Sleeper Ship (2015) by Jim Rudnick

Author:Jim Rudnick [Rudnick, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Sci-Fi
Publisher: RUDNICK PRESS
Published: 2015-08-30T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Lieutenant Sander turned and looked at the Ikarian with what could only be described as confusion, put his hand directly on the Sleeper tank, and said, "Pardon" one more time. What was it that the alien had said, he wondered as he tapped his PDA translator to verify it was working.

Kikinamagan Nibin looked just as confused—flustered even, as the RIM officer who stood in front of her on Epsilon Row. She turned to re-check the settings on her row cart and then back to the Navy man whose head was cocked to one side.

"I am—ah—sorry, Lieutenant, but what did you not understand from what I said the readings are showing?" she said and held out her PDA tablet for him to see.

"No, no ... sorry," Bram said, "it's not what you said about the readings. It's what you um ... implied when you answered my question about how many Sleeper tanks fail," he answered. And as he did that, he rapped the red tank beneath his hand making it softly echo like a half-full jar of Garnuthian figs, hollow yet not so much.

The Ikarian said, "Oh, yes ... as I said, there have been only nine failures in our 1600-plus years of our voyage. Nine," she repeated and stared back at him.

"No ... damn," he said, "not the number—but as I remember it, you said that the tanks themselves were doing so much better than what you—or rather the original crew, had expected. What numbers were they told? And you said that you really weren't surprised at the numbers ..."

"Sorry," Nibin said, and turned away from the tank to grab her row cart in both hands after tossing the PDA tablet on top.

"I must have misspoken, or your translator may have not understood what I meant," she said and motioned for Bram to step aside so she could move to the next Sleeper tank down the row. At this end of the Epsilon Row, they were close to the stairs up from the atrium that held the six rows of Sleeper tanks, and Bram looked up at the stairwell. Up above he could see his captain peering at the rows that moved back down this central core of the Keshowse, stretching almost forever, holding the Sleepers who waited for awakening and rebirth.

Bram moved around Nibin, strode past the remaining dozens of Sleeper tanks, and began to climb the staircase, up and up and up until he reached the side of his captain, Nibin noticed.

What she didn't observe, as she turned back to the care of the next Sleeper tank, was that in moments the two above her were in deep conversation. And she also missed that ten minutes later, the two on the stairs climbed them to the top and exited to the Administration offices up at the top of the stairwell.

"Do we knock, Sir?" Bram said as they stopped at the door.

"Yes, allow me," Tanner said, and he rapped on the door.

"You're positive on this, Bram?" he said.

"I

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