Space Gh0st: 1-3 Omnibus: SPACE GH0ST ADVENTURES

By Craig A. Price Jr.

When a strange radio signal is detected in deep space, the president needs his finest officers to check it out. Unfortunately, the closest vessel is a lowly asteroid miner staffed with a ragtag crew of misfits.

 

The leader of this crew is Captain Daniel, an "Unwanted." In the future, the rigors of space travel are reserved for two sets of people. Clones of the best and brightest officers, and the products of unplanned pregnancies. As one of the latter, Daniel is considered inferior to his peers and sees this exploratory mission as a chance to prove himself to the galaxy.

Full of tongue-in-cheek humor, "Space Gh0st" will have you chuckling and smiling as the crew of the ship attempts to answer one of humanity's biggest existential questions.

With comic dialogue and situations, "Ghost Probe" will appeal to fans of "The Orville", "Douglas Adams", "Galaxy Quest", and other sci-fi that doesn't take itself too seriously.

 

Get it Now

• Language: English
• Publisher: Claymore Publishing
• Release date: Jul 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201369170

Book preview

Space Gh0st: 1-3 Omnibus

Ghost Probe is a classic sci-fi adventure with an interesting twist. When a strange radio signal is detected in deep space, the president needs his finest officers to check it out. Unfortunately, the closest vessel is a lowly asteroid miner staffed with a ragtag crew of misfits.

---

The leader of this crew is Captain Daniel, an Unwanted. In Price's future, the rigors of space travel are reserved for two sets of people. Clones of the best and brightest officers, and the products of unplanned pregnancies. As one of the latter, Daniel is considered inferior to his peers and sees this exploratory mission as a chance to prove himself to the galaxy.

---

With comic dialogue and situations, Ghost Probe will appeal to fans of The Orville and other sci-fi that doesn't take itself too seriously."

MARCUS ALEXANDER HART, AUTHOR OF THE HUMOR SCI-FI NOVEL, GALAXY CRUISE

Price's book is a genius combination of Orville, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings. He provides useful hard science, artsy science fiction, and belly-laughing comedy in a fast fun read. It is a comedic, compelling read.

---

It is fast and funny!

---

I can't wait to read the rest of his Space Probe Adventure series.

ROGER C. BULL, AUTHOR OF SCI-FI NOVEL, UNCLE EDGAR

Full of tongue-in-cheek humor, Ghost Probe will have you chuckling and smiling as the crew of the ship attempts to answer one of humanity's biggest existential questions. You'll also be pulling for Captain Daniel's team of underdogs as they visit alien worlds and go where no Unwanted person has gone before.

WARREN WHITMIRE, AUTHOR OF PALE BLUE EYES

SPACE GH0ST: 1-3 OMNIBUS

DRAGONIA EMPIRE

CRAIG A. PRICE

Claymore Publishing

Space Gh0st © 2022 Craig A. Price Jr.

---

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Front Cover Design by Tallulah Lucy

Editing by Monique Johnson @ https://www.fiverr.com/moniquenjohnson

Published by Claymore Publishing

Paperback Cover by Claymore Publishing

Formatted by Craig A. Price Jr.

Vellum flower icon Created with Vellum

CONTENTS

Ghost Probe

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Ghost Surveillance

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Ghost Dragon

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Also by Craig A. Price

About the Author

GHOST PROBE

THE SPACE GHOST ADVENTURES VOLUME 1

Dedicated to Phillip Taylor, a brilliant, quality Mechanical Designer, and a good friend. You will be missed.

1

Captain Daniel leaned forward, hands clenched to the bars of his chair, bottom squeezed tight against his cushion, teeth clattering against each other. The ship, Galactic Hull 0-Series Space Traveler, or G.H.0.S.T. for short, slammed out of hyperspace. Daniel jerked in his seat, let out a breath, then looked through the viewport that lowered above his head. The outside of his spaceship: it was his, at least, as he claimed it and after all, he was captain, was outfitted with dozens of cameras. Forget the movies, glass is stupid for a spaceship. Even bulletproof glass wouldn’t hold up to a thousand space debris clattering against its exterior, not for a century or longer. The ship wasn’t entirely deprived of glass. There was glass in the front, just like the darn movies, for when they traveled at slower speeds, but pneumatic shutters normally covered the glass for extra protection.

