The Forgotten Fleet

The asteroid belt was silent, save for the faint hum of the ship’s thrusters. Captain Nia Adebayo squinted at her screen, adjusting her course. The Ardent had been searching this sector for weeks, following a strange, intermittent signal. Every time they got close, it seemed to drift further away.

“Captain, we’re detecting something solid up ahead,” said Myles, the navigation officer. “Looks like… a large metal structure.”

Nia’s pulse quickened. “On screen.”

The monitor flickered to show a hazy outline—a massive fleet of ships, silent and lifeless, drifting among the asteroids. Ancient vessels, darkened and cold, with faded emblems of a long-gone alliance. They were covered in layers of cosmic dust, their hulls cracked and weathered.

“A fleet…” Nia whispered, awe in her voice. “The Vanished Armada. It’s real.”

The crew exchanged uneasy glances. The Vanished Armada was the stuff of legends—an entire fleet sent out centuries ago to explore beyond the known regions of space. But it had disappeared, and not a single vessel had returned.

Myles adjusted the sensors, frowning. “Captain, I’m detecting faint power readings… and life signs.”

Nia’s heart pounded. “Life signs? After all this time?”

He nodded, eyes wide. “Barely detectable, but there. Maybe some kind of cryostasis?”

Nia made her decision. “Prep the shuttle. We’re going aboard.”

As they approached the largest ship, its name came into view: The Resolute. Its once-grand hull was scarred, and a strange mist clung to its edges, casting an eerie glow under the ship’s lights. Nia’s team donned their helmets, the silence oppressive as they stepped into the dark corridors of the ancient vessel.

Inside, the walls were covered in strange markings, symbols and glyphs etched in a language no one recognized. The air felt thick, as if the ship itself held its breath. They moved slowly, guided only by the faint life-sign readings.

“This place feels… wrong,” whispered Suri, the team’s engineer. “Like it’s watching us.”

Nia ignored the chill creeping up her spine. “Stay close. We’re almost to the source of the readings.”

They rounded a corner and found a large, dark chamber. In the center was a glass cylinder filled with a blue, shimmering liquid, and inside it lay a figure—a woman, her face calm and serene, seemingly asleep.

Myles checked his scanner. “Captain, this must be the life sign we detected. But… there’s something else.”

The glyphs on the walls began to glow faintly, and a soft voice filled the chamber, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

“Welcome… travelers,” it whispered. “I am Commander Alara of the Resolute. If you are hearing this, then centuries have passed, and you are the first to find us.”

Nia’s voice shook. “Commander Alara? How are you… still alive?”

“This ship… is more than metal and fuel,” the voice replied, warm but hollow. “We encountered… something. A presence in the dark that altered us, connected us. My crew… became part of the ship. Their lives, their memories, held within.”

“Are you… alive?” Suri asked, wide-eyed.

“I am… in a way,” Alara said, her tone soft, almost sad. “We became the guardians of this fleet, bound to keep watch and warn those who would venture too far. There are… things in the dark that should never be woken.”

“What things?” Nia asked, heart pounding.

A long silence stretched before Alara replied, her voice a faint echo. “A presence beyond understanding. We sought knowledge, but it found us first. It altered us, bound us to these ships as silent sentries. Now, we wait… and warn.”

Nia swallowed, understanding the weight of Alara’s message. She turned to her team. “We have what we came for. Let’s go.”

As they left, the ship’s lights dimmed, and the voice faded, leaving one last whisper: “Remember us… and beware the dark.”

Back aboard the Ardent, Nia watched as the fleet drifted away into the asteroid belt, shrouded in silence once more. The Vanished Armada had given its warning—and she intended to heed it.