Curator of the Stars

by Sepulcher

Report #2 - 3QU15 Logs #5-6

Curator's Log - Solar System 3QU15, Planet 3QU15-1: Log #5a

After performing a multi-tiered reset process, the Drone was finally able to show me how it escaped from the planet's surface and the inhabitants that had entrapped it.

When the Drone 'woke up' after being forcefully shut down by one of the Second Sapients, {I shall hereto refer to the Second Sapients as 'Ponies,' as it seems more fitting} it activated its recording software immediately. The Secondary Drone appeared to be... strapped to a metallic table in the middle of a room, deep underground: the Drone's barometric pressure indicators told it as much. Several of the horned variety of Ponies were surrounding the Drone, each of them wearing a mask of some kind that covered their nose and mouth.

Despite it just regaining control of its faculties and finding itself within the Ponies clutches, the E.I. {Evolving Intelligence} of the Drone did not immediately attempt to escape, as it was programmed to do in such a situation. Instead, the Drone gathered as much data as possible without alerting the Ponies that it was no longer disabled.

Forgive me from straying from the topic, but just how intelligent are the E.I.'s that control the Drones? The Drone showed immediate and unmitigated understanding of exactly what it should do in its situation, not just reverting to its primary routine and fleeing back to the vessel.

Question aside, the Drone continued its charade of being deactivated for as long as it could get away with it. The Secondary Drone was forced to reveal its alertness when one of the Ponies attempted to use some sort of small, sharp cutting tool to vivisect the Drone. The E.I. responded promptly, letting out a loud and high-pitched whine which had a greater effect on the Ponies than both I and the Drone expected. The Ponies fell to the ground, clutching their ears and making shrill noises that proclaimed that they were in extreme amounts of pain.

With the Ponies temporarily disabled, the Drone activated its thruster systems, causing it to start hovering. Strangely enough, the straps that were holding the Drone to the table were so secure that the Drone was hovering with the table still attached to its underbelly. Awkward with the extra weight that it should not have been carrying, the Drone managed to fly out of the open door and into a spacious hallway.

The Drone pinged, and using echolocation and its radar, determined the quickest way out of the domicile that it was currently trapped within: a primitive transport system that used ropes and pulleys to move a steel box up and down a large and spacious shaft. Knowing its destination, the Drone flew towards the elevator system with a trail of molten metal left in its wake. The thruster system is designed for maximum efficiency, but since the proximity of the thrusters to the metal table was far too close, the metal became superheated rather quickly and began to liquefy.

Before the Drone reached the elevator shaft, a deep, booming, and repetitive sound started up and seemed to be coming from every direction: the Ponies had an alarm system that must have been activated when one of them recovered from the incapacitating whine that the Drone originally used to pacify them. Sensing that the Ponies were soon to give chase, the E.I. flew as quickly as was safe within the relatively narrow corridors. After a few seconds of the alarm, the sound faded away to be replaced with a message in what could only be the Ponies' speech.

-Curator ξ

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Curator's Log - Solar System 3QU15, Planet 3QU15-1: Log #5b

It was a flowing and strangely melodic language, with one word seamlessly flowing to the next. The Drone made sure to record everything that it saw or heard, and the speech was no exception to this rule: the translation software aboard my vessel is currently deciphering the message as I write this Report.

Strangely, the Drone's progress towards the elevator system was unhindered. Either the Ponies had no way of tracking the Drone's progress {which is unlikely, considering the trail of molten metal flowing behind it} or the message was a cease and desist order towards all the other Ponies in the compound.

At the entrance to the elevator system, the Drone was met with a barrier to its escape plan: the entrance to the elevator shaft was protected by a large steel door. The Drone was planning on slowly melting a hole large enough for itself using its thrusters {with the table still attached, this would've been quite difficult} but before it could enact on its plan, the doors were opened by an external force.

Unsure of why the Ponies were helping it escape, but not willing to disregard such obvious help, the Drone flew into the shaft and quickly ascended to the top. The Drone flew through the open entrance and found itself to be in a large and spacious room. The majority of the room was comprised of a smooth, white stone. It was in this room that the Drone Observed a fourth sub-species of the Ponies: there were two (2) with both a protrusion and wings.

The Drone believed, and I can only concur, that the two (2) Ponies with both a horn atop their head and wings are their equivalent to royalty. Many facts point to this, such as the other, possibly authoritarian Ponies, huddled around them in an attempt at protection; their stature being much greater than the other Ponies; and the fact that they are the only two (2) Ponies so far discovered with both a horn and wings.