Daniel unbuckled his seatbelt, stretched, then walked to the navigation computer. He bit his bottom lip. Not a bad entrance.

Shawn glanced up at him, an eyebrow raised. Not bad? I saw you over there clenching your butt cheeks! Don’t pretend you’re fine, and don’t pretend you’re the one who navigated us here.

Excuse me, Shawn. You are speaking to your captain. I think a little more respect is in order.

Shawn’s lips pressed together, and he exhaled a sigh. "You’re right. Sorry, Captain. Don’t pretend you’re a navigator, Captain. Let your butt cheeks loose, Captain."

Daniel nodded. That’s better. I do think it’s time for some coffee. That always helps.

He turned away from his navigator, Shawn, and tapped a few touch screen buttons on the drink machine. Fresh coffee fizzled out of the machine and into his coffee mug. Daniel picked up the cup, without adding sugar or creamer, and took a sip.

Now, where the heck are we? he asked.

Sector, 36782, Shawn said.

English, please.

Shawn threw up his arms. Asteroid Belt, Sector 36782.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. That’s what it’s called?

Look, I don’t come up with these names. This is what it’s called in the computer. If you have a problem with the names, bug the scientists who categorize everything. But let me tell you this, they’re not very original. You’d think scientists would have more of an imagination.

Daniel looked through the view port, he rotated the angle of the camera to inspect the asteroids. There were hundreds of them, all spaced far apart from each other, and moving slow in a clockwise rotation. Another thing they got wrong in the movies. Asteroid belts always had plenty of space to navigate a ship through, and there were no fast spinning small asteroids you had to dodge. With the glow of the red sun, and the ultraviolet lights on the outside of the Ghost, the asteroids looked pink. Daniel shrugged.

They look pink. I’m going to call this the Pink Asteroid Belt.

Shawn rolled his eyes. You’re almost as creative as the scientists.

Thank you, Daniel said.

That was sarcasm.

Daniel smiled. I know.

Are you ready to detach the probes?

I’d rather not be inspected right now. I just had an inspection last week. I swear, I’m good. Daniel took another sip of coffee.

For the asteroids …

Oh, right. What are we looking for again?

Minerals. Specifically, Quantrium.

Oh, that’s right. You know, I’m getting tired of these mineral runs. Can’t they have someone else do this? I signed up for captain of Ghost because it promised space exploration. I want to search for alien life, not minerals. This is boring.

Shawn craned his neck back, yawned, then looked back at the captain. You know how important Quantrium is. It’s only found on asteroids, and not all asteroids. Without it, we can’t mix it with hemp to create any more ships. We need more ships so we can continue to explore space.

Yada yada yada. Bunch of boring talk. I want aliens.

We’ve been traveling outside of our solar system for over a hundred years. We’ve explored, searched, and even prayed to find some form of alien life. Face it, there is none. We’re alone in the galaxy. We’ve searched our whole galaxy, every star system. There are no aliens.

Daniel shrugged. We haven’t looked much in other galaxies. I think that’s where we should go.

Discover a new theory for space travel then, because CQ Drive is all we have.

It’s a bet! I’ll work on that … and you can work on asking Kara out.

Shawn’s eyes crossed.

Daniel stuck out his hand. Deal?

Shawn spun his chair around to face the navigation computer once more. "According to these readings, I found six asteroids with high levels of Quantrium. We can send out the miners to begin operations. Is that acceptable, Captain?"

Daniel shrugged again. Sure, why not? While you do that, I’m going to have a drink. And … um, do captain things.

Shawn shook his head.

Daniel made it out of the bridge and to the bar before his watch blinked, a low buzzing echoing from the device.

Rats, he cursed.

The barkeep raised an eyebrow as he poured Daniel a beer. Are there rats on the spaceship again, Captain?

Daniel looked up. No, no. I just finally get a break, and someone is calling me.

Oh, good. I always have to hide the pub mix when we get rats.

Daniel shook his head. You know, it’s unbelievable that we’re in space, and we still have a rat problem. Why couldn’t we leave those vermin on earth? But no, the scientists need to experiment on them, blah blah blah.

The barkeep chuckled.

Daniel grabbed the pint of ale and took a gulp. Thank you, Justin.

No problem, boss.

Wait, did someone say there were rats on the ship again? Where are they at? I have peanut butter and I’m looking for a good time, Clyde said.

