Unknown Vessel, Currently in orbit over Equis.
Several creatures were huddled in the small bridge of their ship. Their captain looked over the shoulders of his crewmates at their respective stations. He nodded, satisfied that everything was running smoothly.
"Watchmaker, status report." The Captain said in an exited tone. A pedestal near the Captains chair glowed a warm blue, and an image that resembled the creatures on the bridge appeared, holding a comically large watch in it's grip.
"You will not believe what I have found! I only wish you would allow me to run the sensor array at full power, who knows what else I would fi-"
"Watchmaker." The Captain interrupted. "You know full well why I dont want you running ANYTHING at full power. Now, what do they have in terms of space travel?"
Watchmaker snorted back a laugh. "It's hilarious, they don't even have a space port built, yet they clearly are intelligent enough and have the means to do so!"
"And how far along are they in terms of technology?" The Captain asked.
Watchmaker smiled. "Ah, now that's where it gets interesting. They have advanced technology, such as complex power grids, radio stations, research stations, hospitals etc. in some places, but in others...some of their towns don't even have a power grid, and others have completely rustic power grids, and I think some of them are using STEAM power."
The Captain rubbed his jaw, in deep thought. "That's...definitely odd. Keep an eye on them, let me know if anything else interesting pops up."
Watchmaker nodded, then disappeared.
"It's amazing." One of the bridge crew mumbled. "An entire civilization, untouched-" "And ripe for the picking." Another crewmate interrupted. "If the you-know-who find them, they will join them, either willingly or by force." The crewmate who spoke first shook his head. "Not if we make our move first."
"I agree." The Captain said. "Set a course back to Onyx."
The pedestal glowed again, and an annoyed looking Watchmaker appeared. "Sir, you just ordered me to continue observing, and now you want to leave?" The Captain nodded. Watchmaker rolled his eyes. "I'll never understand you carbon based life forms. Setting a course."
The vessel moved away from Equis, then disappeared in a flash of blue light.
Little did the Captain of the ship know, they had been spotted by a nearby probe as they moved to leave. Watchmaker however, had tapped into the probes systems and diverted its attention away from them.
With a single goal in mind, the ship flew deeper and deeper into space.