Wahoo!

[Jayce]

Location and date: Cambridge Research Station, 818 A.S.

Doctor Vespucci, descendant of the ancient explorer Amerigo Vespucci, was coming to the end of a class about ghost ship sightings in Sirius. The previous few days had been about what could be mistaken for ghost ships, such as gaseous anomalies, stars, and floating debris.

"And now, we come to the meat of the lesson! Actual sightings!" Vespucci said. The class all began to give off an air of anticipation, as Vespucci pressed a poor-quality transparency to the overhead projector:

Vespucci started again: "Now, class, what do you think this is?"

"A wisp of gas, doctor. That would seem fairly obvious, as that's all you've been showi-"

"Wrong!" Snapped the doctor, interrupting the young student. "This is an actual sighting of a ghostship. See there, in the highlighted area? That white streak? This is an image of the ghostship "Wahoo," a Type-13 Liberty Gunboat lost after the Texas supergate accident 300 years ago! This is the first image taken of it, about 17 years ago." The class looked skeptical. How could a small white streak be anything but a gas cloud?

"I can see it in your faces now, how can this be a Liberty Gunboat, you ask? Well, if you look to the right side of the wisp, you can see the distinctive blue trim that was placed on the bow of the Type-13. Shortly after, you can see the conning tower, and beyond that the telltale "hump" common to the current Liberty Gunboat, the Type-23." The class "oohed" and "aahed" at the realization that they were seeing an image of an actual Ghostship!

"Now then class, come back tomorrow, and we will discuss the ghostship "Strudelwerfer," a Rheinland Battleship lost in the Sigmas!"

---