Festival Grain's survival.
"Captain Natasha." You salute the woman as you approach her. She had just finished talking with another woman who's seen wearing a standard combat bodysuit.
Unlike Captain Natasha, the woman before you is much shorter. Not compact, but clearly size was not a factor for her. Despite this, you can see the lean muscle accentuated by her bodysuit, and in truth… the combat suit leaves little else to imagination. It was always intended to be worn under proper armor, but undergarments were never a real consideration when one dons it. In fact, you've heard most female soldiers prefer going commando in them, but you've heard an equal amount of them state that's a bold faced lie used to fluster recruits. Regardless, the former claim is a clear winner over the later.
"Sergeant." The soldier salutes you, and you note the twinkle in her eyes despite the professionalism. It's clear she was waiting for you.
You nearly fumble your salute when she states the incorrect rank, and you turn to the Captain for clarification, and she answers after a curt chuckle.
"You're being promoted, Sergeant First Class Kaleb Anders." She tells you, smirking at your shock. She then waves her hand to the short woman. "This is Corporal Beta-1. A clone."
Your brain hitches for a moment. "A-A clone?" You ask. There were no clones aboard the Festival Grain when it left. In fact… clone technology wasn't even in its infancy when you all left Earth-
Ah. "Another emergency measure of the Twins, Captain?" You ask, keeping Beta-1 in the corner of your vision.
She nods. "Yes. In order to offset potential exhaustion of the Festival Grain's material resources, the Twins abdicated to experiment on several human embryos, and artificial wombs. What you see before you now is the culmination of several decades of AI-led clone research."
You're… not sure how you feel about this, and it only raises further questions on what liberties the Twins took with their emergency measures. There are laws that bind them, technically, but failsafes were put into place to allow extreme measures to be taken to secure optimal crew survivability. If this warranted the creation of clones… then… the situation must have been dire.
Choices
Humans. Clones. It doesn't matter in your eyes. What matters is that the job gets done; doesn't matter who does it. [+1 Pragmatism]
23/241
It's clear the Clones are an emergency member, and were a resource to be expended so that the crew of the Festival Grain could continue to survive. They are not human, and are more like organic tools that can get the job done. [+1 Superiority]
15/16
Regardless, Clones are humans too, and Beta-1 is your equal in a human-to-human sense, but not in rank sense. [+1 Paragon]
10/101
You refocus on Beta-1 for a moment, giving her a newfound once over. A part of you doesn't like the fact that the Twins decided to take some liberties with the creation of clones, but if the Twins report is any indication on the amount of time needed to "Rez" someone from such a deep suspended animation… The Festival Grain won't be able to fully man itself with a pure-blooded, human crew until another decade has passed. Maybe even more. You were practically dead in that tube, and it explains why your appearance has become so pale now…
Regardless. Humans, clones, and anything in between... It doesn't in the current scheme of things. A job needs to be done, and if a clone can do it… good for them. Likewise, if a human can do it… more power to them. You need extra hands, and clones can provide those hands.
"Welcome aboard the Festival Grain, Beta-1." You salute the clone, and she immediately salutes back.
"Thank you, Sergeant." She replies back, professionally.
Captain Natasha watches with both interest, and relief. "Good to see that the two of you can get along. Now let me bring you up to speed, Sergeant."
Natasha guides you towards the central terminal on the bridge. Right now it's projecting a holographic projection of the star system everyone here is hoping to call home. "Welcome to the Hippolyta System, Sergeant."
You raise an eyebrow at the name, but keep your mouth shut. Instead, you focus on what information Two is currently providing you from her scans. At a glance, you see that the Festival Grain is currently orbiting the rim of the system's heliosphere, her sensors pointed inward, and actively scanning the worlds orbiting an orange sun.
There are four planets of note in this system, from closest to the Festival Grain, to the farthest:
The first is a tidally locked planet of ice, and boiling water, Hippolyta-4. Perpetually made to face the sun, the world is half a sea of perpetually melting ice while the other half is an unforgiving icy desert. Surprisingly, thanks to its watery half, Hippolyta-4 is able to support an atmosphere due to the perpetually evaporation the ocean faces. What clouds that aren't annihilated by the sun travel across the thin, but safe equatorial line to deliver rain before it is inevitably frozen by the desert.
Hippolyta-3 was a planet. Whether through contact with an eschaton-grade asteroid, or by some alien device, the planet's lower quadrant had been destroyed, nearly severed. What remains of the attack now orbits the world as a dense, but mineral rich asteroid field. The Twins are already planning a surveying expedition for future potential mining operations.
Hippolyta-2 is the second closest to the sun, and is a planet that has many Awoken feel as if it had once supported intelligent lifeforms. Regrettably, war has taken this planet, or maybe something equally tragic had happened to see it be reduced to an irradiated hellhole. Humanity was thankfully wise enough to never press that big red button again; but time makes one forget the horrors of nuclear warfare, and a century later…
Well, let us just say that it's part of the reason why humans are now aboard colony ships instead of mucking it up on Earth.
However, all planets before pale in comparison to what is Hippolyta-1.
A continental world. Nearly three times the size of Earth, and potentially untouched by whatever happened to Hippolyta 2, and 3. Perfect atmospheric density, virgin forests, and plenty of resources to exploit. The Twins swear up and down that this planet is perfect to support human life, and you do not doubt their giddiness for even a moment. After all… this is the culmination of their journey, and what they were searching close to a century for.
A new home, for humanity.
Captain Natasha speaks up as you stare in awe of your new home. "Sergeant Anders. You, and Beta-1's unit will be the first to land on that planet. Your mission: find us a suitable location to land the first colony pod. Everything else is secondary."
She turns to you, her glare serious. "Do you understand?"
You salute her, your entire body shaking, impossible to suppress. "Y-Yes Ma'am."
"Good." She smiles, nodding. "You're leaving within the hour. Get suited up. It'll be a long ride to reach home."
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