"Not that I can tell so far," Nigel replied, his tone clear and concise. "Although is it wrong for me to still expect something bad to happen?"

"You wouldn't be my daddy if you didn't," Tatyana quipped, her eyebrows a questioning slant. She always knew her father's innate suspicion towards certain matters, but right now, there was simply no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary. Their cargo was all packed and ready for transit through the Celestial Gate. The ship was clean, the crew equipped, and the air thick with anticipation. No, they had no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary, but everyone knew when things were a touch too perfect.

"Just three more containers," Bjorn sighed, "Tats, if you would do the honors?" he asked, taking that opportunity to admire her curvaceous figure accentuated by the fitted grey battle suit she wore.

"Sure thing, Bjorn," Tatyana said, giving Bjorn a warm smile as she readied her rifle and slid through the barely cracked door to the container, her curves squeezing between the door and frame. There was something about the way her hips moved as she disappeared - - a slight sway, a graceful glide, a subtle but unmistakable taunt aimed in Bjorn's direction. Bjorn felt his cheeks flush as he shook his head, returning to his own scanning process.

Suddenly, a shout from Tatyana echoed out from the container.

"Captain, Bjorn --"

Fearing the worst, Captain Carter and Bjorn rushed over to the container Tatyana had just entered. They found her standing within, lips slightly parted and gaze lost in the distance.

"Tats?" Bjorn asked, growing concerned. "What's going on?"

"The metal cylinder, it's different from the rest of the cargo, and there's a shadow, a figure within it." To their surprise, Tatyana's voice was filled with wonder and excitement, rather than fear.

Captain Carter wasted little time in exiting the container and headed to the communications panel of Cargo Bay 16.

Leaving Tatyana with her rifle inside standing guard over the cylinder, Bjorn followed Nigel out, where he caught the tail end of his conversation.

"...Bella, Doctor Orlova, meet us in Cargo Bay 16. We have a situation here." He ordered grimly, but with a calm to his voice.

---

Pilot Lucas Grayson was readying his chair.

The flight chair of an Intergalactic Freighter like the Titans Pillar was not just any ordinary furniture piece. It was the single most important invention when it came to space transportation, with synaptic interfaces, cooling devices, life support systems, and so much more embedded into the chair's design. Ever since Lucas completed his training, he could navigate and pilot the ship as effortlessly as if he had his whole life.

"Did you miss me girl?" He spoke as his hand glided over the polished surface, reminiscing over the countless hours they had spent together. They had grown incredibly close - a companionship born out of trust, passion, and a unique harmony between body and machine.

The cool metallic hue contrasted with the warmth of Lucas's dark fur. He loved everything about his pilot's seat: the elegance of the control panel before him, the gentle hum whenever the power kicked on, or the way the chair seemed to adapt to every single one of his movements.

It was Lucas's second skin - a symbiotic union enabling feats otherwise impossible. The sleek, black upholstery complemented his thick coat like a star-crossed lover, making it easy to get lost in the moment, reminiscing of starry nights spent out in the vast expanse of the universe.

"Who? Oh, the sexy, long footed woman with the large caboose?" Lucas cooed, defending his fidelity to his chair and the ship.  "No, you shouldn't be worried about her, she's just a..."

"Lucas," came Nigel's commanding voice through the speakers, "Are we in the Celestial Gate yet?" Captain Carter's question pulled Lucas back to reality.

"No, sir. We haven't reached it yet," Lucas responded, quickly shifting his focus back to his duties as the ship's pilot. "I was just getting settled in."

"Good, we have an unplanned development in the cargo bay. We need to hold up just short." Nigel's voice crackled over the intercom, abrupt and troubled.

Lucas's heart skipped a beat. "Understood, Captain," he replied smoothly, steeling himself for the task at hand, bracing for whatever this new development may be.

In such a vast, empty place such as the expanse of the universe, it was the little things that could escalate into monumental challenges. Such was the nature of interstellar travel.

"Just a friendly reminder though. We don't want to stay just short of it too long. The Titans Pillar is one of the most sexy, juiciest targets for pirates when she's sitting in front of a Gate." Lucas added, the seriousness of the situation settling in.

The captain nodded, acknowledging the risk. "Exactly why I'm holding up short of it. If our unplanned development proves to be a threat, I don't want to have the choice taken away from us."

"Oh, and did you just call my ship 'sexy'?" Captain Carter inquired, his stern expression giving way to a faint smirk, the worry lines on his brow receding momentarily.

