A Nasty Little Planet - Chapter One

In this, the first chapter of a new science-fiction novel, Captain Jag Anderson of his Imperial Holiness's star frigate Richelieu successfully returns home after a long, although unprofitable, survey mission beyond the borders of the papal empire. In upcoming chapters, Anderson will command his ship back into space where they will discover a buried starship on a planet where humans cannot survivor for more than a few minutes without protection, a mysterious inscription, and a Cardinal blocking their efforts to claim the wreck for salvage.