[https://i.imgur.com/FSetP4l.jpg]

An emergency assembly was convened in the immediate aftermath of the nearly catastrophic foray into the wreckage.

The remains retrieved by Xeno-Biologist Okens were transferred to the morgue for subsequent investigation, while Master-Engineer Kesto's team initiated a thorough analysis of the recorded footage. Each frame underwent rigorous examination, and no detail, regardless of its perceived insignificance, was overlooked.

The wreckage incident elicited divergent responses.

Agozi's enthusiasm remained undiminished despite the narrowly averted disaster. Kaz, on the other hand, harbored ambivalent sentiments about the entire predicament. Honorary-Lieutenant Snikers solely focused on the pragmatic aspects of the situation.

The most disconcerting repercussion of the incident was the escalating demand for secrecy. Snikers adamantly urged that information regarding the alien wreckage and remains be disseminated solely on a need-to-know basis. Consequently, increasingly stringent security protocols were instituted, much to the chagrin of the crew.

The detrimental effects soon became too conspicuous to disregard, and Kaz's inbox persistently overflowed with grievances from discontented crew members. The mounting number of disheartened individuals seeking psychiatric assistance prompted Xeno-Psychiatrist Zelana to express her own concerns on multiple occasions.

Put simply, while the situation on the ship hadn't fully descended into chaos, preserving the sense of normalcy was becoming increasingly difficult to do.

*****

“You called for us?” Agozi asked Xeno-Biologist Okens, who'd summoned them down to the morgue.

“True,” Okens replied. “Follow.”

Agozi and Kaz trailed Okens through the medical morgue before entering the vivisection room.

The alien body's remains were on a wide operating table. The suit had been removed. Only some decaying flesh and the skeleton were left.

Okens pointed at the table.

“The alien body.”

The three approached the table, and Agozi's eyes widened at the sight of the massive alien carcass.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed softly, the surprise on her snout palpable. Agozi gave Okens a shocked look. “This is the alien?”

“True,” Okens replied.

Agozi shifted her attention back to the pile of bones and studied them closely.

Just a glimpse at the withering remains would've made anyone understand Agozi's bafflement.

Standing at five-foot-seven, Kaz was like the Mevik version of a skyscraper. Most Mevik could barely hit five feet, but that still put them among the tallest and fittest beings around.

That alien skeleton? Way bigger.

Agozi glanced back at Okens.

“How tall is it?”

“Skeleton not perfectly preserved,” Okens replied.

“But if you had to put money on a guess?”

Okens hesitated.

“Six feet three inches.”

Agozi gazed silently at the carcass.

Kaz and Okens noted Agozi's evident interest in the body and shared a brief, knowing glance.

Agozi reached out to the skeleton, almost touching it. It appeared as if she wanted to speak, but no words came out. Then, she pulled her hand back.

The sheer size of each part was bonkers.

The collarbones might as well have been a gateway, and the ribcage looked like it could've been a playground for the young ones.

Kaz’s whiskers flickered.

“It does indeed appear quite substantial.”

“Talk about playing it down!” Agozi blurted, staring in disbelief. “I know athletes whose legs look like toothpicks next to that monster's humerus!”

Kaz's whiskers twitched briefly as his gaze settled on the thick forearm bones, eventually focusing on its hand.

“Even the palm and fingers appear to be of considerable size.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Kaz's comment made Agozi look at the hand too. She went wide-eyed when she saw the number of digits.

“No way!” she exclaimed, whiskers flickering hectically for a moment. “It's got five digits!”

“True,” Okens replied. “Curious.”

“What is so remarkable about it?” Kaz asked.

Agozi gave him a somewhat cynical glance.

“For someone who's all about exploring the unknown, you sure don't seem too interested in getting to know the stuff we might run into out there.”

Most sentient beings got by with two digits and a thumb. The Mevik and Pretenti were the oddballs with three.

“We're scouts,” Kaz replied sternly. “Not zoologists.”

“Doing your homework doesn't hurt,” Agozi teased, casting a playful glance at Kaz, who chose to ignore it.

“Might you elucidate further, given your extensive knowledge on the topic?” Kaz asked, sounding genuinely serious.

Okens poked the creature's hand with an examination stick made from white plastic.

“Abnormal!”

“In what sense?” Kaz asked. “Five digits versus three or four, what does it matter?”

“Peculiar evolution,” Okens replied. “Trait rendered obsolete by civilization. Natural selection should have selected it not.”

The agricultural revolution had turned brute strength into a relic. With fertile grounds everywhere, who needs to plow? Rich soils meant less plowing, more planting. Given that most sentient beings were relatively short, extracting stuff from the dirt posed little challenge to them.

But evolution has its wildcards.

The Mevik's carnivorous roots gave them more bulk than most, a quirk that many races found a tad unsettling. But that same bulk made them prime picks for the Exploration Division.

But judging by the specimen sprawled out on that table, it looked like the Mevik might not be the toughest players in the game.

Okens quickly turned and went to a nearby terminal, adjusting its controls.

A screen close by turned on.

Okens showed them X-ray images of the alien skeleton.

“Look.”

