[Cosmosdex] The Universal Encyclopedia

[Cosmosdex]

Ghoulog Fleet
     

Ghostly Armada / Dark Swarm

Ghoulog Fleet
“Captain you've gotta see what I'm picking up on the radar” — Unknown

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Dominant Residents: None
Other Residents: Spacebornes, Mors units

Fauna: Spaceborne, Domestic, and Scavenging species
Weather: Ship atmosphere or none

Danger Level: Medium
Purpose: Unknown/None

Original Creator: Voidtraipser


Physical Description

The majority of the fleet is in a state of lacking an atmosphere and being fully exposed to the vacuum of space, and while airlocks are present they are excessively common to a degree that it cannot be predicted whether an airlock leads to open space or to a living room. The closest means of figuring out whether an area leads to open space is the presence of safety rails and other fixtures that seem present so that someone with climbing gear could easily move about the ship in safety should an emergency arise. These seem to be a standard safety feature and once more it is no guarantee as to what follows for the ship and as such brave souls entering should always wear life support devices whether active or not.

Survivors have reported that the interior of the ghost ships trend towards slightly run down or abandoned ships, but outside of rolling blackouts that follow 'intruders' the interiors appear to be a victim of simple neglect rather than what was once speculated. The non-vacuum exposed portions have been noted to seem like an open air mall or public market with palatable greenery available throughout the corridors.

The layout of all sufficiently large fleets seem to be arranged in a decentralized and arcological fashion in such a way that no truly central command point or otherwise meaningful information could be gained from scans. As a result the few attempts to combat the fleet have been futile due to the inability to make a fatal strike on most ships, and attempts to do so are complicated by the average size being beyond commercially available ships after the endless changes the fleet goes through. The continually changing known nature of this fleet has led to a theory that the majority of ships are modular in nature and that damaged segments are broken down, repaired, re-assembled, re-attached to the fleet as needed, and that the fleet undergoes superficial restructuring on a fairly average basis.

History

Nobody knows when it was first truly discovered as the farther back one goes in the timeline the more vague and difficult to track down the rumors get. The name "ghoulog" was established as an idea that those who died in shipwrecks crewed the fleet, and while it inevitably became a matter of fact the name has stuck.

After the Fortuna incident the ghost fleet gradually began to move between parts of the universe, as if crawling to bide time. Historians have made note that the fleet has had chances to reach Fortuna in time, and as a result it's believed that the ghost fleet grows in tandem as the planet's death toll does.

Further speculation believes that the prevalence of Mors units is only due to the attraction to the mass death associated to the Fortuna tragedy. Approximately during the extinction era it's believed that the rumor of the ghost fleet being a form of clockwork organism arose, and most who made such a claim traced it to the association between abandoned ships, Mors units, and the calculated pattern the fleet grows with. As time wore on however people were able to land on the ship successfully, survive, and come back with reports assuaging these fears.

At the present time the ghost fleet has become a part of universal pop culture, and has amassed a cult following. In turn new conspiracy theories and con-men have arisen, and the first that will come to mind are individuals such as Mxr Crescendi who claim to be an envoy or ambassador from the fleet.

Locations

Abyssal Flagship: What would otherwise be phrased as an oversized capitol ship is known as the abyssal flagship. Very few have managed to land on it, and those that have report that it's halls seem to extend forever onwards.

Scrap Barges: This part of the ghost fleet seems to be focused in resource collection. There isn't much more known than what is detailed in the physical description section.

Ghost Watcher's Convoy: Similar to the nemesis fleet these ship convoys are enthusiasts who seek to study or otherwise just enjoy the view of a ghost fleet in operation. Unlike either fleet these convoys tend to be clusters of ships from the local sector or those following from the last couple the ghost fleet visited, and often pool resources where they can.

Special

Fortuna's Wake: This 'planet' seems to grow in proportional relation to Fortuna's deathtoll.

Trivia

• A fair portion of people who docked with the ghost fleet died, and the majority of survivors have no memory whereas the ones that do often disappear mysteriously within a week. Only one in six die when watching from a close distance. Only one in ten die when they are watching from the relatively safe distance of ghost watcher convoy. Once the ghost fleet is spotted all emergency responders such as tow trucks and law enforcement stop responding due to a recent "idiot law" being passed.

• A number of shuttlecraft regularly split off from the fleet as it leaves a sector and likewise a number join. Those who claim to have been visited by these wandering ghost ships often claimed having the sensation of meeting someone very strange but otherwise being unscathed.

• During close planetary approaches a number of the ships within the ghost fleet begin firing unknown weapons at various locations. The actual nature of these weapons, where they land, and the like is still unknown, but it is known that they are likely a form of railgun due to magnetic waves interfering with sensors and tracking instruments. What is known is that the solitary ghost ships often visit these planets a decades or centuries after.

• Outside of the abnormally high number of Mors units living within the fleet the only other known occupants are spaceborne species. None of those that contact has been made with have reported anything implying they understand the nature of the ghost fleet more than the editors who work on this article do.

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