"Ghost Ship"

[Luke]

GHOST SHIP
==========

"Captain's log, Stardate 60355.6... the USS Thermopylae is patrolling sector 23788 in between systems LGK-450 and 470, taking readings of background radiation along the Barrier. To assist us we have been temporarily assigned a science officer, Lieutenat Andre Piccard... no relation to the famous Fleet Captain."

1. Commander Luke Caeli lay back on his bunk looking at the flat screen. It was the first s-mail he had gotten from his wife Jenna Stella-Lucis in a couple of weeks and he was drinking in the sight of her long brown hair and her pretty face with the star tattoo on her right cheek. She was dressed in a skin tight body suit, emerald green to match her eyes.

"Oh and one more thing," she said looking at him with a stern expression. "I happened to check with a friend of mine in Starfleet records. Just curious you know? About a person named Evan Solari?"

Luke sat up alarmed. "Now Jenna don't get mad," he said, even though this was a recording.

"You didnt tell me Evan was short for Evangelina," she continued. "Slipped your mind I guess. Like it slipped your mind to tell me your first officer was a gorgeous redhead who once modeled swimsuits for VC's."

"She did? Really?" Luke said. He knew Lt. Solari had a great body but he didn't know that.

On the screen Jenna was standing up now with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Soooo I thought I'd just remind you what you're missing out there." Her fingers were undoing the front of her body suit! She gently peeled back the fabric from her shoulders revealing...

"Wheee-ooo!" the bosuns whistle called out, announcing the active comm link to the bridge. "Captain we're picking up an unidentified ship," the voice of the Helmsman said.

Luke wanted to kick him. He groaned and turned off the video. "I'm on my way."

***

On the bridge Lt. Solari was leaning over the Ops console, making Luke all too aware of how well her rear end filled out her red and black Starfleet uniform. When she heard the hum from the turbolift she straightened up and faced him. "Sensor contact with a space vessel, captain," she said in her pretty Italian accent. "Bearing 010, azimuth 12 degrees. Travelling approximately point nine two lightspeed, but not warping space."

Luke looked at the main viewscreen but all he could see was a bright white light moving against the background. Out here on the rim of the galaxy the sky was mostly black with not too many stars to confuse it with. "You mean it's just ballistic? Beau, are any other ships supposed to be in this quadrant?"

Ensign Perry at the helm shook his head. "No sir, it's not one of ours."

"Try hailing them," Luke said.

Petty Officer "Gunner" Gunnison at the tactical station tried. "No responce, captain."

"What do you make of it, Lt. Piccard?" Luke asked.

The science officer had already scanned the ship and was just waiting to be asked. "Cylindrical in shape," he said. "The hull is a dense alloy similar to diburnium. Ion fusion drive. There are no life signs on board."

That's why they don't answer our hails, Luke thought.

"Captain, I'm picking up an odd electromagentic beam coming from it," Perry said. "Wavelength about 60 centimeters. Pulsed but not modulated very well."

"It's called Radar," Luke said. On the man viewscreen the shape of the strange space ship was just becoming visible. It looked sort of like a dart aimed not quite at the Thermoplyae but a little to their left.

"It is scanning for obstacles in its path, ensign," Lt. Piccard explained. "And its guidance system will automatically change course to avoid them. But no Federation ship has used anything as primitive as radar for almost a hundred years."

Whatever the ship was it was going nearly the speed of light while Thermopylae was going warp three in almost the opposite direction. They were about to shoot past one another. "Reduce speed to sublight, Mr. Perry," Luke said. "Come about to course 354 mark 320. Match velocities with it."

The Thermoplyae banked around and took up a parallel course on the alein ship's starboard flank. Pretty soon they were pacing it close enough to get a good look. It was shaped basically like a long tube tapered at the front, with superstructure along the top. It was approximately 200 meters long and maybe 20 meters in diameter. About three quarters down its length was a ring of five fat little engine pods. But the ship was just coasting with its running lights going.

"I see something, captain," Solari said touching controls on the Ops station. The picture on the screen zoomed in to show part of the hull with the ship's name on it: "Empress of Rigel"

"Whoa!" Perry said. "Didn't that ship disappear without a trace?"

"Yes it did," Luke said as he sat down in the command chair. "A hundred years ago."

[Luke]

2. According to the library computer the "Empress of Rigel" was originally called the "Princess of Mars", a GY-200 class interplanetary cruise ship commissioned in 2261. After twenty years service she was fitted with a warp drive and rechristened. Her maiden voyage under the new name was to be a cruise around the sector 004.

