There's a burst of flame and flash of light
There on the tide is a frightening sight
As the tall ship in flames lights up the sky
It's been one of my favourite songs, and I finally found a suitable stone for it. A burning ghost ship on jasper, will be a brooch in a classical metal cast I think
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The interplanetary vessel was small and simplistic compared to those intended to jump between solar systems. It made the journey strangely restful, even the control room was quiet, without even a single beep from the radar.
Until it wasn't.
“SAFETY ASSESMENT: YELLOW”
The navigator scrambled upright in their chair as the captain slammed the alert button on her console. “What—”
“SAFETY ASSESMENT: ORANGE”
“Status report,” the captain demanded, tapping the ship’s security system to no avail. “What’s going on, Ship?”
“SAFETY ASSESMENT: ORANGE”
Beside them the radar gave a sudden beep.
“What in the depths is that?” the navigator snapped, staring at the monitor.
The captain had swivelled in her chair, checking the ship’s security monitor by force of habit before shifting her focus to the report produced by the radar. She froze. “That’s a ship.”
“It can’t be! There isn’t a single flight scheduled here, and any emergency travel would have signalled ahead.”
“Well, that’s the signature of a medium sized interplanetary vessel,” the captain bit back. “And I’m getting no—”
“CALCULATING COURSE CORRECTION”
The ship jerked and several warning lights gave a startled flash as the navigator let out a cry of surprise and reached for the manual override.
“Leave it!” the captain ordered.
“It’s trying to change our course!”
“Let it!”
The navigator stood by, staring in bewilderment as the captain pulled up the ship’s new route on the main monitor. It was only a slight correction, a minute diversion. Away from the unidentified object still pinging on their radar, that seemed almost to be taking a parallel course.
“They say there was a crew that had to evacuate and abandon their transport on a journey like this, some fifty years ago,” the captain said suddenly. “Their ship got caught in the debris around Utein’s libration point."
The navigator bristled. “We’re well out of the way of L4! There’s no chance—”
“I’m sure they thought so too.”
The navigator gaped at the captain, who was sitting with her hands resting beside the controls, letting the ship’s autopilot do as it pleased. It had sped up, and seemed to be signalling into empty space.
“You’re not seriously suggesting we’re dealing with a ghost ship,” they protested, angrily tapping another button. “None of my instruments are picking up anything.”
Around them the pressure of acceleration waned again, their ship once more confident in its course.
“COURSE CORRECTED”
“Well,” the captain said mildly, looking at the vast expanse of space before her. “Whatever it was, I don’t think it was meant for us.”
On the radar, with a last, faint blip, the unidentified vessel disappeared.
“SAFETY ASSESSMENT: GREEN”
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