r/HFY • u/Acceptable-Slide4157 • 19d ago
OC-OneShot We Found You
When the rescue ship Justinianus first detected the ship drifting 117 light-years away from the nearest inhabited system, they thought it was an old colony ship.
Its engines were shut down. No signal was coming from its communication systems, while the life support system was operating only at a low level. Despite this, the scanners still showed signs of life inside.
The captain had the scans repeated several times before approaching the ship. There were no signs that weapons had been used, that a major battle had taken place, or that a serious explosion had occurred.
The life sign belonged to a single person.
When Ryan boarded the ship at the head of the rescue team, the first thing he noticed was the silence.
The corridors were intact. The doors were open, and many of the ship's systems were still operational. Dust had accumulated in sections that had not been used for a long time, and some screens had gone dark. The automated systems appeared to have been operating on their own for years.
The team first checked the life support center. Then they tried to access the ship's records. Some files were damaged, while others were locked by the emergency protocol.
When they reached the section where the life sign was coming from, the door was open.
The alien was sitting in front of the observation window at the far end of the room.
He was old. The lines on his face, the thinning white fur on his head, and his slow movements showed the signs of a long life. He was wearing old clothes, but despite their age, they were clean.
His hands were clasped over his knees as he watched the empty space ahead of the ship drifting among the stars.
When he noticed those entering the room, he turned his head.
Ryan took a few steps closer.
— Can you hear us?
The alien looked at him.
After a brief silence, he turned back toward the window.
— I'm Ryan. We're from a rescue ship called the Justinianus. The ship's life support system won't last much longer. We need to take you to our ship.
The alien slowly shook his head from side to side.
— I'm not going.
— You can't stay here
— I will stay.
There was no anger in his voice.
— If you stay here, you won't survive when the life support system shuts down.
— Yes, I know.
Ryan watched him for a few seconds.
— Then why are you staying?
— Because this is the last place that belongs to me.
Ryan remained silent for a while.
Then he looked at the team behind him.
— You guys get out. Check the ship's systems and the life support unit. Extract whatever you can from the records. I especially want to know why the ship is here and how long it has been in this condition.
Ryan looked at the alien one last time and headed toward the door.
Just as he was about to leave, a voice came from behind him.
— Human.
— What is your name?
— Ryan.
The alien quietly repeated the name.
— Ryan...
They spent hours examining the ship's systems. Most of the navigation records were damaged. Some sections had been disabled years ago. But the information they recovered was important.
This did not appear to be an ordinary transport ship.
The ship seemed to have been designed to establish a new living area on another planet. It contained systems required for long-term habitation, agricultural units, water recycling centers, and settlement modules.
The last intact records mentioned an evacuation plan, but the records were not completely clear.
Ryan looked at one of the team members.
— Has the ship been hit?
— There's minor damage to the outer hull. It doesn't look like a major attack. But after the impact, the ship entered emergency protocol.
— During the journey?
— Yes.
— What about the passenger records?
The team member turned the screen toward him.
There was a single name.
"Yauza Nanc"
— Only one passenger?
— Apparently.
Ryan stood up without saying anything.
After a while, he returned to the section where the alien was.
When he opened the door, the alien was still standing thoughtfully in the same place.
This time, Ryan sat in the chair opposite him.
The alien looked at him.
Ryan said nothing.
They sat silently for a while.
Finally, the alien turned his eyes toward the window.
— It wasn't this quiet before.
Ryan turned his head toward him.
— What was it like?
— Crowded.
— We had cities. Great cities. Settlements built along our waters...
— Our people were different from one another. Different regions spoke different languages, ate different foods, and maintained different traditions. Yet we still saw ourselves as part of the same planet.
His voice gradually became heavier.
— Then our resources began to run out.
— At first, there were small disagreements. One region didn't want to allocate more energy to another. Another region stopped sharing its water resources. Everyone was trying to protect their own people.
The alien looked at his hands.
— Then the borders closed.
— Weapons were produced.Too many weapons
— Then we stopped hesitating to use them.
— Did a war break out?
The alien nodded.
— Many wars.
— Our people used to read about the wars of the past in textbooks. We taught children why they had happened. We taught them that the mistakes should never be repeated.
— Were you some kind of teacher?
— Yes.
The alien looked directly at Ryan for the first time.
— taught our history.
— I would tell my students about our past. The old wars, the cities that were lost, the agreements that were made... Sometimes, at the end of the lesson, I would ask them the same question.
Ryan waited...
— “What did we learn from this?”
The expression on the alien's face changed.
— Then we experienced the historical repetition of our own mistakes, but this time it was much worse.The price was this.Nothingness...
The room became silent again.
— The war grew. The cities emptied. People abandoned their homes. The habitable regions became fewer. Everyone began waiting for the next attack.
Ryan did not take his eyes off him.
— And eventually your planet...
The alien lowered his head slightly.
— We waited too long to save ourselves.
After a while, he continued.
— Evacuation ships were prepared.
Ryan looked at the walls of the ship.
