Admiral's Ghost

by NB VanYoos

  Admiral’s Luck

  Tyler understood Thosolan’s message and was determined to find a new life. He knew going back was not a viable answer. Rather, he had to move forward, discover new worlds and new relationships. Searching in one of Thosolan’s galaxies seemed a logical first step. He left the fiery star behind and searched for systems promising life. This time, however, he was determined to find intelligent life, not just glowing orbs of light.

  Like before, he began searching from a point in the galactic rim, working his way counterclockwise, inevitably towards the central core. His search brought him through millions of unique systems filled with varied life forms, but none intelligent. He maintained patience and continued searching.

  As he spiraled further inward, he came upon a system with two Earth-like planets. Each contained the telltale white and blue of oceans and clouds, but the planet furthest from the sun contained large areas of brown, indicating a drier climate. Tyler was hopeful and focused his attention to the planet closer to the sun. With the larger bodies of water, he figured he was more likely to find life.

  He came out above the planet prepared to move to the surface when sparks of light around one of the two moons drew his attention. He focused on the distant objects, but could not determine what they were. Perhaps it was an astronomical phenomenon related to the moon? He wasn’t certain, but decided to check it out before heading to the planet’s surface.

  He focused on the moon and made his transition. In orbit above the moon, hundreds of spaceships were engaged in an epic battle. Ships of all sizes darted in and out of the fray as the larger ships fired enormous pulses of light. From Tyler’s position, it reminded him of a swarm of angry bees after the hive was disturbed.

  One very large ship dominated the battle while smaller ships moved about it locked in combat. The smaller ships were protecting the large ship by firing pulses of light at the angry bees. Tyler watched, fascinated. He’d seen plenty of science fiction movies on Earth, but never had he ever believed he’d actually witness one.

  He’d found intelligent life, advanced even beyond Earth’s standards. He grew excited at the prospects of meeting such highly evolved beings. Despite the ongoing explosions and pulses of light, he was ready to face anyone capable of intelligent conversation.

  He continued to watch, noticing the battle was moving fast. Already, the larger ship had sustained heavy damage and was listing out of control. The aggressors were showing signs of extreme damage as many small, lifeless ships littered the battlefield. Tyler was disappointed to see the end of such a momentous battle.

  He was ready to return to the planet when an enormous explosion rocked the larger ship. The blast blew away a huge section of the side of the ship from the bottom all the way to its top. The gaping hole was littered with the twinkling starlight of debris spewing from the wound.

  The power of the blast pushed the ship closer toward the moon, and the ships inability to control its movement put it in peril as the moon’s gravity pulled it downward. Tyler watched amazed as the lights on the large ship flickered intermittently before plunging into darkness. The dark ship tumbled in slow motion, bleeding profusely as it began to fall towards certain death.

  Tyler was awestruck. The immense size and armaments of this ship made it seem impossible to defeat, but the swarm of bees had done their job. They’d disabled what must have been the flag ship of the fleet, although their success came at a high cost to themselves. Many of the smaller ships began pulling off from the battle and moved desperately toward their dying leader. Tyler thought the bigger ship had to be the command ship, like an aircraft carrier in the center of a fleet. He watched as it rolled slowly in a death spin that took it closer to the waiting moon.

  The small ships flew erratically around the flag ship, unable to get close because of the spin. They searched feverishly, looking for some way to dock to the large ship. Tyler felt like a distant observer waiting for the battle to end so he could report his observations. He’d never seen a real military battle except on television, but now he watched one in space.

  Wanting more, he transitioned above the large ship as it spun slowly below him. As it made another turn, Tyler saw the gaping hole come back into view. Nothing in or around the hole was alive, only debris from the explosion twinkled in the light of the moon below.

  Tyler wanted to see inside such a ship, assuming there was anything left to see. He transitioned to the top of the hole and kept moving to keep up with the ship as it rotated. Several smaller ships finally managed to land on it and fired their engines to slow its spin. Tyler hoped they’d succeed. His constant need to transition took its toll.

  As if in answer to his prayers, the spin slowed before stopping entirely. Tyler took advantage and transitioned to a point outside the blast hole. At that range, he could see shredded metal from the ships interior. Picking his path carefully, he made his way through the wreckage, searching for a passageway or opening to gain access. He knew somewhere toward the center of the ship, something had to remain.

  He saw a glimmer of dull light to the left and made his way toward it. A small light above a doorway glowed dimly, apparently a sort of emergency lighting. Tyler couldn’t open the door and wasn’t sure how to get past it. Without seeing what was on the other side, he assumed he would be unable to transition. Was transitioning based on sight? He was puzzled and frustrated. He was ready to try anything. He thought hard, picturing himself on the other side of the door. Slowly, he felt the familiar transition as everything blurred. It worked! He came out inside one of the ship’s wide passageways.

  All around the corridor, debris floated silently, bouncing off smooth walls. He made his way through the dim light, looking for anything that indicated life. Nothing. How far had he come? It seemed liked he’d been moving in a clockwise fashion, so he backtracked and decided to move through one of the interior doors.

  Once again, he made the transition and found himself inside a storage closet cluttered with floating material off the shelves. He didn’t recognize any of the debris and moved back into the hallway. He tried door after door, but most led to additional passageways or rooms in which no life, dead or alive, remained. Is this some sort of robot ship? Tyler was beginning to think so.

