Origins of an Icer

Chapter 2

Museum of Universal Biology (destroyed by the United Federation of Earth Alliance)

"All right everyone, plan is to raid this abandoned archive specifically, labelled Xenobiology of Archaic Era, and find something for the boss. Could be human, might not be! Keep an eye out, guns hot, and prepare for landing!" Oracle cried out, waking Akifa from his calming nap. He groaned low, shivering as his joints popped and his spine clicked, mentally reminding himself to look into the massage parlor back on the Maiden, knowing he was past due for a check up.

Akifa leaned forward to look out the cockpit windows, whistling low as he watched the hovering destroyed building, debris still falling in space as the museum's lights flickered and displayed various wings and displays. Place is huge... must've been widely regarded in its heyday, Akifa mused, moving Aaru to side along with his two companions as they landed on the destroyed flooring of the Xenobiology wing.

As the crafts opened up, Cam, Oracle, and Anubis came out with their boots glowing as they stayed on the floor. Oracle pulled up her handheld remote as it gleamed with a small screen, showing a point pulsing lightly.

"What we're looking for is that way!" She smiled brightly, heading over as Cam took down one of his larger rifles and cocked it ready, Anubis slowly taking out his pistols as they whined softly, showing full charge at the bottom of their ammo cartridges. Oracle moved through the dilapidated wing's floor, carved and formed in a classic black and white tiles with glass casing filled with various alien specimens throughout the Solaris System. Oracle scanned each casing, recording the specimens and their plaque downloading code for their information as Camulus mumbled in Gaelic under his breath, checking each dark corner and empty hall.

"It's too damned creepy, I hate this..." he muttered, mumbling fast and furious in his comline as Anubis chuckled, cloaking himself as he stayed beside Oracle. Checking inside each supply closet door, Cam and Anubis rifled through the junk and leftover material, filling out extra canvas bags that floated behind them in holding spatial fields to keep them hidden and safe. Oracle gasped, hearing the pinging echo faster until she came to stand in front of a massive metallic canister, somehow undamaged and pristine in its metallic condition. Oracle took out a jacking cable as she plugged it into the informational pedestal, downloading the information as two words gleamed: Spatien Iscerian. Oracle glanced down at the device, whistling low as Cam narrowed his eyes, looking over the metallic capsule closely as he kept his rifle aimed towards the door.

"It looks like it's frozen over... from the inside too. I'm no professional engineer, but how does something do that?" he asked, Oracle shrugging as Anubis walked over, skimming the details on the device.

"Says it's the last of its own race, mined out of what was believed to be a comet, but it turned out to be a glacier formed on his home-world. It was filled with members of its family, maybe tribe? A herd? Anyways, the scientists ran tests, found out this is the only one with a pair of wings, and that this race is powerfully telepathic, even had the ability to control water based liquids, ranging from ice to even steam. Damn..." Anubis whistled low as Oracle smiled wide, hacking into her device as she started opening the canister. Camulus swore in his native Gaelic, backing the three away as he kept a bead on the lid as it slowly opened. The thick layers of ice cracked loudly as the locks opened finally, the lid falling open loudly as a thin hand reached out into the light. Oracle held up her device, switching to a video recording as Anubis pulled out a pistol, aiming it towards the arm that flexed its long teal blue claws, held by sheer webbing.

"What the hell...? Did it have a picture in the file, Oracle?" Cam asked, turning to her as she shook her head, keeping the recorder trained on the alien. The hand flexed twice, the knuckles crackling loudly as it gripped the canister's sides, flexing hard as the claws scratched into the metal, pulling up the upper half of the body. Snow white skin coated the creature, leading up to pale blue fin-like ears that flexed and wavered, two eyes slowly opening wide with cat-eye pupils dilating. The face reminded Anubis of a dragon almost, semi-human but heavily angled with a mouth full of serrated teeth that shined in the darkness, flicking out a thin dark blue tongue. Long, thin tangles of pale white-blond hair flowed over its face and back, unkempt with signs of neglect and long hours of cryo-sleep.