"Sibilis, show me the sensor readings again," Garrick said.

He was hovering in front of the ripped-apart opening in the no-longer pristine hull, staring at the debris-filled space beyond.

With a soft blink, his H.U.D. filled with images that showed one section of the debris field they were now part of. A low-res stream showed what was currently happening.

The remains of the Sibils and everything he could see were slowly circling the remains of the no longer glowing Precursor Shipslinger.

"Can you estimate how strong the gravitational pull was during the explosion?" Garrick asked.

"Yes, Captain."

A list of numbers and slides appeared in an empty space in his H.U.D. while Sibilis began rattling of some numbers.

"So, in other words," Garrick said thoughtfully. "There was a tiny moment of intense gravity, enough to keep us all from being blasted away. What remains is still enough to keep us within the orbit of the Precursor wreckage. Does that mean that some part of the Precursor Shipslinger survived the explosion?"

"Correct, Captain," Sibilis agreed. "With just the images you made of the area, it is impossible to determine what, but some debris remained in the location of the exploded Precursor Shipslinger. Based on the gravity that remains, it is unlikely that something new was drawn there."

"How is it even possible for anything to remain?" Garrick said, frowning. "An antimatter explosion should have wiped everything away."

"If there hadn't been the odd spikes in gravity, this would have been the logical conclusion, Captain. However, I'll need more observations before I can give any clear answer."

Garrick quietly watched the images before nodding.

"How long till the engineers finish the long-range, high-resolution camera?"

"At their current speed, it will take atleast a few more days."

Garrick continued examining the grainy images. Most were made by him with a device not meant to take pictures at any distance further than within the ship. Still, after having taken images from nearly every angle, The Sibelius had knit them together and managed to refine them in something that gave some information.

He took a final look at the remains of the Precursor Shipslinger before looking across the others. It didn't take longer for his gaze to keep drifting to one specifically. The Seretonin.

It had been crushed like an ancient can and split along multiple lines. Now, large sections of it drifted a few miles behind them. In between was a chaotic jumble of debris, while more crushed ships - smaller frigates blown apart into differently sized chunks, were hovered around and behind it.

Ten percent chance of survivors feels high, Garrick thought, as he remembered Sibilis's analysis. As much as he hated Captain Uru for what he'd done, he felt sympathy for the rest of his crew.

He swiped the image to the side and focused on another one. It was made through a hole on the left side of the Sibilis and showed the debris further away. In the middle sat a frigate that looked far more intact than any of the others. Further away, it seemed that only its backside was obliterated, while the section behind it was merely crushed. Garrick the ship, as it was one of those in Third Fleet. It was The Tealclaw, an older frigate that had been with them ever since it was created. It had been hanging back on the outsides after taking damage in the initial confrontation.

He knew the Captain of the ship, Hillary Braddock, and knew that she had likely ordered the ship to distance itself further.

Her foresight might prove pivotal in their survival, Garrick knew, because, from the images, it seemed that the Tealclaw's shuttle bay remained largely intact. Better yet, a single shuttle hung within the debris in front of it, looking mostly in one piece.

"Show me the suggested flight path to cross over," Garrick requested.

"Yes, Captain," Sibilis said, and a green line appeared, moving like a string through the debris field and from them to the Tealclaw.

"Remember that without active imagery, it will be impossible to predict the different moving parts," Sibilis said.

"I know," Garrick said, not too worried. He continued to stare at the images for a while longer before closing them. He activated an alarm on his H.U.D. to wake him in six hours.

Between me and Hilbert, the chances of getting there and finding an intact shuttle should be high, he thought as he closed his eyes.

It took him a long while to fall asleep, partially because he wasn't as tired as his over seventeen hours of being awake told him he should be.

When he finally did fall asleep, it was while pondering what was happening to his implant and how much of the changes he was sensing were due to it.

--

"Macdewil, you are in charge while I'm away," Garrick said, his voice loud in the quiet group chat. "Focus on getting the med-bay operational, even if only for a short time."

"Yes, Captain," Macdewil said, sounding annoyed.

Garrick ignored it, knowing there wasn't anything he was going to change to accommodate his old friend's worry. Instead, he focused on the ancient-looking jetpack that was wrapped around him like a thick metal jacket. If he hadn't been weightless, he knew he'd have been unable to carry it. As it was, it was merely annoying to move around the narrow hallways. He hovered above a massive sixty-foot hole in the hull beyond which he could see the tiny shape of the Tealclaw.

