“Unfortunately, we can only speculate about the events, basing our conclusions on assumptions: not facts. The biggest problem is that we don’t have the mother ship that carried the capsule.”

“Thank you, Miss Forest. I’d appreciate it if I received all the details electronically.”

“Of course, my report is ready.”

Jean rubbed his chin thoughtfully and turned to Lora.

“How’s our guest doing?”

“Not very well. The life support system that has been keeping him alive all these years is far from perfect and eventually caused brain malnutrition. Doctor Borshchevsky sounded hopeful, but didn’t give any accurate prediction about the length of the therapy.”

“I see. So all we can do is wait. Did you say something about a virus earlier?”

“Yes, the doctor said that he has discovered some kind of antibodies in the blood of this man. We can check the report…”

“Of course,” the councillor swiped the sensor panel with his hand, causing the holographic interface to display a series of pages.

“From the look of it, he acquired these antibodies while already in flight,” said Lora, studying the notes carefully.

“It’s an unknown disease. It hadn’t existed before our launch from Earth, but we also haven’t encountered it on other planets. The causative agent could’ve appeared much later…”

“The origin of the virus is still unknown…” added Lora.

“We still only have very meagre information. We can only guess whether the infection was present in the ship from the beginning of its launch or it appeared while in flight, causing the rescue capsules to detach from the mother ship…”

The girl shook her head thoughtfully.

“What if it was an attempt to ask for our help? What if an unknown epidemic struck the people, threatening them with total extinction, and those two were the only survivors?”

Jean raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Your assumptions are impressively fatalistic.”

“You’re so right. I don’t understand what’s been happening to me…”

“You just attach great importance to what’s gone on…”

Lora looked at Jean, puzzled.

“How can I not?”

“What do you mean? How can anyone not think so much and not assume the worst?” the councillor asked her calmly.

“It’s not about my assumptions, though the finding has been really haunting me. It’s just that we are talking about Earth! Our home!” the girl realized that she almost shouted the last words.

“Calm down, please,” Jean put a fatherly hand on her shoulder. “We’ll sort it out. In the end, the man who needed our help is safe now. He has you to thank for that. It was you who urged Doctor Blake to rescue him.” He paused and Lora nodded in agreement. “Please, be a little patient. Although, patience is a virtue you’ve never really possessed,” he smiled.

In the ‘Unity’ building, Lora sat at the desk in her small office and dropped her head on her hands, feeling tired. She had just returned from Misgran after three weeks of constant negotiations, and immediately started preparing to leave again. Titanium and ‘Solar Flotilla’ were getting ready for launch from the Taria’s orbit. The unrest on the planet was constantly growing. The new leader’s aggression left no chance for reconciliation with space travellers. Despite the fact that they had spent more than one Tarian year on the planet’s orbit working closely with the previous government, the new authority wished no further contact with aliens. Lora sighed sadly – it was the first time in her life that they’d had to leave a populated planet so urgently. Before this moment, their ships left other races’ territories of their own free will after their cooperation, technology and resources exchange had exhausted itself. Besides, the citizens of ‘Solar Flotilla’ never forgot that they were only visitors. In search of a new home, they had been examining one planetary system after another. But every time they were ready to settle on a planet, they encountered intelligent life there.

“Hey, what’s the sad face for?” the matte glass office door slid open and she saw Paul in the doorway.

“I’m not sad, just tired. The new Tarian government refused to fulfil some terms and conditions under our agreement…”

“No wonder! They can’t wait for the day they get rid of us!”

“You can say that again.”

Lora’s UCD beeped quietly and a green light of an incoming call flashed.

“This is Doctor Borshchevsky,” Lora explained taking the call, “Yes, doctor, what can I do for you?”

“Good day, Miss Merion! Great news! Our patient, the only one left in the hospital, has regained consciousness! Would you…”

“I’m on my way!” Lora jumped from her seat, her fatigue disappearing instantly.

“I’m waiting for you,” replied the doctor and the green light died.

“What did he say?” asked the captain curiously. The communication device transformed voice messages into a number of electric impulses and transferred them directly to the hearing nerve of the receiver.

“The rescued man has come around!”

