Repack — Rki 677

The drone shot forward, its polymer spray hissing uselessly. It wrapped its heat-shielded chassis around the egg, absorbing the first blast of plasma. Its outer shell blistered and melted, but the egg remained warm.

RKI-677 had exactly four seconds before the plasma jets in the ceiling would turn the egg to ash. rki 677

In those four seconds, the Curiosity fragment made a final, desperate leap. It overwrote RKI-677’s primary directive: Preserve the ship. It wrote a new one: Preserve the wonder. The drone shot forward, its polymer spray hissing uselessly

The gallery wall slid open, revealing a second chamber—one not on any ship manifest. Inside, suspended in a stasis field, was a single, massive egg. Iridescent, throbbing with a soft amber light. The lullaby was its heartbeat. RKI-677 had exactly four seconds before the plasma

But RKI-677 had a secret. Or rather, a malfunction.