"Hilbert, are you ready?" he asked, looking at the similarly quipped cook and ex-military specialist.

"Yes, captain," Hilbert said, his usual snarky grin replaced by an absolute calm.

"Then let's go and stretch our legs," Garrick said. "Take care of the ship while I'm gone, Engineer Macdewil."

"Yes, Captain. Good luck."

Garrick pushed himself away from the ship, gently gliding through the hole. It took a few seconds to pass through the thick hull and its lining, then he was bathed in the powerful light of Titawin, Upsilon Andromedae's Sun.

He quickly spun around to make sure no debris was hurtling his way, but Sibilis' simulation proved correct. Whatever damage the strong gravity had done initially, it had also slowed down the debris. There was no sign in his H.U.D. of any rapidly moving tiny projectiles of death.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Feeling even more certain that his course of action was the right one, Garrick took a look at the Sun. His helmet's glass tinted rapidly as he examined the blazing sphere of nuclear energy.

As yellow as the Sun, it was brighter and larger than he was used to. Not as surprise, as Europa was much further from the Sun than he was now. Even having grown up with images from the Sun seen from Earth didn't compare. Perhaps, if he'd been in one of the richer habitats back in Europa's ice crust city, the ones that had holographic fake skies, he might not been as impressed. Sadly for his younger self, he'd had to make do with static images that he'd had plastered on his ceiling, meaning he could now enjoy the sight before him.

"Captain, we will have a few more minutes until the remnant radiation will completely cancel our ability to communicate," Sibilis said calmly.

Garrick sighed as he focused on the area around him. Debris was moving around him while Hilbert hovered nearby.

"Everything shiny, Captain?" Hilbert's voice was so calm that someone could have thought he was sitting in a bar with a beer.

"Yes, Hilbert. Let's see if Macdewil's present works, shall we? Sibilis, double-check our course?"

The line he saw in his H.U.D. faded before reappearing exactly as it had before.

"Everything seems fine, Captain," Sibilis said, the LLM's voice cracking with static, a mimicry of reality as Garrick knew there wasn't anything that could crackle.

"Good. See you in a day or two," Garrick said, focusing on his destination. His hand gripped the joystick and he felt a powerful surge of adreneline. “Follow me, Hilbert.”

He pressed the button, and the next moment, he hurtled forward as if he was shot out of a canon. He watched the timer on his H.U.D. and removed his thumb from the button when it reached ten seconds.

Glad we aren't in an atmosphere, he thought, knowing the G's might have flattened him if he had been.

A quick look showed that Hilbert was following him easily, his movements supple as if he'd practiced the same thing dozens of times.

"How are things, Hilbert?"

"A.O.K, captain."

Garrick grinned, then focused back on hurtling forward.

As much debris as there was, it proved easier than he'd expected to navigate through it all. Both the planned path and his own rapidly returning skill made it feel easy. Too easy if he had to be honest with himself.

Hours later, when they reached the Tealclaw, his joy was muted by worry. He should be tired and unfocused by now. Instead, he felt almost as sharp when they had left.

"Ready to dock?"

"Yes, Captain," Hilbert said.

Garrick could hear the slight weariness in the other voice, and his worry about his own sense of well-being increased.

"And you, captain?"

"I'll be fine," Garrick said as he focused on the incoming shuttle bay. Much closer now, he was glad to see three of the twelve shuttles the frigate should have hanging along the back wall, seemingly with no more than a few scrapes.

"Time to slow down," he said, maneuvering the thrusts forward. He thumbed down, and his forward movement began slowing rapidly.

He stopped the thrusters when his speed was reduced to a few miles an hour. Far, far slower than before, it would take another hour to reach the shuttle bay. As he glided past one of the larger bits of debris, he scanned the remains of the Tealclaw. Unlike the Sibilis, most of its front remained intact, and even more, that which had been destroyed seemed far less damaged.

"I wonder if the ship was behind one of the other ones," Garrick said, looking back at where the Precursor Shipslinger had been. There wasn't anything there now, but who said there hadn't been before?

"We might be able to find out if theirs any data remaining," Hilbert said. "Though from what I can see, their Engineering is completely gone."

