Not many on the Patriot got sleep that night. The majority of the crew spent the evening celebrating. The Bridge crew drifted into the room for a while but left to allow them to relax without superiors nearby. After the initial challenge of leaving Earth, the next task loomed over me. I excused myself early to my quarters, sick to my stomach.

     The next scheduled task was tomorrow morning. The Captain and I would freeze the crew to begin our three-hundred year slumber.

     The ship drifted peacefully away from Earth. The thrusters caused a slow humming through the ship's walls, almost like a purr. There was nothing but space outside of my window. I paced in my quarters, unable to rest. Sleeping was out of the question.

    Worry and doubt nagged at me. Tomorrow morning, I would be voluntarily frozen for three centuries. Why did I agree to this? I must've been incredibly stupid. So many things could go wrong. I could die in the process, the ship could fail, or we might never wake up. This could be my last night awake.

    Apparently, there was another shortcoming to the training we'd received: nothing had prepared us mentally for this. I'd trained for six months, but was woefully unprepared for the reality of cryogenic freezing.

    I left my quarters around eleven. The sounds of celebration echoed through the halls, from the numerous crew common rooms. My feet carried me directly to where I wanted: the Officer's common area. It was empty. The main lights were off, but a few others illuminated the numerous tables and bar. Space loomed from outside the windows. I sat down at the bar and scrolled through the options in the tablet embedded in the bar.

    A robotic arm moved, picking up a container from the shelf and pouring it into a glass. The glass was set before me before the arm stilled. I shot down the scotch. It left a burn down my throat, before a warming sensation began in my senses. Elbow on the counter, I toyed with the thick plastic cup, thinking.

    Light spilled on the floor as the door opened. I didn't look up as footsteps approached, and the Officer took a seat at the bar. Navigation Officer Anthony Edwards chose a drink. The robotic arm began to move.

   "Interesting, isn't it?" A glass was set before Officer Edwards. He took a swig of beer. "It seems easy to agree to something this rash when we're not looking it in the face."

   Clearly, he'd come to forget his worries, too. I finally looked at him. He looked too large for the bar, almost as if his large form was cramped into the space between his barstool and the bar itself. His pale eyes crinkled with old smile lines, despite only being in his thirties.

    I finished the last of the scotch and flagged for another drink. The robot arm filled my glass. Officer Edwards sipped his drink, visibly relaxing. "What made you sign up, First Officer?"

   I considered not answering. Considering this would be one of the last times I'd speak for three hundred years, I decided to.

    "Honestly?" I took another sip, feeling the warm burn. "I've seen everything there's to see on Earth. Sitting around and waiting to die isn't how I want to spend my life."

    "Well-said."

    "You?"

    He thought about his answer before replying. "Just about the same. I'm in my late thirties and my life has surmounted to nothing. I've got no wife, no kids, no family. Nothin'. The Patriot was my only way to actually do something meaningful, so here I am." He spread his arms, sighed, and took another drink.

   I nodded slightly. I understood completely. My mother had been my only tie to my home. With her gone, I had nothing holding me back. Though, despite her tough parenting methods, I missed her. I felt a pang in my heart. I'd never set foot in her home ever again.

   "It seems easy to agree to something this rash when we're not looking it in the face," he'd said.

   "So why do you regret coming?" I asked slyly.

   "It's not that I regret coming," he replied. "It's that I regret that I felt pressured to be here in the first place."

   I dipped my head. "Well-said." We clinked glasses together and I finished my second drink, feeling warm in my stomach.

   "What about you, First Officer?" asked Officer Edwards. "What do you regret?"

   I snorted, licking the scotch taste from my lips. "Not thinking this through. I didn't truly understand the implications of being frozen for three centuries."

   "I don't think any of us would be here if we did think it through."

   That earned a laugh from me. The alcohol began to blur my brain, and I knew I had to stop. I couldn't have a hangover tomorrow. I set aside the glass. But, somehow, I was more assured than when I came in here.

   Officer Edwards was right. Everyone here was nervous. It was alright to be concerned. Although my worry would never be entirely abated.

   I bid my goodbyes and returned to my personal quarters. After that discussion, I changed and got into bed. I slept like a rock.

~

    My heart was tight as I walked into the chamber the following morning, freshened up and still not at all ready for what I was about to do. Captain Thorn was ready, wearing his plain navy shirt and grey pants. I paused to look at the room, cursing the people who made it look like something straight out of a horror movie.

