Ghost Ship in Orbit 02/13/3133
INN - Interstellar News Network
PORT HOWARD - Early this morning, Towne Space Traffic Control director Charles
Pruecker informed the press that an apparently-unidentified DropShip had entered
Towne orbit late yesterday morning. Approximately six hours ago, personnel from the
Bannson Industries DropShip Kashmir Caravan docked with and boarded the ship,
finding no one on board.
The Mule-class DropShip, the independent merchant ship Wopat, entered the Towne
system twenty days ago aboard the JumpShip Ariel Maru and apparently made a low-
G burn in-system. The ship entered a trans-lunar high orbit insertion, though all STC
attempts at communication were ignored by the ship’s crew. Director Pruecker
indicated STC personnel made four communication attempts per hour for eighteen
hours before he was forced to take additional action.
“The on-duty director was informed that an out-of-communications ship was entering
orbit as the event was happening,” says Director Pruecker. “Our controllers followed
proper procedure and attempted communications every fifteen minutes. The ship’s
transponder was functioning normally, and our controllers verified two days ago that
the DropShip was on-course to enter a safe orbit, which it did at 0948 Towne
Standard Time. An hour later, I was notified of the event, which I passed on to
Governor Jurik three hours later.”
Throughout the course of the day, controllers and other ships in orbit, under direction
from STC controllers, attempted communications with the ship. Though the Wopat
returned none of these attempts, sensor readings and visual reports indicated the ship
made a number of minor course corrections throughout the day to remain within its
orbital slot.
Director Pruecker and Governor Jurik discussed the ship several times throughout the
course of the day, and finally came to the conclusion that they needed to take action.
“With the state of emergency that we are currently in, the governor and I made the
decision to have the ship boarded,” Pruecker explained. “We did not have one of our
own government ships available for immediate assignment, so we offered a salvage
contract to the Wopat.”
Under temporary contract to the Towne government, the captain and crew of the
Kashmir Caravan docked with the Wopat early this morning and entered her at 0833.
A dozen personnel searched the entire ship but found no sign of crew or passengers.
Details of the search are still sketchy, but apparently the crew’s personal effects were
still scattered about the ship normally. The borders found no sign of the ship’s cargo,
however, and event the ship’s manifest was empty.
“The ship will be landing shortly,” Pruecker continued. “State officials will treat the
Wopat as a crime scene until they can determine just what happened. We are not
assuming foul play, but common sense indicates something strange happened here.”
The Wopat has been a regular on the Towne-Addicks-Ozawa shipping line for a
number of years and is registered as an independent trading ship. STC reports indicate
the ship entered the Towne system on the Ariel Maru, which made the jump from
Addicks. The Ariel Maru is no longer in the Towne system, though. Government
officials will make a trek to the Zenith Jump Point to interview the crew of the
Czaban, another DropShip that made the jump into the Towne system on the Ariel
Maru.
The investigation into the Wopat mystery will likely take several months. At the end, if
the captain and crew cannot be located, the Towne government will sell the ship at
auction. As a part of the government salvage contract, the crew of the Kashmir
Caravan will make 10% of the proceeds.
Towne Log
+ Reports of secret invaders on Towne, political backstabbing and now ghost ships in
orbit? Is INN giving us news, or are they just going for sensationalist journalism? I,
for one, am running out of patience with this news e-rag. :- GregG
+ The ship just landed in Port Arthur. I watched from the top floor of the First
Towne Centre building as it came down at the furthest DropShip pad on the
government side of the spaceport. About two dozen security vehicles surrounded the
ship and a couple of hundred cops formed a 100-meter perimeter around the ship. Is
it just me, or is that a little excessive for an abandoned ship? :- JamJam
+ I got my hands on a few internal government reports. They’re not so much worried
about finding out what’s going on as they don’t want anyone to get on board. They’re
covering something up here. :- Goobs86
+ It’s not a coincidence the government sent a Bannson ship to board the Wopat.
Bannson has his hands in everything. He’s part of this cover up, there’s no doubt
about it. What the story doesn’t say is that another Bannson ship, the Logan’s
Runner, was inbound at the same time as the Wopat. What’s more, the Logan’s
Runner entered orbit two days late without explanation, but arrived at the jump point a
day before the Wopat. Both ships took a long parabolic entry into Towne, which
means they passed each other out of the standard corridor traveled by every other
inbound and outbound ship. Coincidences? :- FMLuder
+ Look, the lead investigator is Lieutenant Tom Nordent. He headed up the
investigation of the murder of David and Veronica Doura. There isn’t more of a
straight-shooter in the entire Towne government. He’s not going to be a part of any
cover-up and won’t give us any party lines. Just wait and see. :- Dorian
INN - Interstellar News Network
PORT HOWARD - Early this morning, Towne Space Traffic Control director Charles
Pruecker informed the press that an apparently-unidentified DropShip had entered
Towne orbit late yesterday morning. Approximately six hours ago, personnel from the
Bannson Industries DropShip Kashmir Caravan docked with and boarded the ship,
finding no one on board.
