Read Ghost Soldiers for Free Online Page B

need to see this.”
    “Aye, Sir,” replied the helmsman.
    The Alliance warship groaned as her manoeuvring thrusters made adjustments. There were scores of thrusters fitted throughout and gave her a surprising degree of movement in such a short space of time. With a final burst from the main drive, the ship increased in velocity to the target.
    As was normal for such a journey, there was absolutely nothing else anywhere near the two ships. Even the main star of the T’Karan System was barely visible, though clearly brighter than any other star in the sky. With them being over forty astronomical units away from the star, it was hardly surprising. The blackness of space was filled with other stars, yet nothing that the ship could reach without years of travel.
    Sector Sixteen was a distant part of the T’Karan System, almost forty astronomical units from the Admiral Jarvis Naval Station. That was roughly eighteen days away at maximum burn, and quite a distance to be apart for a ship on its own. Back in the war this would have been considered suicide. No captain would take their ship almost three weeks from the safety of a station or escort vessels. But this was in the heart of the Alliance, and the missile destroyer was a strong ship, and easily capable of looking after itself.
    Captain Dutch watched the mainscreen with a degree of fascination as they inched closer and closer. He’d seen all manner of vessels in the past, from the battered, improvised vessels of Khreenk mercenaries, to the traveller ships of the Klithi, but nothing like this. He turned his attention to the holographic unit in the centre of the deck and at the schematic being shown of the object.
    “We have nothing on this vessel, nothing at all?”
    The Captain sounded confused, almost irritated by the failure in his crew, or at the very least, in the information carried on board the ship.
    Lieutenant Meyer, his tactical officer, who also doubled up as the ship’s science officer, shook his head. He’d gone through every possible ship in the database, even as far as matching powerplants and engine configurations, yet still he could not find a match.
    “Sir, the ship is a derelict, and based on the condition, I’d say it’s been that way for a very long time. It shows evidence of major combat damage, but no life signs of any kind.”
    “Power, weapons?”
    The young officer shook his head.
    “No, Sir. I’ve checked with the T’Kari registry, and they have nothing like this in their records. I can’t see who else would have left a ship out here.”
    Captain Dutch had one thought on his mind, probably the same thought the rest of the crew was having.
    “Biomechs?”
    Again the officer shook his head.
    “I don’t think so, Sir. The configuration has nothing in common with the Biomech ships. Its outer structure is relatively unsophisticated, more civilian in design.”
    He looked up for a moment, considering what he’d seen.
    “Best guess is that it’s a lost commercial vessel, maybe.”
    Something caught his eye on the holographic unit, and he turned away to investigate.
    “Odd. The main power system appeared to be online. Our scanners are showing energy levels that are…”
    “What?”
    The young man look back at his commanding officer.
    “Uh...Sir. The levels are off the chart.”
    The man sounded more excited than concerned.
    “If this is right, that vessel is putting out more power than an entire space station, but it’s only three kilometres long.”
    Masses of data could be seen on the central holographic unit, but there was still just the one object in view on the mainscreen. Both looked at it carefully, trying to ascertain is construction and origin. At the same time, coloured indicators showed the power spikes and their approximate location on the ship.
    “Take us around. I want a full orbit of her.”
    He glanced at Lieutenant Meyer.
    “Get me a full scan of her, inside and out. I need every engine, gun port, and access point