SID's Journeys: False Paradise

Scoutmaster, loading my report now. This account is for my journey on the planet Qibbi. I fulfilled my role as a Scouting Intelligence Drone, I like to go by SID for short.

After completing my first scouting mission on Catovaz, I was picked up by the Anrachi orbital unit. I was loaded in and had a direct transmission to the scouting team on Anrach. After a full debrief transfer, I was loaded up for my next objective. The planet Qibbi was my next destination, and it shared the same star system with Catovaz. This made the journey in the orbital unit not as long as before. I was, of course, shut off and had no concept of time, so it didn't matter much. However, I do think my organic colleagues made great use of the time saved.

When my systems were fully online, I found myself emerging from a drop pod. I was on Qibbi, my pod made a fairly large crater in the foreign soil. Going off my briefings, this part of the planet is uninhabited; most of the planet is actually. As I got myself situated, what immediately came to my attention was the thick gas engulfing everything. Visibility was almost nothing, so I adjusted my visual units to peer farther ahead. These are the infamous toxic fumes of Qibbi, known to intoxicate all beings who breathe them in. Luckily, I have no lungs!

My scans and map relays were completed. The area of interest was a riverbank about half a star rotation away from here. I went on my way. Other than the heavy fumes, the ground was stable, and the temperature was moderate. So much better than Catovaz! I noticed some buzzing motion in the sky ahead of me. It was a swarm of creatures flying all around. Upon a closer look, they looked to have an insect-like structure with powerful wings and large, jagged mandibles. Based on their organic structure, they didn't seem to be affected by the fumes. I was surprised that Qibbi had any native wildlife. I'll have to access more files on that. As the day moved on, I ran into a similar swarm, except I knew for certain these creatures were not from here.

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There are countless stories of visitors from all across the systems coming to Qibbi. It was a matter of time before I ran into some. Staying focused on my goal, I moved through them, trying to get out of anyone's way. The group of people took notice of me, stopping to stare, or even touching me. It was harmless, but I couldn't help but notice their erratic behavior. They all looked so depleted, like they hadn't eaten in days. And yet, they were moving with bliss and glee. Some were dancing. A few of them were even breeding right there in the open. I was aware that many beings breed for pleasure, but it was a bit shocking to see it in front of me, out in the open. Moving away from the crowd, there were a few visitors scattered on the ground, either sleeping or just so high they couldn't stand up. I overheard someone laughing loudly and turned towards them. One of the flying creatures I saw earlier was latched onto the person's arm, gnawing it down to the bone. They had to have been in incredible pain, but maybe the fumes just drowned it all out. They lay on the floor, not making any effort, as the creature continued to feast on their arm. I couldn't just do nothing, so I went towards the creature and shot a small discharge of energy at it. It scattered and flew away while I continued. Unfortunately, the person didn't even seem to notice, still laughing as more flying critters circled above them.

The riverbank was now in view. I stopped right at the edge of the water. Qibbi doesn't have large oceans, but it has mostly just river systems and dead lakes. What I'm looking for is at the bottom of this river. As I jumped into the water, my body started to convert into my marine mode. My feet landed on murky ground while I adjusted to the new environment. The view was clouded, but surprisingly more visible than the surface with all those gases. It didn't take long to reach my target, my scanners could pinpoint nearly everything on the river floor. I moved swiftly across the currents and found it. Buried below was an object, and I quickly dug it out. The object was the key to something bigger. It was a sculpted piece of stone, with a foreign writing on it. Using my scanners and database, it was dated over five cycles ago! Also, there's no record of this language in any historical archives.

Based on my findings, this meant something. There was a civilization here before this planet was even known! I have to find out more...