The Mule-class DropShip, the independent merchant ship Wopat, entered the Towne
system twenty days ago aboard the JumpShip Ariel Maru and apparently made a low-
G burn in-system. The ship entered a trans-lunar high orbit insertion, though all STC
attempts at communication were ignored by the ship’s crew. Director Pruecker
indicated STC personnel made four communication attempts per hour for eighteen
hours before he was forced to take additional action.
“The on-duty director was informed that an out-of-communications ship was entering
orbit as the event was happening,” says Director Pruecker. “Our controllers followed
proper procedure and attempted communications every fifteen minutes. The ship’s
transponder was functioning normally, and our controllers verified two days ago that
the DropShip was on-course to enter a safe orbit, which it did at 0948 Towne
Standard Time. An hour later, I was notified of the event, which I passed on to
Governor Jurik three hours later.”
Throughout the course of the day, controllers and other ships in orbit, under direction
from STC controllers, attempted communications with the ship. Though the Wopat
returned none of these attempts, sensor readings and visual reports indicated the ship
made a number of minor course corrections throughout the day to remain within its
orbital slot.
Director Pruecker and Governor Jurik discussed the ship several times throughout the
course of the day, and finally came to the conclusion that they needed to take action.
“With the state of emergency that we are currently in, the governor and I made the
decision to have the ship boarded,” Pruecker explained. “We did not have one of our
own government ships available for immediate assignment, so we offered a salvage
contract to the Wopat.”
Under temporary contract to the Towne government, the captain and crew of the
Kashmir Caravan docked with the Wopat early this morning and entered her at 0833.
A dozen personnel searched the entire ship but found no sign of crew or passengers.
Details of the search are still sketchy, but apparently the crew’s personal effects were
still scattered about the ship normally. The borders found no sign of the ship’s cargo,
however, and event the ship’s manifest was empty.
“The ship will be landing shortly,” Pruecker continued. “State officials will treat the
Wopat as a crime scene until they can determine just what happened. We are not
assuming foul play, but common sense indicates something strange happened here.”
The Wopat has been a regular on the Towne-Addicks-Ozawa shipping line for a
number of years and is registered as an independent trading ship. STC reports indicate
the ship entered the Towne system on the Ariel Maru, which made the jump from
Addicks. The Ariel Maru is no longer in the Towne system, though. Government
officials will make a trek to the Zenith Jump Point to interview the crew of the
Czaban, another DropShip that made the jump into the Towne system on the Ariel
Maru.
The investigation into the Wopat mystery will likely take several months. At the end, if
the captain and crew cannot be located, the Towne government will sell the ship at
auction. As a part of the government salvage contract, the crew of the Kashmir
Caravan will make 10% of the proceeds.
Towne Log
+ Reports of secret invaders on Towne, political backstabbing and now ghost ships in
orbit? Is INN giving us news, or are they just going for sensationalist journalism? I,
for one, am running out of patience with this news e-rag. :- GregG
+ The ship just landed in Port Arthur. I watched from the top floor of the First
Towne Centre building as it came down at the furthest DropShip pad on the
government side of the spaceport. About two dozen security vehicles surrounded the
ship and a couple of hundred cops formed a 100-meter perimeter around the ship. Is
it just me, or is that a little excessive for an abandoned ship? :- JamJam
+ I got my hands on a few internal government reports. They’re not so much worried
about finding out what’s going on as they don’t want anyone to get on board. They’re
covering something up here. :- Goobs86
+ It’s not a coincidence the government sent a Bannson ship to board the Wopat.
Bannson has his hands in everything. He’s part of this cover up, there’s no doubt
about it. What the story doesn’t say is that another Bannson ship, the Logan’s
Runner, was inbound at the same time as the Wopat. What’s more, the Logan’s
Runner entered orbit two days late without explanation, but arrived at the jump point a
day before the Wopat. Both ships took a long parabolic entry into Towne, which
means they passed each other out of the standard corridor traveled by every other
inbound and outbound ship. Coincidences? :- FMLuder
+ Look, the lead investigator is Lieutenant Tom Nordent. He headed up the
investigation of the murder of David and Veronica Doura. There isn’t more of a
straight-shooter in the entire Towne government. He’s not going to be a part of any
cover-up and won’t give us any party lines. Just wait and see. :- Dorian
| February 13, 3133 |