Volume 8 – Year 23
Every year, as the celebrated Cycle Change nears, things can get a touch of weird throughout the known galaxy. Some sentients will decorate their ships to honor of those who have passed on from this life And there are even backwards parts of the galaxy where children dress up like creatures and stalk elderly individuals until they give them credits or treats to leave them be.
Some of the backward habits spilled into the Galactic News Network recently. Apparently there were some strange rumors circulating about some blood thirsty ghost appearing inside of traveling ships. An expert, a Zabrak occultist, claimed during an interview on the GNS that during the next 2 weeks we can expect an increase in paranormal activity. The reporter did not recommend these rumors to be taken seriously but if one was to encounter some paranormal activity, one was encouraged to seek out a veteran ghost catcher.
At CIS Gossip, there is no story too odd for us to not look into. A representative from CIS Gossip was able to identify such a veteran and proceded to try to interview them. Located on Abregado Station in Tar Morden, a weary Sullustan pilot was happy to relay his experience when it came to phantoms. He agreed to an interview. Please see the attached holovid for the full story:
The Video opens to a still camera focused on the Sullustan. He was sitting on the floor, against the wall, with tools spread around his lap. A voice from behind the camera asked him to continue.
“It was perhaps 30 years ago when I first laid my eyes on a spook.” He started, between a puff on a pipe almost as old as he was. “T’was on one of my first long hauls, ona cargo vessel hauling between the core and mid rim. We were traveling through hyperspace when out of nowhere, there it was.”
He paused for a minute, figuring with the technology he was repairing in his lay. Without looking up, he continued, “I could not believe my eyes at first. T’was just floating there. I panicked, and the captain and I ran but no matter which corner we turned, the soil was right there waiting for us. This happened several times when suddenly, the spook screeched so loudly I thought the ship would collapse on itself.”
The old space traveler looked up at the representative at that point, with an odd look in his dark eyes. “I fell to the floor at that point and passed out. I will never forget that feeling, like I was frozen, it was. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in real space next to a pool of blood and severed arm. I have vowed that if I ever saw one of these spooks again, I’d make it regret that day ever crossed paths with me.”
It was at that point that the old traveler offered the representative behind the camera a crude box, one of many he was working on. The representative laughed it off and ended the interview.
The video cuts out, but then starts again soon after. The video is now shaky, and shows the inside of a ship passing by quickly. Out of breath, there is a panic voiced mumbling behind the camera. The camera quickly shifts, bringing the representative into view. The human’s face is filled with panic, eyes dilated, skin moist. He starts to explain, with great difficulty, how he had left the trade station and found himself face to face with something on his ship. As he speaks, in the background, a gaunt ethereal being floats above the surface of the floor behind him. Its hair is wispy and white, its talons sharp. It doesn’t move or make a sound.
The representative notices something, and turns to see the apparition. The camera suddenly falls to the ground, and all that can be seen is the feet of the human. There is a scream, as the feet lift off the ground and suddenly disappear with a loud thud in the distance. There is then silence and the video cuts out.