Star date 3300.5.21
Foreboding. This is the only word that could describe the mood in the air. It’s so… quiet right now. I suppose that’s why it's called the calm before the storm, eh? Clouds are forming in the distance, dark, menacing clouds. Distant thunder can be heard, accompanied by red and blue lightning caused by the snow, sleet, and metallic compounds being kicked up by the wind. Like a storm that comes from the tropics, the storms on this planet tend to have an eye smack dab in the middle of their swirling mass.
All the bots have been acting strange, especially Bean. He gets nervous about storms, wild animals, pretty much everything now that I think about it. He is under my bed right now, cowering and cuddling with his instruction manual. Maybe that’s his way of seeking maternal comfort?
Anyhow, all I can do is wait for the storm to arrive and wait for it to pass, no sense in fretting. This lab has been hit by worse and made it through just fine I am sure it can do it again.
Hmm, what to talk about…
Ah! The alarm went off last night. Something tripped one of the laser tripwires, prompting the computer to record whatever it could with its sensors. There is definitely something skulking around here at night, something big. The camera wasn’t angled in the right direction to get a visual, but according to the biometric data gathered from the computer whatever was out here gives off an electromagnetic field similar in strength to that of a human. When the alarm sounded, I grabbed the plasma rifle and hurried outside but by the time I arrived at the scene the intruder had disappeared into the night without a trace, save for a small patch of white fur practically hidden against the ground's snowy surface. I put it in the analyzer to see if it can find a match to any of the wildlife scanned in times past.
Huh, I realize that as I am talking about all this, my fingers are wrapping against the table and my foot is bouncing like crazy. Maybe I’m a little more nervous than I thought. Normally when there was a late-night guest, Jemma would hop out of bed with her rifle charged and her trigger finger poised. It wasn’t something I had to worry about with her on top of the more aggressive aspects of exoplanet exploration. I suppose it’s all down to me now. I have to be the judge, jury, and executioner. Unless I can somehow convince Bean to do it for me? Nah, I don’t want to risk any damage to his coffee-making abilities.
Ding!
“I am done analyzing the sample, Jax.”
Excellent. Give me the rundown.
“The DNA contained within this fur sample does not match with any previous samples taken from the surrounding environment. Additionally, the genetic traits extrapolated indicate a highly predatorial creature, one with behavioral markers akin to that of the Murder Wolves of Praxis-7.”
What! Are you sure about that? I thought those things were hunted to extinction!
“Correct. The last known Murder Wolf was killed by famous hunter, Gorblalax the Mighty. While not a Murder Wolf, the creature to whom this fur belongs displays near identical behavioral traits with those now-extinct beasts such as hyper aggression and territorial intolerance.”
Great, just great. Any idea what this thing looks like?
“I am unable to determine the skeletal and muscular structure of the creature from fur alone. What can be determined is this creature is likely covered in hair perfectly suited for camouflage in snowy biomes.”
Do you mean like the one we are in right now? Perfect. Crazy Bean might not be so crazy after all. Now I have to deal with a potentially murderous animal and a blizzard? I never thought I'd say this, but I wish Jemma was still here.
All the while the sky is getting darker, swirling with greens and greys as lightning strikes the ocean. Looks like I’ll need to prioritize. First, we get through the storm, then we deal with this… thing.
Computer!
“Yes, Jax.”
Make sure all available power is focused on climate control and structural integrity. The last thing I need is for the generators to blow mid-storm and have command find my freezing corps hunkered in the corner.
“All systems are at full capacity.”
Perfect. And now we wait.
This is Jax, signing off.
ns3.236.239.233da2