The ship was never seen again. It was one of the most famous disappearances in history.

"Still no responce to our hails, captain," said Gunnison.

"You think ghosts use subspace radio?" Ensign Perry muttered under his breath.

Luke pretended not to hear him. "The helm was probably left on automatic. We'll have to board her then. do you think you can beam us straight to the bridge, Gunner?"

Gunnison shook his head doubtfully. "It's all that hull shilding, captain. They made it thick in those days. The best I can do is beam you into the entry port. You can make your way to the bridge from there."

"It'll have to do," Luke said. "Call Lt. Delgado to the bridge to take charge. Lieutenant Solari, Lt. Piccard, you're with me."

***

The three of them plus security crewmen Sandra Jacobs and Leo Swanson beamed over. They materialized inside a wide tunnel airlock about five meters long. It was completely dark at first but the automatic systems detected their presence and turned the lights on. Behind them was a hatch in the curving outside hull of the ship with a small porthole on either side looking out into space. Ahead of them was a round heavy duty pocket door.

On the other side of the door a corridor ran to the left and right. Just beyond was a reception room with lounge chairs and a check-in desk. There was enough light to see by but it was dim and shadowy because only every third light panel was lit. The air felt a little stale too.

Piccard said primly, "I surmise that a power conservation program must be running." He went behind the desk to see if he could access the ship's computer. "But yes," he said after a minute. "Energy reserves are extremely low. Live support is barely hanging on. But I cannot acces any critical ship's systems from this location. We will have to go either to the bridge or to Engineering."

Luke looked around the reception room. There was no sign of any disturbance, but no sign of any people either. To starboard of the reception room was a wide staircase going up and just past it a lounge area with big transpartent aluminum portholes looking out into space. Luke could see the Thermopylae keeping pace with them a hundred meters off. He couldn't help thinking a cruise ship this size would carry three or four hundred passengers, and have a crew of maybe a hundred. Where were they all? Or their bodies at least?

He turned away from the portholes, he thought he felt something move in the shadows but it was probably a trick of the light. "OK let's try to reach the bridge," he said and he led the way to the staircase.

As the rest of them followed him Solari took a last look around. Someone was standing next to the reception desk! She thought it was a man but it was hard to tell because of the dim light. He looked like he was wearing a long coat with the collar turned up. "Captain!" she said out loud. "Someone is there..."

But in that half second she took her eyes off of him the man disappeared. She ran across the room thinking he might had gone down the fore and aft corridor there but there was no sign of movement. By that time the rest of the Away Team had joined her. "I thought," she said, "I was sure I saw a man standing here..."

Piccard sneered. "I assure you Mademoiselle Solari..."

"LIEUTENANT Solari to you!" she corrected.

"...I scanned this ship completely before we left the Thermopylae. There is no one here, nothing warm-blooded and human at least." He paused and turned to LUke. "POssibly what she saw was a ship's rat. Justlike a woman to let her imagination run away with her."

Solari gave Luke a half-pleading look. "Captain I did not imagine it!" she said.

"Spread out," Luke said. "Let's see if we can find it."

They started by searching every nook and cranny of the reception room. When they found nothing they split up. Solari, Piccard and crewman Swanson headed down the corridor forward while Luke and crewman Jacobs headed aft, opening doors as they went and checking out side corridors. The whole place was dark. Lights would automatically turn on as they approached and then turn off again a minute or two after they left.

In their direction Luke and Jacobs found storage rooms, an emergency transporter room, and life support. Luke couldn't help the creepy feeling he was being watched but it was probably just nerves. About ten meters along they found the ship's swimming pool. It was empty of course all the water having long since evaporated. As soon as they stepped inside they heard a rapid clicking sound like a lot of feet running across tiles. It echoed in the vast room so they couldn't pin it down.

"Sir?" Jacobs said, biting her lip and squeezing the handle of her phaser. "That's just the pump machinery making that sound right?"

"Could be," Luke said. "This is an old ship." Then something went CLANG! and he caught something big moving out the corner of his eye. Luke whipped out his phaser ran after it acroos the big room. He followed it into one of the shower rooms as Jacobs caught up to him. But all they saw was an empty shower room, nothing to hide behind. A ventilation duct near the top of the wall was broken but it was a narrow slit way too small for anyone to crawl through.

"I guess it was nothing," Luke said. "Let's get back to the others."

[Atoz 77]

I like it so far. Very spooky!

[Luke]

Thanks, admiral!

