LOST UNIVERSE PROLOGUE
I never regretted responsibility.
The only thing I was afraid of was that my actions might turn the events into something irreversible. But rationality always won. When the humans arrived they did as they were asked. They had no choice and in time they understood the gravity of the situation. In fact, they saved us all. We’re friends now, especially Captain Patrick, who impressed me with his sense of logic and his ability to anticipate various difficult situations, then confront whatever had to be faced.
The Galactic Federation continues to uphold its goal of creating peace and glory for eternity. A myriad of souls are on their way to fulfil a destiny either of their own choosing or the Federation’s purposes which were willingly accepted.
As long as there is life there are purposes to achieve and it has been my task to guide all members of the Federation to achieve them!
As for me... my time is soon up. I don’t mind. I have lived long enough to experience things that others could not. Though I have to say I will miss the excitement of the action, turning the wheel in the right directions and seeing what the outcomes will be. When I am gone, I will return to Home. I will then start on my spiritual journey, which I am sure I will enjoy until I receive or choose a new assignment and a new purpose to fulfil.
I am pleased and honoured that I was here and had the opportunity to serve.
TEKARA YUOLIN, SECOND AMBASSADOR In the year 23456 of the Federation

KEITH BRANDON CHAPTER ONE
The ever-glowing ball of fire in the sky, the star known to humans as the sun, continues its endless daily task of bringing life and energy to Earth.
Aboard the International Space Station, Lt. Neill Kheds sits in front of the rows of monitors in the observation centre, listening to the divine music of Enya’s Orinoco Flow, as the sun moves out of the shadow of the Earth. Many thousands of beams are filtered through a black screen, allowing the viewer to enjoy a dramatic view of the sun without any danger of blindness or radiation sickness.
Neill waves his arms as though conducting an orchestra and sings along with Enya. He is at peace with himself and thankful to be well away from the everyday turbulence of life on planet Earth.
Suddenly the song shuts off and all the sensors go crazy. Neill stops singing and stares nervously at the computers. He mutters to himself, “C’mon. Not another meteor shower! It’s the best part of...”
He never finishes. The space station trembles as a monstrously bright flash of white lightning emanates from the sun, followed by a wave of orange fire attacking and disintegrating his screen. Enya’s music will never be heard again!
High above Earth, Captain Patrick is test-flying the latest CBU-14 Space-fighter. Everything is calm and peaceful as the dawn paints the sky pastel pink and the clouds a golden-brown.
The fighter is flying smoothly, its redesigned stabilisers drastically reducing any turbulence.
“What do ya think Cap?” Josh asks from the co-pilot’s seat.
Patrick shrugs undecided. “I don’t know. It feels... almost too perfect.”
“That’s what you get with AI that’s almost human...”
Blinding light abruptly invades the Spacefighter’s front screen, accompanied by immense heat. The screen breaks up.
The protective suits and their bodies instantly burn up in the million plus degrees of sun-flame.

