The Nethagrian

The Dearheart was drifting on a lonely journey through a dark, isolated sector in the outer rim of the galaxy.  It was a small, lightweight ship with a domed panoramic observation deck built for the purpose of studying astrofauna in their natural habitat.  At the moment, it was carrying the esteemed Dr. Skyler Morrison and her assistant, Olson Carbuncle, back home after a lengthy voyage studying the spiders that hid within the quasars of the Ygiz quadrant.  They were passing through the Alamenco system, one of the few solar systems on their way.  Dr. Skyler and Olson were resting peacefully belowdecks when the ship’s chirpy computer awakened them with its chiming voice.

“Dr. Skyler, I’m sorry to disturb you, but we’ve reached the star Arctorius in the Alamenco system.  I’ve let you know as instructed.  If you would like to see the star, please come up to the observation deck.”

“Alamenco system.” Olson said groggily as he shifted in his sheets, “Why the devil did you have the ship tell us we’d reached this godforsaken place?”

Dr. Skyler leapt from her bunk and eagerly threw her robe around herself. “There’s a species of astrofauna native to this system, the Katarins.” she said, “They’re small, bioluminescent creatures that look a bit like shrimp.  Since we were passing through the system, I wanted to stop and have a look at them while we’re here.  Come on, Olson!  Up with you!”

Dr. Skyler’s elderly frame belied her vigorous passion for her studies, an area she had her far younger companion sorely beaten.  She sprang up the spiraling stairs to the observation deck, while Olson followed sluggishly.  The light from Arctorius flooded the room with its bright, golden glow.  Outside, Dr. Skyler could see nothing of the astrofauna she was so eager to see.

“Dearheart, do you detect any schools of Katarin in the immediate area?” she said, addressing the ship’s computer.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” the computer replied, “They’re on the other side of the star, though.  Do you want me to fly over there?”

“Please do!”

The ship turned aside on its new course.  It dived beneath Arctorius and the enormous star passed over their heads.  Just up ahead was a faint cloud of blue light that undulated as if it were alive.  As they flew nearer, they could see that the cloud was made up of small individual particles.  Soon, the Dearheart was swallowed up in the cloud and they could see it for what is was.  Katarins.  Thousands of Katarins floating in the ether all around them.  The ship came to a halt in the middle of the school, caught up in a vortex of tiny blue lights.

“Incredible!  There’s so many of them!” Dr. Skyler exclaimed, “Well, Olson, what do you think?  Is this a worthy detour?”

“Hmm.  Yes.  Fascinating.” Olson yawned.

“We aren’t in any danger getting so close to them, are we?” Dr. Skyler queried.

“Not at all.” the Dearheart’s computer answered, “Katarins are completely docile and are of no threat to us whatsoever.”

“Splendid.” Dr. Skyler grinned, clapping her hands, “Then we can spend an hour or two studying the little creatures.”

Olson looked at her despairingly.  “But I was sleeping!” he groaned.

“No time for that now.  Come on, let’s get everything ready.”

Dr. Skyler started tinkering with one of the nearby terminals.  As she did this, the blue ambient light from the Katarins suddenly faded, leaving the entire room lit only by the harsh yellow light from Arctorius.  She looked up, and there were no Katarins to be seen, only a vast sea of stars.

“What happened?  Where’d the Katarins go?” she said.

“I’m afraid they’ve scattered, Dr. Skyler.  Something seems to have spooked them.” the computer answered, “I’m picking up some sort of noise on my sonars that might have done it.”

“Could you put it up on the ship’s speakers, please?”

“Of course.  Playing it now.”

A terrible droning screech filled the ship, like nails being dragged across a chalkboard.  Dr. Skyler and Olson had to cover their ears it was so piercing.

“Well, I’m not gonna be able to sleep now.” Olson said.

“What was that?” Dr. Skyler wondered, “I don’t think I’ve heard anything like it before.”

“Could it have been some sort of astrofauna, maybe a predator that eats Katarins?  That would explain why the creatures bolted.” Olson suggested.

“That’s a good guess.  But the Katarins don’t have any known predators.  Oh, how exciting!  We may be on the verge of a new discovery.  Dearheart, are you picking up any life forms nearby?”