Daniel glanced to his left and saw the Chief Steward, Clyde, drinking a beer. He was a strange fellow, and the more Daniel thought about it, he hadn’t seen the man without a beer in his hand.

No, Clyde. There aren’t any rats. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to keep buying food for your snake. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to answer this.

Daniel pressed the accept button on his watch. A small video opened on his screen. An old, black man wearing a clean white suit appeared. Daniel slammed down his ale and sat straight in his seat.

President Reynolds?

Drinking on the job again, Captain Daniel?

No … no, sir. My first name is not Jack.

Excuse me?

You know … Jack Daniels … never mind.

I am not amused, Captain Daniels.

You never are, President.

What is your current location? President Reynolds asked.

Umm … section three-six-something-something, uh.

You don’t know where you are? the President demanded.

Look, it’s a lot of numbers. We’re at the pink asteroid belt.

Pink asteroid belt? he asked.

Daniel smiled. Yeah. I named it myself.

Captain Daniel, do you ever wonder why you don’t get any exploration missions?

Yes. I wonder that quite often, actually.

It’s because you’re an imbecile.

President?

You don’t take anything seriously.

I do. I’m a good captain. Ask my mom, she believes in me.

Captain Daniel … this is serious.

What is it? Daniel asked.

I have a mission, one where I need a serious captain. No games, no fun. This is important.

Daniel raised his eyebrows and sat up straighter. What is it?

First, where are you?

Daniel closed his eyes, going through the events of the day. Sector 36782. Asteroid Belt. Star system 36709, red sun, asteroid belt ten A.U.’s from the star. We’re looking for Quantrium to take to the shipyards for them to mix with hemp and soybeans to create more spacecrafts for galactic exploration, per our orders, Sir.

The President nodded. I suspected you may be there. There were three different locations we suspected to find Quantrium, and two of them are close to our new information.

What is it, sir?

President Reynolds took a deep breath. We received a radio transmission from one of our satellite probes.

Transmission? Like … alien life?

President Reynold’s lip twitched. We’re not sure. There are more than potential intelligent life forms that transmit radio waves through space. But this one comes in several different patterns, in a constant wheel.

Like a recorded message? Daniel asked.

Yes.

Daniel scratched his chin.

It could be nothing, but we’d like you to explore the region where it comes from.

Where?

Sector 36780. Yellow star. As per usual, check the third or fourth planet in the liquid water section of the solar system, from one to two AUs from the star. But don’t rule out any gas giants with enough heat near any small moons that could keep water from freezing.

Of course. Consider it done, Daniel said.

And Daniel …

Yes?

No fooling around.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. I’ll try my best.

2

Daniel took a deep breath as he stood at the bridge door. He rubbed his eyes. Things were about to get serious. He’d almost forgotten how to be serious. For years, the Federation had jerked him around on mining expeditions. He’d become a laughingstock of ship captains. It was frustrating for Daniel. He’d had to work three times as hard as everyone else through Space Discovery School, or SDS, all because he was an Unwanted. He didn’t look like all the others: he was different. Daniel remembered being ridiculed over the years in school for his differentness. He’d put a wall up, a defense, and the only way he could cope with the constant bullying, was humor. Daniel didn’t know if he could approach life another way anymore. However, the president called on him to explore a planet. He had to prove himself now. No more so-called discovery jobs of mining random asteroid belts across the galaxy. This time, he was called to a planet. Granted, it was because he was the closest captain to the system, but that didn’t matter. Now was his chance.

He opened the door. Shawn sat at the navigation computer, reading a newspaper. Daniel raised an eyebrow. Where’d he get an actual newspaper from?

Captain. Jasmine bowed.

Daniel turned and smiled at the young woman. She was the Chief Scientist Officer onboard the Ghost, and an Unwanted like him.

When he was given command of his own ship, even though it was a small Ghost model, he’d been able to select his own crew … well for the most part. He wanted as diverse a crew as he could manage. The galaxy was too full of clones. He wanted unique people like him.

Jasmine, he said.

We’ve found several of these asteroids have at least 0.3% Quantrium after a preliminary scan. That is a remarkable number. We’ve only found a few asteroids in the galaxy with such a high percent.

Daniel smiled. That is good news, Jasmine. I want you to categorize it, make a detailed stat sheet for which asteroids those are, and a detailed report of every other asteroid in close proximity in less than an hour.

Her eyes widened. An hour?

Yes. We leave in an hour.

