Picking a Stray (1)

Kai noticed something drifting in the space behind the receding energy storm. He stood and walked closer to the panoramic window. "Hey, Sera, are you seeing this too?"

[What?] Seraphina replied, confused.

Pointing at the object, Kai said, "That thing. After zooming in with my optics, it looks like some kind of creature, but it's still too far away to see clearly."

[I'll check it out right away,] Seraphina responded.

A moment later, a holographic screen appeared on the window, displaying a slightly distorted, zoomed-in view. The creature resembled a whale from Earth, but it was vastly different.

It was much larger than even the largest blue whale, with pure white skin adorned with golden stripes. Tentacles extended from its sides, and it had a massive tail fin. 

A row of small circles lined its underbelly, just below six lateral fins, on each side.

But something was amiss. The creature's movements were sluggish, and it bore numerous deep, puncture wounds around its back and dorsal region."Sera," Kai said, his voice laced with concern and curiosity, "what kind of creature is that?"

Seraphina paused as if taken aback and replied.

[That appears to be a juvenile of the Astracetae species. And from the visual examination, it seems to be severely injured, barely holding onto life through sheer willpower.]

Kai was stunned. "That's a baby?" he exclaimed, forgetting his initial curiosity. "That thing is enormous! It doesn't look like a baby from any angle. Are you sure you identified it correctly?"

Seraphina replied calmly.

[No, I'm certain that's a juvenile. However, this one appears different from the other Astracetae in our records. It seems to be mutated or altered in some way. Regardless, its wounds are severe, and it won't survive much longer.]

Still a little clueless, Kai asked, "Okay, but how is it floating in space without suffocating?"

Seraphina paused for a moment before answering.

 [well, Astracetae are a species that evolved and adapted to roam freely in the vacuum of space. They primarily consume energy-rich particles and tend to inhabit the outer edges of vast gas nebulae, where they feed and mate.]

She then let out a small digital sigh before continuing, [Seeing you ask this... are you asking because you want to help it?]

Kai cleared his throat and nodded slightly. "Can we even help it? Won't it attack us?"

[No, they're generally peaceful creatures,] Seraphina replied. 

[They usually only attack if provoked or if someone threatens their herd. This one was likely separated from its group due to its mutation or perhaps got caught in the storm's wake like a child chasing after a piece of candy.]

Kai considered the things for a moment. "Then, we can just treat its injuries and release it back into space," he said. "We have enough problems of our own; I can't take care of it. Maybe it'll repay the favor in the future."

[Hmm, That sounds like a good plan,] Seraphina agreed.

[I'll board it into the hangar bay using the tractor beams.]

As she spoke, the outer plates of the Colossus shifted, revealing four massive tractor beam emitters. They shot white beams that enveloped the injured space whale and slowly pulled it towards the open hangar bay doors.

As the baby Astracetae was being drawn in, Kai made his way to the hangar.

Upon arriving, he was awestruck by the magnificent creature suspended in mid-air, trapped within the tractor beams, visibly frightened and trying to break free, emitting ultrasonic cries in fear.

Scanning its surroundings using sound waves, the creature noticed Kai approaching and attempted to communicate with him through ultrasound waves.

Kai, no longer limited by human hearing, hear the ultrasonic sounds, but couldn't understand them, but he knew he was what it was feeling.

"Yeah, I know you're scared, I would be too," Kai said, stepping closer to the baby Astracetae and gazing into its large, purple, double-pupiled eyes. "I only want to help you. Then I'll set you free."

The baby Astracetae, possessing a surprising level of intelligence, seemed to understand his words. It gradually calmed down, floating more serenely within the energy bubble, emitting lo calming sound waves.

"Okay, Sera," Kai muttered. "I think he's calm now. You can proceed."

Seraphina, barely suppressing her laughter, replied.

[Pff... yeah, I'll begin the scans and prepare some stitching equipment suitable for his size.]

Kai, puzzled by Seraphina's reaction, murmured to himself, "What's with her?"

Meanwhile, Repair droids arrived with giant white poles and began assembling them around the energy bubble. After a few minutes, it resembled the skeletal frame of a large white tent.

[This should do it,] Seraphina announced.

A droid connected a power line from the floor, and the white poles lit up with glowing patterns.

The plates on their surface shifted with shallow sounds of hiss and whir, and a giant blue beam shot out in a straight path, scanning the creature both vertically and horizontally from various angles several times.

Small mechanical hands then carefully extracted blood samples.

After a few minutes, Seraphina spoke, her tone grave.

[Just as I feared, it's not as simple as we initially thought.]

Alarmed, Kai asked, "What? What happened? Can we treat him, or is it something serious?"

[No, this youngling can be treated easily and will be in perfect health soon. The problem is...]

She paused, debating whether to tell Kai the truth. But she knew it wouldn't be wise to hide it.

[This youngling has a genetic mutation. It was dormant from birth, but it was recently triggered by external intervention. This means someone was using him as a lab rat.]

Kai sighed as numerous needle-like hands emerged from the poles and began treating the baby Astracetae's wounds with beams of light that defied his understanding. He returned to the topic at hand.

"Any reason?" Kai asked calmly, though he had some suspicions.

[Primarily because their bodies never stop growing,] Seraphina explained.

[The longer they live, the larger and more powerful they become. Some even surpass mothership-class vessels in size. But that's not the main concern...]

She paused as several droids approached, carrying long, black objects. They laid them down in front of Kai.

[The main problem are these,] Seraphina continued.

[These are plasma harpoons, and two are distinct. One is highly advanced, with a small fusion reactor for power, while the other is crude and seems to be cobbled together from spare parts.]

Kai, piecing the clues together, tentatively asked, "So... they were trying to steal it from someone?" A small smile tugged at his lips, saying 'I don't know what you mean' without the words.

Seraphina hesitated for a moment before replying.

[To be honest, based on my hypothesis, this youngling was captured and experimented on before escaping. It either happened during transport or as a result of some kind of accident.]

She controlled a droid to rotate one of the harpoons, revealing its details more clearly.

[The advanced harpoon was most likely fired by whoever was transporting it, but they failed to capture it. The crude one, as you can see, was probably used by bounty hunters or ravagers trying to profit from the creature. But both groups failed, and the youngling got lucky thanks to the storm.]

Kai noticed a gold crest on the advanced plasma harpoon, depicting a hawk clutching a planet. "Hey, Sera," he said, pointing at it. "Can you identify this crest in your remaining database?"

A moment of silence followed before Seraphina responded in a subdued voice.

[I'm so sorry, Master, but I don't have any data on this crest. It might have been deleted when I was clearing space for the ship's protocols and essential information, or it could belong to a civilization that has risen in the past 2,500 years.]