mnemosynecrew: (Default)
The Mnemosyne Crew ([personal profile] mnemosynecrew) wrote in [community profile] themnemosyne2024-11-17 01:50 pm

Event


EVENT


WARNING
WARNING

mnemosyne emergency

an unidentified mass has appeared
heading in our direction at 384,400 km per hour
approximately 3 standard miles in length

WARNING
shields deployed
weapons armed
all crew, brace for possible attack


The alarms are blaring again; a shrill, repetitive wail that's almost become a background hum with how often it seems to activate on the Mnemosyne. Unidentified mass? Like an asteroid? A ship? Space junk? Whatever it is, it's heading towards the ship - and once the imaging feed from outside opens up on the CL-10s, it's clear that it's not just a mass. It's a presence.

A single eye, the size of a shuttlecraft, flickers at the edge of the visual spectrum - a bright blue that catches the faint light of distant stars. No. Not just an eye. The entire creature - if 'creature' is even the right word - looks back at the ship. It's enormous, but strangely graceful, drifting in the vacuum of space with a fluidity that defies the laws of motion. It's not like a ship, nothing with defined angles or rigid shapes. No, the way it moves is mesmerizing, almost hypnotic - its form so alien, it defies any conventional language to describe it.


A rush of emotions - almost like a wave - slams into the crew. At first, there's a sense of greeting. It's not aggression, not even a threat, but a deep curiosity. Confusion follows, the weight of the creature's thoughts pressing against the minds on board the Mnemosyne, as if it’s trying to make sense of this new thing in front of it. It's not hostile, but it's so... large. The thoughts are like a flood of information too big to contain. Its mind is overwhelming. Its presence is overwhelming.

Then, almost immediately, there's an apology - soft, almost embarrassed, like a giant gently realizing it may have startled something much smaller, much more fragile. The mental touch it extends is almost a caress, hesitant, unsure. As though the being recognizes that its mind and the minds of the crew aren't compatible in scale.

Its presence diminishes just slightly, becoming less imposing; more delicate, respectful. Then there is a strange moment of stillness. The whole ship feels seen in ways it hasn't before. The crew can sense it - this creature doesn't want to hurt them. No. It just wants to understand.

As the seconds stretch into minutes, something even stranger begins to happen. The creature begins to mirror the movements of the ship. Not in a mechanical way, but in a fluid, almost playful fashion. It doesn't pursue but rather matches pace with the Mnemosyne. The way it shifts its limbs is with the grace and elegance of an ancient being who has mastered the art of subtlety.

A pulse of mental energy, like a heartbeat, radiates through the crew again. It's gentle, this time, like the creature is apologizing once more, sensing the crew's discomfort. The flood of emotion begins to soften, as though it's trying to find the right way to approach. Something about it is pure curiosity - deep, boundless curiosity. Not unlike how a child might marvel at a new toy.

Congratulations! The Mnemosyne has made its first new alien contact in this part of space.



Welcome to the first mid-month event! The alien is friendly, if a little too huge, and will only communicate via emotions rather than words. The ship will have its shields deployed the entire time - and if people read the data collected from the creature, it has the same unknown element to it as the traces left after the collision that shut off the power systems.

On the 19th, it will leave the Mnemosyne and open a strange portal to swim into and disappear - which also explains its sudden appearance and how L3TH3 couldn't find a source of the blast.



tarakan: (Default)

[personal profile] tarakan 2024-12-03 02:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hilbert also feels that ripple of emotion. His face scrunches up like he just swallowed a lemon before he grumbles, ]

Certainly sentient. It can at least express simple thoughts and feelings.

[ It thought he was cute. Ew. ]

Perhaps it is studying us like we are studying it.
itdoesntlikeyou: (side eye)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2024-12-03 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[Now there's a thought that makes Rin feel like a bug pinned to a board. They resist the stupid human urge to look over their shoulder.]

That would explain the curiosity and the prodding, I guess.
tarakan: (can't be helped)

[personal profile] tarakan 2024-12-04 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
There was one emotion I tried to convey that I do not think it understood. Perhaps we both are trying to grow and learn from our studies.
itdoesntlikeyou: (headache)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2024-12-05 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
[The last thing Rin wants to do is start cataloging the emotional responses that the creature is both sending and receiving, but if Hilbert's going to start theorizing...

They format a quick recording log and pull it up on Hilbert's screen, with places to tag the general emotional burst sent to and recieved from their outdoor visitor, and data for a timestamp, set down to the millisecond.]


You aren't talking like you think it's dangerous.

[Is that disapproving?]
tarakan: (Default)

[personal profile] tarakan 2024-12-05 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I do not know enough to see if it is dangerous or not, [ Hilbert shrugs. ] It could be. Could not be. Silly to make assessment with such little information.
itdoesntlikeyou: (screens)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2024-12-07 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Rin presses their lips together for a moment, staring down the sensor-and-camera view of the creature.]

... If something is potentially dangerous you operate from the assumption that it's dangerous and then downgrade to less extreme precautions as new evidence is uncovered.

[They let silence drag for a little while before begrudgingly adding]

Except protocols can't account for things they don't know exist, so of course they're impractical for this.
tarakan: (looking over to the side)

[personal profile] tarakan 2024-12-07 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hilbert makes a small noise of acknowledgement before adding, ]

I highly doubt this will be the only new thing we encounter. The idea of grappling with things that do not exist...that will continue.
itdoesntlikeyou: (processing)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2024-12-07 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Ugh.

[Rin doesn't actually sink lower in their chair, but their slouch grows more pronounced with the degree of unenthusiastic resignation in their voice.]

New protocol for 'what the fuck', entry one, space octopus. Might give you a brain tumor but it's probably friendly. Continue on course.
tarakan: (can't be helped)

[personal profile] tarakan 2024-12-08 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
Space mollusk. Octopus has eight legs. Mollusk is more general term.

[ okay captain pedantic ]
itdoesntlikeyou: (FUCK U)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2024-12-08 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Molluscs have shells.

[They can't out-pedant this, they're really really not a biologist. But they can apply stubbornness in any and all situations. Case in point: They're changing all the datafile names at this very instant.]
tarakan: (smug russian bastard)

[personal profile] tarakan 2024-12-09 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
Not all of them. Octopi are technically mollusks.

[ Hilbert's tone of voice is very much 'I'm right and we both know it.' ]
itdoesntlikeyou: (ugh)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2024-12-09 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
[It would be stupid to continue arguing this, right?

It would. For a moment Rin looks mutinous. Then they cross their arms and settle down in their seat.]


Just - analyze the data. [They're still not changing those file names. And they're going to unpause that show now. That's what they're all here for, right? Not for arguments on species identification that Rin may or may not have been about to lose. If they don't look it up in the ship databank then they don't have to admit whether Hilbert was right or not.]