“I’m coming with you,” decided Paul in a flash, leaving the premises together with Lora.

“It’s been three weeks since we found out about the civil war on Taria,” noticed the young man on the way to the closest teleport. “You̓ve been working very hard from dusk till dawn ever since. You need some rest.”

“Well, yes,” said Lora. She was still walking very quickly, barely escaping a collision with the passers-by and not being able to tame her growing excitement.

“Did you even hear what I was saying?”

They entered through the teleport glass door.

“Yes?”

“Hello! Please state your destination,” announced the ever-polite voice of the local teleportation programme.

“Central hospital,” answered Paul quickly, still piercing a confused Lora with his stare.

“Thank you,” uttered the electronic voice and the doors closed shut.

Just then, through the whirlpool of her own thoughts, Lora understood what he meant by that.

“Look, I’m not so tired to need an urgent vacation. The evacuation is in full-swing and I’d like to be a part of it.”

“Welcome to the Central Hospital,” announced the programme and the doors slid open, revealing a spacious brightly lit hall to their view.

“What about this story with Earth? It also requires a lot of your energy and attention. You’re risking losing all that if you continue working at such a pace.”

The girl sighed deeply; Paul’s concern for her was so predictable. Ever since they had become close friends as small kids, they had been constantly caring for each other like brother and sister.

“OK, let’s begin by seeing how our patient is doing,” Paul nodded apologetically.

They passed through the hall, which flashed with images of a beautiful sunrise and soon they entered the doctor’s office.

“That was fast!” the doctor smiled, welcoming them inside.

“Thank you for telling us immediately,” nodded Lora gratefully.

“So, I need to warn you that the patient is still very weak. Furthermore, his memory has been tragically letting him down. I think we’ll be able to restore it, but it will take quite some time.”

“I get it.”

“Does he remember anything at all?” asked Paul when they stopped in front of the ward door and, looking through the glass, saw a motionless man in bed.

“He remembers his name, Derek… I have firstly conducted the biological tests to examine his physical condition. A psychologist is on his way.”

“May we go in?” asked Lora, not letting the patient out of her sight.

“Of course. The quarantine has already been lifted. But please be careful with information as he is still suffering greatly from post-traumatic stress.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“After you,” he smiled politely in response.

Lora slowly entered the ward and approached the bed. The dim lighting inside didn’t prevent her from examining the rescued earthling. Still very pale he was lying on the pillow, with his eyes closed. He had a thin face with harsh features, and his breath could hardly be noticed. If not for his dark hair, he would be invisible in the whiteness surrounding him in this dimly lit ward.

“Is he sleeping?” whispered Lora.

In response to her question addressed to the doctor, the patient moved and Lora stopped talking, frightened.

“No, he isn’t. He’s just too weak. Every move demands a lot of energy from him. Sound and light seem too strong. But there is no doubt that his young body will be able to cope with all this.”

A quiet voice pierced the silence of the ward.

“Who are you?”

Lora approached the bed and turned to see the doctor. He nodded in agreement.

“My name is Lora,” she said quietly, and carefully touched his hand when he turned his head to see her.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in a hospital. This is also Doctor Borshchevsky and the shuttle captain, Paul Stones.”

“Shuttle? I’m in a shuttle?”

“No, you’re on…” she hesitated not sure whether to tell him about the artificial planet. “You’re on board a spaceship. Do you remember anything? Do you remember what had happened to you before?”

The young man winced.

“The lights are too bright here.”

“Reduce the lighting by 30 percent” said the doctor to the space in front of himself and the ward lighting became very dim. “Is it better like this?”

“Yes… a little…”

“I’d suggest that you wear protective lenses,” added Borshchevsky.

“Will I be able to open my eyes then?”

“Well, you could at least try.”

After the patient nodded lightly, the doctor carefully put a pair of sunglasses of some sort on his eyes.

“Everything is floating…”

“This is temporary,” Borshchevsky reassured him.

“If you find it difficult to talk now, we can come later…”

“No!” the young man moved his fingers and touched Lora’s hand. “Don’t go. Silence is more deafening than sounds.”

“Alright, just take it easy.” Lora tried to calm him down. “Is your name Derek?”