Leave where? We just got here.

Jasmine, you have less than an hour to get me that report. If I spend the time explaining our new situation to you, you will lose out on valuable time.

Yes, Sir.

She ambled out of the bridge.

Captain? Shawn asked.

Yes, Navigator?

We’re leaving?

Yes, we are. Daniel sat in his captain’s chair.

Where to?

Sector 36780. A yellow star system.

By whose order?

Daniel smiled. The President’s.

Shawn stood. His head slammed into the navigation computer above his head and he stumbled back down, putting one of his hands on his chair and the other on his head.

The—the—president? Shawn asked.

Yes, Daniel answered.

Why us? Shawn asked.

Daniel stood, walking over to his navigator. A smile was plastered on his face. He placed his hand on Shawn’s shoulder. Because, my friend, we’re the only exploration space craft close enough to this area.

Shawn snorted. I should have guessed.

Yeah, well. Daniel shrugged. I was hoping it was because of our handsome captain and navigation skills.

Well, we have collected more Quantrium than any other exploration spacecraft.

Daniel laughed. Yeah, well every other exploration spacecraft is only forced to explore asteroids for six months. We’ve been stuck doing this for six years.

Why do they dislike you so much? Shawn asked.

Daniel rolled his shoulders. Because I’m not like them.

All of this because you’re not a clone?

Shawn, I know this is hard for you to comprehend, but yes. Remember, when space exploration first took off? There were never enough volunteers, or at least, skilled enough volunteers. After we mastered space travel with solar energy, dark matter, and hemp oil, clones were mass produced to keep up with our technology. Now, most of the politics through our galaxy are clones. They are rather proud of themselves and think themselves superior to anyone who isn’t one of them.

I’m not like that, Shawn muttered.

You’re not like that now, my friend. I remember when you first joined the Ghost as my navigator. You were a bit pompous.

Shawn shrugged. That wasn’t because of the way you looked. It was because you were arrogant and always wanted to make jokes.

That’s because to most of them out there, I am a joke. Who would have thought the Unwanted program would have developed leaders? We were supposed to be a way to prevent wasting lives. So, our parents didn’t want us? Well, the Space Armada did. We were supposed to be grunts—labor workers. None of us were supposed to make it out of the shipyards. However, some of us fought hard to learn as much as we could and were able to attend the Space University to better ourselves.

You know, I never asked, Shawn trailed off.

What? Daniel asked.

Does it bother you that your mother and father never wanted you?

Daniel shrugged. I don’t think about it. I never met them. Like most of us, I was grown inside an artificial womb. What about you?

I don’t have parents. Whoever the original DNA was—died over a hundred years ago.

I know … doesn’t that bother you?

Shawn shrugged. There’s not much I can do about it. All we can do is our best. There is a purpose behind all of this. We get to explore the galaxy, find new worlds, and bring humans into new worlds. I’m as much of a human as you are.

Yeah, though we’re the ones who actually do all the work.

Daniel’s wristwatch beeped. He turned it on and saw Jasmine’s face appear. Sweat beaded across her brown face.

Captain. I’ve categorized all the asteroids and sent the files over to you.

Daniel smiled, touched his watch, and looked at the time. Forty minutes.

Well done, Jasmine. You exceeded my expectations.

Thank you, Sir.

And Jasmine?

Yes, Captain?

Prepare anything you may need to explore the atmosphere of an actual planet.

Her eyes widened. Captain?

We have a new mission.

Yes, Captain. She saluted him.

Daniel turned the video screen off. Did you hear that, Shawn? We’re ready to take off.

Aye, Aye, Captain.

Shawn began punching numbers into the ship’s computer. When he was finished, he pointed to Daniel. Daniel turned from the navigator to the pilot on the other side.

Zach, take us away.

Zach smiled and adjusted his bowtie. He didn’t talk much. But he loved to fly. He was cloned for that specific purpose. Zach turned the vessel around, looked at the coordinates from navigation, then pulled out his wireless controller, one that resembled an old Playstation controller from the twenty-first century.

Let’s get dangerous, Daniel whispered.

Shawn turned to face him. Excuse me?

Yes? Daniel asked.

Isn’t that from Darkwing Duck?

Yes … yes it is. Is there a problem with that?

Shawn shrugged. No, I actually like that ancient cartoon.

3

Daniel unbuckled and stood at the helm after they came out of hyperspace. A grin plastered across his face. They were in sector 36780. It was a relatively uncategorized system.