“I’m afraid not.” the computer replied, “But…wait, something has just to come into range of my scanners.”

“Excellent!  Would you please--” 

An alarm began to sound. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Dr. Skyler,” the computer apologized over the blaring klaxon, “but I must take evasive action immediately.  Whatever it is I’m picking up is heading right for us at incredible speed.”

The ship swerved aside.  Thanks to its internal gravity, the sudden movement didn’t throw the passengers off balance.   But the way the ship tilted afforded them a very poor viewing angle to see the newly arrived entity as it sped past in a shadowy blur.  For a few moments, they were cast into utter darkness.  It was as if something was blocking the star’s light from them.  But the pall soon passed and there was nothing in sight to explain it.  

“Are we alright?” Olson said, scanning the monitors for any damage reports.

“We’re alright.” the Dearheart confirmed, “It just barely missed us.”

“And what was ‘it’?” Dr. Skyler exclaimed, running around the observation deck trying to get a look at the object, but it was nowhere to be seen.  As quickly as it had appeared, it’d moved on.

“I’m still picking it up on my scanners.” said the Dearheart. “But it’s moving far too quickly for me to get any definitive data on it.  My initial size estimates put it at about 5 million kilometers in length.”

“5 million kilometers!” Olson gasped, “It can’t be astrofauna, then.  Nothing can grow to be that large!”

“I’m not so sure.” Dr. Skyler replied, “Space is so expansive, what’s there to keep astrofauna from growing to such a size?”

“Diet, for one thing.  There’s no way a creature that large would be able to sustain itself.  Especially not on something so small as Katarins.”

“It might eat something else.”

“Like what?  Even the largest astrofauna wouldn’t amount to anything more than a snack for such a monster.  It’d take more meteor whales than are currently in the wild to--” 

“Ah, the star!” Dr. Skyler suddenly cried.  She had turned white as a sheet and was pointing towards Arctorius.

Something was appearing over the edge of the star, a terrible head with multiple green, glowing eyes.  The same screeching cry from before came in over the ship’s speakers once more as the creature came into view.  It had a long, segmented body, like an earthworm.  On both flanks were a row of fleshy mouths with bared, gnashing teeth, one on each of its segments.  It began to coil itself around the star.  Its serpentine form was long enough to encircle the celestial body multiple times. 

“What is that?” Olson said, his eyes wide with fear.

“I have no record of such a creature in my databanks.  Your guess is as good as mine.” the Dearheart said.

“Now we know what scared the Katarins away.” Dr. Skyler said once she’d recovered from the shock, “But what’s it doing with that star?”

The creature kept wrapping itself around Arctorius, like a large snake choking its prey.  Then, it uttered a terrible roar so thunderous it shook the Dearheart, even as distant as it was.  One of the fleshy mouths on its side shot outwards and clamped on to the surface of the star.  Its teeth dug in and, as the mouth was withdrawn into the worm’s body, it tore off a piece of the star’s surface and gnawed on it as if it were a bit of flesh.  Solar flare spurted from the star’s wound like a fountain of blood.  Then another mouth extruded and did the same.  Then another.  As the worm circled around the star, its fleshy mouths gorged themselves on the flesh of Arctorius; tearing, rending, and chewing.

“I’ve read of a creature such as this!” Olson moaned, his voice quivering, “From the writings of a mad astronomer many years ago.  He spied this creature through a telescope and witnessed it consume a star.  He went mad from the mere sight of it and his observations were only considered insane ravings.  He called it the Nethagrian.”

The Dearheart and her passengers could do nothing but watch as the Nethagrian consumed Arctorius.  Bit by bit, its multitudinous mouths tore the star apart until it was no more.  Darkness enveloped them.  There was no light but that of distant stars and the eldritch gleam of the Nethagrian’s eyes.

An oppressive stillness and silence fell upon the scene.  It was difficult for the spacefarers to comprehend what they’d just witnessed.  An entire star, a celestial body that had existed for untold eons was completely eaten in moments by this terrible creature.

It was the Dearheart that broke the silence. “We have to return home with our findings.  We have to warn everyone about the existence of the Nethagrian.”

“Why?  What could we possibly do against something like…that?” Olson replied.