3. Meanwhile Solari and Piccard were searching forward. They found a turbolift but it was nonfunctional. Probably there wasn't enough spare power. After that they came to shops and snack bars on both sides of the corridor. The doorways were wide open and the the walls were transparent glass. The two of them would just stick there heads inside to look behind the counters while Swanson stayed in the corridor where he could keep an eye on them both.

"Once again nothing," Piccard said irritatingly. "You mustn't think I blame you for being jumpy lieutenant. This is a very spooky ship. Anyone would be creeped out."

Solari muttered under her breath in Italian but didn't say anything out loud.

They took a lateral corridor leading to the port side of the ship. Piccard stepped into the first room on the right. The lights came on but it was dimmer than usual because only one out of six light panels activated. Swanson was checking out a gangway he found leading up. Solari went in the doorway on the left just as she herd a crashing sound and Piccard screamed.

She turned and ran after him just as he came stumbling out. He almost knocked her down he was so frightened. "What?" she said. "What happened?"

"Somebody... DEAD!" he choked and dropped to his knees. Solari brushed past him and plunged into the dark room.

Luke and Jacobs came running. "What's going on?" Luke demanded. "Piccard answer me!" The science officer could only point at the doorway trembling.

Solari came out of the room smiling. "Nothing to be alarmed about captain," she said. "Mr. Piccard just let his imagination run away with him." The room was a beauty parlor and she was holding up the top half of a female mannequin that he had stumbled over in the dark.

Luke let out a sigh of relief and started to holster his phaser. "Where's Swanson?"

"He was right here a minute ago," Solari said.

Jacobs found the gangway alcove. "Over here, sir," she said. "He must have gone up."

There was a light at the top shining down the narrow stairwell but the panel was cracked. "The rest of you stay down here until I give the all clear," Luke said and started up the gangway clutching his phaser.

At the top he poked his head out to make sure nobody was wqiting to ambush him. The fact that the lights were already on proved that the crewman must have come this way. but the corridor up there was empty going both ways. There were carpets and fake wood paneling with numbered pocket doors at regular intervals. Passenger accommodations.

Luke walked to the first intersection which was already lighted. More staterooms down there. Once he was sure there wasn't somebody waiting to ambush them he tapped his comm badge. "It's clear," he said. "Come on up."

Solari was the first one up. "Staterooms will have privacy locks on them," she said thinking out loud. "But we don't know where the keys are kept. So Swanson couldn't have gone into one of the rooms."

"That's true," Luke agreed. "We'll follow his path by going where the autosystems have already turned on the lights." He led the way down and around the corner and nearly jumped out of his skin because Swanson was standing right there about to walk into him.

"Pollux!" Luke swore. "Don't DO that Swanson! What's the matter with you?"

"Sorry, captain," the security man said shakily. "I was just... well you've got to see this, sir." He was holding a long white object in his hand.

Luke holstered his phaser and took it from him. It was a bone, picked clean. An arm bone by the look of it. "Where did you find this?" he asked.

Swanson pointed over his shoulder towards the midships passenger lounge. He looked a little green. "If you don't mind, sir... I'd just as soon not go in there again."

Luke frowned and went to the door closely followed by Lt. Solari. When he got there and looked inside his stomach turned over. Beside him Solari whispered, "Santa Maria!" and covered her mouth with her hand.

The room was full of bones! Skulls, arm bones, leg boanes, ribs... some of them clad in clothing, most of them just piled loose. All of them picked clean. LUke estimated a hundred or more before he gave up counting.

"What is it?" Lt. Piccard said trying to elbow him aside to get a good look. He did get one then he turned around and threw up.

[Luke]

4. Chief Engineer Miguel Delgado was sitting in the command chair of the Thermopylae scratching the stubble on his chin.

"Meteoroid ahead, Mr. Delgado!" Ensign Perry said suddenly. "The Empress is making another random course correction... two degrees to port." He checked his calculations in the navigation tank. "That puts her on a dead-on heading for the Kastria 641 nebula."

"Is this a good thing?" Delgado asked. He was an engineer! What did he know about nebulae?

"Kastria N641 is full of trilithium microcrystals!" Perry said as his voice rose sharply. "Our shields will protect us but the Empress doesn't have any!"

"Won't the automatic pilot detect the nebula and avoid it?"

"The outer layers are so diffuse it probably wouldn't detect the danger until it was too late. I calculate two hours until they hit."

Delgado turned to tactical. "Gunner, get me the captain," he said.

