Expansion Space Frontier. Forward Onto Dawn.

[Officer Viola]

Admiral Viola stood on the deck of the Victoria looking out into the dark abyss of space, twirling the green capped pen around in her fingers as below her ship tug ships hauled massive chunks of space stations and ship productions into place. She shuddered a little to herself at how they were only getting closer to unknown space. She had heard the stories. Monsters out here on the edge of space.


She was stuck out here guarding them with the small fleet she had been sent with. It would have been better if she hadn’t stayed up all night listening to an audio story. Twenty five leagues in nowhere itself was a master class of horror stories she shouldn’t have listened to. She gave herself a silent condemnation of her past confidence in not being scared by horror stories.


The more narrow hallways of the Victoria freaked her out now largely because she expected some crazy, delusional ai to be around the corner or perhaps even some monster. Whatever horrid looking thing that could pop out from a corner or some nook and grab her leg. She shuddered a little just thinking about it. She was very quite afraid and highly regretted it.

 

[Officer Viola]

Viola watched the construction of the large cloning space station under construction, the lights of her carrier coating the top of the space station in a soft yellow light. It was easier to work in but it was also the perfect lighting for a horror film. Magnus had taken the grueling liberty of exploiting her current weakness with a sharp salute and a greeting. It was a peculiar thing that he somehow managed to be formal and respectful while also being able to make jokes and mess with her.


She didn’t mind his presence though. She paced around on the deck of the Victoria contemplating this and that as she gave Magnus control of the deck, disembarking to her quarters in the ship. As soon as she got into her quarters she collapsed onto the bed and resumed listening to the holobook. She knew she probably shouldn’t attempt to finish it but the author was an exemplary writer that just kept her hooked.


Viola watched the hologram as it told her the story out loud, the crew of the Zal-Kataar ending up on a mysterious unknown planet that wasn’t in any records. The crew who landed on the planet were served like kings by the local residents and consumed an odd looking fruit.

 

[Officer Viola]

Meanwhile, aboard the station three soldiers walked through the vacant halls of one of the recently finished facilities empty of people. Screenings of the movie “To Die Another Day” were being hosted in the theatre on the other half of the station for the entire construction crew in celebration of completed construction. Zalir, Cutter, and Vincia had regrettably been put on station patrol shift. It was much to their dismay but orders were orders in the end. Command wouldn’t care if it got spoiled for them anyway. Zalir was a bit unnerved at the moment due to how empty the hallways were despite the lights and everything being on.


The lights flickered and blinked as the three soldiers moved down the hallway nervously. They raised their blasters as the lights weren’t supposed to do that. The three systems of power generators supposedly insured that. Vincia called in the strange occurrence only to be told that no power shortage, however brief, had been detected in the computer system.


“Station command says they are brain dead like usual, cookie eating fatties they are.” Vincia spoke bluntly. They all advanced slower down the hallway finding a dark room. Vincia sent her helmet’s camera footage to the station command and got a null response. Apparently, according to systems, the room was receiving and using normal electric power.


They spun to the side as they heard the thump of a pair of boots, watching as a figure clad in something that looked like clone trooper armor stepped out into the intersection.

 

[Officer Viola]

The trooper wore clone armor but it looked odd, incorrect. The entire thing looked weird and then it clicked why it looked odd for Zalir. He backed up slowly.


“It’s armor is shaped like that of the ashen soldiers of Zulir. Looks like it’s from the reign of Zuda-bai. The entire set looks pressurized as well.” Zalir spoke as he eyed the figure standing thirty feet in front of them. His voice was a mix between awe and fright.


“That’s great to know. Any other very specific spot of history information you got for us.” Vincia asked as the very real looking apparition turned its head. Blood was smeared over the left side of it though the helmet didn’t look destroyed. Zalir spotted the lightsaber strapped to the ghosts' side and the shield strapped to its back.


“I think it’s a Zulir crusader. We have only a record that barely mentions them going back up into space. It spoke negatively about their mission. Some scholars spoke about there mission to find the remnants of a ship from the eternal fleet.”


“This must be the best day of your life.” Cutter spoke dryly. Zulir laughed dryly as the weird ghost thing slowly approached them.


“I’m currently really scared at the moment. I’ll think it’s cool later.” Zulir stated as they slowly backed away from the ghost.

 

[Officer Viola]

Zulir stopped backing up as he heard two new pairs of boots thump against the ground behind them and they spun around to find two blood covered figures. The two new ghosts wore the same grayish white armor and ignited their lightsabers. The two lightsabers glowed red. Vincia, Zalir, and Cutter felt it in there souls that the kyber crystals of the two red lightsabers had been bled and they bolted for an open door.


They hid in the cover of the room watching as the three ghosts started fighting, the lights of the lightsabers flashing and lighting up the wall of the room the three friends hid in. Zalir’s fear had been replaced with awe and he quickly started recording the fight scene.


“I can’t believe you are finding this cool. We are quite literally stuck in the middle of a lightsaber battle with three force ghosts that probably can’t understand a word we say and you're excited.” Vincia spoke in disbelief as she shot Zalir a look of disappointment.


“It’s not everyday you get to see two force ghosts who bled there lightsaber battle a person who didn’t. Don’t you find it cool?” Zalir asked as he kept watching the one force user with his green lightsaber hold his ground.


“No. I don’t find it cool. The sooner this whole ordeal is done the better it will be for us.” Vincia spoke as she hid behind the wall silently clutching her blaster.

 

[Officer Viola]

The three force ghosts fought hard in the hallway as Zalir watched from the inside of the room nervously recording the fight scene. He even started adding his own sound effects to the lightsaber battle. Eventually, the sound of boots thudding against the ground could be heard as reinforcements were coming to arrive.


