Chapter 67 “New Contact”
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Goathead was a formidable and eerie figure, a throwback to ancient times, clinging to outdated customs. Since its first appearance, Duncan had kept a vigilant eye on it. His caution stemmed not only from its mysterious and otherworldly nature but also from its connection to the original Captain Duncan and its strict adherence to antiquated beliefs and practices.
To this spectral figure, the cities on land were insignificant. It viewed the city inhabitants as trivial and laughable, their naval forces merely vulnerable targets ripe for looting and exploitation. Such merciless behavior was routine for Goathead, a daily occurrence for the Vanished.
Duncan was uncertain how long it would take to change Goathead’s outdated methods. Nonetheless, he knew that he needed to carefully introduce changes to both himself and the ship.
Duncan gave Goathead one final, prolonged look as it stood by the ship’s navigation table. Confident that it had taken control of the Vanished’s intricate sailing and steering systems, he quietly retreated to his private quarters.
That afternoon, he anticipated Nina’s return to the antique shop. Before her arrival, he needed his pet dove, Ai, to perform several experimental tasks.
As Duncan closed the door of his chamber behind him, Goathead watched him leave. After a long silence, it sighed and murmured, “He remains entirely unaffected by subspace… Oh, Vanished, what mystery have you unearthed….”
Duncan found himself again in the dark, star-filled tunnel connecting the Vanished and the antique shop in the city-state of Pland. Maintaining a connection to both ends was now effortless for him, and he had even learned to remotely control his body at the shop for simple tasks.
He recognized the practicality of this strange ability, aware that an antique shop owner who seemed to spend half his time “sleeping” would attract unwelcome attention. Standing at the shop’s entrance for a few minutes usually dispelled any suspicions.
However, before shifting his primary consciousness to Pland, Duncan stayed in the dark tunnel, observing the subtle shifts within this transitional space. His attention then slowly shifted.
In the vast emptiness of space, Ai had taken on her undead skeletal form, surrounded by eerie green flames. Yet, what truly captured Duncan’s interest were the faint shapes around the bird.
Among these shapes were various objects like the sun amulet, an ancient dagger, a piece of cheese, a heavy cannonball, and a salted dried fish. These were the “test items” Duncan had set up earlier to explore Ai’s ability to transport objects and the potential alterations during the process.
Watching Ai interact with these items, Duncan nodded approvingly and whispered to himself, “So that’s the method you use to transport items.”
Ai flapped her wings rhythmically and let out a sharp, echoing cry, repeating, “Hold tight, hold tight!”
Duncan smiled faintly, his mind ready to project his primary consciousness into the antique shop.
Just as he was about to initiate the transfer, a strange flicker of light at the end of the tunnel leading to Pland caught his eye.
Surprised, Duncan paused, intrigued by the flickering light that stood out among the myriad dim stars. The light seemed to intensify under his gaze, as if the star were sentient and responding to him.
What could this anomaly indicate?
Driven by curiosity, Duncan moved towards the intriguing glimmer. With a mere thought, he traversed the vast void, his consciousness heading towards this alluring beacon. In doing so, he realized that this “connection” resembled those he maintained with his physical body on the Vanished and at the antique shop.
Could this be another body he could inhabit?
This thought briefly crossed Duncan’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it. The star before him was much larger than those indicating “bodies.” Such a large luminary was unlikely to represent a potential body and more likely to be an important object that had somehow formed a bond with him.
Deciding to investigate further, he tentatively reached out to touch the star…
Suddenly, a massive and unfamiliar “awareness” engulfed his senses—he couldn’t see his surroundings, but he distinctly felt the sea breeze on his skin. A murmur of indistinct voices filled the air, too muddled to make out any specific conversation. It felt as if he was listening from behind a thick curtain.
Duncan speculated that his current sensory input was being relayed through a vast structure, making it difficult to interpret the conversations. However, he sensed a tense and serious atmosphere beyond the veil and finally recognized a name mentioned repeatedly—the White Oak.
Withdrawing his touch from the starlight, Duncan stared in awe at the nebulous image of a ship encapsulated within the light.
“The White Oak…” The name rang a bell, but he struggled to recall where he had heard it last.
He remembered a newspaper from Pland reporting a maritime ship that had gone missing for several days but was expected to dock soon…
Duncan was momentarily shocked to realize this was indeed the White Oak, the ship responsible for escorting Anomaly 099.
The aged captain, who had tried to contact him, must have reached Pland, and it seemed that the ship had established some form of connection with him.
Could this connection be a residual effect of the original “ethereal ship collision”? Had the spectral flames of the Vanished reached out to the White Oak during that incident?
Duncan delved deep into thought, trying to understand the nature of his spectral flames while considering the potential usefulness of this new connection to the steamship.
Having spent a considerable time aboard the Vanished, he valued any remaining links to the civilized world.
From his observations, it appeared that the White Oak had managed to dock but was under containment and observation. The anxious chatter he had picked up was likely the discussion of Pland’s specialists dealing with paranormal phenomena.
Undoubtedly, a ship suddenly reappearing after being declared lost at sea would alarm the city-state authorities. And their previous encounter with the Vanished could represent an unresolved issue.
Duncan was well aware of his ghost ship’s fearsome reputation.
After reflecting for a moment, he cautiously decided to withdraw, unwilling to interact with the starlight again.
As the overseer of the Boundless Sea, he had no intention of confronting the city-state’s protectors without a clear understanding of their “capabilities”. It was more strategic to keep the White Oak as a potential tether for future interactions rather than prematurely revealing it and risking potential conflict.
Perhaps with this connection in place, he could eventually engage in a peaceful dialogue with the aged captain, a stark contrast to their previous tumultuous encounter, masked by the howling winds.
so that’s what the priests were always talking about establishing connections and so on
The goathead’s musings after Zhiu Ming left. It knows Something else has been shoved into the role of “Captain Duncan”. To force this new thing to behave properly like Captain Duncan, it adopts a cheerful blabbering personality, but deep down he’s more creeped out by what’s happening than Zhou Ming himself. Neat detail!
Solidifies it when you point it out like that, makes one wonder why goathead is just playing along with it. Food for thought
Perhaps because there is no Duncan without Zhou at this point.
Remember what he adviced the sun cultists when they realized that he had taken possession of their member. “It would have been better to pretend nothing was wrong.”
Goathead has presumably been around long enough that he knows this rule and knows when i to apply it.
Also it seems that in normal cases just looking at the subspace is able to harm someone, makes zhou ming all the more extraordinary
lol so Goat Head knows already