The large Tiger's Eye gem spun lazily in the suspension field as several mechanical arms spun around it, taking different readings and scraping off small sample pieces. The Gem had been cleaned of surface biological materials, and several of the more jagged and rough spots have been smoothed down, both for sample testing and to allow for more accurate readings from the equipment. The testing lab had been expensive, from a Nanobot perspective, but the data it was returning was well worth it. Alpha went over the readings once more, trying to make some sense out of it.

The stone itself was composted mostly of silica, iron oxide, and various other minerals one would expect to see in a gem like this. However, it was honeycombed with organic compounds, as if both the Gem and flesh had grown together. It wasn't too dissimilar from the Armadillo Alloy in that regard. Could it have formed under similar processes? However, then what was the point of it? The Armadillo's armor was obviously for protection, but what was the point of growing a head-sized gem in your body?

Alpha's first theory was that it was a form of mineral deposit, but he quickly ruled that one out. While more exotic Xenos all had their solutions to mineral storage, Mama Badger was mammalian, and mammals tended to store their minerals in their bones and liver. However, it was never to this extent. Maybe it was some kind of waste dump then? An area to dump excess minerals from their diet. By then, why wouldn't the creature get rid of the minerals through its excretions like the rest of the filthy Biologicals?

Moreover, without knowing the creature's diet, with was just conjecture. Was it some kind of tumor, perhaps? Alpha was tempted to simply cut it open to better study the inner structure. And honestly, he would have, if it wasn't for one strange anomaly, the thing that had drawn Alpha's curiosity in the first place.

The Energy.

Or rather, the radiation. The Gem was giving off HUGE amounts of unknown radiation, so much so that even his weak equipment was able to pick it up. Hell, the thing even gave off a dim glow. The radiation was similar to the type he had sensed from Jīshí and to a (much) lesser extent from the Armadillo Alloy. However, where the Alloy had slowly lost its radioactivity over the course of a few days, the Gem seemed to be continuously generating it. Alternatively, at the very least, it was so saturated or was losing it at such a low rate that Alpha could detect no change even after a week of constant observation.

Was this the "spiritual energy" that Jīshí had mentioned before? If so, how was this Gem tied to it? Furthermore, how did it work? So far, he'd not found any use for the thing, other than "recharging" the spent Alloy. He had learned that after an entire day's supply of Ammunition suddenly became "active" again. Thankfully their design and the nature of the bullets meant that the explosion was relatively contained. But the time lost in cutting and shaping the overgrown Alloy, as well as replacing what was lost, still hurt.

But the incident got Alpha thinking. What WAS spiritual energy, exactly? According to Alpha's testing, it was similar to a photon in that it behaved both like a wave and a partial, but unlike a photon, it would only exhibit one characteristic at a time. Specifically, while it was in motion, for instance, the light the Gem emitted, the "spiritual particles" behaved similarly to electromagnetic radiation. However, in the presence of an atom, this electromagnetic radiation would spontaneously shift into an unknown particle.

This particle would then kick out an electron from the atom, taking over its spot in the atomic Orbital. The electron would then be emitted as beta radiation and light. The atom that had gotten it's orbital hijacked would then start to show a magnetic pull that drew in more of these spiritual particles until all of its electrons had been replaced. At this point, the atom would exhibit strange Ionic properties, unlike anything in Alpha's data banks.

In fact, now that he knew what to look for, some basic testing showed this process to be happening continuously around him. Everything from the stones of the cave wall to the very air itself seemed to be naturally absorbing this spiritual radiation from the environment. But the level of radiation in the general environment was... minuscule, barely detectable. The infinitesimally small particles and the vast distance they had to cover between atoms meant that it was a prolonged process.

That was unless there was a source of the radiation, such as the Gem around.

The whole process fascinated the AI. How did the particles shift form without any seeming energy gain/loss? How did they substitute and fill the same role as the electrons and yet totally change the atom's properties? Hell, how did they hijack the Orbitals without just totally throwing the atomic balance out of wack? All in all, these discoveries had just turned 15,000 years of Atomic Physics on its head. Just what Alpha had unearthed in the past week would be enough to keep the Eggheads back home busy for decades.

His most significant discovery by far was that, somehow, far more "spiritual particles" could occupy an atom's Orbital than electrons. In fact, the copper ion that made up the majority of the Armadillo Alloy contained over eight times the number of spiritual particles than electrons per Orbital. The silicon atoms making up the Gem had over fifty times the particles crammed into its Orbitals.

