Challenge #02002-E178: Double Scheherazade

Alien crew explores a likely-haunted spaceship wreck they found floating around -- TheDragonsFlame

Afterlives are one of the more complicated cultural complications in Galactic Society. Though citizens are not encouraged to insist on inserting their beliefs into others' heads, the topic of assorted beliefs is not taboo, either. One is expected to not judge, and not be judged in return. For instance: most cultures believe that some form of animated spirit persists after the mortal shell is deceased. Where it goes and what it does varies after that.

And all of those beliefs come out into the assembled team's brains when exploring an empty, drifting vessel. Vessels should be full. Or at a minimum, crewed. This looked like a long haul cargo transporter and nothing had activated when they hailed it. Trajectory had it heading off into nowhere. So they docked and at least tried to sort out why it was headed in a funky direction.

The pock-marked painting on the side said, Revere's Ride. Which made it a human vessel. The airlock failed, and had failed some time in the past, leaking air like a seive and subtly pushing the Revere's Ride off course by potentially millions of kliks. How it had not set off alarms or signals was anyone's guess. Nevertheless, they managed to bully the leaking door into opening and equalising pressure inside.

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