Space-Time Coordinates: 32082.500876.skuld

Leonidas Paradox Base, Planet Sparta, Earth Civ Territory

An octopus lifted a bone out of the dust inside a large crate. The octopus turned the bone over, pondering what had been the cause of death for this curious alien creature. The octopus scanned the relic by holding it up within the range of the room's laser eyes. Then, it placed the bone into a different crate. The octopus repeated the task with the next bone. It could have easily lifted and scanned eight bones at once in different tentacles, but the octopus preferred doing this one at a time so that it could look closely at each bone and ponder its signfigance. The octopus had already decided what it thought the general shape and anatomy of the creature may have been, but even that was a part of the larger puzzle, and the larger puzzle was determining what had killed the creature.

A voice came through the room. “Doctor, do you read me?” It was the voice of a young woman, focused yet cheery.

The octopus answered, “I hear you, Cleo. What is the matter?” The octopus scanned something like a vertebrae as it waited for the answer. This bone was larger and less worn than the other bones of the same shape which it had already scanned. It also looks sort of like one of the many moons which orbited this strange lifeless planet.

Cleo's voice answered, “Something screwy is happening with the comm. I've already lost contact with all of the exterior drones within the last few minutes. I'm performing verbal check-in with all team members, but some are not responding.”

The octopus paused. That was disturbing news. “Who isn't responding, Cleo?:

“Smith and Thatcher.”

“They were supposed to investigate the cistern today. They're on the opposite side of the base from me, so I won't be much help. Can you send Freeman to investigate?”

“I already did, Doc.”

“Good, please do keep me informed, Cleo. I will continue my work here, but I'll let you know if I notice anything suspicious.”

“Thanks, Doc. Over.”

Instead of returning to work as it said it would do, the octopus turned and slid across the floor to a nearby wall. The wall was covered with carved inscriptions of an unknown language. The creatures which had lived and died in this structure must have had an elaborate form of written communication if the linguists of Paradox could not crack it easily. The octopus pondered what it was seeing its glance from large black eyes moved slowly over the writing. With a vertebra still held by one tentacle, it pressed the bone against a round dent in the wall. The fit was perfect.

The octopus narrated, “Open researcher log. I've made a minor discovery here. The creatures of Sparta used their own bones as writing instruments when they placed their marks on the walls. This is a very curious method of writing. They had developed other tools, advanced tools in fact. Why did they use such a crude and natural writing instruments? Was it perhaps tradition? Was it a religious requirement? We need to break the code of these reliefs that they left on all of their walls.”

A voice from behind the octopus said, “That's not a bad deduction, Doctor.” That voice did not belong to Cleo nor any of the members other of the Paradox Team on location. The octopus turned around to look but only to see his worst hunch confirmed. A small rabbit (or a thing which had developed into a rabbit more likely) and a tall human woman had entered the room.

The octopus said, “I am not interested.”

Isis told him, “Ah, don't be that way. We can help you.” The rabbit wore a small space suit. It looked like a parody of the Paradox Institute deep space exploration uniform. Large white eyes stared from the rabbit stared into the deep black eyes of the octopus. Of course, the octopus understood that the alien in front of him was not really a rabbit. No one from Earth Civ had ever uplifted rabbits like they had done with the most intelligent creatures like apes, dolphins, and cephalopods.

The octopus said, “You are well known to Paradox Institute, Lady Isis. You and your kind are considered Enemy Number 1. Your callous disregard for the safety of all other life forms is well documented. Your abduction of citizens of Earth Civ is classified as a capital offense. We don't have the firepower to bring in you and force you to answer for your crimes, but we have no desire to aid you either. My orders are to reject any offer you may have and ignore you afterward. For a change, I happen to think that the upper brass is correct this time. Please go away and do not bother us again.”

Morgan wandered off to the side and looked at the crate full of bones. “Fish Man, what manner of beasts were these?” She picked up a bone which looked like a femur with spikes. The octopus studied her with an anthropologist's gaze. She wasn't wearing anything which looked like a Paradox Institute uniform. She was wearing a long flowing green gown and matching shoes, all hand-made. She had to be a bumpkin from some underdeveloped civilization.

The octopus chided, “They were not beasts. They were architects and scholars. They built this necropolis, this gigantic stone city around us, and their civilization thrived long ago. My job is to determine what happened to that civilization, and I would insist that you pay them some respect.”

Morgan dropped the bone back into the box with a disrespectful gesture. She asked, "Did they name this place, 'Leonidas'?"

The fish answered, "No, that name was given by the explorers of the Paradox Institute. They have a tradition of naming their facilities after doomed military leaders."

Isis offered, “I can help you interpret those heireoglyphs on the wall. I already know what they are.”

The octopus said, “I do not want your help. We at the Paradox Institute have our own methods, and they work well enough.”

Isis said, “Maybe we can introduce ourselves and get off on the right suction cup. I am Isis, self-evolved omni-intelligence and fashionista. My friend is Princess Morgan.”

Morgan added, “...le Fe, witch. To what name do you answer, Fish Man?”

The octopus pointed three tentacles at each of the intruders. “There is no such thing as a witch, and my name is Doctor C'thulhu. Now leave.”