“Guess you didn't see this coming?” Agozi said with a smirk, the latter remaining silent, though his snout betrayed a reluctant realization of being wrong.

Agozi moved closer to the viewport and took in the sight of sprawling landmasses and oceans.

The planet was encircled by hundreds of space installations, and many stood on par with those from the Union's most flourishing worlds. The airspace buzzed with thousands of crafts, hinting at a thriving civilian life. This vibrancy was comparable to, if not exceeding, most Union worlds.

Kaz turned his gaze to a scanner operator close by.

“Initiate a thorough scan of the system.”

“A scan is already in progress,” the scanner operator replied.

“Summarize the findings.”

“Not much yet, but it’s clear the planet is home to a technologically advanced race.”

“Really? And here I thought it was a barren rock,” Agozi said, feigning surprise with a playful twitch of her whiskers.

“Energy signatures coming from the planet’s surface suggest the presence of large metropolitan areas.” The scanner operator hesitated briefly, looking a bit puzzled. “Enormous ones.”

“Define ‘enormous’,” Kaz said.

“A disproportionate percentage of the surface emits industrial level energy signatures.”

“By what metric?”

“Energy usage per square-kilometer is dozens of times greater than that of Mevik Prime,” the operator replied. “This is without factoring in the orbital industry, which appears to be considerable.”

Their whiskers betraying uncertainty, Agozi and Kaz locked eyes.

Honorary-Lieutenant Snikers slowly developed a whimsical smile, making Agozi pull back at the skunk's changing expression, yet Snikers seemed too joyfully engrossed to notice her reaction.

“Oh! This just simply could not be more marvelous!” His voice, usually formal, now clearly carried excitement. “One can merely seek to envisage the inexhaustible opportunities this miraculous discovery has conferred upon us!”

Agozi groused something under her breath whilst executing a Mevik hand gesture for ridicule. When Snikers glanced at her, she promptly resumed her normal posture.

“As I was saying…” Snikers began a long-winded, and mostly boring lecture on what this all meant. “…this heralds the dawn of a new galactic era! New trade avenues shall be set up! New channels of business established! Boundless fresh markets…”

Several times, Agozi nearly voiced her disdain for the self-important council agent's ramblings. When Kaz cut off the tiresome tirade, she felt relieved, especially considering she had almost done the same if not for a fresh memory of Kaz's caution. She still felt a hint of annoyance from their last disagreement but had processed Kaz's perspective. Snikers might be foolish, but his influential position made him more than an annoyance.

“It's premature to make such definitive statements,” Kaz said with a tone of cautiousness. “We lack knowledge of their values. Their reaction is still uncertain.”

Snikers sneered at the notion.

“Oh, don’t be preposterous,” he said dismissively. “A leader you may be. A diplomat you are not. If you were better versed in the art of commerce, your less evolved brain might be better equipped for understanding the matter.”

“Must be nice having that Pretenti genius all to yourself,” Agozi said, her whiskers dancing with sarcasm.

“That is indeed so,” Snikers replied, seemingly oblivious to how mocking Agozi’s words had been.

“Well we’re good then,” Agozi said, the tone of mockery even stronger than before. “Just give them a day or two of the Snikers experience and they’ll be rushing towards Union membership in no time.”

“My point exactly!” Snikers replied joyfully.

“What…No! I didn’t mean it like tha—” Agozi groaned in frustration. “Never mind.”

Kaz seemed more doubtful than did Snikers.

“You're expressing a lot of confidence given the circumstances.”

“And truly, I can do nothing else.”

“Have you considered that your confidence might be unfounded?” Kaz asked.

“Can you cite an educated reason as to why we should consider such a prospect?”

“Consider a scenario where another entity similar to the Union exists in their vicinity,” Kaz replied. “Their inclination to join us might waver.”

“Can you cite evidence for the existence of such an institution?”

“No, but you're overlooking the main concern,” Kaz replied. “With our current understanding, moving forward without a clear picture could be reckless. We need to ascertain the full situation first.”

Snikers's nose twitched, hinting at his bemusement.

“I mean no disrespect, my dear Captain…” his tone sounded even more sanctimonious than usual. “But for all the supposed ‘diversity’ generated by the universe, most intelligent species gravitate towards similar base desires.” Moving his hands behind his back, he stepped closer to Kaz, his voice shifting from mockery to seriousness. “Do not forget who I am. As the diplomatic representative of the council, I interact with a larger and more diverse cast of characters in one standard galactic cycle than you will over a lifetime. And take my word for it, my dear Captain, that as different as they look on the outside, most are very much the same on the inside.”