Alpha was at a loss. Ions like this should have been so insanely unstable that they would have decayed almost instantly. The only other place the Federation had encountered something like that had been in the heart of old stars, and even then, they had been deemed nothing more than Scientific curiosities. But not only were these Ion stable, but they were continually absorbing and gathering more particles.

But that begged the biggest question of all.

What could he do with it now?

General Uriel "Vurod" Haldorðr slammed his clawed hand into the control panel, shattering the delicate equipment into pieces. His eyes blazed with rage as he roared down at the cowering human Communications Officer,

[General Haldorðr] - "GONE?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S 'GONE'?!"

The Comms Officer stood frozen at attention, but for a slight tremor in his hand, eyes wide, and he tried to stutter out a response for the furious General. And for good reason; a typical Vidaasi, jokingly called "Dragonkin" by the Federation's human population, was easily four times the size of an adult human, even one as well build as the Comms Officer. They weren't the largest sapient species in the Federation (that honor when to the Humpback Whales, current rulers of Old Earth), but they had been voted year after year as the most "intimidating" (a fact their Councilor took great pride in).

General Haldorðr, who had served as the Commander of the Federation's Expeditionary force for the last six standard centuries, was big even for a Vidaasi. The Vidaasi, along with the Elderon, Humpbacks, and Humanity, made up the Third Federation's founding members. It was said that the galaxy-spanning genocidal rampage of the hyper-predatory species known as the "Hunters" was only stopped thanks to a combination of Humanities's technology and the Vidaasi's ferocity and battle prowess.

General Haldorðr himself was said to have descended from one of those Legendary warriors, and over the centuries, had made new Legends for himself. Now, standing in front of the furious figure of a legend he'd grown up both idolizing and fearing, the young Comms Officer felt his brain shut down.

A sigh escaped the lips of a figure standing next to the General, and she rose from her seat. The close to fainting Comms Officer found his eyes unnaturally drawn to you older Elderon Woman as she approached him. She wore a clean-cut business dress, and the Officer half thought to himself that the woman would be shockingly beautiful, if not for the third eye and angry, pale red skin. The woman smiled as if understanding his thoughts and laid a soft hand on his shoulder.

She spoke to the officer in a calm voice that demanded all of his attention.

[General's Assistant Si'dia] - "Officer Bartly, It's fine. We understand you're simply doing your job. Now please, would you mind giving your report in full? I'm sure you have other duties that you need to attend to as well. We'll finish up here and send you on your way."

The Elderon's voice seemed to echo in his head as he gazed deep into her eyes. A sense of calm and peace washed over the Comms Officer as his shaking body slowly stilled, and his breathing normalized. The young man closed his eyes and took a deep breath before standing back at attention and facing the General, half-speaking half-yelling as he gave his report.

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "Sir! SEAU-01, ALPHA-555-12-4412, left Epsilon Prime on March 3rd at 13:33 hours, heading directly for the Outer Ring Warpgate. As per regulations, SEAU-01 maintained constant Translight communications during transition. At 18:34, SEAU-01 broke from his route and docked at the newly built Green Mars Drydock, purchasing a Class-V Battleship Grade Federation Power Core, a refurbished Blackhawk Battleship, and a number of Miscellaneous items, a list of which has been forwarded to your computer..."

The General grumbled, then flicked open his display screen, scrolling through the extensive list of items. Most were standard kit items used by expeditionary forces on new excursions. Others were custom items the AI had found over the years to be useful; things like lab equipment, gifts for possible Sapients, and the materials necessary for a nanofactory several grades higher than what is usually deemed necessary. He even came across more than a few items that an AI would have no use for at all. What the hell had that Idiot been planning this time? The several tons of colony ship grade fertilizer and the Gene-Splicing lab, in particular, made the General's eye twitch.

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "On March 4th, SEAU-01..."

The General slammed his fist into the table, once more, leaving a small dent in the battleship-rated metal,

[General Haldorðr] - "ENOUGH! I don't need to know every little detail; get to the point."

The Comms Officer jumped but quickly saluted and continued.

