Ghosts of Neptune

There are ghosts around Neptune.

In the Cepheus, Clifford McBride dreams and remembers. He dreams of home. He remembers Eve. His father. His mind recalls everything there is to know on the Lima Project. And his id conjures the faces of Lorraine, Franklin, and Chip. Lorraine, as she fell through these tainted halls before crashing down upon cold steel. Franklin, as he tried to kill him, locked in death's embrace. Chip, looking out at him through dead eyes as he was poisoned. In his dreams, he sees them. Just as he does in his nightmares.

There are ghosts around Neptune.

The Lima Project was the last deep-space mission of the United States Space Command, but it wasn't the last. There was the Event Horizon, using FTL technology on a voyage to Proxima Centauri. It disappeared, and it was resolved that the technology never be utilized again. He's heard stories though, that the ship reappeared around Neptune after seven years. That a ship was sent to investigate and was lost with nearly all hands. He's heard much and read much, even though rumours are meant for the enlisted. But now?

There are ghosts around Neptune.

In his dreams, he sees fire. In his nightmares, he sees fury. In his dreams, the fire takes the world, sent out from the Lima Project's anti-matter surges. In the nightmares, he sees something worse befall Earth. The planet's burning. The works of Man are burning. The moon is burning. Mars is burning. Everything's burning, under a black sky – briefly opened up, but without angels. Creatures from the dark, cutting out the light…

He wakes up. He's at Neptune. And there are ghosts here.

Neptune. Named after the Roman god of the sea. As blue as the sea itself, its dark spot standing out like the cloud of his nightmares. He can see that the Lima ship is in a decaying orbit. It occurs to him that he might be on his way to meet the same fate as the crew of the Lewis & Clark. That he's entered the heart of darkness, in the depths of Hell. His father's gone mad. He's been out here all alone, supping with the devil. And now at last, the father has come to atone for the father's sins. If need be, he'll sacrifice himself for the good of the world. For the good of all mankind.

He takes a breath and begins to suit up.

There are ghosts around Neptune.