Cargo For Tau Ceti

Two friends from high school retire from Space Command, after suffering the loss of their fiancés in an accident; they amble about, from one dreary bar to the next lost in despair. Their purchase of an old but sturdy freighter leads them to build a shipboard family. On mankind's first commercial voyage out of the solar system, they discover something large, very large is shadowing them and the adventure begins.

The story is full of characters like Biscuit. the chef, and Sparks, the communications officer, and of course the captain of the ship, Blake, and his partner and best friend Spur. It is a military adventure in the not too distant future with more than passing products of science and weapons, and a likely new Earth to experience.