Clothed in a shimmering gold cryo-stasis suit, Jonozia Lex helped Kate Sheridan onto the stasis chamber’s ledge that had helpfully extended to facilitate ease of access. Sheridan shifted slightly on the flat surface and then settled.
“Ready Kate?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” she replied.
“See you on the other side,” he said and pressed the unit’s control.
The shelf glided into the compartment and the door lowered into place, sealing with a faint click. Inside Sheridan closed her eyes and relaxed and the light on the control unit turned from red to green. Satisfied Lex nodded and moved towards his own compartment.
In front of it he paused to take a look around at the other compartments in the room. There were ten in all, each one containing a member of his crew, motionless and waiting for the day over three hundred years from now when they would be awaken and returned to their lives. He tapped his commbadge.
“Lex to Johnson,” he said, “all crewmembers have successfully entered cryo-stasis. You can proceed when ready.”
“Acknowledged, Captain,” the engineer replied from the launch control room. “Commencing countdown. T-minus 60 minutes and counting.”
Lex lay down on the waiting shelf and took a long breath. He reached up and tapped the control at the side of the unit’s opening and the shelf slid into place. The door lowered and sealed with the same quiet click that Sheridan’s had. Lex closed his eyes and relaxed, drifting off into a dreamless, three-century long sleep.