Another interesting, although possibly unrelated, fact is that the winged-horned Ponies' mane seems to flow in an artificial wind. Both I and the Drone do not know what the cause of this is, although it may be related to the horned variants' ability that disabled the Drone in the first place {see attached videos at the end of this Report for videographic evidence}.

The next event that followed the Drone's entrance to aforementioned room full of Ponies is...odd, to say the least. The winged-horned Pony with a brilliant white coat and a flowing, multi-coloured mane pointed a hoof at the Drone, and attempted to communicate with it. After the Drone made no response or indication that it understood, which it didn't, the Pony's horn {which was noticeably longer than a regular horned Pony's} glowed bright gold, much like the horned Pony that shut down the Drone in the first place.

The Drone gave off a warning sound, lower pitched than its previous one, but still high enough to cause several of the Ponies to wince. The Drone was trying to make it abundantly clear that it would not tolerate being disabled again. The Pony surprised the Drone by not attempting to disable it, but instead it undid the straps that were holding the Drone to the table, freeing it from the extra weight and enabling the Drone to engage its cloaking field again.

Without further ado, the Drone determined the weakest point in the room, which happened to be superheated sand windows, and flew straight through the glass. The Drone then put on extra speed and came directly back to the vessel, eager to report its findings.

...

Never before has any Apex Species discovered, let alone captured a Secondary Drone before. What makes the Ponies special? How could they see the Drone, even though it was invisible to the naked eye and any possible equipment that the Ponies could operate? Why did they let the Drone go when they could've disabled it again?

So many questions, no answers.

-Curator ξ

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Curator's Log - Solar System 3QU15, Planet 3QU15-1: Log #6a

As per the instructions you left me in the most recent Message, Curator Ω, I left the study of the Ponies alone for now and sent the Secondary Drone to the planet's surface once more to search for any more Apex Species while I continued to try and determine why the orbit is reversed. While the answer as to why the star orbits around the planet is still a mystery to me, the Drone came back with some... interesting information.

The Drone found four (4) more Apex Species on 3QU15-1's surface, bringing the total amount of Sapient Species to six (6).

-Curator ξ

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Curator's Log - Solar System 3QU15, Planet 3QU15-1: Log #6b

The first 'new' Apex Species to be discovered by the Drone was a race of insect-like quadrupeds, similar to the Ponies in basic design {see attached video}. They seem to operate with a hive-like mentality, with the Queen or King being the undisputed leader. Unlike the Ponies, which have shown four (4) different sub-species, there seems to be only two (2) variants of the insects: the Queen/King and the workers/gatherers/warriors. There was no overlap between the duties of the workers/gatherers/warriors: each was capable of fulfilling any role deemed necessary by the hive.

I shall call this Sapient Species 'insectrupeds.'

Their appearances vary the least out of all the Apex Species, with every single insectruped being black in colour and having both a small, gnarled horn similar to the horned variety of Ponies and delicate, shear wings that are generally found on insects. The insectrupeds carapace is made of a black chitin that seems uniform across all the different types. Their legs are strange in that they have holes interspersed at seemingly random intervals along the entire length of both their front and back legs. I don't know what the holes could be for: from what the Drone Observed, they eat and breath through their mouths.

The Queen/King is much bigger than the average insectruped, nearly three times as large, with a much longer horn and larger wings as well.

The Drone did not gather as much information as it wanted to about the inner machinations of the insectrupedal hive solely because it did not want to get captured again.

-Curator ξ

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Curator's Log - Solar System 3QU15, Planet 3QU15-1: Log #6c

The other three (3) Apex Species were only given cursory examinations by the Drone, enough information to determine that they are indeed Sapient, but not enough for me to write a lengthy Report about them. This includes the race of landlocked bipedal bovines that have a warlike culture and promote strength as the primarily desired attribute; flying, reptilian quadrupeds with tails that are capable of breathing fire and are larger than any of the other Apex Species, but are much fewer in number; and a race of Sapient canines that live in underground burrows and seem to consume stones and smaller creatures for sustenance.

The videos tell more than I am capable of with the limited amount of information at my disposal.

...

What does this mean, Esteemed Curator Ω? Could this be the planet that we have been searching for?

-Curator ξ

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{END OF REPORT #2}

Comments

[U7VK7VOVV7V]

Hmm, I just realized that I've always imagined the Drone as an Eyebot like ED-E...

Could this be the planet that we have been searching for?

And then they saw Inebriated Waffle. And Six the Juggernaut, one of the last surviving humans. And the guy from Kleptomania.
...Cleansed.

Oh, they missed one Sentient Species: Cabbage.