Star Fields

Chapter No.64 Quest

Chapter No.64 Quest

The devil is still alive.

We decided to explore the stars around the galactic center, but with caution in mind.

"There are about ten million stars within a parsec of the galactic center, which as you know is home to a supermassive black hole," Molly said. "Many of the stars are old red giants, but there are many OB and Wolf-Rayet stars. There are also many relatively young massive stars that closely orbit the black hole. I'm not sure what sort of planets we'll find around any of them, especially considering that they're close to the black hole, which is streaming relativistic jets of energy. We also should watch out for zombie and vampire stars combinations that are sucking gas from their partners. Some of them could supernova at any moment and blast us with a powerful gamma ray burst."

I had to throw my two bits in. "We'll just have to be careful how we make our way through this area. We also don't want to get sucked into the black hole."

Molly gave me a rebuking smirk. "Take us to the center region of the galaxy, Judy."

"Yes, Molly."

We soon slipped into warp, which would protect us from any obstruction or intense radiation. Our problems with those dangers would come when we drop out of warp.

We dropped out of warp near a white dwarf star, which is essentially the remnant of yellow dwarf star like the Sun. There was only one planet still orbiting the white dwarf, and it was an Earth-sized planet with most of its atmosphere blasted off.

"Take us into orbit, Judy," Molly said.

We achieved orbit around the planet without incident.

"I've detected a large domed structure on the surface," Molly announced. "There is no energy signal, but I think there is life inside it because I can detect light coming from slits around the dome's circumference."

"So, you think someone's home down there?"

"Yes, but there is no way we can get a probe into that dome. I can't find any openings."

"Who in the hell could be living on a planet orbiting a white dwarf?" Margaret asked.

"Actually, a white dwarf is not a bad kind of star to hang around," Molly said. "It's no longer fusing matter and is composed of electron-degenerate matter. It will be stable for billions of years, only losing its heat over a very long time."

"It's much safer than a neutron star," Marie added. "The main problem is that it's not putting out a lot of heat, so some other source of energy would be required."

"That might be the case for whoever is living in that domed structure," Molly said.

"How large is that structure?" Alexa asked.

"It measures at two hundred kilometers in diameter."

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

"I have received a video request," Judy announced.

"Put it on," I replied.

The image on our main screen was mesmerizing. The creature had an oval shaped face that was approximately hominid, but it had primitive characteristics. The eyes were oval and black like a squid's. The mouth was small but had sharp shark-like teeth. It had ears on top of its head and its nose was just like a sphere attached to its face.

"Welcome to our home," It said in perfect English. "We have been expecting your arrival for some time."

Molly and I exchanged glances before I turned to the screen. "I assume that you wish to converse with us."