CHAPTER TWO
The tall, slim but muscular semi-naked man stretched out his arms and breathed in deeply, trying to restore some normality to a body that had been hibernated for most of the journey.
His breath vaporised in the cold air and his body was wracked with pain as the oxygen started to restore life to his limbs. He was clearly disoriented and muttered to himself, “I just hope that was one hell of a bad dream!”
He looked around anxiously and called out, “Where are we?”
“You’ve reached your destination, Captain,” the pleasantly modulated voice of Priscilla, the voice of the central computer replied.
Patrick, the Spaceship’s captain stared at the view screen in the wall above the hibernation bunks. There was nothing visible at all other than the almost infinite desolation of outer space. Truth be told he didn’t really know what he was looking for. What did he expect the end of the universe to look like?
“Have you woken the others?” Patrick sensed an almost imperceptible hesitation before Priscilla replied.
“The other three are waking now.”
The captain’s body went cold. Something was very wrong. “Three! What about the others?”
“The other twelve did not survive, Captain.”
These were his team and in most cases his friends. There was no time to grieve. The expedition would have to continue at all costs. Losing three quarters of his crew was devastating but somehow they would have to cope. He tried to force the possibility that Vanessa had not survived out of his mind.
He painfully swung his legs over the edge of the bed. As his bare feet touched the floor he yelped with pain. The metal was bitterly cold. He forced himself to stand up then grabbed his gray thermo-variable clothes from a hook above the bunk. He hopped from one foot to another until he had pulled on his clothing.
“Good morning, Captain Patrick. Nice to speak to you again.” “Good morning to you, Priscilla. Floor heating... now!”
“Coming up, Captain.”
Moments later his toes tingled as the comforting warmth of the
heating replaced the cold as ice metal beneath his feet.
“Where are we and why have we stopped? How far have we
travelled?”
As he waited for Priscilla’s reply he stretched his arms above his head
again and kicked each leg a couple of times to loosen the muscles. “The data is being re-checked but according to the analysis we have
reached our destination...” Patrick’s eyes widened in amazement.
“...and according to Earth calculations, we are now in the year 2255.”
The captain did a swift mental calculation. “So we’ve travelled at hyper-speed for five Earth years...that would mean...yes, we should have arrived.” Patrick looked around at the other bunks. There was no sign of life. “What’s the status of the...surviving crew?”
“All three are waking up but their bodies seem to be reacting slowly to the process.”
“As long as they’re alright.” “I cannot detect any abnormalities.” “Good.”
With a sudden rush of anxiety, he was desperate to know who had survived. Before he could ask, three of the lids to the bunks started moving. He had his answer. To his huge relief one of the bunks contained the love of his life, Vanessa. Josh was one of the two remaining survivors and Kathy the other.
Josh was the first to speak.
“Why’ve we been woken up? Where are we?”
Josh looked at his captain anxiously. Patrick chose his words
carefully. “I’m sorry to have to tell you that we four are the only survivors.”
A gasp came from Kathy, followed by some piteous sobbing. She had lost both her lover and her brother. Vanessa, after a wan smile at Patrick, put her head in hands.
Josh exploded angrily, “So why didn’t Priscilla stop the craft right away? We may have been able to save them!”
Josh did not have anyone especially close to him amongst the crew that had perished but he immediately realised the enormity of the task ahead, with a team of only four survivors. Patrick knew the answer but Priscilla’s metallic and monotone voice anticipated him.
“No override was available for these circumstances. We are programmed not to stop until reaching the final destination unless the survival of the ship is directly threatened.”
“Sudden deaths amongst the majority of the crew was no reason to stop?” Patrick called out angrily.
“Without orders to the contrary and without human control I, the computer, has to decide on the necessary steps to fulfil our mission and to keep the remaining living organisms alive.”
All very rational and a typical machine computation, Patrick thought bitterly.
“Thanks Priscilla that’s all for now.”
“Understood, Captain. Your showers already have hot water and food will be prepared for when you are finished.” Patrick resisted the temptation to hug his beloved Vanessa first and stepped over to put a comforting arm around Kathy, who was still sobbing. Vanessa gave him an approving nod. Kathy was a thin short woman with cropped brown hair and attractive gamine features when
not distorted by her paroxysm of grief.
Josh was still angry as he struggled out of his bunk. “Why in the hell didn’t you try to do something Priscilla? Those were our friends and more importantly, twelve crew members were always considered to be the optimum number for the mission. Did they all die at once?”
“Six of them developed some form of ‘flu’ nearly three years ago. I had their bodies incinerated and the bunks decontaminated. There are no remaining bacteria to infect the rest of you.”
“What form did it take?” Josh wanted to know. “The disease rotted their bodies from the inside. Even their eyes were destroyed.”
“Oh my God.... and the other two?” Kathy asked with a tremor in her voice.
“Both died about a year ago. One from a heart attack, the other from a stroke.”
Patrick held up his hand.
“Enough for now. Go and have showers, get some breakfast and then we’ll meet again to decide on the way forward.”
As they started to comply with their Captain’s orders, Patrick motioned for Josh to help Kathy, who seemed incapable of any real movement. Only then did he finally turn to Vanessa.
They embraced passionately.

The author hasn't added any updates, yet.