Free Seeder Saga by Adam Moon Page A

tall.
    She took a furtive step backwards and said as authoritatively as she could muster : “You killed two of your crew mates.”
    He visibly flinched. “No I didn’t. What the hell have you been reading? Show me the report.”
    “I deleted the files already.”
    “Who sent them? Whoever it was is setting me up.”
    “A man named Greg from ground control.”
    “Greg? I don’t know anyone called Greg.”
    “Well, he sure knew a lot about you, and now I do too. By the way, where’s my gun?”
    She gripped the pocket knife and tensed, ready to defend herself if it came to it.
    “Firearms aren’t allowed on the ship. Why would you even have one?”
    “To defend the crew and colonists from a threat. I want it back.”
    “Well, I don’t have it. Listen, Captain, are you sure you’re okay?”
    “I’d be a lot better if you weren’t a killer who just stole my weapon.”
    He ignored her insult. “I only ask because you seem to be coming apart. You’re accusing me of some outrageous crimes which are not true. I have never killed a soul and I didn’t even know you had a gun on board. In fact, are you entirely sure the gun even exists?”
    “What are you implying? Are you saying I imagined it?”
    “Yes I am. I don’t believe you about the gun or about the test reports.”
    She sure wished she hadn’t deleted those files. If he kept denying everything , then this confrontation wasn’t going to bear the fruit she’d hoped.
    Did he really believe she was going crazy or was it an act?
    He put a halt to the conversation by turning his back on her and crouching beneath his pod, ready to get back to work. Over his shoulder he said, “I wish I could say it was a pleasure to finally get to speak to you, Captain, but it was not. You be sure to let me know if you’re having a hard time, okay?”
    As she left him to his task, she said, “I will be woken each time you are revived. I don’t care if you’re woken up to fix every pod twice, I’ll be there to shadow you. I will not have a murderer walking around my ship unescorted.”
    “Do what you gotta do, Captain.” He sighed as she left the pod chamber.

Reality
     
    Sarah hated to admit to herself that Michael might be right.
    So did that mean she was going bonkers? Was it because she’d broken the rules about how long to stay out of the pod after revival? Maybe memory loss and hallucinations were a side effect?
    A more horrifying realization hit her: there was a very real possibility that this was just another test. Maybe they weren’t really on a spaceship traveling to a new planet.
    She decided she had to know for sure. The monitors showed what lay ahead of them : stars, tiny and distant. But the monitors might not be showing reality.

Vacuum
     
    She still had some time to burn before she had to go back into stasis, so she headed for the airlock doors and inputted her code. The doors opened slowly. Then she closed them again. She inputted her code that opened the outer doors to the vacuum of space. Then, after a few seconds to be sure all of the atmosphere had evacuated into the vacuum, she closed it up. When she opened the inner doors, the vacuum in the air lock should suck air in quickly. She opened the inner doors, and sure enough, as soon as they started to open, she heard and felt air rush inside the airlock. So it wasn’t another test. They really were on a spaceship. She really was losing her mind. She didn’t know if she should be elated or terrified by the result of her test.

Cold Embrace
     
    She checked for the hidden holster just to be sure she really hadn’t fabricated the gun in her own mind. It was there, plain as day. So, was it possible she’d already taken it out and then misplaced it? No one else knew of its existence.
    If she was delusional, then as captain, was she a danger to herself and to the mission as a whole?
    Michael’s voice carried over the intercom. “All finished. I’m going back on ice. Is there anything you need