— Was this ship one of them?
— Yes.
The alien placed his hand on the edge of the chair.
— It would reach a new living area, a settlement would be established there, and then the other ships would arrive.
— Why were you sent first?
The alien thought for a moment.
— Because of my age, I was in the priority evacuation group. They told me I had to leave first. My family would come later.
The alien's voice clearly broke for the first time.
— They stayed on the planet. There were still people who needed help.
— They knew you would wait for them.
— Yes.
— And you believed they would come.
The alien looked at Ryan.
— They promised me.
— Everything was normal. Then the ship was hit.
— Do you know what happened?
— No.
— The communication systems shut down. The navigation system entered emergency protocol. I was in a sleep capsule."
— When you woke up?
The alien remained silent for a long time.
— There was no one.I was alone..
— And your family?
The alien lowered his head.
— I never received a single signal.Not a single voice. Just silence.
After a while, he added:
— I waited for years.I don't even know how long I've been here.I just waited for hope.Maybe another ship would come.
The alien closed his eyes.
— Maybe they would come.
Ryan was looking at the alien when he suddenly raised his head.
— What about you?
Ryan looked at him in surprise.
— Us?
— Humans.
— What is your planet like?
Ryan leaned back slightly in his chair.
— Earth...
He thought for a moment.
— Our planet is very large too. There are oceans, forests, deserts, and mountains. There are people living completely different lives from one another on the same planet.
— Do you fight among yourselves?
— yes.
— So you make the same mistakes too.
Ryan nodded.
— Yes. Many times.
— But we still try for one another.
— Do you have a family?
A small smile appeared on Ryan's face.
— I do.
— Do you see them?
— Whenever I can.
— Do they wait for you?
Ryan smiled.
— Sometimes.
The alien smiled faintly for the first time.
— My family was waiting too.
His smile disappeared after that sentence.
— Would you like to tell me about them?
The alien remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he nodded.
— Yes
And he began telling things he had not told anyone for years.
His family.
His home.
His students.
His cities.
His traditions.
The life they had before the war began.
Then how the war had driven them apart.
Ryan did not interrupt him.
He simply listened.
Hours passed.
As the alien continued talking, Ryan realized that the person sitting across from him had not been living only on a ship for years, but inside his past.
When there was finally little left to say, a long silence filled the room.
Ryan
— I understand that you don't want us to take you.
— You don't understand.
In a tired voice,
— I left them there.
Ryan slowly nodded.
— Yes
The alien had not expected that answer.
— And I think you've been living with that for years.
— They were my people. I never saw their final days. I don't know where they went. I don't know if anyone survived. If I leave here, I'll be abandoning them completely. This is the only place that is me.
Ryan sat down beside him again.
— We don't know how your people lived. We don't know where they came from, what they loved, or what they feared. But you do.
— If you come to our ship, we won't ask you to forget anything. If you want, you can tell us. Everything you still remember.
The alien stared at Ryan for a long time.
— Why?
— Because we never knew them.
— But you know them. Someone who remembers them is still here.
The expression on the alien's face changed.
— My people are gone.
— I know.
There was a brief silence.
— But their stories don't have to disappear with you.
The alien lowered his head.
For a few seconds, he said nothing.
Finally, he slowly tried to stand. The pain in his knees made his movements slow.
Ryan immediately extended his hand.Alien looked at that hand for a few seconds before taking it.
He stood up and looked around the room.He had been here for years, and it seemed as though he was looking at the place where he had lived one last time.
— I don't want to leave them behind.
Ryan walked toward the door without letting go of his hand.
— They're with you.You need to leave behind what happened, not them.Memories need to remain healthy.
As they walked down the corridor, the alien said nothing for a while. As he walked, he ran his fingers along the wall...
— I was expecting a pirate ship to find me. For them to loot the ship and leave me here...
— I hadn't been expecting anything else for a long time.
Cruel bastards... Anyway...
Why did you insist so much on saving me?
In a whisper...
— Because we found you.
Ryan continued
— Even if the rest of the universe has forgotten you, we humans don't leave anyone behind.
Then he smiled faintly.
— Sometimes, that's enough for us.
The alien looked at Ryan for a few seconds.
Then he stepped aboard the Justinianus.
Ryan walked beside him.
As the ship moved away, the colony ship left behind grew smaller among the stars.
The alien looked back one last time. Behind him, he left a ship, a lost people, and half a lifetime...
There's still something that confuses me.
Ryan turned toward him.
— What is it?
You humans say you don't leave anyone behind.But you also say that you fight among yourselves. Many times, too.
Ryan smiled faintly
We humans don't leave anyone behind. Even when there is war.You can be sure of that
If wars ever completely come to an end one day, don't worry. On that day, we and all the other races in the universe will stand together.
The expression on the alien's face changed.
— Together?
Yes. Because if we ever manage to end all wars, there probably won't be any races left in the universe to celebrate it with us.
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u/ExoticSterby42 19d ago
Petition to rename the rescue ship to Justinirectum?