"Survival Guide to P338451, Chapter 1 - Insects"
(Previous Post: "Possibilities")
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Stardate: 62231.1545
Had it not been for the situation that had surrounded the arrival of the crew to P338451, the Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS would have greatly enjoyed her time on the alien world as the Shillian learned more about the unique flora and fauna. Although the forest in which the shape-shifted scientist had been prowling through appeared like most other in the galaxy, the critters that called this environment home were worthy of a lifetime dedication to research.
Like the Tholians, many of the creatures the Shillian woman came across on P338451were crystalline-based, a discovery that by itself had been remarkable as this planet did not appear to have the required components to sustain such a unique type of life. Little was known about the Tholians as a race thanks to their continued resistance for diplomatic and scientific exchanges but what had been known was that their home world could never sustain any type of carbon-based life. So to discover a world upon which both carbon and crystalline-based life had been found had been a remarkable discovery, one that the Shillian scientist still managed to struggle with when the Starfleet Officer had not been busy saving her own life.
As the Shillian reverted back to humanoid form out of sheer necessity, having sustained her wolf-like transformation for as long as possible, the Chief Science Officer found herself face to face with a small colony of ants. The tiny woodland creatures appeared almost identical to those found on EARTH and a thousand other planets which made the scientist smile. Despite the countless light-years which separated all of these worlds nature seemed happy to maintain certain characteristics through evolution, especially when they proved to be well adaptive and successful.
As the eyes of the Chief Science Officer followed a single of these insects, the Shillian noted a small clear crystal that seemed to grow from the ground. The small shard had been so clear that it almost appeared invisible as it allowed the features of the ground behind it to be seen with very little distortion. The head scientist of the USS ANUBIS watched with great curiosity as the one ant drew closer to the crystal, the Shillian silently wondered if the small insect would notice the odd crystal.
The moment the insect touched the crystalline structure though, the ant was instantly drawn inside where the Shillian watched the disturbing scene of the small creature being torn apart at the cellular level. Seconds later the small darkened shard withdrew into the ground only to be replaced by another a few centimetres away, this one as clear as the first one had been before. It quickly became clear to the Chief Science Officer that the crystal formation belonged to some sort of organism which fed on ants and likely other small insects unfortunate enough to touch it. Although very curious as to the details of this strange new organism, the Shillian reluctantly decided to move away just in case ants had not been the main source of nutrients for this crystalline-based organism.
It was evident that P338451 held many secrets and that what the Shillian scientist had witnessed had only been but a small sample of the strange and unusual nature of this world, and of the creatures that inhabited it.
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"To see the world in a grain of sand,and a heaven in a wild flower.Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,and eternity in an hour." 2008 post #005
Setting: P338451, Forest
Jessica Solarik
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
