https://youtu.be/o-sp68GjYL0

 In the thirty first century, Pirate ships still 'sailed' the oceans of Earth. Those same ships also traveled the ocean depths. Primarily because those depths were impenetrable to the frequencies of the ubiquitous radar scanners that were constantly searching for such vessels. However, most of these versatile craft's profitable activities were conducted in the space between Earth and Mars robbing the many vulnerable transport craft traveling between the two planets. Yes, these ships were also spacecraft. The oceans provided lots of isolated landing zones and the depths lots of hiding places, but outer space was where the profits were.

Now that we knew that the next target of the malevolent spirits was the crew of one of these crafts, we were determined to beat them to that target. The target was "The Flying Dutchman II." Like its namesake, it is a notorious pirate ship destined for misfortune and disaster. So, what the hell were we thinking trying to join its crew?

We were in a bar resembling the Mos Eisley Cantina from the Star Wars movie, only all the occupants were human. Although, some of them may not have looked quite human.

The Professor was talking with a disreputable looking fellow who said he could get us on the crew of the Dutchman, but first he had to verify our credentials. Of course we didn't have any official credentials, but that really wasn't what the man was interested in. He was looking for more nefarious credentials.

The Professor knew enough technical details of these mid-sized space craft to convince the man he could maintain one. The online wanted poster issued by New Life Labs and offering a reward for my capture served as my bona fides. A knowledgeable technician and a fugitive were just the credentials he was looking for.

So, in the middle of the night, we ended up at a remote coastal inlet. At a pre-specified time, what looked like a king-sized firefly class ship, surfaced like a monster from the deep. It pulled up onto the shore. We were brought on board, The Professor as an engineer and I as a lowly swabbie.

Once on-board Captain Bligh introduced us to his Master's Mate and co-pilot, Fletcher Christian. Based on their names alone, nothing about this bode well. Mr. Christian introduced us to the rest of the small crew. Columbo was the navigator. Doc was the medic. Greasy was the mechanic. Cookie was the cook. Swabbie, who on my arrival became known as Swabbie-one, was the guy who did the jobs no one wanted. Then there were the mercenaries: Killer, Tom, Dick, and Harry. Clearly, no one was using their real names. I was to be known as Swabbie-two. The Professor was called Scotty. Not sure if it was due to his Scottish accent or because it was the name of the engineer from Star Trek. In total counting the captain there were 13 of us. How much luckier could we get?

With a full contingent, the Dutchman was ready to 'set sail,' the anachronistic term still used to indicate we were ready to take off. We were headed to intercept a small transport craft making the run between the Moon and Mars. It would not be a very profitable mission, but profitable enough and a fairly easy target. Making it even more puzzling why the malicious spirits we were tracking would be interested in this crew. Transit time to the intercept point would be about five days.

During transit, we got familiar with the ship and crew. Most of the crew were not what you would call sociable. The Professor shared a cabin with Mr. Christian and the navigator. I had a bunk in the general crew quarters right next to Swabbie-one's bunk. Only the Captain had a private cabin. The only real privacy I could get was in the stalls in the head (the bathroom for you landlubbers.)

Swabbie-one saw himself as my supervisor which I guess he basically was. I've had worse. It helped that after my arrival, he was no longer at the bottom of the pecking order.

The first day of transit we were basically cleaning toilets, swabbing decks and joking with each other. He enjoyed making fun of my problems with weightlessness saying, "you must appreciate the gravity of your situation." He thought that old joke was hilarious. I always laughed.

By the second day of transit, it seemed like most of the crew was becoming a bit uneasy. There was nausea, headaches, and snapping at each other for no reason. It seemed to affect everyone except those with particularly strong minds like the Captain, the Professor, Greasy, Doc, and myself. I'd never traveled in space before, I assumed it might be a common symptom of the lack of gravity. I decided I should find the Professor and ask him about it.

The Professor had noticed the odd behavior too. He suspected perhaps the malevolent spirits were already on board and were beginning to possess the crew. The Professor wondered if this might also explain the argument he had witnessed between the captain and Mr. Christian. Mr. Christian wanted to change targets to a more lucrative one. The captain felt that target was too risky.

On the third day there was a mutiny. Who didn't see this coming? Mr. Christian and the crew killed the captain. They claimed he refused to change the mission from the questionably profitable transport ship to a passenger liner hosting a diplomatic conference. The passengers on the liner were some of the most influential leaders from both Earth and Mars. Mr. Christian assumed those passengers would be worth a fortune as hostages.

On the fourth day, Greasy and Doc developed horrible headaches and stayed in their quarters. Coincidentally, they were the two who were not totally in favor of the mutiny. They were also two of the ones who had not been initially affected by the uneasiness the second day out.

On the fifth day Greasy and Doc died. I was frightened that the spirits might be killing off those they failed to possess and that the Professor and I might be next. I had to do something. I wondered if I could leap-frog through one of the possessed crew's minds and steal memories from the spirits possessing him. Maybe I could learn their weaknesses. I had better act fast.

I cornered Swabbie-one in our quarters and said, "Swabbie, let me look into your eyes."

He backed up against his bunk saying, "Hold on, you know that fraternization between crew members can get them ejected out the airlock."

"In your dreams Swabbbie! I'm not coming on to you. I just thought I saw something in one of them and wanted to make sure."

He blinked and rubbed his eyes. "I don't feel anything."

I pulled his hands away from his face and said, "Just let me check." I got on my tiptoes and up in his face and stared into his eyes. He had several interesting memories and dreams. Huh. Apparently, I was in his dreams. Then I found the other presence roaming his mind. I caught it off guard and quickly moved in on it, taking in its exposed memories.

I now knew why the malevolent spirits had targeted this pirate ship. They intended all along to use it to capture those world leaders. They were going to use them to foment a complete World War. Their ultimate objective was the destruction of the human race so that they would have the planet all to themselves.

Before the spirits' home planet was destroyed. They inhabited physical bodies very similar to humans. When they realized the destruction of their planet was imminent, they came up with a way to preserve their spirits. They developed a technique to separate themselves from their physical bodies to become spirits that could roam the Universe to find a new home. Their plan was to at first share the minds of a new planet's dominant species. They would then get them to create spiritless zombies. When there were enough zombies, the spirits would possess the soulless zombies and wage war to rid the planet of the native population. The war they were trying to start on Earth was to decrease the human population to make the spirits' ultimate take-over easier.

In addition to learning their history, I may have also gotten a clue to their weaknesses. Earth was not the first planet they tried to inhabit. There were two others before Earth that the spirits gave up on as too inhospitable. Apparently, even in alien bodies, the spirits are extremely sensitive to certain specific loud frequencies and certain specific repugnant smells. The spirits will leave whatever body is exposing them to those sounds and smells. Recently, they discovered a single human who seemed to be able to generate both those irritating stimuli. We would have to find that individual before they got rid of him. He would be the key to creating a weapon to rid ourselves of these malevolent spirits.

After stealing their memories, the spirits seemed reluctant to approach either myself or The Professor. Besides, we were nearing their chosen target, and they were no doubt focused on that.

Our craft docked with the diplomats' liner and our entire crew except for The Professor and myself boarded the liner. The crew abruptly returned empty handed. They didn't get their hostages, but they did get rid of the spirits that had been possessing them. The spirits had quickly migrated over to the weaker minds of the diplomats. The crew, once they were rid of the spirits, decided to return to the ship and to put as much distance between them and the spirits as soon as they could. This suited The Professor and I just fine. We wanted to get back to Earth and find the individual who could drive the spirits out and we wanted to do it before those possessed diplomats started a war.