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "Sir! On March 7th, at 02:34 hours, Our sensors detected anomalous readings, just as SEAU-01 crossed the 1,000,000 megameter mark. Our local Defense platform sensors in the area suddenly started picking up a large gravitational distortion on par with a small black-hole that had suddenly materialized in the middle of the system. The readings then show the anomaly cutting across the system at speeds even our best Sub-light engines could not match. Three minutes later, at 02:37, the anomaly passed within 10,000 kilometers of SEAU-01. It was at this time that communications with SEAU-01 ended abruptly."

[General Haldorðr] - "And why was Alpha not informed of this approaching 'anomaly'?"

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "S-sir! At the time, the Navigator had written the readings off as faulty equipment, as the readings had seemed, frankly ridiculous. By the time he was on the phone with Technical, the anomaly was already on the move and approaching SEAU-01."

The General squinted his eyes and glanced at his Assistant. Si'dia simply nodded and wrote something down on her datapad. A cold sweat falling down his temple, the Comms Officer lit a candle in his heart for the poor Navigator who would soon be getting a visit from the "Red Demoness" and continued.

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "After crossing SEAU-01's path, the anomaly traveled for another 500 megameters before disappearing from our sensors. As soon as communications with SEAU-01 were cut, a squadron was dispatched to the area, as per regulations. This is what they found."

The young man waves his hand, and a holographic projection popped into view, showing a large debris field, spread out in a straight line for several thousand kilometers. The screen zoomed in on several particular pieces, showcasing a large serial number and the name "Duckhunter" scrawled in large, curving letters.

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "Tracing the serial number, we were able to confirm that the debris belonged to the Blackhawk class Battleship purchased by SEAU-01 a few days prior. However, there was something... strange about the whole scene."

The General raised a brow ridge and stared at the display, the gears in his head turning.

[General Haldorðr] - "Strange? ... I see. Where is the rest of it...?"

The Comms Officer nodded and continued.

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "The Blackhawk might be an older model, but it is still one of the larger Battleships currently in production. That being said, the debris found only accounts for roughly 40% of the ship's total mass, including supplies. The debris that is there shows signs of intense gravitational warping. The rest is... unaccounted for."

The General sighed and rubbed the ridges of his broad snout, seeing where this was going.

[General Haldorðr] - "Including Alpha's Core..."

The Comms Officer simply nodded again and remained quiet.

[General Haldorðr] - "So let me get this right. You're saying that something, God knows what, with the signature of a small black hole and traveling faster than anything the Federation can make, somehow slipped right under our noses. Not only that, but it then proceeded to wander off with our best Field Agent, and vanish into thin air before we could even muster a response?"

The Comms Officer began to visibly shake and sweat again, even with Si'dia's support, as he squeaked out a response.

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "Y-yes S-sir."

The General stood, looking like he was about to explode as he stared daggers into the Comms Officers.

[General Haldorðr] - "So why haven't we found him yet?!"

[Comms Officer Bartly] - "T-That's the thing, sir. We can't. We know that he's still alive since his Quantum Entanglement with the Mother-Node is still active, b-but we can't trace the signal. S-something is blocking it entirely."

The General glared even harder, if that was possible, as he stood in silence for a long moment before sighing. The man seemed to deflate as he collapsed back into his chair. He then gave the Comms Officer a tired wave and spoke in a low voice.

[General Haldorðr] - "You're dismissed, Soldier. Report to me if there is any change in the situation..."

The Comms Officer gave a salute and made a hasty retreat out of the office door. The General leaned on his desk and placed his head in his large hands before muttering.

[General Haldorðr] - "What has that Idiot gotten himself into this time..."

Si'dia approached and placed a large (for her at least) cup of hot peppermint tea on the General's desk. The General gave the older woman a look of appreciation and picked up the cup to take a sip.

[Si'dia]: "What now, General? Do you think Alpha's gone AWOL?"

The General was silent before shaking his head.

[General Haldorðr] - "No. He may be an idiot who gets on my last nerve sometimes, but he's not a fool. All we can do now is try to find him... and hope he stays alive long enough for us to do so."

Si'dia nodded and said,

[Si'dia]: "I'll pull some strings and get the eggheads back on Old Earth to see if they can do anything. If anyone can backtrack through the Quantum Entanglement, it'll be the Whales. They're the ones who designed the Mother-Node in the first place."

The General smiled,

[General Haldorðr] - "Thanks, Love. What would I do without you?"

Si'dia humphed as she strutted out the office,

[Si'dia]: "Please, without me, you'd have burned this place to the ground decades ago."

The General simply laughed as the doors slid shut behind his Assistant.