“Which is to say that they’re greedy and impressionable,” Agozi said scornfully, whiskers jerking passive-aggressively.

Snikers ignored her.

“We're navigating uncharted space with this mission,” Kaz said.

“Uncharted from your point of view,” Snikers replied dismissively. “Diplomatically speaking, it's quite routine.” He made his way to the viewport. “Look at how advanced their infrastructure is,” he said, motioning at the orbital facilities around. “Isn't the evidence before your eyes? They're clearly ready for a refined transaction.”

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Kaz eyed the vast space traffic, noting the bustling activity. Snikers had a point.

“Your observations are valid,” he replied. “Yet, we'll tread carefully. First-contact waits until we've gathered more intel.” His gaze shifted towards the navigational specialist as he turned. “Confirm the status of our cloaks.”

“Cloaks are fully operational,” replied the navigational specialist. “We activated them prior to leaving slipspace just as you ordered.”

“Are we just hoping the cloaks do their job or is there an actual plan?” Agozi asked.

“The cloaks are our best plan for now,” Kaz replied. “Without them, we'd be in plain sight.”

Not being acquainted with such technology, Snikers requested clarification.

“Think of cloaks as our way of being the universe’s polite guests; great for not freaking out fauna and primitives,” Agozi explained. “But it's purely a visual trick, not some advanced stealth tech. It was never designed to keep us hidden from other advanced races.” Her whiskers gave a slight twitch. “And just for the record, it's technically illegal.”

“So why worry about such trivial procedures?” Snikers asked. “Best to reveal ourselves honestly and in a grand manner guaranteed to inspire awe.”

“And if they don't find our honest revelation awe-inspiring, but threatening instead?” Kaz inquired with a hint of caution.

“If we elect to observe in secret, they might well respond poorly nevertheless,” Snikers replied, a tone of judgement having slithered into his voice.

While Kaz and Snikers continued to debate the issue, Agozi turned to face the viewport and took a better look at the alien world.

A vast expanse of water interspersed with significant landmasses characterized it. Such a composition wasn't out of the ordinary for an inhabited planet. On the surface, it seemed like any other world. The depth of their knowledge was limited, making it hard to discern if it was the alien's main world or a colony. Nevertheless, the visible advancements pointed towards a reasonably expansive empire.

The discussion ended with Snikers agreeing, albeit reluctantly, to temporarily conceal the ship.

“Advance with a measured pace, stopping mere clicks from their closest facility,” Kaz said. “The goal is to get as close as possible for clear observation, without giving any hints of our presence.”

The ship slowly moved closer to the nearest significant orbital facility. From afar, its exact purpose was unclear, but the traffic patterns hinted at a port or trade center. Up to this point, no indications arose about the natives sensing them in the system, with no attempts at communication.

“Maintain a thorough scan of the system,” Kaz ordered. “Notify me immediately upon scan completion or if anything of significance surfaces.”

The scanner operator's attention moved from the display to him.

“In fact, something may have already.”

Kaz turned around before approaching the operator’s workstation. “What did you find?”

“It’s regarding the climate.”

“And the issue with the climate is?”

“It’s abnormal.”

“In what manner is it abnormal?”

“In all conceivable manners.”

Kaz’s whiskers twitched.

“Elaborate.”

“The planet's median temperature is extremely low given its habitation status,” the operator said. “Both the northern and southern poles exhibit extensive ice coverage. Sub-zero temperatures are detected in multiple regions, predominantly in the northern hemisphere.”

This left all who heard, Kaz and Agozi not excluded, perplexed, and they shared numerous bewildered looks.

“Sub-zero temperatures on an inhabited planet?” Agozi asked, perplexed by the strange readings.

“It's plausible we're observing a mining colony,” Kaz suggested. “If its primary function is industrial, the challenging environment wouldn't deter settlement.”

“Surely, you don't expect me to believe that such grandeur is merely for mining?” Snikers asked, his question surprisingly insightful for once. He adopted a stance of reserved attentiveness, his left hand resting unseen behind his back, while his right hand remained tucked subtly in front of him. With unhurried steps, he neared the viewport, his eyes shifting across the images in both directions. He eventually turned to face Kaz, a self-assured smirk forming on his snout. “Even a layman could see that this world is driven by a pursuit of greatness and enterprise. But, of course, I'm no layman.” A confident, smug look appeared on his snout. “The perfect partners for a lucrative venture.”

