"Captain’s log, USS Fervor. Stardate 101897.6.
"We’re on course away from System FGC-C599, leaving behind USS Asaph Hall to conduct a more in-depth survey. Our assumptions coming in proved correct: The Whale Probe of 2286 did indeed come through this system en route out from Earth to touch base with local cetacean life. We’re still not sure what the locals call this planet, but I have every reason to believe that will come out as the Hall pursues contact with the locals.
"The fourth planet in the system is a class O hycean world — a very large ocean planet with a thick hydrogen-heavy atmosphere. Our initial surveys turned up evidence of low-level warp fields, along with evidence of small landmasses. The Hall, which carried a submersible, undertook an away mission to explore a part of the ocean where the warp field readings were strongest. For our part I sent Lieutenant Niru and a science team down to one of the landmasses to take readings.
"The away team discovered pretty quickly that these landmasses weren’t islands or anything of the sort. They’re mats of floating biomatter. The Hall team figured out the source of those once they got deeper into the ocean and found some of the locals.
"The indigenous lifeforms of FGC-C599 IV are a cetacean-type species with advanced sentience. The warp field readings we detected originate from mid-warp probe launchers they’ve constructed in the deeper parts of the ocean ecosystem. It doesn’t appear that they travel themselves. It seems like it’s impractical, considering they seem to average about a kilometre in length. The largest inhabitant we’ve seen was estimated around two and a half kilometres from rostrum to fluke. We’re still deciphering their language, but it appears to be similar to the mechanisms used by Terran mysticete whales.
"What we do know is that the landmasses we discovered are composed of fatty tissues from dead cetaceanoids.
“From what we can tell, when one of the cetaceanoids dies, the body breaks down gradually. The heavier components, like bones and muscle, separate from the adipose tissue and are drawn towards the ocean bottom. Think of how whalefall works. They land on the seabed and become part of the ecosystem for the local fauna. The fatty tissues end up floating to the surface. We learned a lot when we spotted one of the cetaceanoids shepherding new biomass towards one of the existing floating masses. Over time, the tissues are overcome by various floating mosses and fungi until they resemble floating forests of mushrooms and ferns, mostly inhabited by amphibians and insects. The locals seem to treat these spaces as, if not sacred, then at least symbolically or ritually important. Sciences interprets it as a cultural behaviour rooted in the idea of life following on from life somehow. A circle-of-life sort of thing, I suppose would be the way to put it.”
"For now, we’ve left this in Captain Moury’s hands. Universal translators can only get bits and pieces from the locals, but the Hall has a cetacean ops department that’s had better luck making sense of things. The good news is that the locals don’t seem all that hostile or dangerous. They’ve seemed as curious about us as we were about them. It’s a nice change, honestly.
"For now, the Fervor continues on towards the Hole in the Wall. We remain attentive for Breen entanglements in the region, but so far, so good.
“On a personnel note, I’ve asked Commander de Souza to put together a calendar of shipboard events. A little relaxation never hurts. Make a note that Captain Ohsala Day is to be formally vetoed; let’s stick to the classics.”
–END LOG–