Shawn, pull me up the background info on this system.

Shawn typed at his navigation computer. Umm … no one has visited here before, Captain. It’s been studied from a distance. There are seven planets. Four rock-based planets, with an asteroid belt between three and four, two gas planets, and one nitrogen planet. A little similar to Earth’s solar system.

Daniel pressed his watch. A wide-eyed brown skinned woman appeared. He smiled at her. Jasmine. At the bridge, please.

Within minutes, the bridge door slid open and Jasmine strode in. She wore black pants, a purple silk top with black sleeves, and her wavy hair down to her shoulders.

Captain? she asked, her eyes wide as she looked at monitors in the front of the bridge.

Welcome to Sector 36780. An unexplored system.

Her eyes lit up. Unexplored?

Only scientists with telescopes have seen this system, Jasmine.

She smiled.

Now I can tell you why we’re all here. The president has detected high frequency radio waves transmitting from this system. I don’t need to remind you that more than actual radios transmit radio waves, but the intensity of it is enough that he wants it checked out. We are to locate the radio waves by isolating our attention on habitable planets, or habitable moons by a gas giant. However, I’m adding more to our to-do list that hasn’t been asked for.

Sir? Jasmine asked.

I want us to be the first to categorize this whole system. This will be a lot of work. Remember our priority, we need to find and locate the radio waves, but I also want a detailed stat sheet for each planet and moon in this system. Whatever resources you need, whoever you need to help you, let me know. Understood, Jasmine?

Her grin nearly split her face in half. Understood, Captain.

Dismissed.

She placed two fingers on her forehead in salute before exiting the bridge.

Are you sure about this? Shawn asked.

Daniel tilted his head. Sure, about what?

We’re on a direct mission from the president to check out these odd radio waves transmitting from this system. He didn’t tell us to explore past that. Shouldn’t we focus on our mission and return to him with the information as soon as possible?

Daniel shook his head. Why? So, we can be immediately thrown back to asteroid mineral duty? This is our chance, Shawn. No one takes us seriously. And it is all because of me. Because of who I am. Everyone wants to dismiss me as a captain because I’m not a clone, I’m not a genetic copy of one of the greatest pilots of the twenty-third century. Therefore, to everyone else, I’m lesser. My crew is lesser, because it’s not filled with clones, but with unique individuals. Individuals, who, back in the twenty-first century, would have been eliminated in the womb by their parents because they were Unwanted. Together, we are the Unwanted Crew of space. This is our chance. If we return, with not only news about this radio activity, but an entire detail for this entire system, and in record time, there will be no reason at all that they can’t continue to have us explore new systems. Unless you want to go back to asteroid duty?

Shawn shook his head. No, sir.

There ain’t no rest for the wicked.

Isn’t that another 21st century reference?

Daniel raised his brows. Very good, Shawn. I’m still amazed with how much history you know.

Shawn rolled his eyes. I find history fascinating. However, I’m still unsure why you know so much about it.

That time period is very important to my heart, Daniel whispered.

Why? Shawn asked.

Don’t worry about it. Set the navigation for Six AU. However, put us at our slowest speed so we can observe what we pass carefully.

Yes, sir.

Daniel tapped a button on his wristwatch. A bald man appeared with a strange goatee, like he’d shaved pieces of his beard to try to look redneck. Another Unwanted. Daniel wanted someone with a little more of a creative mind as a chef than the typical clone. Especially with the limited ingredients available in a class Ghost spaceship.

Yes, Captain?

Curly, we’ve reached a new system. We have a lot to research and a lot that needs categorizing here. I’m about to give a limited to no sleep order across the ship for this mission.

Sir? he asked.

Daniel smiled. We need coffee, lots and lots of coffee.

He smiled back at him. Yes, sir.

His watch screen went blank. He wiped the drool coming out of his mouth as he thought about coffee. Daniel knew he wouldn’t get much sleep over the next week as they studied the system. He walked over to the coffee machine on the bridge, which was always filled with coffee for him, and poured himself a cup in his ceramic mug that read I love kittens. No sugar or cream dared make its way in his mug. In fact, Daniel didn’t allow such horrible atrocities on the bridge. The last thing he needed was someone to spill a sugary drink to make the machinery sticky.