Snikers's relentless monetary focus drew a repulsed response from Agozi. In just five minutes of knowing this new race, he seemed to be plotting business ventures, possibly questionable ones, ignoring other mission considerations.

What else to expect from a Pretenti? she mused with evident irritation as she approached the scanner operator. “Move over,” she said, signaling the scanner to step back. She then leaned into the monitor, her left arm propped on the control table. “First scans are like first impressions, sometimes they’re off,” she said, giving a quick glance at the readings. “Waiting for the full scan might clear things up.”

“Analyzing a planet’s climate is a simple procedure,” the operator said. “There’s no reason to question the accuracy of the scan.”

Agozi gave the readings one last glance, then pulled away from the control table, standing tall.

“Scan it again,” she said impatiently.

The operator complied, with the results showing no variation.

Gazing in disbelief at the implausible statistics, Agozi found herself speechless at their sheer absurdity.

“This makes no sense,” she muttered under her breath.

“Given we've encountered spacefaring primates that challenge evolutionary norms, why is a cold climate so perplexing to you?” Kaz asked. “Our exploration has encompassed countless worlds of varied climates. A cold environment is hardly the pinnacle of oddities we've encountered thus far.”

“Pardon the interruption, but we have new data from the readings,” the scanner operator said. “The planet’s weather patterns appear to be even more abnormal than originally suggested by the early readings.”

Agozi shifted her focus, looking directly at the operator.

“What do you mean?”

“The axial tilt is notably misaligned,” the operator replied. “It's remarkable that this planet can support life, given its extreme geological instability which should have made it unsuitable for complex organisms.”

“By what criteria are we deeming this planet 'unsuitable'?” Kaz asked.

“Certain areas have wind speeds that make direct surface navigation perilous, even with the appropriate gear.” The operator's antennas gave a brief twitch, and his mandibles momentarily parted before quickly snapping back. “Some zones even seem to be undergoing intense hurricanes.”

Planets with life had always been associated with a stable climate, while extreme weather was the domain of uninhabitable systems.

Or such had been their assumption.

An uneasy silence persisted, marked by many shared, uncertain glances.

“This equipment is obviously subpar,” Snikers said eventually. “Where did we even acquire such a joke of a scanner?”

It was hard for Agozi to believe, but for once, she saw eye to eye with Snikers. Well, minus his lack of self-awareness regarding equipment reliability. He was responsible for installing that blasted device in the first place.

“I'm with Snikers on this one,” she said. “New gadgets can be quirky. Maybe it’s just getting its bearings.”

Kaz scratched the area below his jaw as he weighed the facts.

“Planets within a system's habitable zone are the only ones capable of sustaining life,” he said. “Stray too close or too far from the sun, and life becomes an impossibility. Precision is key; there's no margin for error.” He ceased his scratching and shifted his attention to the scanner operator. “Provide me with the percentage of cultivatable land.”

The litmus test for a world's readiness for civilization was often its agricultural landmass. Established colonies usually showcased a range of thirty to seventy-five percent, with the lower end just scraping by in terms of habitability.

The scanner operator worked with the controls and waited for the information to appear.

“I calculate approximately eleven percent of the planet's surface to be arable, excluding urban areas.”

“Hardly believable,” Snikers said, advancing a step towards the viewport to study the hectic space traffic. “How could a world so mediocre produce such opulence?”

“They might be dependent on external imports, positioning this as a central trading point,” Kaz said.

“We have another update,” the scanner operator said, causing the others to shift their attention his way. “Our instruments detect significant seismic events, likely attributed to the atypical axial tilt. The crust houses multiple magma chambers, pointing to active volcanoes, including some of super-volcanic magnitude. Geological records suggest recent eruptions from some of these.”

Snikers glanced at Kaz with doubt in his eyes.

“A prime trading location in such a dangerous backwater?” The notion seemed to make his snout shift in distaste. “Nonsense!”

Earthquakes and eruptions were practically unheard of on inhabited planets, only marking their presence once in eons. To think of someone pouring resources into such a clearly hostile environment was beyond ridiculous.

“Run those numbers by me one more time,” Agozi said.

“Already been done,” the operator replied. “Our analysis returned consistent results, confirming their accuracy.”

Everyone gazed at the viewport images, their faces painted with awe and astonishment, they stared at it. At the mysterious, blue alien planet that made seemingly no sense whatsoever.