Age of Lies (Original Version)

Prologue

February 22nd 2695

The dim blue light given off by the computer screens lit the face of a man in a wrinkled uniform who sat in the chair behind the console. He smoked a cigarette as he read through the reports on the screen leisurely until a slight swish alerted him to the door opening. Another man walked in with a clean pressed uniform and stood on the raised platform behind the first man. He looked out the window before him and into the night before speaking.

"Good evening Ric. Any news for me today?"

The first man leaned back in his chair taking the cigarette out of his mouth, "I've spotted two light John & Stu Mercantile ships pass through and about sixteen or so civilian craft over the past eight hours. Other than that? We have roughly five minutes till the next set of probes comes back from deep space."

"That's about all that ever happens here thankfully" said the second man. He sat down at his station on the platform and browsed some data.

Ric rubbed his face with a hand and sighed before looking back into space, "Ever wish something happened out here? Like pirates, distress beacons . . . ghost ships?"

"Pft. You know I like the easy life with stable pay. Besides ghost ships don't exist and even if they did we'd never see one." The man chuckled lightly and reviewed the data from the last hour.

The first man sat up causing the cigarette smoke to swirl slowly, "Probes are back and docking. Data will be loaded in just a minute." Ric browsed the data then his brow furrowed. He sat up and leaned forward to look at the screen with his cigarette back in his mouth.

The second man noticed this, "Hey Ric? Something wrong with one of the drones again?"

Ric shook his head, "No but they detected an anomaly out there. I'm trying to clear the data up." The second man got up and walked up to Ric and peered over his shoulder. Ric sorted the data, "I'm detecting energy and metallic readings off of this. Maybe something man made? Hey maybe it is pirates? Or a ship in distress?"

Suddenly the room lit up as an anomaly opened near the station causing the collision alarms to sound. A moment later a large object passed the window where the two men stared out with slacked jaws. By the time the cigarette reached the floor the object had passed and disappeared into another anomaly leaving the two men speechless.

The second man stared wide eyed at the windows, "Was that a ship we just saw? I've never seen anything like that."

Ric leaned back into his seat, "I think that was a ghost ship. No. That was THE ghost ship. The white ghost that no one has ever caught."

The gentle smell of spring showers of his hometown flowed over the young man as he lay on his back watching the heavy clouds pass slowly in the blue sky above him. The night approached quickly as did a growing sense of unease. The night brought the man a full sky of shinning stars that shimmered as his eyes wondered among them. Suddenly dark clouds moved into view, sparking with unseen red and yellow flashes. As the man rose to his feet a series of throbs could be felt through the ground and the air. A coldness settled on his skin raising goosebumps as the throbs waxed and waned. Much too quickly the sky grew pitch black. The scene was highlighted by red, yellow and blue flashes which appeared as the darkness began to swallow the man as he stumbled along a metal floor. The sweet smell of rain was replaced by the smell of oil, metal and sweat as the throbs grew stronger and the sound of distant screams and metallic screeching rattled his now ringing ears. Out of the dark swirling smoke that lay around him, shadows moved as if he was being hunted. The man slumped to his knees and fell to his back as his now weak body betrayed his will to move. The air rapidly chilled as the man lay on his back making him black out for a second. One of the shadows at the edge of his frosted vision moved towards him, blurred and buried in smoke, its features were hidden from him. As the shape drew close the young man thought he recognized the figure and called out in a weak dry voice, "Markus." The figure moved as if in slow motion but was eventually kneeling beside him. Frosty blackness surrounded the man's vision as the darkness tried to cover the light. Moments later the young man's vision turned black as night. His last view was of a stranger whom he had never met.