Read Online Morning Song: A Seeders Universe Novel by Dean Wesley Smith - Free Book Online Page A

scans. From signs on doors to warning signs in engineering to this.”
    “Will we then be able to internalize it,” he asked, “so we can understand it when we read anything on this ship?”
    She nodded. “Easily. Just as we do with any human culture, I can have all of us speaking and reading this ship’s old language once we crack the pattern.”
    “Got it!” one of Fisher’s people named Dan said from beside Maria. “Transferring it to you now.”
    “Wonderful,” Maria said, almost jumping in her chair with excitement. Roscoe had to admit, it was impossible around her to not be excited.
    “Got what?” Fisher asked as he came into the room, clearly also not able to sleep.
    “Language,” Maria said. “Dan cracked it.”
    Fisher came up behind his team member and gave him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder.
    Then Maria clapped her hands and started laughing as she stared at the projection of the words.
    “What’s so funny?” Fisher asked a moment before Roscoe could.
    “You folks want to know the name of the big ship we are sitting inside?”
    “Very much so,” Fisher said, smiling back at the infectious excitement from Maria.
    “This ship is called Morning Song .”
    All Roscoe could do was shake his head.
    A giant ship, that if not stopped, would destroy planets and kill billions, was named Morning Song .
    He flat wasn’t sure what to think of that.

 
     
     
     
    FIFTEEN
     
     
    THE FIRST TWO days were nothing but one exciting discovery after another on the scans of the big ship. She hadn’t slept much, but that didn’t matter. This was the find of a dozen lifetimes and sleeping seemed to be an inconvenience.
    And she loved spending time around Roscoe and he didn’t seem to sleep much either. She loved his smile, his intense questioning eyes, and his dry sense of humor.
    And he seemed to want to be around her as well, which pleased her more than she wanted to admit.
    Now, all of her team and Roscoe and two of his team were in the big scanning room, waiting the last few minutes for the ship to jump to trans-tunnel flight. Fisher and Callie were back in the Command Center with a guard from Roscoe’s team and the rest of Fisher’s team were in the first scan center with another of Roscoe’s team on guard with them.
    She had no idea what was going to happen next. She hoped nothing but getting in contact with Chairman Ray.
    In real time, Chairman Ray and his people had had fourteen days to go over those first scans. She hoped they had a lot more information. The possibility of that had her really excited.
    But she could feel her stomach twisting in slight worry as well. No telling what would happen next when the ship jumped back to trans-tunnel drive. It might dump them back into space and not let them back inside.
    Anything was possible.
    “Ten seconds,” Fisher said from the Command Center.
    Maria glanced away from her screen and up at Roscoe’s serious face. She was really starting to admire him and like him more than she wanted to admit. But right now he was focused and on guard, standing close to her. And she actually felt far safer with him close by.
    That surprised her as well, but she liked it.
    She had a scan running of the Morning Song’s big Command Center to see if anything changed when the jump to trans-tunnel happened. She didn’t expect to see anything, but she had decided to scan there even so.
    “Two. One. Now,” Fisher said.
    After a few seconds of waiting, Fisher said, “Chairman Ray, do you copy?”
    It took another moment before Chairman Ray’s voice came back strong. “Strong and clear.”
    On a center screen in the room, Chairman Ray’s smiling face appeared. He was clearly relieved and Maria could hear applause around him over the communications link.
    Maria let out the breath she was holding. Beside her she could feel Roscoe relax and exhale as well.
    “Sending data we have taken in the last two days on the Morning Song ,” Fisher said to