CHAPTER 16
Goddamn it goddamn it goddamn it… Sulemon Nicolescu’s guts tossed and roiled so much that he groaned. It was supposed to be smooth, easy. Painless. But DT1 Muahe’s death didn’t sound painless. What was the right thing to do?
“It’s bigger than us, bigger than anyone,” the coordinator had said, after word got out about Muahe. “We all knew these times would come — they’re just coming a bit sooner than we expected.”
A bit sooner? More like fucking Earth-years sooner. Decades, even. Dozens of cycles more onboard… He knew in his gut things weren’t going to get smoother, and easier. They never did. His thumb hovered over the “send” command on his wearable’s projection. One message could end it all. Or would it just make things worse?
He didn’t hit send. Instead, he reached for a bottle of medication next to his bunk. Thanks to his duties at the Chem Lab, Senior Chemist Nicolescu never had trouble acquiring the meds he needed.
It shouldn’t have been this way. He didn’t sign up for violence – even impersonal violence. Quite the opposite, in fact.
His quarters’ front door chimed. “Go away,” he whispered. He didn’t have another watch until the following day. He didn’t need to decide today. He could still think about it, maybe even talk to the Solacer.
It chimed again. After a third chime, he finally roused himself and stumbled over to the door.
He thumbed it open, sighing when he saw who was there. “Didn’t we already finish—”
The needle jabbed his neck before he could see it. A cry of surprise came out as a croak, and his legs turned to jelly. As he hit the floor he reached for his wearable, but everything was numb.