The Egg

Posted on Tue Jun 11th, 2024 @ 8:54pm by Captain Calypso Skyie & Lieutenant Rebecca McMillen & Lieutenant JG Raven Windancer

Mission: Which Came First, The...

Despite paging through the PADD in front of her, actually a rather raunchy romance novel that she'd not even been paying much attention to, it was obvious that they were approaching and the Captain stood before Raven could point out their arrival. "Carefully insert us into orbit, please Raven." The Captain placed a hand on the young helmswoman's shoulder, "Rebeccas, I need a full sensor profile, please."

"Aye, Captain [Gulp]," Raven nodded, gently positioning the ship in the proper orbit.

[Whew! So far so not getting into another squeazing match!] Raven thought, relieved.

Rebecca Stevenson moved her fingers across her console, "Working on it now."

Cally tossed the PADD face-down onto the XO's seat, one foot twitching as she waited for the results. This was definitely abnormal, and she didn't like abnormal because it usually meant danger.

[Other than trying to kill us, they're actually kinda pretty...in a 'I'm no longer able to support life yet I still live' kind of way. Oh BLEK! What garbage am I quoting!?] Raven thought, mentally gagging.

"Looks like the planet is intact, and by that I mean no degradation to its surface area. Totes a little radiation but it looks as though the star is taking care of that. I am getting some uranium and other radiological elements that I am unable to classify at this time emanating highly from near the planets core. Now here's something interesting, the core seems cool despite all this. She's sitting at a nice and chilled thousand degrees Celsius. To top this wonderful planet off, she is pulsing." Rebecca reported in lengthy detail after what seemed like forever. Her scans were shifted onto the screen so others could see.

"WHISTLE! Ain't that a beaut! Wonder what's causing all that!" Raven picked her jaw up off the floor and stared at the information.

"The amount of gravity you'd need to support heavy atomic elements at a planet core are off the charts." the pocket-sized Rebecca commented from the tabletop. "It goes without saying, but I'd heavily HEAVILY recommend against any away missions without serious compensational gear. Hell, I don't even think we have gear that can approach that level of protection. So, yeah. Let's not go for a stroll on the pulsing planet surface please."

"But, in my concentrated opinion, that's dangerous." she giggled.

"I second the motion!" Raven affirmed, both greatly freaked out, and immensely intrigued by the whole thing.

"Then let's just get some scans and we'll move on out of here, right?" Calypso watched the surface of the planet as the active sensors went on with their detailed scans, but something caught her eye, "Ops, I want you to zoom in on sector... Delta-Five?" She watched as the visual sensors zoomed in and yes, that crater was moving as if it were about to erupt like a volcano, but there was no magma dome. "I've got a bad feeling about this." The Captain said quietly.

Then the surface of the world cracked and something began to emerge. The beak, or was it a mouth, or something poked through the crust, shoving literal mountains off to the side as it began to wriggle free, an entire piece the size of a city tumbling into the depths of the core. "Helm, full reverse, put some distance between us and... Whatever that is! Science, what IS that?"

"SHOOT A BRICK!" Raven swore as she put the ship in full reverse away from the...THING!

Rebecca had been in a confused daze for what felt like a long time before she answered, "Well it's not Superman, running biological scans now. I think it might be alive though not sure how."

"Bro, I don't care HOW that things alive! It tried to EAT US!" Raven hissed, keeping the ship as far away as she could while still staying in scanner range.

"Settle, settle," Calypso had overcome the first shock and surprise and now leaned forward to look at the thing on the screen. It was definitely a creature, now that the outside of the planetoid had crumbled into the depths. "Perhaps it was an egg for whatever it is? If so, I really don't want to meet mama."

Something niggled at the Captain and she glanced over her shoulder at Rebecca before looking down at the floor, "Take us to oh... a hundred thousand kilometers from the creature and hold there, Raven." She stated idly, then pondered nearly a minute longer. Creature here, hatching from a planetoid... Five other planetoids already cracked open, organic nebula that was really massive...

"Oh... Shit." She stated simply, "Raven, I want you to plot a course out of here and program it into the computer so all we have to do is hit a button. Rebecca... Stevenson, I want you to keep on the sensors, particularly on the edge of the system. If anything comes out of that nebulaic mass, someone hit the button that Raven sets up. Rebecca McMillen, Jesus I need something to call each of you that I don't have to be specific about, I want scans of that creature, then see if that nebula isn't actually something like food for it. Cormac, get to the shuttlebay and start prepping a shuttle for launch. I want a tank of organics in the back that can be dispensed like bread crumbs, because if that creature needs to get to the nebula, I don't want it to eat US on the way there. Raven, feel up to playing a piece of bait?"

OFF:
Captain Calypso Skyie
Commanding Officer

Ensign Raven Windancer
Chief Flight Control Officer

Lieutenant Rebecca Stevenson
Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant Rebecca McMillen
Chief Science Officer