***

"I understand, Miguel," Luke said when he heard the news. "We're headed for the bridge now. This ship is running low on power. Be ready to initiate a power transfer when we ask for it."

"Will do, captain," the chief engineer answered.

Luke clicked off his comm badge and just then there was a cry from the rear of the party where crewman Jacobs was. He pushed past Solari and Piccard and found her phaser lying there in the middle of the corridor. Jacobs herself was missing. A trail of blood led down a leg of the corridor where none of them had been and so the lights were still off. Luke could hear a clicking sound coming from the pitch dark hallway.

He stepped forward triggering the autosystem. The lights in the corridor came on and there was the security woman lying on her back. He could only see her legs sticking out because hunched over her were three ugly brownish insect things each about the size of a skinny man. Shiny wing cases hung down their backs like cloaks. They each had six bony legs and the front pairs were equipped with ridged appendages that looked like meat cleavers!

"Edei!" Luke shouted in disgust. One of the insects rose up to full height clicking its mandibles angrily. Luke got the impression it was more alarmed by the light than by him. He shot it with Jacobs phaser. It had been set to heavy stun and the beam blew the creature backwards. The other two sprang back and by that time Swanson was beside him opening fire too.

Solari dropped to her knees beside Jacobs. "She's alive!" she said pulling out the first aid kit she carried. Jacobs had been slashed in several places. Solari gave her a painkiller and stitched up some of the worst cuts.

clicking sounds were coming from all around them. More giant insects were squeezing out of the ventilation ducts. "Fall back to the gangway!" Luke said. "Go up to the next level!"

Jacobs had a cut tendon in her leg and couldn't run very fast. Solari had to help her up the narrow gangway. LUke and Swanson stood holding the rear as long as they could and then made a dash for it. Up on the next level Piccard pulled out a tricorder into which he had downloaded the deck plans of the Empress. "The bridge should be that way," he said pointing. "One corridor over."

The five of them made it to the bridge. Swanson stood guard at the door while Luke and Piccard helped Jacobs to a chair. Solari slid into the pilot's seat. The view screen came on showing the nebula in front of them. "Bad news, captain," she said. "The engine status board says power levels are critical. We don't have enough for another course change."

Luke hit his comm badge. "Caeli to Thermopylae. We need that power transfer now, Miguel!"

"On its way, captain," the engineer said. A blue beam flashed from the Thermopylae's deflector dish into the Empress engine section, then went out.

Solari pressed controls on the panel and shook her head. "It's not coming through captain. Somebody has to go down to Engineering and switch circuits to accept the transfer."

Luke thought about it. "Miguel, can you beam us out?"

"No can do," Delgado said. "We read your communications but there's too much data attenuation to trust the transporters."

"Ok then," Luke said. "Swanson and me. The rest of you hold out here." He didn't like splitting up but they had to move fast and with her game leg Jacobs would never keep up.

Solari looked like she wanted to argue but she just nodded and said, "Aye-aye, sir." She realized that once power was restored someone had to pilot the ship and she was the best person for that job.

"Captain," Piccard said a little bit shakily, "you should set your phasers on Heat. It will be more effective against mega-insectoids than the Kill setting. Respiration is their weakest point. A ship of this age might have canisters of tetralubisol. It was a common cleaning agent at the time. In gaseous form it would be most effective."

"Thank you, lieutnenant," Luke said as he made the adjustment to his phaser. "Don't worry. We'll be all right."

[Luke]

5. Lt. Solari fiddled with the helm controls of the Empress of Rigel, trying to make the most of what little power she had left. While she was doing that Picczrd was working on rerouting power from unused decks. The air was really starting to taste stale now.

They could hear clattering sounds inside the walls. "Incoming!" Jacobs warned, just as a ventilation grid in the rear of the bridge crashed inward. One of the insectoids was trying to force his way through, but she fired her phaser and it backed off. Solari vaulted over the nav console and pushed the grid back in place, holding it there by the weight of her body. Piccard was right beside her while the creatures clawed at them with those sharp pincers.

***

Luke and Swanson raced down the corridor following the directions Piccard had mapped out for them. Right, then straight through the navigation and computer records sections, then a jag to the left to avoid the tangle of maintenance shops. Past the crew quarters they took a gangway down to the next level.

Suddenly clicking noises broke out all around them. Half a dozen insectoids appeared ahead of them. Luke took aim and fired. The heat beam tore through the first one making its body explode in an icky mess. But the creatures kept coming.

"Back the other way!" Luke ordered but another group was closing in behind them. He did the only thing he could and went through a pocket door to his right pulling Swanson behind him.

