A Sentient Surprise
A Sentient Surprise
Friend, Foe, or Something More?
Darby Sabo knows what to expect when her hypersleep shift comes to an end.
Routine inspections, keeping deep space cargo safe, keeping herself entertained and sane.
But a surprise lurks this time, one she never dreamed of.
Will Darby discover a silver lining in the shocking break from routine?
Part of Faeries in Space, an Uncollected Anthology
An excerpt from A Sentient Surprise:
Unexpected Cargo
By the time she reached the end of the hundred-meter-long row and got a glance at ten more just like it to either side, all hopes of salvaging even a handful of food evaporated.
Whoever rampaged through here had taken their time and done a thorough job of it.
She’d just raised her wrist again, meaning to comm the rotten news to Janess, when she caught a flutter of movement to her left.
And a muted whisper of what sounded like high-pitched giggles cut through the air handlers’ constant noise.
“What the hell?” she whispered, crouching and turning that way for a better look.
That giggle hadn’t been any sort of adult, and this was a human-only crew.