He walked to the front of the bridge to look out the window into space. Most spaceships didn’t come with windows anymore. Windows were a liability, and likely to be damaged easier than the rest of the ship, even with the high-grade bulletproof glass. However, Daniel requested his spaceship have a window. He trusted computers to a certain extent, but he wanted to be able to see where they were going just in case of a malfunction. He’d studied enough history to know it happens. Unlike older designs back in the science fiction days, his window had a retractable steel cover blocking it during normal flight. They only opened the steel hull to allow the window exposure when they weren’t traveling fast distances. For now, Daniel wanted to see where they were going. He wanted to take in all of the beauty. And he wanted to see it with his own eyes, not a viewport and not a camera.

The first planet was viewable in the distance. Daniel smiled. Besides the few habitable solar systems, he hadn’t traveled space much. Asteroids were everywhere, and usually floating by themselves or in habitable solar system’s asteroid belts. This was something else; this mission had unlimited possibilities.

Meow.

Daniel looked down to the ledge at the bottom of the window to see a small calico cat rubbing its side against the glass. He smiled as he reached down to pet the animal. Daniel knew most captains had a no animals policy on their vessels, but Daniel enjoyed the company of animals. A lot of the time, it gave companionship to people who were lonely, and needed ways to relax. For him, the comfort of an animal helped him. He felt the vibration of the cat’s purr against his fingers until it became loud enough that he heard it with his ears as well.

Daniel brought his mug back up to his mouth for another sip. The entire ship shook to the left. Coffee flew out of the mug all over Daniel’s shirt. Daniel steadied his coffee mug as the artificial gravity flickered and he floated into the air, as well as his remaining coffee spiraling out of his mug. Daniel opened his mouth to try and catch his runaway coffee as the artificial gravity kicked back in. Coffee spilled all over his face. He fell to the ground, landing on his rear. The cat screeched as it landed on him. Claws dug into his skin before the cat took off.

Daniel crawled to the window to grab the ledge and lift himself up. His face and shirt were drenched in coffee. At least there wasn’t any sugar in it.

What just happened? Daniel asked.

Shawn threw him a rag. We momentarily lost our artificial gravity.

You don’t say? Daniel asked. Why?

It seems a piece of space debris struck our starboard side.

This is space … doesn’t this spaceship have safeguards for something like that?

It does … but it happened to hit just the right spot.

Figures, Daniel grumbled.

Sirens began to go off on the bridge. Red flashes blinked in several different spots.

What is it now? Daniel asked.

I’m not sure … Shawn whispered.

Daniel’s watch beeped. He looked at it and accepted the call. A brown woman with curly brown hair and large round glasses appeared on the screen. It was the head of medical on the ship.

Monica? Daniel asked.

We’ve had a slight system malfunction in the cryo-chamber.

The … what?

The cyro-chamber. It’s where we have people in stasis sleep from earth.

We have people from earth on our ship? How do I not know about this?

It’s sort of a need-to-know thing. We’re only supposed to mention it if we reach a point where they are to be activated. However, there’s been a problem.

What is the problem?

The Ghost’s system malfunction with the artificial gravity from the space debris that struck our side, has activated one of our stasis chambers.

And what does that mean? Daniel asked.

One of the humans from earth is waking up.

Can we put them back to sleep? Daniel asked.

I’m afraid not. The technology used to freeze them only works once. A second time could really damage or possibly kill them.

Awesome, Daniel said. What else could go wrong?

Please don’t ask that question, Shawn muttered.

What do you recommend as the next step, Monica? Daniel asked.

This woman is going to wake up and be slightly confused about where she is. In the past when we’ve studied this kind of stasis chamber, there is always a bit of amnesia that follows an unfreezing. I believe it would be best to isolate her to a locked room to give her a little time for adjustment, then I believe you should go speak to her, Captain.

Daniel nodded. What is her name?

Katie.

All right. Keep me updated, Monica.

Yes, sir.

Daniel pressed his watch off. He shook his head. What else could go wrong?

A stream of running water sounded at his feet. He looked down and saw his Pitbull, Kahula, squatting to pee on his shoe.

Kahula, no! Daniel yelled.

You asked. Shawn chuckled.

4

Asong repeated itself over and over again inside Daniel’s head. He leaned forward, hands on his face, pulling his cheeks down as he fought to forget the tune. Repetitive noises were one of his pet peeves. He didn’t like it. One of the water faucets on the spaceship dripped for three weeks straight before they brought on a space plumber to fix it. Daniel made sure to send three of his crew members to space plumbing school after that. It was good knowledge to have, especially if it eliminated a repetitive noise.

