Free Into the Sea of Stars by William R. Forstchen Page B

number of bodies overloaded his senses, but he had slowly grown inured to their presence or he was simply in shock and the reaction would hit later.
    The forms of death were varied and frightening. Every where the dead leered at them, some gently floating by as the opening of long-locked blast doors and passage ways triggered gentle currents in air that had not moved for centuries. Most of the cabins still held some air, but neither Shelley nor Ian dared to remove their helmets to try it. The command and control enter had been totally destroyed by a hulling—the impact that had punched a twenty-meter hole clear through the vessel with an egress puncture nearly fifty meters across.
    Most of what they explored were various access pas sageways, docking terminals, and the guidance center for the ship's sails, where half a dozen desiccated forms were still strapped to their couches.
    "Dr. Lacklin , I'm in what appears to be a communi cations center on level three, section four. Would you please join me?"
    Turning about, he floated back up the corridor that she had followed only moments before. He pushed past a small body that held an even smaller form to its breast— he didn't look closer.
    There was a faint light coming out of a room. He pushed his way in and to his surprise found that she had managed to locate a backup lighting system that could still function. A soft, diffused light radiated from overhead panels.
    Shelley noticed his look of surprise. "Apparently the power grid hooking into this area is still intact and there are some backup batteries."
    The room was circular with a number of windows on one side that looked out over the docking bay. As Ian went up to the window, he could see the Discovery docked on the next level down, or at least in the direction that his feet were pointing.
    "It looks as if they stayed alive in here for some time after whatever it was hit them." She pointed to a number of boxes and empty emergency food containers that floated in the room along with the four bodies.
    "Poor bastards. Damn it, Shelley, there must have been close to forty thousand living here. I'd have thought that damage control could have brought this ship on line again."
    "I've been thinking about that, Dr. Lacklin . Look at the damage. Primary ship functioning area totally de stroyed. Power reactor destroyed, main communications, data storage banks, and transport lines to the two wheels, damaged or destroyed. Eight major hull hits, all to vital areas. Two or three at the same time they could have bypassed and still managed to restore service. But not eight at once. Taking out those eight at the same time was fatal, and the occupants stayed trapped in each of their emergency chambers till the oxygen ran out. It's possible some might have lasted for weeks. What a horrible death..." Her voice trailed off.
    "You think there's any chance of calling up ship's rec ords?"
    "Just a moment, Doc."
    Shelley floated to the far corner of the room and hovered next to a body. For several minutes she twisted the body back and forth and suddenly the hand snapped off the body. He could hear a faint cry of dismay and felt at least a little pleasure at the realization that even Shelley was affected by this charnel house.
    "Dr. Lacklin , how good are you at deciphering Old Japanese?"
    "Not too good. I can speak it, but that's about it."
    "Damn, this body had a notebook clutched to it. It might be worth looking at."
    "I have the dictionaries back aboard ship."
    "Speaking of back aboard ship," Stasz interrupted again, "listen, Doc, I have no desire to board that graveyard in search of your bodies. You're down to seventeen percent of reserve so would you kindly get your butts back where they belong. Shelley, at least get your butt back, I like it better than our rotund professor's gludius maximus , or whatever it is that Croce calls it."
    Shelley started for the door still holding the notebook with the clawlike hand clinging to one side. Ian turned