   We were at the back at the ship, at the point. The room narrowed as it went. Pale capsules open from the top were attached horizontally along the walls, each having a set of tubes run into them and a screen above. It looked like an alien's baby chamber and little aliens were going to break out of the capsules and attack the ship.

   Captain Thorn didn't say much as I walked up. His jaw was set. I somehow doubted he wasn't feeling his own doubts. He had gone through extensive training as how to put everyone into a capsule the right and safe way. He would be the last person to go into a capsule. I would assist him until it was my turn.

   "The first crewmember is on their way," he informed me. I nodded stiffly, arms clasped behind my back. The first person to be cytogenetically-frozen was an engineer from the Technical department. I helped Captain Thorn as he talked the man through it. The process involved attaching IV lines to each limb and several stickers above the heart, lungs, and forehead. Captain Thorn said the stickers would be the ones to deliver the electrical current into the body to start it up again. The IVs kept our bodies in pristine condition while we slept. We would sleep until we reached Z-031, the computer emergency system detected trouble, or until the Captain of the Pioneer sent an emergency signal. Then the computer would activate the waking program.

   The man climbed into his tube shakily. Captain Thorn told him to close his eyes and count down from ten. The engineer obeyed, and by the time he reached four, his body went limp. He was silent as Captain Thorn pressed a setting on the screen above the capsule, picked up a tube, and placed the end against the man's lips. It suctioned on. Seconds later and a slimy, iridescent substance leaked in. I fought a gag as it filled the capsule, and Captain Thorn closed the top to allow it to fill the rest of the way.

   The engineer floated eerily in the slime. Captain Thorn exhaled slightly, turning to his tablet and summoning the next crewmember. My throat closed up. Cryogenic-freezing hadn't been tested for such a long period of time. I could be sentencing all of these people to death. Nonetheless, I shoved my doubts down and worked with the Captain.

   One by one, we went through the crew. Some were terrified and had to be coaxed inside. Others obeyed without a word, submissively climbing inside the capsule. One that stuck with me was the woman that asked for a prayer as she fell asleep. I pursed my lips, but did as she asked and whispered her Lord's prayer above her as she counted down and went unconscious.

   At last, hours later, Captain Thorn lowered his tablet and exhaled. "Six Science crewmembers, seven Weapons crewmembers, five Medical crewmembers, eight Technical crewmembers, five Navigation crewmembers, and seven Comfort crewmembers later, and that's the whole of the crew. Time for the bridge officers." My gut wrenched.

   First came Officer Allen Bird. He bravely went inside, saluting the Captain smartly before he too fell into a frozen state. Bridge Officer Edwards shook hands with us before doing the same. Intelligence Officer Byrne stared for a minute, lips moving in a silent prayer, before she stepped inside. Technical Officer Peterson was so nervous that Captain Thorn had to help him inside. Combat Officer Decker didn't make a sound as he followed orders.

   It was my turn. The ship was eerily silent. Captain Thorn and I were the only ones left awake on board. I had a sick feeling in my stomach as it begged for food. We had been denied any right to eat before being frozen. It was part of the protocol.

   I stared down at the empty capsule. My mouth was dry. Captain Thorn was watching me, and it was the main reason I wasn't shaking in my boots. He patted my shoulder. "I know, it's daunting. You've been doing well, considering you've put thirty-something other people into these against your will."

   "That's different than looking at the capsule meant for me."

   "It always will be. At least you don't have to put yourself to sleep." His smile was tight, and I realized he was right. Captain Thorn had to stick himself with the IVs and subject himself to sleep. Swallowing, I pulled back my sleeves and offered my wrists. He obeyed, sticking the needles inside. I felt the prick and ignored it.

   After peeling off my boots, he put the IVs in my ankles. Next came the stickers over my skin. I hadn't realized that there was a needle on the sticker that stabbed into my skin, earning a sharp inhale of surprise. My skin above my heart and lungs throbbed in protest, and I eyed the stickers for my forehead warily.

   Captain Thorn ignored the look, placing the stickers on two places on my head. The needles inserted themselves. I clenched my jaw. Slowly, my eyes turned toward the open, empty capsule that was mine. My innards twisting around themselves, making me want to vomit as I stepped toward it. My body halted against my will.

   I took in a slow breath through my nose, exhaling from my lips. Let's go, Veve. Now or never. Not allowing myself to dwell on it, I clambered into the capsule and clumsily laid onto my back. Captain Thorn stepped up to the capsule, his face strictly neutral.

   "See you in three hundred years, First Officer Autumn. Now, count down from ten for me."

   I licked my lips, trying to form the words. "T-Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . se-ven . . . six-x . . . fff..." And then everything was gone.