“We have to think of something.  We need some way of dealing with the Nethagrian before it finds its way to the inner systems.  If we don’t…” Dr. Skyler’s voice trailed off and she shuddered considering the possibilities.

“I’ve set a course back home.  Thankfully, our solar sails had absorbed enough light from Arctorius to keep us going the rest of the way.  Shall we embark, Dr. Skyler?” the Dearheart said.

“Yes, I think that would be best.”

It was a somber moment as the Dearheart departed the Alamenco system.  Neither Dr. Skyler nor Olson felt inclined to speak or even return to bed.  They only stared out into space with dazed expressions and reeling minds.  They had only flown a few minutes when the Dearheart chimed in again.

“Friends, we’re being followed.”

Dr. Skyler and Olson were brought back to reality with this startling news.  They looked around but could see nothing.

“We are?  By whom?” Olson asked.

“You aren’t going to believe this, but it seems to be the Nethagrian.” said the computer.

One of the monitors switched to a view just behind and below them.  It showed a great, writhing mass of shadow with multiple wisps of green light at the head.

“Surely it can’t intend to follow us.  We’re so small it could hardly notice us, let alone bother to give us chase.” Dr. Skyler said, “Regardless, I don’t feel very safe with it in our wake like this.  Who’s to say it won’t pick up speed and ram us?  Dearheart, would you please alter course by about ninety degrees so that we’re out of its way?”

“Of course, as you wish, Dr. Skyler.” the Dearheart said before turning the ship sharply.

“There, that ought to do just fine.  I think we’re safe n--”

“It’s still following us!” Olson cried, staring wide-eyed at the monitor.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Olson.  It can’t be--” Dr. Skyler looked at the monitor herself and, sure enough, the Nethagrian’s eyes could still be seen following along behind them. “Dearheart, stop the ship.” she said.

“But, Dr. Skyler, if we do that the Nethagrian will--” the computer’s protest was cut short.

“Just do it, now!” Dr. Skyler yelled.

Without further dialog, the ship came to a sudden halt.  The Dearheart and Olson expected the Nethagrian to crash into them at any moment, but nothing happened.  Looking at the monitor, they could see the Nethagrian had stopped as well and was waiting patiently behind them.

“My god, it is following us!” Dr. Skyler exclaimed.

“What?  Why?” Olson asked, his voice quivering.

“It must expect us to lead us to its next meal: another star.”

“How could it expect that?”

“I don’t know.  But I can’t think of any other reason for its behavior.”

“Oh hell.” Olson moaned, “What are we gonna do?  We can’t lead it back to the inner systems.  That’d be disastrous!”

“We’ll send out a distress call.  Ask them to send in the fleet.” Dr. Skyler suggested.

“I’m sorry Dr. Skyler, but we’re currently well beyond communication range.  It’d take weeks for a distress beacon to reach the inner systems.  And even if we could call in the fleet, there’s not much they could do.  It’d take more firepower than every single ship could generate to even hope to turn away a creature of this size.  We’d only get other ships stuck in our position.” the Dearheart said.

“Then we’re stuck here.” Dr. Skyler sighed, “Our only hope is that the Nethagrian loses interest and goes off on its own.”

“And what do we do if it doesn’t?  We don’t have the supplies to outlast a cosmic horror like that.  It lives on stars, Skyler!  Stars!  Who knows how much energy it derives from something of that magnitude?  It could wait here for years and be none the worse for it!” Olson argued.

“We have no other choice, Olson.  We can only wait.” Dr. Skyler said firmly.

And wait they did.  Hanging idly in space for a week, they waited and their supplies dwindled to a dangerous low.  And during all this time, the Nethagrian did not move.  Its eyes were fixed on the Dearheart.

As much as the looming shortage of food and air threatened the wellbeing of the Dearheart’s passengers, the biggest loss was that of patience.  The amity between Dr. Skyler and Olson was frayed to a breaking point after spending an entire week alone and in a state of constant dread.  Dr. Skyler grew tired of Olson’s moaning and hopeless words.  Olson blamed Dr. Skyler for getting him into this mess.  If only they’d just kept going instead of stopping to watch a bunch of Katarins.  The Dearheart could do little to keep their spirits up.  The mood permeating the ship was morbid and antagonistic.  Until, one day, Olson suggested a desperate plan.  It was one that all three of them had considered, but never dared to voice up til now.