Kaz and Agozi studied the images, but couldn't understand Okens' intent. They eventually sought clarification from him.

“Not hollow,” Okens said.

Agozi hesitated before responding.

“...not hollow?”

“True,” Okens replied. “Solid.”

“To what are you referring?” Kaz asked.

“Bones,” Okens replied. “No hollow cavities. Solid.”

“You intend to convey that the entirety of their bones is of a solid nature?” Kaz asked.

“True,” Okens replied.

Kaz and Agozi exchanged a perplexed glance.

“What would necessitate such structural integrity in its bones?” Kaz asked.

“Well, look who's suddenly playing the zoologist!” Agozi quipped.

To be fair, anyone with a smidge of knowledge about sentient anatomy would've found the concept of a creature with fully solid bones downright bizarre.

Okens executed a Prol gesture for bafflement.

“Peculiar,” he said. “Costly to sustain, limits locomotion. Absurd design.”

A moment stood.

“Maybe the Unstable Regions are the universe's rough side of town?” Agozi suggested eventually.

“Our own kin is more arduous for exactly such a reason.” Kaz looked at Okens. “Is there a basis of credibility for this suggestion?”

“Harsher conditions for survival affect species evolution, true.” Okens hesitated. “But neither Mevik nor any other made so robust by such conditions.”

Nobody said anything.

Something about the vivisection room felt eerily silent.

Agozi moved closer to the table, focusing on the skull. Its empty eye sockets felt like they were looking back at her, making her uncomfortable. She quickly shifted her gaze to Okens.

“Alright, it's beefy, but what about its brain? Is it as smart as it is big?”

“Living specimen required for such analysis,” Okens replied. “But species is spacefaring. Cognitively competent at minimum.”

“If they're zipping around space on their own, I'd say they're way past 'competent',” Agozi said.

“The range of their spacecraft and their potential advancement into slipspace traversal is yet to be determined,” Kaz pointed out quickly. “Being spacefaring does not inherently denote an ability to expand out of one's primary celestial system. Thus far, only the Pretenti and Langa have manifested the intellectual faculties essential for this distinction, and the Langa, notably, showcased initial reservations.”

Another moment stood.

Agozi was about to speak again when she realized Okens seemed uneasy. She might not have the knack for reading Prol emotions, but the biologist's posture betrayed some nerves.

“Everything okay over there?” she asked, her tone laced with concern.

Okens motioned towards the skeleton, prompting both Kaz and Agozi to look at it.

“The bones,” he said. “Examine.”

Kaz and Agozi briefly examined the bones again.

“I fail to understand,” Kaz said. “What are we supposed to see that you haven't shown us already?”

“You cannot see?” Okens asked, his voice hinting at his nervousness.

“See what?” Agozi's patience with Okens' cryptic chatter started to wear thin, but she tried to keep her composure.

“The skull,” Okens replied whilst pointing his stick at it.

Agozi leaned in to get a better look.

There was no denying the skull had its fair share of oddities.

The flatness of its nasal bridge was hard to miss. Beneath it, a dominant, wide jaw cradled a set of molars. Above, two recessed eye sockets peered out, and hints of where ears might've been sat low on the sides. The back of the skull jutted out in a pronounced manner.

They continued to examine the skull and bones for a while longer, but ultimately couldn't deduce what point Okens was trying to make.

“Besides the strangely flat face, I fail to perceive anything of significance,” Kaz said eventually.

Agozi echoed his sentiment.

Okens's facial expression turned grave, which was unusual compared to the typical neutral face of most Prol.

“Primate…” Okens uttered with a hint of worry. “Primate skeleton.”

Though Kaz looked none the wiser, Agozi’s whiskers went hectic.

“A primate?” The disbelief in her voice had been clear.

“Cranium structure does not deceive,” Okens said. “Primate.”

Kaz wasn’t big on sarcasm, but his failure to follow along irritated him.

“Is this a yet another remarkable finding whose significance has escaped my comprehension?”

Agozi gave him a puzzled glance.

“It shouldn't even be a thing in the first place...”

Kaz’s whiskers jerked slightly.

“That rotting skeleton appears quite real to me.”

“Nature should’ve prevented it,” Okens said.

“Prevented what?” Kaz asked.

“It’s a bit complicated to explain,” Agozi replied. "But the short version is that only some species can evolve sentience due to how their societies are structured." Her unease caused her to pause. "Primates don’t meet the criteria.” Her whiskers gave a quick twitch, and her voice took on a mocking edge. “Like none of them.”

“True,” Okens seconded. “Backwards! Primitive! Savage!”

Okens's unusually harsh language, not to mention his borderline passive-aggressive tone, prompted a moment of pause from Kaz.

“Guess someone napped a bit too much during sociology,” Agozi quipped, her voice dripping with playful sarcasm.

A moment stood.

“Is there any additional pertinent information you wish to convey to us?” Kaz asked Okens eventually.

“False,” Okens replied. “All notable findings shared. Share more in future if discovered.”

They gave the skeleton one final look.

The eerie, decaying heap of bones that shouldn't have been possible stared right back at them. Even devoid of life, it radiated an unsettling vibe that was hard to pinpoint.