Alien! Ghosts! Paperwork!

Charting the frontier of unknown space was a guaranteed humdrum, routine mission—which in the case of the starship Mercury, may or may not have been a subtle way to punish Captain Stuart Flane for recently losing 90 percent of his crew without a satisfactory explanation. It was hard to tell sometimes, when it came to discerning Admiral Tawney's motives. The Old Man was like that—but at least he seemed to have a sense of humor.

Flane and the (replacement) crew of the starship Mercury persevere. They must continue to unflappably unravel whatever mysteries and challenges the universe deigns to throw their way—even those that might be, well...slightly paranormal by nature. In spite of his true feelings on the subject, Flane must submit honest and accurate mission reports, even if they make his reputation, and his sanity, look a little shaky. What else was he supposed to do? Lie?

Back at Space Fleet HQ, Flane and his ship had come to be viewed with suspicion by those to whom he answered. As a matter of fact, he'd become something of an open joke—peals of laughter echoed in the halls of power at H.Q. about the Space Fleet's own "ghost busters"! Flane's pride, and his career, seemed to be on life-support.

Even so, Captain Flane—once a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic of all things supernatural—remained hopeful that he could put the events that changed his mind behind him, and get back to the ordinary, scientific, no-nonsense business of charting and exploring space.

Unfortunately, Fate, and Admiral Tawney, appeared to have other ideas—with dire consequences.