“I think so. That’s the first thing that came to my mind when I was asked. But what ship is it? How did I get here?” the patient tried to turn his head but stopped wincing in pain.

“We’ve found your rescue unit in the open space not so long ago. You were in stasis. We also know that your ship was launched from Earth.”

Millions of questions troubling Lora were about to burst out, but the realization that this man was too weak and probably didn’t know the answers even to one tenth of them helped her control her emotional avalanche.

“I remember Earth… But everything is so vague. Like flashes, different disconnected pictures…”

“Try to relax,” said the doctor. “You’ll remember everything. Just give yourself some time.”

“Also, I remember that I have very little time…” added Derek quietly.

The next day a truce was announced on Taria allowing the ’Solar Flotilla’ to slow down the evacuation pace and to give a break to all those involved.

Chapter 3

“The hospital is not the most suitable place for a man in his condition,” said Doctor Borshchevsky confidently when Lora showed up at his office the next morning.

“Does he need anything special in order to get better?”

“He needs company,” clarified the doctor. “Thanks to our know-how, his physical condition is improving incredibly quickly. In the last 24 hours he has shown unbelievable progress. However, his memory and some brain functions’ recovery is a more complicated process. Medicine plays an important role, no doubt; but in my opinion, his integration back into the society will prove to be even more significant. Unfortunately, we’re unable to return him to his normal life, which is the generally accepted method… But what we can do is to accommodate him in an apartment, show him Titanium, tell him about the life of ‘Solar Flotilla’.”

“But what we have to show him may shock him.”

“It’s quite possible, but keeping him in ignorance of it all can be even harder. I think it’s best if we tell him the truth, but carefully.”

“I see. I need to discuss this issue with the other members of the Council.”

“Of course. But I don’t think they’ll be against it.”

The top floor of the ‘Unity’ tower, boasting a high dome with bright blue sky and a few slowly floating clouds, housed the ‘Solar Flotilla’ Council. Year after year the seven members of the Council meet in this spacious hall and make the most important decisions on behalf of all Titanium citizens. On the one hand, they managed the collaboration between different key departments such as Universe Studies; Medical Technologies; Engineering and Innovative Solutions; Chronology and Education; as well as Spaceship Services. All these, in turn, consisted of a number of laboratories and other services, which altogether provided for all the needs of ‘Solar Flotilla’, during its travels. On the other hand, these seven people were in charge of foreign policies with alien races and their unions.

“So the doctor suggests helping our guest adapt to life on Titanium,” clarified Councillor Bella Groster calmly, after Lora had finished her short report on the results of the new project.

All the seven Council members were present around the table in the middle of the brightly lit colonnaded hall.

“Exactly. Derek’s quarantine has been lifted because he poses no biological threat to us,” noted the girl.

“Well, what about other types of threat?” asked John Simps, fixing Lora with his steady wise glance.

“What threat can a young man pose with severe memory loss, weak physical state and unarmed after such a long and dangerous journey?” Lora shook her head perplexedly. “It’s true we are still unable to say exactly why the earthlings had launched that ship. However, keeping the only survivor locked and in quarantine until all the details are clarified is, I believe, really cruel.”

“I agree,” nodded Andrey Volkhontsev. Being the youngest Council member and a former employee of the Universe Exploration department, Andrey had always been profoundly interested in diplomatic contact with other races and emphasised the necessity of collaboration with them. “This man is our guest. Our people have worked tirelessly in order to successfully save his life, not to take his freedom and make him a ‘prisoner’ of the Central Hospital. Sooner or later we’ll learn everything from him or from the engineers analysing his spaceship computer. Until then, it seems sensible to follow Doctor Borshchevsky’s recommendations.”

“What you say is not without logic, but still the fact remains that the earthlings attempted to kill Andre Mendes. Two hundred and fifty years ago, it was a deadly feud with the Earth governments that forced us to leave the planet. It was the only chance for us to stay true to our beliefs and avoid a world war.”

“But this happened more than two centuries ago,” insisted Lora.

“Our guest has been in stasis for the past two hundred years, so our perception of time and past events long gone is dramatically different to his” said John Simps. “His parents had witnessed that confrontation.”

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