Layers of Mystery

Captain’s Log, Stardate 58469.4: Captain Green-One-Up, reporting. One of the most unexpected finds of our expedition, so far, has been relative lack of class-M worlds. Theories abound as to why our two galactic formations should be so different on this point, but the only reliable thing we can do is collect data for Federation scientists to try and piece together the complex puzzle.

We have come across our second class-M planet since we entered the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy-North. When it came time to give the world a designation, we bypassed the usual protocols. If I didn’t agree with the overwhelming crew sentiment to name the planet “Mozyx’s World”, I may have had a mutiny on my hands.

The planet is rich with life, but nothing approaching true sentience. However we have good reason to believe that this is an ancient world – one which has nurtured many previous biological epochs. Our sensors have discovered a hexagonal metal grid underlying the planet’s entire surface. Furthermore the composition of this grid seems to be duranium alloy, or at least something with a very similar signature.

I am dispatching two shuttles to the surface with landing parties. Each will touch down in an area where the grid is closest to the surface to see if any further details can be gleaned – and to possibly collect a physical sample of the grid material. All of us sense something strange about this beautiful world, but it’s nothing any of us seem able to put a manipulator on…

The Spider pumps continue to supply power to the ship’s systems. The discovery of these amazing bioelectric organs could be worth the price of our journey alone… were it not for the exorbitant cost in crew lives that we paid in obtaining them. Since they were first named by human members of our crew, I have looked up the Terran reference to “spiders”. Contrary to what I’d been told to expect, I find them charming little creatures – not too unlike the rhestma I kept as a pet in my juvenile phase.

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Yes. The Captain is now in an "up" phase.
More on that, later...

Model by DJ Curtis, background by Hameed. DAZ Studio render. Thanks to Gazzatrek for the camera nudge