“We should lure it to another star.” he said, “One that’s far away in the outer rim.  While it’s eating, we turn around and hightail it back to the inner systems before it has a chance to finish and resume following us.”

“We can’t do that, Olson.  Most of the solar systems out here haven’t been explored at all.  There’s no telling what habited planets and astrofauna are depending on those stars for life.  If we lead the Nethagrian to one of those systems, we’ll be dooming them to extinction! Can you accept that responsibility?  Are you willing to risk taking part in the execution of an entire solar system?” said Dr. Skyler.

“I don’t care!” Olson howled in reply, “Better to lead it to one of those than to lead it back to systems we know are populated.”

“Or we could just wait here as we’ve been doing.”

“We can’t wait here any longer!  We’re running low on food and air!  Once we run out of those things, we’re dead and the ship won’t last much longer once it runs out of power!”

“So be it.” Dr. Skyler said with a calmness that chilled Olson to his bones, “It’d be preferable for just the three of us to die than an entire star system.”

“I can’t believe you!  How can you condemn yourself and me to starvation and suffocation?” Olson vented, pounding the monitors in front of him in rage.  When he saw his arguments weren’t getting through to Dr. Skyler, he turned to the ship’s computer. “Dearheart,” he said, his voice cracking in desperation, “What do you think of all this?  Surely you don’t agree to this suicide.”

“Of course it does.” Dr. Skyler interjected, “It’s the most logical course of action.”

“Actually, Dr. Skyler, I’m afraid to say that I agree with Olson on this matter.” said the Dearheart.

Dr. Skyler leapt from her chair in indignation.  Before she could utter a reply, the computer continued.

“It is of utmost importance that we deliver the information we’ve collected on the Nethagrian to the inner systems.  With that knowledge in hand, perhaps we can better deal with the threat it poses.  To that end, luring it with a nearby star to facilitate an escape is our best course of action.”

“‘Perhaps’, you say?” Dr. Skyler said, shaking in indignation, “You’re willing to hang the wellbeing of an unexplored star system on a mere possibility?”

“With that ‘mere possibility’, Dr. Skyler, the peoples of the inner systems will have more time and a far better chance of keeping the Nethagrian at bay when it inevitably reaches them.  It will keep devouring stars regardless of what we do.  At least by escaping it now, we give ourselves a fighting chance of dealing with it in the future.”

“Are there any stars nearby we can lure it to and still have enough power to reach the inner systems?” Olson asked.

“Yes, I’ve already taken the liberty of searching one out.  It is Uldroros in the Alxtaria system.  That is our best bet.  Unfortunately, I can take no action without Dr. Skyler’s approval.  She’s in charge.  In the end, it is up to her what course of action we take.  Our opinion is of little consequence.” the Dearheart said.

Olson looked despairingly at Dr. Skyler.  Her face was downcast.  She was quiet for a moment before she said anything else.

“Do as you wish.  I admit that there is sense in what you say.  Perhaps you’re right.  Maybe we can figure out some way of dealing with this creature.”

“Thank you, Dr. Skyler.  Course set for the Alxtaria system.” the Dearheart said.

The ship turned around and sped off on its course to Uldroros.  Sure enough, the Nethagrian chased after it.  After a few days travel, they reached the Alxtaria system and Uldroros within it.  Immediately upon seeing the star, the Nethagrian shot up ahead and wrapped itself around it.  Once again, the fleshy mouths extended from its body to tear eagerly at the star’s flesh.

“That should keep the old worm busy for a bit!” Olson said triumphantly.

“Quickly, Dearheart!  Do not let this star’s sacrifice be in vain!  Let’s fly away back to the inner systems with all available speed!” Dr. Skyler commanded.

“Of course, Dr. Skyler.  Course set to the inner systems.  Full speed ahead!”

The Nethagrian did not follow the Dearheart as it shot off into the cosmos.  It already had a meal to contend with and it did not require the assistance of tiny ships to find another.  It could travel the outer systems devouring stars at its leisure.  It would reach the inner systems with its bounty of stars all in due time.  As for the Dearheart, it was but a small, frail thing in a vast universe.