Chapter 1

Max watched the big numbers of the countdown clock click down to zero. The starlines in the view port suddenly turned to a twinkling star field as the big sleeper ship dropped from hyper light drive.

“Time to wake up,” said the android pilot in a singsong voice as the lights in the cockpit flickered to life. He turned in his seat to watch the lights in the forward compartment flicker on. The sleeper ship’s fifty-year journey had entered its final stages.

Earth was dying and the sleeper ship, Genesis I, was the first phase of The Genesis Project. She carried an advance party to C1789, a planet in what was deemed a habitable zone in the newly discovered Hemera system. Once revived, the crew would shoulder the responsibility of creating a new earth colony for Genesis II and the ships that would follow at yearly intervals.

Max turned his attention back to the control panel in time to catch the first of the red sleeper pod lights blink four times and turn green. Life was about to return to Genesis I.

The android rose from his pilot's chair, left the cockpit and stepped through an adjacent hatch as a  white sleeper pod, marked with a big black number one on its end, hissed as its lid slowly lifted. He stepped up next to the open pod and quietly waited while Doctor Kenzi Sheppard’s eyelids fluttered open and she took in the sights and sounds around her. She blinked twice and smiled when her eyes focused on Max.

“Welcome back, Doctor,” greeted the soft-spoken android. He looked up at the numbers on the panel above the pod. “Your vitals signs appear normal.”

“Thank you, Max,” Kenzi replied, “it’s definitely good to be back.”

She sat up slowly, swung her legs over the side of the pod and waited for the wave of dizziness to subside. After a minute, Max held his hand out to her and helped her get both feet on the floor.

“I expect you’ll  be wanting a big cup of hot coffee,” said Max.

Kenzi chuckled. “Yes, that would be nice.”

“Shall we?” said Max and swept his arm toward the hatch.

“Now I know how babies feel when they’re learning to walk,” said Kenzi, taking a couple of unsteady steps.

“Before you know it, you’ll be as good as new,” said Max, walking behind the Doctor as she made her way toward the hatch.

They left the pod room and maneuvered down the long passageway toward the dining room. Max seated Kenzi at a long table with a long row of bench seats on each side and he disappeared through the swinging doors into the kitchen. He returned with a steaming mug of hot coffee. “Black, if I remember right,” he said and set it on the table in front of Kenzie.

“You’ve done your homework,” said Kenzi, smiling as she wrapped both hands around the mug.

“I’ve had plenty of time,” said Max.

Kenzi sipped her coffee and looked over the rim of the mug as Max sat down across from her. She wondered if the appearance of the ever-present smile on the android’s face was a hint at humor by its creator and his counterparts. She was curious to see if the androids piloting the following sleeper ships carried the same pleasant trait. She giggled softly as she took another sip of her coffee.

“Did I say something funny?” asked Max, cocking his head slightly.

Kenzi giggled louder. “No, Max, it’s just nice to be up and about again.”

“In approximately thirty eight minutes the next pod will open,” said Max. “Your pod opened twenty two minutes ago and they are scheduled to open one hour apart. Everyone will need something to eat when they awaken. I’ll have to prepare a light meal.”  He rose from the table and stopped midway through the double doors of the kitchen and turned back to Kenzi. “Do you remember where sick bay is?”

“Yes I do, Max, thank you.”

The android continued through the kitchen doors and Kenzi finished the coffee in her mug. She set the mug on the table and rose from her seat. “You have work to do, Doctor,” she reminded herself. “Time to get a move on.”

She turned left from the dining room and strode down the passageway until she reached the large MEDICAL sign. She placed her hand over the scanner next to the door and then stepped through the hatch when the door slid open.. She grabbed the white lab coat that hung on the peg on the wall inside the door and checked its large pockets to make sure her stethoscope was still there. Everything was as she left it and she slipped the coat on over her white jump suit. On the way to her desk in a corner of the room, she stopped at the sink near the desk and looked in the mirror.

“You don’t look a day over thirty-five,” she said, running her fingers through her brown hair. She didn’t really want to think about how old she really was.

She opened the top drawer of her desk and removed a watch. As expected the second hand had stopped, but she strapped it on her wrist anyway. At least it would make a nice accessory, if nothing else. She would look for a battery for it later. She took a quick glance at the clock on the wall and realized she had just enough time to make the pod room before the next pod released its occupant.

