>>6035540“Oh, this is fascinating!” Eyes-of-Night chirps softly as she flicks through the data streaming in from her test equipment. “So similar and yet…”
“Well, don’t leave me in suspense.” You say, trying to peek past Kiro to view the dense results. You aren’t able to make much of them at a glance. “What’s the verdict?”
“It’s quite a lot to take in. I think that resembles a- AWK?!” She squawks in alarm and slaps a wing-hand at the two officers crowding her. “Would you kindly refrain from touching my equipment! Back off, I can barely breathe, let alone think.”
“Yeah Cleo,” Kiro chirps cheekily from his perch on her shoulder. “Stop breaking things.”
“Haa, I’ll break you, you little blue rat!” The Ulveng growls, twisting to try and reach the suddenly evasive lizard clinging to the centre of her back.
You smile slightly at their antics and take their vacated place next to EoN. A magnified view of one of the many squiggling particles making up the sample fills the conole’s screen, details slowly filling in as sections are analysed. The Tyllano woman staring intently at the readout barely notices your presence as she chitters to herself rapidly in her native tongue.
“Base structure, Carbon-Silicon-Aluminium composite… Definitively organo-metallic in origin. Crystalline, with attached organelles. Chemical and piezo-electric based energy storage, typical of the phenotype. Appendages largely Al-Ox based, optimised for manipulation and rafting. Core appears… hmmm natural semiconductor array? That can’t be right, surely? Flagella-type locomotion, appears optimised for fluids. Orifice for excreting… various enzymes?”
If it weren’t for the information compiling and applying itself to different parts of the displayed diagram you doubt you’d be able to translate even half of the technical jargon Eyes-of-Night is chirping out. But for all intents and purposes, the function of the sample seems to be almost identical to the nanites your ship produces from within the enigmatic confines of the void core. Albeit with a lower metal/oid content and no ability for direct control via linked controller. As for its nature…
“My, that’s quite a conclusive list of similarities. Perhaps the proto-form of our nanites.” The Tyllano woman continues to chatter, excited at the discovery despite herself. “All but these externally attached, uh, what are they? High oxygen presence and coiled up almost like… haemoglobin?” She turns to you sharply, eyes wide and feathery plumicorns bristling. “D-Dallas its-” She trails off, not wanting to say the words.
You suddenly feel a presence looming behind you and look up to see the intent gaze of your hulking Navigation officer latched onto the image on screen. The Ulveng works her jaw, revealing rows of sharp carnivorous teeth and finally settles on one of the four different words her people have for what she’s looking at.
<span class="mu-r">“Blood.”</span> She rumbles, <span class="mu-r">“It’s blood.”</span>