The room turned out to be the ship's movie theater! "Stercus!" Luke cursed. The very last place he wanted to be was a huge room where the insects could come at them from all sides!

Just then the lights flickered and went completely OUT! In pitch darkness the insects swarmed over them. Luke pressed his back against Swansons so they wouldn't accidentally shoot one another and kept firing. Pretty soon his uniform was torn all over and he was bleeding from a dozen cuts from their jagged appendages. The air was so stuffy it was wonder he could breathe at all. At some point he could no longer hear Swanson behind him. Something tore his phaser out of his hand but using his fists he fought his way clear, found the door, and staggered out into the hallway.

Only one in four light panels was lit now and that one only dimly. Luke could barely see. Swanson was leaning against the wall looking even worse than he did. "Phaser... almost out, sir," he said gasping in the stagnant air.

Not too far ahead was another gangway leading down. Luke helped the security man to stand and they both kind of slid down the ladder hardly touching the rungs at all. It was just as dark down here. They could hear the ominous clicking all around them coming closer.

Luke squinted in the dark at the sign next to him... Shuttlecraft Bay! He pushed Swanson through the door hearing the creatures hot on their tracks. This was also a big room but Luke and Swanson kept flat against the wall. The clicking grew louder and louder as about twenty of the creatures slowly moved in on them.

Swanson's leg suddenly buckled. Luke hoisted him up and tried to carry him further until they bumped against a maintenance locker. The clicking got louder. Luke eased open the locker door and felt around inside. He found a lightweight metal container, about two gallons it felt like. He read the label then set it down on the deck and let it roll toward their pursuers.

The insectoids stopped and felt around the container. Was it something to eat?

"Wait for it...NOW!" Luke said. Swanson fired his phaser at the container. It exploded, shooting milky droplets of tetralubisol all over the place.

The insectoids went crazy clicking and clacking as the stuff hit them and closed up their breathing tubes. Luke held his breath and dove on top of Swanson balling up to protect them both from being slashed by accident as the creatures thrashed about in their agony. But pretty soon they fell to the floor gasping and twitching. The ones that didn't get splattered ran away.

"That's one we owe Lt. Piccard," Luke said grinning. He helped Swanson to stand up and they both supported each other as they staggered to the Engineering room. It didn't take long to switch circuits so that the engines could accept the power transfer. Right away all the lights all came on, shining brightly and pushing back the shadows. The ventilation ducts hummed as the life support came back on a full strength.

***

"Captain's log, Stardate 60356.2... The Empress of Rigel's engines have reenergized enough to maneuver and is no longer in danger. The Away Team returned to the Thermopylae safe and sound. We are now under way for Starbase 122 with the Empress under remote helm override."

Luke finished the log entry and noticed Lt. Piccard waiting to speak with him. "I have been going over the Empress logs, captain," the science officer said. "It seems that while they were in the Tajarhi system, their warp drive malfunctioned."

"They ran into the Tajarhi Pulsar?" Lt. Solari said, looking up from Ops where she was sitting. It was a well known navigation hazard, at least it was nowadays.

"Exactly. It opened an unstable wormhole and sent them into uncharted space. They ran across an alein ship that was disabled and that's when the insectoids boarded. The ship has been drifting around the edge of the galaxy ever since, running on automatic."

"Back up a bit," Solari said. "The insects were intelligent? Couldn't they have tried talking to us?"

"Not very likely," the science officer said. "Insectoids typically have very short lifespans. A small group stranded on the Empress for a hundred years, they likely reverted to barbarism."

Luke rubbed at one of his deeper cuts which Dr. Khalil had sutured up. "Plus the replicators would have run out of raw material years ago. The only thing they had to eat was US!"

"That is true, captain," Piccard said. "The museum on New Paris will be glad to have the Empress of Rigel to add to its collection!"

"One more mystery of the galaxy solved!" Solari said turning to face front again. "All in a day's work!"

*THE END*

[Atoz 77]

Good story! I like the dynamic between you and Solari. That's something you should work on more in your next story (as long as Jenna doesn't get jealous!).

I also wanted to ask about "Edei!", mainly how you pronounce it.

[Luke]

I'll take any advice I can get, admiral. Edei is pronounced eh-DAY-ee, roughly translats to "by god" in Standard. Like you Earthers on Romana Magna we use names of gods as expletives. the most popular being Castor and Pollux.

[Atoz 77]

Nice to know. I'm not even going to ask what "stercus" means because I have a pretty shrewd idea.