Mykonians
27-05-2007, 05:39
As was by now standard procedure, the planet was identified and studied before being designated as suitable for Mykofication. The first and only planet in orbit of a blue supergiant, so colourfully designated as X-356456 according to Mykonian naming conventions, it had two and a half times the mass of Earth, which was compacted into a diameter only one and a half times larger. This gave it an intense gravitational field, which successfully grasped hold of a thick nitrogen atmosphere several times heavier than Earth's - too heavy, but that would not be a problem for long. It was located in an orbital path hundreds of astronomical units away from the star, and yet still had moderately high surface temperatures.
As to how the planet came to be there, investigations were ongoing. Blue supergiants were renowned for their short lifespans, usually too short for planets to form. On the other hand this also meant that life could not exist here. If the short lifespan of the star was not sufficient to preclude its evolution, then the incredible levels of heat, luminosity and radiation would certainly finish the job. Heat and light was of no concern to them, of course, nor was the lifespan of the star - for, while it may be shortlived in cosmic terms, it still had millions of years left before it began to go supernova, which was more than enough time for them. Had they more immediate time available, a detailed investigation would have been undertaken to determine where the planet had truly come from, but the Unity required resources, and resources they were going to get.
For the initial stages, this task would befall MMTS1-6816, the massive object which now loomed ominously above the craggy surface of the world in wait. Its bare metal hull had absolutely no aesthetical considerations whatsoever, with no uniform shape of any kind, no paint, no markings, many different modular sections jutting out harshly from the main bulk of the craft (apparently each capable of moving independently, causing the exact dimensions of the craft to be a variable), and no apparent sign of running lights or even internal lights. Nor engine ports, for that matter. It appeared to generate momentum via some kind of internal machinations which were not readily apparent from the outside. Lifesigns? If it were possible to detect such an impossibly vague moniker as 'life' with pseudo-magical sensors, none would be found here.
From within the belly of the mechanical beast a large cylindrical object was fired. Several hundred metres long with a girth of dozens, it plummeted down through the thick atmosphere and impacted with the rocky surface - hard. A cloud of debris so large that it was visible from space billowed up from the massive impact crater it had generated, causing a shock wave that would have easily been potent enough to cause a mass extinction on the world, if anything lived there in the first place. When the dust finally settled - days later, mind you - the cylinder remained, almost completely embedded beneath the glassy rock at the centre of the crater. Already, strange, mechanical tendrils had spread out some distance around the object, and showed no sign of stopping.
Meanwhile, MMTS1-6816 had moved to the other side of the planet, and launched a second cylindrical device down into the planet, which began a similar process on the opposite hemisphere.
Mykofication was underway.
As to how the planet came to be there, investigations were ongoing. Blue supergiants were renowned for their short lifespans, usually too short for planets to form. On the other hand this also meant that life could not exist here. If the short lifespan of the star was not sufficient to preclude its evolution, then the incredible levels of heat, luminosity and radiation would certainly finish the job. Heat and light was of no concern to them, of course, nor was the lifespan of the star - for, while it may be shortlived in cosmic terms, it still had millions of years left before it began to go supernova, which was more than enough time for them. Had they more immediate time available, a detailed investigation would have been undertaken to determine where the planet had truly come from, but the Unity required resources, and resources they were going to get.
For the initial stages, this task would befall MMTS1-6816, the massive object which now loomed ominously above the craggy surface of the world in wait. Its bare metal hull had absolutely no aesthetical considerations whatsoever, with no uniform shape of any kind, no paint, no markings, many different modular sections jutting out harshly from the main bulk of the craft (apparently each capable of moving independently, causing the exact dimensions of the craft to be a variable), and no apparent sign of running lights or even internal lights. Nor engine ports, for that matter. It appeared to generate momentum via some kind of internal machinations which were not readily apparent from the outside. Lifesigns? If it were possible to detect such an impossibly vague moniker as 'life' with pseudo-magical sensors, none would be found here.
From within the belly of the mechanical beast a large cylindrical object was fired. Several hundred metres long with a girth of dozens, it plummeted down through the thick atmosphere and impacted with the rocky surface - hard. A cloud of debris so large that it was visible from space billowed up from the massive impact crater it had generated, causing a shock wave that would have easily been potent enough to cause a mass extinction on the world, if anything lived there in the first place. When the dust finally settled - days later, mind you - the cylinder remained, almost completely embedded beneath the glassy rock at the centre of the crater. Already, strange, mechanical tendrils had spread out some distance around the object, and showed no sign of stopping.
Meanwhile, MMTS1-6816 had moved to the other side of the planet, and launched a second cylindrical device down into the planet, which began a similar process on the opposite hemisphere.
Mykofication was underway.