 

The pod hissed and the lid lifted as Kenzi stepped through the hatch. She looked up at the numbers on the vital signs board aboe the pod and noted they were increasing slowly into the normal ranges. She walked up beside the pod when the man inside started to stir.

“Good morning, Gordon,” she said with a smile.

Gordon Miles, the advance party’s leader, rubbed his eyes and squinted up at Kenzi. “Doctor Sheppard, is it morning?”

“It is for us,” she said.

Gordon sat up, swung his feet over the side of the pod and tried to stand up. He lost his balance and sat back down. “Guess I tried to get up too quick,” he said, scratching his salt and pepper hair.

“It does take some getting used to,” replied Kenzi with a chuckle and patted him on the shoulder. “Max has coffee in the galley when you get your legs under you.”

She left Gordon Miles and started down the row of pods looking at the changing numbers of the vital signs boards above them. She frowned when she approached the blank board above pod number eleven. The name under the board read Major Anthony Grayson. He was in charge of the squad of Marines from the Marine Corps Security Force that volunteered to accompany them for security. She walked up to the pod and looked through the small rectangle window in the lid.

“Oh my,” she exclaimed when she saw the shriveled face lying on the pillow inside.

She stepped back from the pod and walked around it. Not seeing anything that would suggest foul play, she decided it was an unfortunate equipment malfunction and she would make Gordon aware they had lost a member of the party. She finished her inspection of the pods and solemnly walked from the pod room.

She found Gordon Miles sitting at the first table in the dining room sipping a steaming mug of coffee and munching on a pastry.

“These are quite good,” he said, holding up his breakfast, “you should have one.”

“We’ve lost one of our Marines,” said Kenzi, ignoring his suggestion.

“Oh?”

“Major Grayson’s pod malfunctioned. It must have happened shortly after we left. I’d like to get him out of there before anyone else wakes up.”

Gordon popped the last of the pastry in his mouth, licked his fingers and wiped them off with a napkin. He drank the last of his coffee, wiped his mouth and stuffed the wadded up napkin into the mug as he pushed himself up from the table. “I’ll get Max to help me.”

Kenzi watched Miles leave the dining room and hoped this wasn’t a forecaster of what lay ahead of them. They didn’t have any more people to spare. With a soft sigh, she turned toward the plate of pastries next to the coffee urn.

Chapter 2

 

One by one the pods opened and the chatter and laughter of life slowly returned to Genesis I.  Kenzi sat in sickbay when one of the Marines, wearing Gunnery Sergeant stripes, stepped through the hatch.

“Gordon Miles said you wanted to see me, Ma’am,” he said.

Kenzi paused for a moment and looked at the name label on his camouflage shirt. He stood at attention, his feet together and his arms rigid at his side. His eyes riveted somewhere behind her.

“Did Gordon tell you why, Sergeant Brackett?”

“I think I know, Ma’am.” His eyes never wavered from the spot behind her. “The Major was supposed to be up before me and I’ve not seen him.”

“Relax, Sergeant,” said Kenzi. She held out her hand to Brackett. “Doctor Kenzi Sheppard.” 

Immediately the tenseness in Brackett disappeared and he shook Kenzi’s hand. “Mike Brackett, Ma’am, glad to meet you.” Spreading his feet apart, he stood with his hands behind him.

“Major Grayson’s pod malfunctioned,” Kenzi said. “It happened sometime after we left.”

“Can I see the Major, Ma’am?”

“He may be hard to look at.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Kenzi rose from her chair behind the desk. “Follow me, Sergeant.”

She led Brackett to a corner of the small sickbay where a black body bag rested on a gurney. Kenzi unzipped the bag and Brackett looked at the remains of Major Grayson for a couple of minutes and then looked up at the Doctor.

“Thank you, Ma’am, I’ll break the news to the men when we’re all together. One more thing, Ma’am, if you don’t mind. The Major was really looking forward to this mission and I’d like to bury him wherever we decide to settle down.”

Despite Brackett’s rough exterior, Kenzi could see the sadness and hurt in his eyes. “I think that could be arranged, Sergeant. We have a chaplain with us. I’ll talk to Gordon Miles about it.”

“Thank you, Ma’am. The Major and me go back a ways. We met in the Corps and fought a lot of wars together since. He was a warrior and a gentleman. You would have liked him.”

“I’m sure I would have,” replied Kenzi.

“Well, I should go be

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 08.05.2020
ISBN: 978-3-7487-4009-4

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