Session 1 - Ghost Ship Report

General Summary

    The four crew sat in awkward silence on the borrowed Hauler, lost in their own thoughts and wondering what they had done in their lives to find themselves in this situation, alone with strangers on an unpleasantly smelling 'crate' heading towards....who knows what?   The Hauler had very little in the way of luxuries. It seemed that anything good or valuable had long ago been removed or perhaps stolen? The seats were also dirty and stained, the seat-cushioning lumpy and well past its best. A grubby and faded medical symbol indicated the only remaining fixture, a translucent, grubby, plastic box. Probably left behind because it was worthless but Cornelius Bastible, a man of science, examined the faded box to relieve the boredom as much as anything finding an old but serviceable first-aid kit which he claimed. The cramped and claustrophobic cabin area certainly smelt odd he thought, a strange smell that was hard to identify but put Cornelius in mind of cabbage or some other vegetable of the Brassicaceae family.     As the Teamster, Kane, steered the old ship out the hangar he noticed an unusual and slightly disconcerting tone to the engine. He had not long had his license and was struggling to find work. He wondered to himself whether the Hauler would actually make it to AB5. Oh well, anything for a few credits and he sure needed them....   Cooper, a newly graduated marine, sat alone checking his weapons, more out of habit than any sense of impending danger. Well, it certainly relived the boredom at least and distracted from the strange smell and other crew members. He was not much of a talker and also not used to be amongst 'civvies' having spent much of his young, adult life in military study and training.   The android Joseph, stared at a computer screen. The computer system on the hauler, much like the rest of it, was hardly new or state-of-the-art. The dirty and flickery VDU was slowly streaming information about AB5 and shipping traffic around the system, the pale green light illuminating Joseph's pale and passive features. Concentrating as he was, he failed to notice Cornelius watching him curiously.   As the laborious and uneventful journey wore on, the crew members spoke a liittle but quickly found out that they had little in common. Eventually the came with the local system of AB5 and neared the coordinates. The hauler's basic scanner told them very little beyond confirming that it was indeed a vessel of some kind. Intriugingly, the on-board computer reported that the vessel was transmitting on a frequency not used in over 100 years. They continued on towards the mysterious ship slowly and with some trepidation...   As they came within visual range they saw a rectangular ship sillouetted against the dull glow of the gas giant's roiling clouds. Slowing to approach speed they moved in to get a better look at the vessel. Carefully circling the sleeping giant the insignia came into view, ISV SOMNUS. 'The Somnus' was an Imperial research vessel which went missing about a hundred years ago. The nature of it's research is still unknown. You each know the name however and have heard rumours about the legendary ship, some remembering tales told to them by parents as a child of the fateful vessel. The scanner now gave a little more detail about the ship indicating a breathable atmosphere and power but scans were erratic and it was hard to trust the readouts beyond that.     It quickly became clear to the crew that the only way to find out further detail was to board and explore the Somnus.   Kane engaged the docking umbilical and carefully moved the hauler closer to the Somnus. The crew held their breath as they drifted closer, the occasional burst from the retro boosters and faint ambient noises from instruments the only sounds. As the umbilical moved closer to the seemingly dead ship it almost felt as though the Somnus was lying in wait, the crew could not help but think the worse. Persistent memories of rim-wise tales about monsters, ghosts and ghost ships in deep space kept rising to the surface.... The umbilical connected with a solid, metallic thump, echoes rang eerily through the hauler and lights on the instrument panel indicated a good connection. Kane breathed a sigh of relief...   Cooper was on his feet with weapons loaded and heading towards the airlock before Kane could complete power down.   The crew waited for pressure to normalise between the two craft and prepared to face the unknown with both fear and excitement. Beyond could be more wealth than they could imagine but also danger. Kane's bioscanner like the onboard Sensors, gave erratic readings. Random blips and shadows danced across the instrument's display. One moment he could swear there were life signs and then...they were gone. Scanners did however indicate that it was well-below freezing on board. All were ready and Cooper pressed the door release revealing a airlock leading into a dark corridor door, the light from suit headlamps throwing odd shadows across the unfamiliar surroundings.     There was indeed gravity and power on the Somnus and the crew could feel the ship thrumming expectantly beneath their feet. Cooper adjusted the grip on his SMG and took his first steps onto the waiting ship.   Moving forward cautiously and quietly the crew came upon a T-junction with doors to left and right. To the right the Science Bay and to the left Medical. They took the right turn and found a closed and seemingly locked door. Above the door a small CCTV camera looked down on the corridor and a red light showed that it had power. Gazing through the small viewing hatch revealed a disturbing sight. A glowing, blue female figure floated throughout the room, moving from desk, to terminal, to desk as though going about her daily work. The door was forced open and Cornelius moved cautiously into the room. The curious scientist attempted to make contact with the apparition and this seemed to have an immediate effect, the figure turned and floated towards him. Unfortunately Cornelius' courage failed him at this point and he withdrew from the Science Lab rapidly! Kane, coming in behind him, was not aware of events and the figure redirected its path towards him. As Kane turned his confused gaze from the fleeing Cornelius he had no time to react as the figure closed and then merged with him. However, it became clear quckly that the ghost was not hostile and through Kane's voice she spoke to the crew:  

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