  He took another passageway leading further towards the inner part of the circle he’d been traveling. He came to a doorway on the right side of the corridor and decided to check once more. Making the transition, he entered a dimly lit room also littered with debris. Tyler surveyed the mess, trying to discern what the distant banks of panels and blinking lights represented. In front of the panel, Tyler spotted a large chair. From his current position, he couldn’t see if anyone was in it so he moved closer.

  If anyone was on the ship, he was curious to see what they looked like. Elephants? Tigers? Monkeys? He could only guess.

  He moved above the chair and looked down on a poor lifeless figure. The creature floated limp against the straps of their safety harness holding them to the chair. Tyler was surprised, it looked nearly human. Two arms, two legs, one head, and a little dark colored hair, made it appear human. Tyler looked closely at the face. The skin was very white, almost translucent, and there was no facial hair of any kind.

  The lack of a defined nose took away the human illusion. Instead, two small flaps centered on the face must have been the equivalent of a nose. The mouth was small, with thin blue lips that Tyler thought might not actually be the normal color. He guessed the poor creature had suffocated since no physical wounds were obvious.

  The creature’s hands were small with four fingers and a thumb. Despite looking human, the ends of the fingers bespoke something alien. Instead of human fingernails, this creature had three-pronged claws on each finger, except the thumb. The claws were not long, but Tyler guessed they could inflict serious damage. This feature gave the creature a decidedly animal look to it.

  The eyes were opened, but they didn’t seem real. They were completely black, large, and oval s
haped. Again, Tyler thought this could be caused by death. Without eyelashes and eyebrows, the face looked like the caricature a child might draw. He had to remind himself that most of the creatures he would encounter would not be human, although this one held similar characteristics.

  He searched the exterior of the body hoping to find an indication of whether it was male or female. He couldn’t tell from the featureless thin body in a white, single piece suit. As Tyler stared at the lifeless body, it began to shake violently as if in an earthquake. It startled Tyler and took him a moment to realize the ship was shaking. He wondered if another explosion had caused the quake or whether the smaller ships were trying something else in a frantic attempt to save it from the surface of the moon.

  Tyler left the dead body to continue his search for additional signs of habitation. Now that he knew there was life aboard, he knew there had to be more than just that one. Apparently the corridor had also lost its artificial gravity as Tyler came upon a lone figure floating lifeless through the passageway. The being looked similar to the one he’d found in the chair, so Tyler kept moving.

  The corridor ended at a set of large doors with red lights blinking above them. To the right of one door, Tyler could make out writing, but he couldn’t read any of it. Although the symbols were alien, he assumed it named what the room was.

  Taking the plunge, Tyler transitioned through the doors and into a very large, circular room with multiple levels. The ceiling of the room was forty feet overhead, and the walls rose up to meet it with multiple walkways and permanent seating stationed in front of banks of lights and screens. For the moment, the screens were mostly dead.

  In the center of the room, a large semicircular console dominated the surrounding chairs. In its center, one large chair stood empty. Tyler imagined it must have been the Captain’s chair. Although not familiar with ships of any kind, he believed he’d found the bridge. He based this on the large view screen occupying much of the far wall. The chairs and consoles faced the blank screen as if waiting for a show to begin. It reminded him of the bridge on a ship he’d watched on television as a kid.

  Throughout the room, tiny fires glowed from consoles burnt out from the massive power overload caused by the explosion. If there was fire, there was still an atmosphere. Everywhere Tyler looked, bodies lay lifeless. Most remained strapped to their chairs or hovered nearby, just above the floor.

  The scene was disturbing as many of the bodies had large wounds from the debris or violent shaking during the explosion. It would explain why some of the chairs were ripped from their flooring, bodies still in them. Everywhere Tyler looked, globes of red blood, at least Tyler thought it was blood, flew about the room like ominous marbles. Occasionally, one would stain a creature’s white uniform. If Tyler was in a real body, he was certain he’d have been sick.

  He was ready to leave when movement caught his eye. One of the bodies floating near him had moved. He watched as it jerked uncontrollably. He moved closer, curious to see if it was still alive. As he neared, he could make out its face. The eyes were closed and the mouth gaped open, looking more dead than alive. The body jerked once more, this time violently, bringing it closer to Tyler.

  He watched it as it stopped convulsing and glowed slightly. Tyler was fascinated by the smoke or cloud that emanated from the creature. The ethereal essence spread through the room, dissipating. Tyler wasn’t certain what it was, but he had a suspicion. As if proving his point, he felt a strong pull towards the body. Like the glowing orbs, he was sucked into the body of this dying creature.

  Tyler had realized too late the glowing cloud hadn’t been smoke, but the spirit of the creature leaving its body in death. Just like the glowing orbs, Tyler was trapped inside the dying body. As he entered, he felt enormous pain ripping him from consciousness. The body convulsed without control, and though he desperately tried to open the eyes, he could only make out blurry, incoherent images. Struggling to stay conscious, he urged the body to die again, releasing him from its grasp.

  The sounds of a siren or something like it rang in his ears, but through the haze, he couldn’t tell if the sound was outside or inside his head. As the last remnants of consciousness fell aside, he thought he heard voices. Unfortunately, all he cared about was the receding pain as he descended into the cool, peaceful blackness.