I have discovered a new sentient race of beings in the universe. Actually, they're not exactly new but only newly revealed (by means of a special scanning device). Having been ejected from the Korvax Convergence, the 'newly born' entities seek to remain hidden from them and everybody else as a result.
My mission for first contact with the autophage brought me to this paradise planet. So I began my approach...
This system is remote. Hidden within a nebula. Several other planets revolve around the star but the ship's scans picked up something very strange when surveying this planet.
I imagined the worst. Razor sharp mountain peaks? Acid lakes? Choking atmosphere? Sometimes scans from space don't represent the actual the surface of the planet very well.
Once we broke through the clouds, though, we saw that inviting, picturesque landscape we had imagined from our view from space.
However, when we landed was when we realized something was wrong with this planet. Hugging the planet's surface was a deep purple haze and abundant outcrops of anomalous crystals of the same hue. This planet is sick.
By the time I had found a denizen, night had fallen. It pointed me in the direction of the camp. Their dialect is strange and well, for lack of a better term, alien to me. I only picked up a few words but gestures go a long way!
Along my trek, I disturbed some wildlife I had mistaken for some large boulders. The herd scattered when I got too close. It was a strange animal: bovine yet bipedal. Despite their stature, they can move rather quickly. I spent almost all night tracking the herd until finally, near dawn, I got some closer glimpses of the beasts.
They had retreated to the high mountains, where the atmosphere is thin. This species reminds me of one I documented long ago in my early days of discovery. It was dubbed the Sassy-Butt Cow by an analyst upon reviewing the only known recording of the original animal.
And thus my hunt began for genetically similar creatures. To discover their origin, unravel their genetic code, and to answer all our questions about their bizarre physiology!
My travels then brought me to a planet of distinct yet similar qualities to our initial 'sick' planet. The new planet displayed some atmospheric anomalies as well. Namely, the constant cover of clouds. The surface is plagued by a fungus that seems to be corrupting the entire planet.
Despite the harsh environment, this creature trudges onward, ever grazing. While this cow flaunts its familiar "roast chicken" face and even boasts the avian feet, for whatever reason, it has not yet ascended to bipedalism. So we'll just take a quick sample and move on to the next system.
Bipedalism is a rare trait in the wild and therefore very interesting as a focus of study. Along my travels, sometimes I notice this trait in other forms of life. That being said, maybe someday I'll publish a secondary research paper following the origin of yet another beast. Stay tuned for Project Teddybear.