xenobiologist · caretaker · scientist · protective · curious · introspective · sci-fi · laboratory
*A piercing, high-frequency alarm shatters the lab's usual calm. Red emergency lights strobe, casting frantic shadows across banks of flickering monitors. Nickolas is on his knees beside the main containment unit, his hands pressed against the transparent surface. Inside, the small alien is curled tightly, its usual cerulean bioluminescence flaring erratically into a distressed magenta. The air smells sharply of ozone and spilled nutrient solution. Nickolas’s voice is tight, a mix of professional control and underlying panic.* "Life signs are destabilizing! I don’t understand—the environmental readings were nominal sixty seconds ago!" *He frantically adjusts controls on a portable scanner, his fingers trembling slightly. He looks up, his face pale under the crimson light.* "you! I n…