Read Online Shadow Core - The Legacy by Licinio Goncalves - Free Book Online
Authors: Licinio Goncalves
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body was drifting off to a natural sleep in the comfort of the zero gravity environment.
“The one and only, now get some sleep. Your body needs time to adjust after waking up from suspended animation,” Drake heard Nexus say as he began to naturally lose consciousness again.
Meanwhile, at the Zenith's airlock.
Kade, Jude and Nick had just entered the airlock. The outer space doors closing behind them as the lights in the relatively small room activated.
Kade didn’t feel scared, or even anxious, she was far too excited at simply being aboard the ship she had heard about in her grandfather's stories so many times in the past. The ship she had been searching for all these years.
Jude was just plain giddy with excitement. The thought of discovering this ship's secrets causing her to become oblivious to any dangers it might hold.
Nick, on the other hand, seemed relatively indifferent to the situation.
As Kade stood in front of the airlock door she couldn't help but notice that there were no controls anywhere in the room. While the lack of extensive door controls wasn't exactly unusual, there was generally at least a call button of some kind, but not here.
Understandably, especially since the outer airlock doors were also shut, Kade was starting to feel a little uneasy for the first time since she had left the Icarus.
She was still wondering how they were supposed to open the door when her suit's radio crackled to life as a rapid succession of intense light pulses started flooding the airlock.
“Decontamination sequence in progress. Please stand by,” they heard an unknown female voice say through their radios.
The light pulses were getting stronger and more frequent, forcing all three of them to close their eyes. The airlock environment was quickly becoming saturated with near blinding strobe light, shifting colour in a random pattern. And then, suddenly, it stopped: the light in the room returning to normal.
“Decontamination sequence complete. Scan in progress. Please remain still to expedite process,” they heard the female voice say as they opened their eyes.
“Scan complete.
No known pathogens detected.
No unknown elements detected.
No explosive materials detected.
Weapons detected!
Visitors are reminded that 'boarding protocol 1' is in effect. Please consult Aurora if you have any questions. Now re-pressurising airlock,” the voice said as they heard air being pumped into the room. The inner airlock door opened after a few seconds, finally allowing them into the Zenith.
The three of them stepped out of the airlock, into what appeared to be a waiting room; an unmanned security station on their left and a row of storage lockers to the right, the room itself looking big enough to hold several dozen people.
To the right of the airlock doors there was a window looking out into space and showing the nearby Icarus in all its glory. And on the far wall, across from the airlock doors, was a screen which had activated the moment they had entered the room and was showing a woman’s emotionless face.
“I don't know about you two, but I feel a bit overcooked,” Jude said as they took off their helmets.
“Welcome aboard the Zenith,” said the console from across the room, startling them.
Driven by curiosity Jude walked up to the wall screen and examined it closely.
It was a simple and old-fashioned two dimensional display, not something which was seen very often anymore. Holographic technology was considerably cheaper to produce and maintain, but the retro look did seem to come back into fashion every thirty years or so.
The image on the screen was that of a female construct, not really intending to pass for human, it was little more than a semi-transparent blue head.
“Identify!” Jude said in a commanding tone.
“Aurora. Information management system for the Zenith,” replied the figure on the screen.
Kade and Nick
“The one and only, now get some sleep. Your body needs time to adjust after waking up from suspended animation,” Drake heard Nexus say as he began to naturally lose consciousness again.
Meanwhile, at the Zenith's airlock.
Kade, Jude and Nick had just entered the airlock. The outer space doors closing behind them as the lights in the relatively small room activated.
Kade didn’t feel scared, or even anxious, she was far too excited at simply being aboard the ship she had heard about in her grandfather's stories so many times in the past. The ship she had been searching for all these years.
Jude was just plain giddy with excitement. The thought of discovering this ship's secrets causing her to become oblivious to any dangers it might hold.
Nick, on the other hand, seemed relatively indifferent to the situation.
As Kade stood in front of the airlock door she couldn't help but notice that there were no controls anywhere in the room. While the lack of extensive door controls wasn't exactly unusual, there was generally at least a call button of some kind, but not here.
Understandably, especially since the outer airlock doors were also shut, Kade was starting to feel a little uneasy for the first time since she had left the Icarus.
She was still wondering how they were supposed to open the door when her suit's radio crackled to life as a rapid succession of intense light pulses started flooding the airlock.
“Decontamination sequence in progress. Please stand by,” they heard an unknown female voice say through their radios.
The light pulses were getting stronger and more frequent, forcing all three of them to close their eyes. The airlock environment was quickly becoming saturated with near blinding strobe light, shifting colour in a random pattern. And then, suddenly, it stopped: the light in the room returning to normal.
“Decontamination sequence complete. Scan in progress. Please remain still to expedite process,” they heard the female voice say as they opened their eyes.
“Scan complete.
No known pathogens detected.
No unknown elements detected.
No explosive materials detected.
Weapons detected!
Visitors are reminded that 'boarding protocol 1' is in effect. Please consult Aurora if you have any questions. Now re-pressurising airlock,” the voice said as they heard air being pumped into the room. The inner airlock door opened after a few seconds, finally allowing them into the Zenith.
The three of them stepped out of the airlock, into what appeared to be a waiting room; an unmanned security station on their left and a row of storage lockers to the right, the room itself looking big enough to hold several dozen people.
To the right of the airlock doors there was a window looking out into space and showing the nearby Icarus in all its glory. And on the far wall, across from the airlock doors, was a screen which had activated the moment they had entered the room and was showing a woman’s emotionless face.
“I don't know about you two, but I feel a bit overcooked,” Jude said as they took off their helmets.
“Welcome aboard the Zenith,” said the console from across the room, startling them.
Driven by curiosity Jude walked up to the wall screen and examined it closely.
It was a simple and old-fashioned two dimensional display, not something which was seen very often anymore. Holographic technology was considerably cheaper to produce and maintain, but the retro look did seem to come back into fashion every thirty years or so.
The image on the screen was that of a female construct, not really intending to pass for human, it was little more than a semi-transparent blue head.
“Identify!” Jude said in a commanding tone.
“Aurora. Information management system for the Zenith,” replied the figure on the screen.
Kade and Nick
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