Free First Fleet #1-4: The Complete Saga by Stephen Case Page A

formation,” the captain reported. “Nothing on short-range instrumentation. No sign of Colonizer vessels.”
    “Confirmed. You are clear to proceed, Grenada. ”
    The jump-set hummed to life and curdled space around Grenada ’s minuscule mass. It was not the laminar slipstream of a light line. The jump was a study in controlled chaos. For several moments, all of the ship’s considerable computing power was bent on calculating an entry and exit point that would bring it considerably closer to the first of the unnamed Colonizer worlds. Its computational engines moaned as equations were given form and pumped out into tensor fields.
    Several light minutes away, space yawned and the ship reemerged.
    “Scanning.”
    Though invisible to sight at this distance, there were definitely signals.
    “We’ve got something, Command. It looks like a few of ours. Drifting.”
    “Copy, Grenada . Move in and maintain contact.”
    The Grenada slid forward until it was within visual range of a distended, broken mass of bulkheads spinning silently.
    “We have visual.” The captain studied a read-out. “It’s the Rowan Hamilton. ”
    The Hamilton was a heavy carrier. It dwarfed the scout ship considerably. No running lights were blinking. Several of the exterior airlocks and shuttle ports had been opened. A tenuous debris field surrounded the entire wreck.
    “Magnify and scan debris, Grenada .”
    “Roger. Largely metallic. Looks like battle detritus. Some organic signals are present as well.”
    “Bodies?”
    The Grenada nudged closer, moving carefully to avoid the artificial satellites the larger ship now wore like a grave shroud.
    “Looks like there are some floating around.” The captain paused. “Confirmed. Some broken suits, but several unshielded bodies. They must have been vented when airlocks or bay doors were opened.”
    From this angle, there appeared to be no damage to the Hamilton . The Grenada oriented itself along the Hamilton’s main axis, compensating for the listing caused by unequalized engines. The lack of any interior or exterior lights and the dead ship’s slowed rotation indicated that it was a derelict. The tiny scout ship held its position until the Hamilton’s far side swung into view.
    “Here we go, Command. Major battle damage along the port side.”
    The hull of the Hamilton was blistered and peeled open, exposing interior struts and habitation suites as well as a long, narrow bay where heavy-suits were launched during combat operations. The Grenada flicked on its spotlights and swept them along the ruin.
    “No exterior charring. No residual radiation.”
    The scout ship drifted closer.
    “Command, this damage does not appear to be from an exterior source.”
    There was a long pause on the other end.
    “Copy that, Grenada . You are cleared to board for further assessment.”
    Over the next several minutes the scout ship maneuvered closer to the Hamilton until it was only a few dozen meters from the hulk and matched the dead ship’s orbit. The gaping bulkheads below ceased relative motion. The two ships swung together as though tethered together. Grenada kept its exterior spots trained on a particularly large hole in the Hamilton ’s side.
    A hiss of discharging air was heard within the tiny ship, and two thin-suited figures dropped from the Grenada into the Hamilton .
    “Command, we’ve sent over two boarders. Switching to open communication. Ajax and Hammersmith, confirm arrival.”
    “Roger, Captain.” The voice was Hammersmith’s. “We’re aboard. Spin’s not generating enough gravity, so we’re locked magnetically.”
    “What do you see?”
    “Nothing yet.”
    Grenada waited like an impatient fly poised over the open wound of the Hamilton ’s ruptured hull.
    “Captain, this is Ajax. All the systems on board appear dead. Plenty of bodies. Some are suited. Most are not. Looks like there was a massive pressurization failure.”
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    T ime passed as the Captain waited for Ajax