Smiling, Uther took the lift back down to the cryolevel and ran through the frozen rows to his two best friends. They had gone to the academy together. That was so long ago now. Uther pressed the release button and waited as his friends awakened. How long had it been?
“Computer,” he called to the mic in the wall across from him. “What year is it?”
“I’m sorry, Commander Pendragon,” the voice replied. “General Constantine IV did not allow me to keep notes on the time that passed. My calculations suggest we are somewhere around 412 A.E.II.”
Now it was Uther’s turn to be emotional. “Hundreds of years?” he gasped. “I’m so old…”
Earth II had not been his home. He had never seen it, but his ancestor, the founder of this voyage, had. Constantine came up with the synthetic planet-ship they all slept on. Uther had been born and raised in the ship like his father before him. He had been on missions to passing planets, even saved a civilization. He had lived a full life before all hope faded into the vast cold of space, but even then, Camelot was too far away. They all entered the sleep of centuries. When he laid down in his tube that first time, he thought he’d never wake again. It felt like coming back to life. Somehow, rising from the dead came across as a familiar experience.
The first cryotube hissed and cracked open with a pop. The screens read the temperature slowly rose and the adrenaline administered to the occupants. Really, Uther thought the last thing his tall, strong friend needed was adrenaline. Galois was the strongest, fastest, and smartest student in his year. With the current situation, Uther eagerly waited to have Galois’s quick wit and support by his side. Galois would no doubt find something humorous about being so old.
“Rise and shine, pretty boy,” Uther said as the capsule opened all the way. “I’m old as sin and need some company. Really old.”
“Not as old as I feel,” Galois moaned as the tube released him from the frozen prison. “Thank the gods for that muscle serum.” He stood to his full two-meter height and flexed his muscled limbs. He had always been the tall, handsome one of the two. His glossy black hair had lost none of its shine while he’d slept. “So, you’re roughly one or two-hundred twenty-six years old? That is old.” He made a face at the thought then reached down to help his wife, Igrain, out of her cryotube.
She was shorter than her tall husband, but just as fierce. Her hair hung all the way to her waist, but she wore it shaved on the sides, giving her a primitive look. Her large, sweet brown eyes balanced that out.
“Hi, Igrain,” Uther stammered as she stepped out. “Constans wants you both on the bridge,” he informed them as they walked and stretched to the lift. “Camelot is in range.”
“Oh,” Igrain gasped as they ascended. “At last. Can you imagine, Galois?” She leapt onto her toes and planted an excited kiss on her smiling husband. She bit her lip, smiling at some secret thought as she put her fingers into his hair. Uther felt his face burn.
“I’m interested to see what the androids have built,” Galois said while his wife teased him.
“Always the cynic,” Uther laughed. “I, on the other hand, cannot wait to see what we have.”
They exited the first lift and took a detour down a hall past another outlook window. Uther motioned for them to look and they all three watched the other ship for a moment.
Galois spoke first, “So, Constans is on the bridge?” The sentence was a question, but his inflection did from it like one. Galois understood. “Damn, it’s been a while. You know, I feel a little gipped that I didn’t dream at all. I thought one was supposed to have crazy cryo-dreams.”
Igrain rolled her eyes playfully, but kept smiling. “I feel giddy,” she said.
Uther led them away from the window, quiet now as his friend and Igrain settled into walking and thinking again. He opened the lift and ushered them inside. They were all three quiet as it went up. Uther liked the silence less and less. Especially with Igrain standing so near him. He wanted to speak to them, but not about death, empty space, or his father. With nothing else to think on, he decided to keep quiet.
“But wait,” Igrain said as they exited the lift and marched down the clean hall to the bridge. “That means your father is dead. Uther, I’m so sorry.” Her eyes showed she meant it. She had worked closely with General Constantine IV and knew him almost as well as Uther had. They had met under his command while she interned with his father. She had been just as lovely then as she was now.
“Yes, well, I haven’t seen him in hundreds of years.” He tried to laugh it off. “Constans is more upset than I am. Does that make me a bad person?”
Galois shook his head. “Nah, just more of a bastard.”
Uther laughed and Igrain shook her head hopelessly. Her husband played a bit of a callous joker as well.
“Good to see you,” Igrain said to Constans as they entered. She embraced him and winked at Uther over his shoulder. “Commander fits you well, I see.” She smoothed out his white uniform and saluted him.
“Thank you,” Constans said with more strength than he possessed. “I hope to make him proud.”
Galois took the seat just behind Constans, the second in command’s seat, smirked at Uther and put his feet up on the command board. “So, what’s the first thing we do, cap?” He
