Space Carrier Avalon (Castle Federation Book 1) by Glynn Stewart

Author:Glynn Stewart [Stewart, Glynn]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Faolan's Pen Publishing Inc.
Published: 2015-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

Hessian System

05:00 September 6, 2735 Earth Standard Meridian Date/Time

DSC-001 Avalon – Flight Control Center

“Bessarabia, we need you in sector 74-CT-9,” Stanford told the tiny schooner cutting its way through the debris field. “One of our probes picked up a heat signature, might be a fragment large enough to keep power and atmo.”

“Jawohl, Avalon,” the captain replied. Moments later, the ship on the control screens surrounding Michael changed course. The half-dozen schooners in Hessian atmosphere, with their relatively low-powered ion drives, could move through the debris field without the risk of radiation and other issues larger ships would have.

Around Michael, a new shift of Federation Space Navy officers and ratings were filing in, replacing the night shift. Twenty hours and two shift changes had passed, but the personnel in Avalon’s Flight Control Center were as determined to find any survivors as they had always been.

“How’s the search, Flight Commander?” a quiet voice asked behind Michael.

With a start, he turned to find Captain Blair standing at his shoulder, the man’s cybernetic eye spinning slightly too quickly for his peace of mind as the Captain surveyed the FCC.

“Slow,” Michael admitted. “I think we’d found most of those we were going to find before I got back. We’re up to two hundred and eighty-five.”

Blair winced, and Michael nodded his grim agreement. According to Hessian, there had been forty-two thousand, seven hundred and fifty-five men, women and children aboard Hessian Orbital. Seven survival pods had launched, and been retrieved, but now it was up to the fluke of fate to have saved anyone left.

The more time passed, the lower their chances got.

“What about our people?” Blair asked. “All of the emergency beacons should be up now.”

“We pulled four survival capsules out of orbit,” Stanford told him. “The SAR shuttles have confirmed they’ve picked up three more out where we fought the Hercules and they expect to bring them aboard inside the hour.”

A starfighter’s crew segment was a tiny fraction of its multi-thousand ton mass. The ships were designed so that if the onboard AI had enough warning of the starfighter’s destruction, it could eject the entire compartment as a survival pod to save the crew.

Seven pods launched out of twelve fighters lost was a very good ratio. They’d been lucky – and still lost at least seventeen people, including the two confirmed dead on Commander Roberts’ fighter.

“We’ve also pulled in about fifteen from the Commonwealth squadrons – but none from the pirates,” Stanford concluded. “Any word on the cruiser itself?”

“Major Crystal will be attempting to board the various fragments shortly,” Blair replied. “Kyle’s decision to go after them with lances looks like it’s going to pay a huge dividend – we might get a damned clue as to what the hell Terra thinks they’re doing.”

Michael glanced away, surveying the screens and the sensor data showing orbit.

“How is he, sir?”

“Alive,” Blair confirmed. “Beyond that, I don’t know. Dr. Pinochet has had him in intensive care since he arrived, and young Miss Angela made it very clear that, Captain or no Captain, I have no place in the surgery ward during the aftermath of a battle.

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