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Chapter 14 by vgadict vgadict

What's next?

Lone survivor

The Captain motioned over the table and a brief 3D recreation of your ship crashing into an alien structure was shown. Based on the series of massive explosions that ensued, you are amazed that you even survived. It took a moment for it to sink in. You were the only survivor of the Odyssey, and thus the only human in this part of the galaxy many light years from Earth. There were no chairs in the room, but if there were, you would have likely collapsed into one of them upon learning this. Instead, you took a few steps toward the nearest wall and leaned against with your head down. "I can't believe they're all dead," you mumbled.

"How many were aboard your ship?" asked the Captain.

"There were 56 crewmembers on board including myself," you replied. "All of the others were in stasis at the time."

"All others were in stasis?" replied the Grey captain. "That may explain why more life signs weren't detected. Unfortunately, the automated system that saved you wouldn't be able to detect the life signs of someone in stasis, so if any of them did survive the initial crash, it would not have found them. Was the stasis equipment capable of preserving your crew for such an event?"

"That's doubtful. The stasis pods featured a lot of redundancy, but they are rather fragile," you explained. "It's likely they were instantly destroyed by the explosion in this section of the ship," you added, pointing at the 3D image.

"Did you detect any subspace warnings?" asked the Captain.

"I'm not familiar with that. I've heard some theories about subspace, but it's not part of our current science or technology. Just before the crash, there were some anomalous sensor readings, but those readings were likely in regards to detecting this structure, and not being able to avoid it."

The Captain squinted his eye further, and then continued, "Nearly all space-faring races discover subspace technology prior to attempting interstellar travel. Attempting sub-light travel without it is extremely dangerous. Based on the fact that most races have such technology, potential hazards are marked with subspace buoys that are universally recognized. The few races we've encountered that have tried to travel without it have encountered similar fates to that of your ship. However, you are the first known survivor of such an ill-fated voyage."

What's next?

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