The ghosts faded before four troopers arrived with their blasters raised. They weren’t force ghosts and Vincia stepped out first and hugged one of the troopers quickly before pulling back and pulling a quick salute. Cutter and Zalir followed quickly. The three were escorted to Admiral Viola’s room as the recordings on there helmets were reviewed.


The force ghosts were visible on the recordings. The three friends stood at attention as Admiral Viola watched the hologram, pacing around it. She moved stiffly putting all three on edge.


“It appears that you two did see force ghosts. Why is still unknown though we do believe that their ship may be around here. We don’t know where it is so we’ll be sending you three out in a shuttle to look for their frigate and possibly let these force ghosts have peace.” Viola spoke monotonously before dismissing them. Zalir resisted the urge to jump up and down excitedly, Vincia wrapping her arm around his neck.

 

[Officer Viola]

“Why couldn’t you just keep your mouth shut. You know we wouldn’t have been sent out of here if you hadn’t recorded the whole event. We could’ve just lied about ever seeing those force ghosts. Now we are stuck out here in the middle of nowhere searching for some old spaceship probably packed to the brim with those force ghosts.” Vincia stated. She was angry and scared at the same time and didn’t really blame it on Zalir.


“It’ll be fine. We have similar armor to them. We have blasters. Plus, we received tutoring so we can speak an old language similar to the language these force ghosts can.” Zalir reassured with a wide smile.


“We received half an hour of that tutoring. We only have blasters. If we arrive aboard that old ship they’ll be alarmed that we Zakuulians can’t use the force. Not only that but we can’t pass ourselves off as civilians because what kind of farmer goes up into space.” Vincia spoke as her feet began tapping nervously. Zalir shrugged it off.


“Cutter. What is your opinion of this? Do you agree with our scaredy cat Vincia.” Zalir spoke with a raised eyebrow.


“I am just very happy to be a part of a group. We may all very all die but I am very glad to be with you two. Your company also helps me evade the current plague of thoughts that are currently filling my head. I find your moronic chatter distracts my train of thought about if these ancient force users are stuck in a perpetual battle against each other then what fate is someone as small and insignificant as me condemned to when my mortal body expires.” Cutter spoke bluntly as he continued working without faltering.

 

[Officer Viola]

The three flew through the dark pits of space in their shuttle scanning for anything in that sector of space. They scanned every little piece of meteor and floating rock as they passed through space peacefully. Vincia grumbled in annoyance as she took off her helmet and sat it on the console and ran her hands through her short black hair.


Just my luck as well, I suppose. Missing out on another chance of watching that movie. Now I’ll get nothing but spoilers from everyone and I’ll have to avoid them for even longer. Zaria Cutter has a role in the movie as well. Do you know how long that’s been for her?” Vincia complained. Zalir paused as he had no idea who she was.


“The old chick who played Madam Mulir in The One Road. I think she’s in her eighties now.” Cutter spoke with a shrug. Zalir nodded bluntly as he raised an eyebrow at them. Vincia rolled her eyes as she leaned back a little.


“She’s not just some old chick. Back in her youth she played Darth Veracia. She combined terrifying and oppressive and motherly and caring.” Vincia shared, gushing about her favorite actress in all of film. The other two guys shrugged as they probably would recognize the actress upon watching her in the film instead of by name. Either way, Vincia wasn’t particularly happy about the lack of knowledge about her favorite actress and swore she’d make them watch every movie she was in.

 

[Taria Musaniah.]

They had been out there for several days and hadn’t come across a single thing. No single clue or anything for that matter. They had been out in space without anything and Zalir and Vincia relaxed in the back of the shuttle minding their own business. Cutter discovered the old ship four hours in on his twentieth shift of navigator. The old ship was dead in the middle of an asteroid field out in the middle of space right on the edge of known space.


“I found our long gone ship.” Cutter called out to his friends who quickly rushed to the bridge. Zalir stared in awe of the old Zakuulian warship. The old thing was a small warship compared to the modern ships of the HGRE fleet. It was a rectangular warship with single ballistic cannons. The one hangar bay was still operable.


“Can we just say that it’s here but the hangar bays are completely destroyed?” Vincia complained as she already knew the answer from her suicidal male counterparts. Cutter smiled and piloted the shuttle into the hangar bay of the old spaceship.


“This is going to be very, very fun. Aren’t you excited.” Zalir spoke as he jumped up and down on the bridge of there shuttle. She shot him an annoyed look and frowned at his idea of fun.

 

[Officer Viola]

Zalir and Cutter stepped out of the shuttle and into the destroyed hangar with their blasters raised, the flashlights on the end of their blasters lighting up the interior of the hangar. Everything inside looked peachy with no sign of damage except for the turned over ruins of a fighter which had fallen from its hanger rack. Zalir recognized the fighter as an old I1 series space fighter. It was revolutionary when it was originally developed. It was a very outdated spacecraft now though.


“I wonder what happened out here. It looks like very minor damage that only occurred naturally.” Cutter spoke as he led the way Into the old warship. Zalir and Vincia followed him inside. They lit up the hallway and eyed the intact hallway. Vincia spotted the remains of one of the old knights. The bones had turned to nothing but dust while the only thing that remained was the bone right armor.


“Ok. We came. We saw. Let’s go back, please. I don’t need to see anything scarier.” Vincia spoke as fear plagued her voice. She gripped her blaster tighter as she cursed high command for wanting to expand this way.


“Scaredy cat. We still don’t know what happened here.” Zalir teased Vincia as Cutter and him ventured deeper into the old ship.