This noise, this song, he couldn’t get out of his head. Over and over again he heard the song Barbie Girl playing on repeat in his mind. The song was decent, if not a little ridiculous for the captain of a spaceship to actually know, let alone sing, but after a few times of him singing to it for karaoke the night before at the Ghost’s pub, it was embedded in his memory.

How much did I drink last night? Daniel muttered.

What was that? Shawn asked.

Nothing, Daniel said.

With all the trouble onboard the Ghost, Daniel had tried going to the ship’s pub to let off some steam. The plan had been to have a drink or two, which turned into a drink or ten, then him up on stage singing Barbie Girl. The artificial gravity rotating plasma sphere at the ship’s center had malfunctioned twice the previous day, and a young woman had woken up from the stasis chamber. She was fully awake now, and isolated in a locked room that she could not leave. But with all the chaos, Daniel needed to clear his head.

What are the reports on the planets so far? Daniel asked.

The scientist, Jasmine, looked up from her tablet. The furthest planet in this solar system is nitrogen based and there isn’t much to report other than nitrogen and helium and a few other lesser gasses. From what we can see from our long range detection software and the probes we’re sending out, is the next two planets are gas planets, planet six or 36780-6 has eight moons, one has high levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide, suitable for human life, but the rest are rocks with little atmosphere. The radio signal seems to be coming from further inside the solar system, near 36780-3 or 36780-4. That is likely what we’re supposed to be searching for. However, there is a light radio signal emitting from 36780-6-D, one of the moons…the habitable one.

Awesome. Let’s check that one out.

Aren’t we supposed to focus on the highest activity of radio waves? she asked.

President Reynolds told us to explore this system for irregular radio activity. He didn’t specify what exactly he wanted us to do. I believe he sent us because we’re expendable. No one will care if we never return. We’re to check out any and all radio activity in case it may come from an extraterrestrial society. I am planning to give him a detailed report on all radio activity so he can make the judgment for himself.

Yes, sir.

Daniel’s watch beeped. He rolled his eyes.

Dismissed.

He pressed the accept button on his watch. Monica’s face appeared.

Captain?

Yes, Monica?

It’s been over twelve hours of our earthling being isolated in her room. She’s growing concerned and confused. I think now would be the best time to make her acquaintance.

Right. What’s her name again?

Katie.

He nodded, turned his watch screen off, then strode out of the bridge.

Daniel paused at the door and took a deep breath. He’d never met anyone from earth. There were very few true earthlings in space. Some people wanted to travel in space and explore, but most were scared. After the first hundred years of true space travel, there were thousands of casualties. It was why they proceeded with allowing cloning humans. Technically, it still wasn’t legal on earth. People considered it immoral, and the bill was never passed. However, there were no laws in space. DNA was taken from a little over a hundred candidates over several different nationalities, the best of the best as far as DNA went, and they were cloned. The process was slow at first, and very experimental. They’d only cloned single cells, rats, and small animals. Humans were a bit more complex, but after trial and error, they were able to accomplish the feat. The different space programs around the world were wary about continuing to send earthlings out into space to die, but no one had a problem sending out a clone. However, as far as Daniel knew, the majority of the public didn’t know clones and Unwanted populated the surrounding solar systems. There was diversity among the Unwanted, but there were only around a hundred and twenty DNA clones scattered throughout the galaxy. For the most part, it was the same one hundred faces every system. Daniel had read up on history from earth, and it reminded him a lot of events in the past where discrimination had been a large factor in a society. It saddened him, and as an Unwanted, one of the things he wanted to change about the atmosphere of space was acceptance. He knew they were close to reaching a point of safety in space travel, and they were finding more and more planets or moons that were potentially habitable for humans. The whole purpose of traveling through space had been to search for livable plants and search for possible extraterrestrial life, but so far, life outside of earth, besides plants, insects, and a few animals, had been non-existent. Hundreds of years of discovering worlds, and still no trace of intelligent life. Soon, earth would want to expand out to these worlds. The Federation had been paving the way. However, if the clones continued their behavior of discrimination, Daniel worried that there’d be war if earthlings ever decided to travel out. There would be a contest to see who is better. At least, that’s what Daniel feared. When reading history, he always saw the quotes talking about how important history was, how if it was forgotten, it’d likely repeat itself. After reading a lot of history, he saw that even when it wasn’t forgotten, it often repeated itself. Endless wars against each other, instead of uniting together to further the intelligence of the human race.

