The Stardust Drifter did not arrive with a roar, but with a whisper. Space folded in on itself, and the sleek, discus-shaped research vessel emerged into the silent reality of the uncharted system. On its bridge, there was no panic, only a focused, professional calm.
Captain Eva Rostova stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her gaze fixed on the main viewscreen. Her career in the Xylos Federation's science division had been built on a foundation of unshakeable composure. "Report," she said, her voice cutting cleanly through the low hum of the bridge.
"Warp exit stable. All systems green," the helm officer reported. "We are in the target system, Captain."
Beside her, Dr. Aris, the mission's chief xenophysicist, was practically vibrating. His slender, multi-jointed Xylosian frame leaned toward a sensor console, his three crystalline eyes wide with intellectual fervor. "The readings are… Captain, they are exactly as the drone report indicated, yet they remain breathtaking. A stable, trinary star system. A perfect garden world in the precise orbital sweet spot. By all known models of astrophysics, this solar system should have torn itself apart eons ago."
"Put the planet on screen," Rostova ordered.
The view shifted. The purple-sanded, turquoise-oceaned world filled the screen. It was a jewel of impossible beauty.
"Magnify on the energy signature's source," Dr. Aris chirped, his appendages tapping rapidly on his console.
The image zoomed, descending through the planet's atmosphere with breathtaking speed, finally resolving on the beach. There, on a ridiculously opulent bed, was a sleeping human male.
A hush fell over the bridge. The crew stared at the image of the man who had spawned a multiverse-wide manhunt, a viral meme, and a new religion. The man who was currently fast asleep.
"The energy readings are quiescent," Dr. Aris murmured in awe. "A perfect null-state. It's not consuming or emitting energy in any conventional sense. It simply… is. The bed he created… our molecular scans show its structure is flawless. It is not an illusion or a projection. He willed it into existence."
Captain Rostova stared at the placid scene, her mind processing the tactical implications. "Can we communicate with it, Doctor?"
"Negative, Captain," Dr. Aris replied immediately. "Standard communication protocols would be useless. It's like trying to have a conversation with a fundamental force of nature, like gravity or time. The entity exists on a level of reality we don't currently have the theoretical framework to interface with."
"So you're saying it's a threat." It wasn't a question.
"A threat?" Dr. Aris's head tilted, a gesture of intellectual reassessment. "No more than a supernova is a 'threat,' Captain. It is a power source of unimaginable magnitude, and it appears to be entirely unpredictable. The Terran Federation's bulletin was laughably simplistic. This isn't a criminal; it's the discovery of a new law of physics embodied in a single lifeform."
Rostova's gaze was firm. Her duty was not just to science, but to the safety of the Federation. An unpredictable, universe-altering power source could not be left unattended. "Then we cannot risk letting it leave this system, and we cannot risk outside interference or contamination from… cultists and bounty hunters."
Dr. Aris's three eyes lit up. He knew what was coming next. "Containment," he whispered, the word full of scientific reverence. "A sterile observation field. It is the only logical course of action."
Captain Rostova nodded, her decision made. She turned to her command crew, her voice ringing with authority.
"This is now a Class-7 operation. All hands to deployment stations. Execute Protocol Chimera."
A ripple of disciplined activity spread across the bridge. Alarms, soft and melodic, chimed throughout the ship. On the outside of the Stardust Drifter, massive panels on the hull slid open, revealing colossal pylons that began to glow with a blinding, white-hot energy. The ship itself was transforming, becoming the anchor for a cage of unimaginable scale, ready to lock away a god in the name of science.