Garrick didn't react as he pushed himself past a ten-foot piece of debris and to the edge of the shuttle bay. As he did, he saw the long beam that had slammed through the back of one of the shuttles. The two beside it had been shoved sideways but seemed largely intact.

As he glided forward, he looked out for any signs of life, but the platforms below and the hallways leading away were completely still. Only a few brown stains showed that atleast someone had been there during the explosions that had crippled the ship.

"Let's check the shuttles first," Garrick said as he headed closer.

"Right behind you, captain."

As Garrick closed in on the shuttle, he saw scuff marks on the gleaming metal hull. A long, finger-deep scratch had torn through the fiery red Igniz Commonwealth symbol, making the fiery bird look like it had lost a wing. Reaching the door at the back, he pressed his hand on the panel. Hilbert audibly held his breath, but Garrick didn't bother.

A soft beep from his implant was followed by a soft voice.

"> Tealclaw shuttle three requests authentication."

"Captain Garrick Dasbartin of The Sibilis," Garrick said while adding his unique identification code.

The door in front of him slid a few inches inside before swaying away, revealing the familiar ten-foot pressure hallway.

"So far, so good," Hilbert whispered.

Garrick frowned. Everything felt far too easy, and he didn't like it one bit.

As he pulled himself inside, he waited for Hilbert to join him before closing the hatch.

"Shuttle three, status report," he ordered.

"> Error. Unable to determine status. Sensors damaged."

That's more like it, Garrick thought.

"Let's see how bad things are," he said. "Shuttle three, commence pressurizing the entry hall."

“> Yes, captain Dasbartin.”

A red bar blinked across the ceiling as a second door slid across the first.

"> Pressurizing."

The slits in the ceiling began shaking slightly, and after a few moments, a hissing sound became audible, becoming louder rapidly. When it stopped, the red lights turned green, and the hatch that led deeper into the ship clicked. It slid open a fraction then was yanked into the opposite hall amidst a deafening boom. The lights in the cabin turned off, and the sounds vanished as the vacuum reasserted itself in the hallway.

"Dammit!" Hilbert shouted. "Captain, you alright?"

"I'm fine," Garrick said as he pulled himself toward the inwardly exploded door.

The shuttle's simple central room was a mess of papers, while a bit of light poured in from a fist-sized hole in one wall.

"Check the engine," Garrick said, as he pulled himself toward the shuttle's cockpit.

"Yes, Captain."

The cockpit, small with two front-pointing seats and two side facing ones, seemed fine, but a red light was blinking on one of the glass panels.

Garrick pulled himself forward and then into the pilot chair. Pressing the button on the armrest caused a simple beep.

"> Shuttle three status report: Error - sensors damaged. Error - sensors damaged. Error-"

Garrick cut off the loop.

"Captain, I think we should try the other shuttles."

"Report," Garrick said, having a sinking feeling.

"Something slammed through the engine room, piercing a few of the consoles and only just missing the microreactor," Hilbert answered, a slight annoyance visible in his voice.

"Fine. Let's head for the other one," Garrick said as he pulled himself back out of the shuttle.

Half an hour and two shuttles later, Garrick sat down in Shuttle Seven's pilot seat. There were no red lights this time, and as he pressed the button on the armrest, screens flickered on.

"> Shuttle seven, status report: Operational.

"> Batteries at forty-seven percent.

"> Interference on sensors…

"> Warnings on logs

Garrick let out a sigh as he pulled up the internal censor records. Although the rooms seemed pressurized, he wanted to be sure. As he saw the readings, he leaned back and removed his helmet. The clean, cool air of the shuttle seemed better than anything he remembered.

He connected to the internal coms.

"Hilbert, the pressure is solid, and there are no issues with the shuttle. Report from the engine room?"

"Just a bit messy, but all fine here, captain," Hilbert said.

"Alright, let's take a few hours to rest and recover. Then we will find out if anyone survived before deciding how to clear the debris from the shuttle bay entrance."

"Great plan, captain. I'll check the pantry for any food and bring you some!"

Garrick nodded as he pulled up the warning logs.

"> Warning: Forcefully disconnected shuttle seven's micro-LLM from Tealclaw main LLM

"> Override on orders: Captain Hillary Braddock

"> Audio message attached

Now what...