h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's been quiet down on the Moat for a long time now. Last night was no exception. Then, on the edge of a dream somewhere, there came a Lady.

She was shrouded in a grey veil. Something about her suggested the Womb as much as the Grave. She raised her hand to her lips...

The sound of the first whistle was faint and almost went unnoticed. Instead it was the flash of dazzling white that seized your attention. Could that really be her flesh beneath the veil?

The second whistle was shrill and clear. Electricity seemed to tingle around the ship. St Elmo's Fire flared at the tips of spars and rails, and you knew without daring to look that the Dead Men on the deck were alert now. The Lady threw back her veil, and the brilliance of her aura lit the gathering clouds.

She whistled for a third time, and the sky was rent by lightning. The wind rose from nowhere; the masts and the rigging creaked and strained as it filled the Revenant's invisible sails. The thunderheads above broiled a dark and angry red. There was chanting from the deck now...

Was it then that you woke? Suddenly there was no wind, no storm. But down on the Moat, there was no Revenant either.

It could be gone for a while. Far away in another thread, someone has shot an albatross...

This morning, the Revenant has returned. The crew are inert once more.

They must think their job is done...

...Perhaps...