Sneak Peek—Stories from The Expanding Universe Anthology #4: ‘Daughters of Ayor’ by David R. Bernstein

There are 20 short stories in the latest volume of Craig Martelle’s The Expanding Universe anthologies. Today, with Craig's permission, we are taking a sneak peek at the start of David R. Bernstein’s story, ‘Daughters of Ayor’. Here’s how it begins:
----------------------------------------------------------------
The SalvationOne’s mission was to find a new home for a dying civilization, but a massive solar flare slowly kills all but one crew member. Cut off from the command bridge for six months, Len Morrow is the sole survivor on an irradiated vessel deep in space, but is he really alone?
Science Officer Log: SalvationOneEntry: 439
I don’t give a crap anymore…
Log that.
-End Log-
***Nearly six months – well, five months, twenty-three days, ten hours, give or take – and I am still here. I look at the time display on the wall. Oh wait, eleven hours now. Great.
Today’s dinner is ration pack B256 – cheese lasagna. Dried, fake cheese. Low sodium. Enough to survive, I guess. My taste buds died of boredom months ago. I guess it’s better than irradiated vegetables from the quarantined hydroponics bay. The system still provides the plants water, which annoys me to no end. How dumb is it that an advanced AI computer system would shut off eighty percent of the ship due to ionized radiation exposure, but not disable water and power systems there? Luckily, my lab has a separate and dedicated H2O system.
Would be fun to see the mutant plants that might have developed though. Maybe I have a new, floral shipmate wandering around. ----------------------------------------------------------------Would you like to read more? 
TheExpanding Universe #4 is now available on Amazon. You can also find Volume 1, The Expanding Universe: An Exploration of Science Fiction Genre , Volume 2, The Expanding Universe: Exploring the Science Fiction Genre , and Volume 3, The Expanding Universe 3: Space Opera, Military SciFi, Space Adventure, & Alien Contact! on Amazon in paperback.