Heaven Saga 3: Sojourn Into Despair by Marcus Johnson Read Free Book Online Page B

and talk with them,” Brian said. “I want to
make sure everyone’s alright mentally.”
    “The
real problem stems from the fact that we were already on a long term mission
away from any civilized planet,” Celi said. “Of course the ship gives us all
the sunlight we need to survive, but the lack of space is going to close in on
us much faster. I’m not the only one who was looking forward to seeing the sky
from the surface of an actual planet.”
    “No,
you definitely weren’t,” Zae said. “The thought of being held up in the Avoni
for another two years doesn’t sound enjoyable.”
    “In
any event, we must keep an eye out on the crew,” Brian said. “Morale’s going to
be low and I don’t suspect it’ll be going up anytime soon.”
    “I’ll
do my best to keep an eye on everyone,” Celi took Brian’s hand, “Speaking of
which, you’ve been putting off a physical for a long time now.”
    “Zae,
take care of things while I’m gone,” he said as he followed Celi off the
bridge.
    “Of
course,” Zae said as they left.
    Once
the door on the elevator closed the headache became too much for Brian. He
knelt down, cringing in pain.
    “What’s
wrong?” Celi asked. She took out her scanner.
    “For
the last few days I’ve been having horrible headaches. I would’ve gone to you
earlier, but the situation hasn’t allowed for it,” he said. He stood up and
took a deep breath.
    “Nothing’s
showing on the scanner,” Celi said. “What kind of pain is it?”
    “It’s
like a migraine. All I want to do is close my eyes and curl up in a dark
place,” Brian blinked, “I’ve been able to force it to the back of my mind to
take care of things, but I’m afraid it’s getting worse.”
    “Let’s
take our time and figure this out,” Celi said as the elevator opened on the
floor to sickbay. The two quickly headed to the lab. Celi started up all her
machines. “Please take off your armor.”
    “Of
course,” he said before flipping the switch to step out of the exoskeleton.
    “Go
ahead and sit down, this may take a while,” she said. Brian sat on the large
bed at the other end of the room.
    “This
room feels like home to me,” he said. “It feels like forever since I first
awoke in this bed.”
    Celi
positioned a number of precision scanners near the bed and aimed them at him.
“Once we figure out what’s wrong I can start an appropriate treatment. For now
I’ll give you a sedative to take away the pain.” She pulled out a small
injector and shot Brian’s left arm. He flexed his hand a few times.
    “Thanks,
the pain’s starting to go away,” he said.
    “How
have your arm and eye been doing lately?”
    He
flexed his right arm. “It feels like the original to me. As for the eye, I’ve
gotten used to standard vision, but the other options still make me a bit
dizzy.”
    “That’s
to be expected,” she said. “The arm is relatively simple to replicate. The eye
on the other end of the spectrum is a very specialized organ.”
    “I’m
surprised the peoples of space haven’t developed cybernetic technologies more than
they have,” he said.
    “It’s
not as surprising as you think. People fear technology and what it brings. The
real reason the Keinien androids were decommissioned wasn’t because there was
no need for them; it was the fear they would turn against the Kalaidian
people.”
    “That
really sounds like paranoia.”
    “It
was. But as for your statement, I believe nanomachines more than make up for
the concept. Remember what they do for you.”
    “That’s
why the decision to go to half ration is so easy,” Brian said. “Unless we have
to cut down further none of the crew will notice a difference in their energy
levels.”
    “True,
but our stomachs will grumble a little more,” Celi said. She turned to one of
her scanners. “What the hell is that?”
    “What
is it?”
    Celi
turned the monitor so Brian could an image of his circulatory system. “You see
the small blue