Lucas couldn't help but laugh, grateful for the bit of lightheartedness. "I may have, but she is one gorgeous machine, and you know it."

"So true." Conceded Captain Carter with a chuckle of his own.

---

Bella and Doctor Orlova arrived promptly; the cargo hold was full of tense energy as Bjorn rhythmically proceeded with his scanning of the cargo containers. Captain Nigel Carter, with a concerned expression, waited for Orlova to finish running her tests on the mysterious metallic cylinder.

The Doctor was the best among them with her keen ability to diagnose even the most peculiar of ailments and she took her responsibilities very seriously; this was why they entrusted her with their lives.

Taking a small sample from the metallic container, Orlova examined the thick blue liquid inside. It was unlike anything she had ever encountered.

"Ancients! What have you done?" Orlova cursed under her breath, scanning the results from several angles, trying to make sense of the astonishing lack of genetic information being provided to her.

"So, who, or what, is it?" Captain Carter asked, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

Doctor Orlova took a moment longer, swirling the thick blue liquid around. "I have no idea. This fluid contains some organic materials, but it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm also not detecting any signs of radiation or otherwise harmful elements. It seems safe to open and investigate, but we need to be careful."

"But why can't you tell me who's inside?" Nigel asked again, his baby blue eyes showing confusion.

"Because this cylinder, this tube, this device, doesn't care who's in it. The blue material and blue energy associated with it would keep anything in stasis, best that I could tell. Regardless of even the person's age or state." Orlova said while continuing to examine the substance.

"You mean this could be a baby, a child, or even a full-grown man?" First Officer Bella asked, her eyes wide with shock.

Doctor Orlova nodded, "This cylinder here could have been sitting in the bottom of some archaeological dig site for millennia or recently preserved fresh. Without further testing or opening the container, we won't know for certain. But we can assume that whoever, or whatever, is inside, has been in that state for a significant amount of time."

"This is unbelievable," Captain Carter muttered, shaking his head.

“And unethical,” Doctor Orlova added, still in deep thought.

Bjorn finished his scan of the last container, "At least we're sure there's nothing illegal here. That counts for something, right?" he asked sarcastically, doing his best to alleviate some of the tension that had filled the air.

"I suppose that's a small victory," Captain Carter said with a nod, attempting to hide his worry.

Doctor Orlova, noticing the unease, decided to direct their attention to the more pressing matter at hand. "I believe we should open the container and investigate."

"Can you even open it, Doc?" Bjorn asked his old friend, his curiosity piquing.

"There's a switch, open, closed. Currently, it's in a closed position. That's about as easy as it gets." Orlova replied with a small smile. "However, even though we have some idea about the contents inside, I still can't stress enough how important it is to approach this with caution." She glanced around the cargo bay before continuing, "Given the time this object has been in stasis, I wouldn't be surprised if it were highly unstable once opened."

Captain Carter nodded, signaling to Tatyana and Bjorn to step back from the cylinder. "Everyone, clear to a safe distance," He ordered, making sure his voice projected through the hold.

Tatyana and Bjorn swung back from the cylinder, making their way to the firmly installed safety barriers on either side of the container.

Click

Orlova thumbed the switch on the side of the steel cylinder and immediately the snap-hiss of escaping gas gave way to the creak and groan of the pneumatic mechanism as the inner chamber slid open.

For a brief, disconcerting moment there was silence, and then a crack. The sound of breaking glass shattered the quiet. A creature within the gas seemed to study the situation it was in and then after a pause stepped out into view.

Her fur was pristine white, almost snowy, and her eyes a deep, unfathomable black. To everyone's surprise, her eyes locked in on Tatyana who stood with her weapon lowered some distance away.

With some hesitation, Tatyana took a small step back at the sight of this unknown creature. Confusion was written across her face. She didn't understand how this could be.

"An Oryctolagus? Impossible." Captain Carter stammered out, a clear indication of how utterly shocked he was. It wasn't often that anything caught him so off-guard.

He watched as the figure stood there, observing the crew before taking another hesitant step forward and speaking in a soft, melodic voice. "May I ask, who you are?"

The Oryctolagus creature appeared to be a mix between a rabbit and humanoid, her posture gracile and refined, with an ethereal beauty reminiscent of an orbital sculpture crafted by ancient alien hands. Captain Carter found himself captivated, his attention fully on the newcomer.

The others were equally confused, staring in awe at the unfamiliar being. A caveat of interstellar exploration is that you never know what you might encounter, even among stored cargo.

Captain Carter stepped forward, meeting her gaze with a warm smile.

"Hi, I'm Nigel."