He pressed his thumb against the door’s overwrite pad, and it slid open. A woman stood in the center of the floor. Her beautiful brown eyes grew wide as she backed up. She reached for a broom, gripping it in her hands tight. Long, dark brown hair hung to her shoulders, glittering in the dim light of the room.

Katie? he asked.

Who are you? How do you know my name?

Do you remember anything?

I—I—

It’s all right. I’m not here to harm you. Daniel held his hands wide, palms out.

Where am I? she asked.

Sector 36780.

Her eyebrows furrowed.

Daniel bit his lip. We’re in space. You are on a spaceship.

Her eyes widened. Space?

Do you not remember?

I remember… father. He told me he was helping develop a way to …

Freeze humans in a stasis, where they could continue to survive for hundreds of years unconscious and awaken in a later age … Daniel said.

Her mouth dropped open. Yes.

Daniel shrugged. Well, it worked.

We’re in space? she asked.

Yes.

How far are we from earth?

Far. Thousands of parsecs away.

Parsec?

Light-years. Parsec is more technical, accurate, and a little bit of a different distance than what people consider light years. However, it’s what we use as a term in space.

I’m not in Kansas anymore …

Daniel raised a brow. Try tapping your shoes together.

She stared at him. You know—

I study history. One of my favorite things is studying the popular movies and shows of different eras.

What year is it?

He frowned. We don’t use the same calendar year as you do. Daniel scratched his chin. Our year is 539. We restarted our yearly calendar when we first developed hyperspace travel.

Like … lightspeed?

Faster.

How? And how does traveling that fast not squash us into pulp?

Daniel shrugged. I’m not sure about all the science involved, but everything changed once cannabis was legalized on earth and scientists were able to study it further. Cannabis oil is one of the main fuels we use, that and high-powered solar energy. There are also vacuums in space, much like water currents in your oceans. Once we discovered this, since they’re near invisible with any telescope, we were able to know which paths to travel. Think about it like this: on earth, there are different wind currents, and when aviation was first invented, people navigated the air to find the best places to travel, which spots they were being pushed with the wind, and which ones that went against the wind. They mapped the airways to determine the best areas to travel in different directions. Space is a lot like that. We have detailed charts in our navigation computer.

So, you don’t know what year it is?

For you? Daniel asked. No. We don’t associate with earth too much anymore. Some of the Federation’s leads give reports back to earth, but for the most part, we’re by ourselves in the galaxy, until the rest of humanity decides they want to catch up to us. I believe it may be near the year 3,000 back on earth, but I’m not sure the exact number. As I said, we’re our own society now.

And I was put on this ship … why?

Daniel pointed his finger at her. That … I do not know. I was actually not aware we had cryo-chambers. I know you weren’t supposed to be woken up. A piece of space debris hit the side of the ship, and for some reason, you were released.

Katie shivered. Can I go back? This is all overwhelming.

Daniel shook his head. I’m sorry, but there is no way we can do that. Apparently whatever methods used to freeze you in good health, are not accessible to us, and even if they were, tests proved that going into this kind of stasis twice is dangerous.

So, what am I supposed to do?

He shrugged. Join the crew. Do you have any skills?

I went to college.

For what?

Psychology and History.

Daniel smiled. Perfect, our computer needs a psychologist, and our crew needs a history teacher.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to read whether he was serious or joking.

5

Daniel looked out of the viewport at the moon. Swirls of orange and green filled the sphere. He looked at the radar and saw the transmission of radio waves emitting from the moon. It was probably nothing, probably just a lightning storm, but he still wanted to check it out.

What are the levels on this moon? Daniel asked.

Level 2? Shawn asked.

Daniel smacked his hand onto his face. What’s the genetic gas makeup on the moon?

Why didn’t you just ask that? Shawn asked. Argon 0.8, Nitrogen 76 percent, oxygen 23 percent, and 0.2 percent of trace gases.

A little bit higher than earth. What percent of the trace gases is carbon dioxide?

Sixty percent.

Daniel stroked his chin. "That’s a bit low, especially at 0.2 percent. It’s likely there is no animal life on the planet with that number. Not