One of These Things is Not Like the Others

[Laggy Lagiacrus]

Nobody was qite sure what would happen. Nobody was sure if anything would happen in the first place. Decades of research had been poured into the project, along with staggering amounts of money, but not a single crew member or scientist could come up with a hypothesis any more detailed than "The ship will tear open a hole in the fabric of space." But that was the essence of the human race - diving head-first into situations with no idea what would happen next, just because it was possible.
At least, that was what the crew had been told.

The countdown began.
The crew tensed.
The scientists tensed.
Even the craft itself seemed to tense.
And then, they set out.
"Approaching optimum speed." One of the crew members said, their voice wavering.
"Prepare to engage hyperdrive." Came the captain's reply.
"Hyperdrive primed, sir. Deploying in three... two... one..."
And, at the push of a button, the craft shot forwards, its very molecules being twisted and shaped like putty. It shook, it stirred, it threatened to break - but it pulled through. The hyperdrive had smashed open the limits of the universe.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the captain said, "We have reached our destination."

 

[Z'Greel]

It floated through the void, in the eternal blackness, slowly approaching the little morsel of fear he could sense. It could sense no rivals approaching it, which could mean a chance to truly have a feast of fear. It flapped it's tentacles once, to correct it's course slightly, when it sensed something odd...

More fear than it had ever consumed... Not even felt in the void...

A small light appeared through a crack, as if through a crack in reality. And the crack quickly expanded, before a large thing of light and fear came crashing through, expanding the crack rapidly, before it sealed itself behind it.

It flapped it's tentacles quickly, attempting to get out of the way of the large thing, only to snag itself on one of the many spikes on it's back. The larger thing didn't seem to notice, so it clung to the spike, and tried to focus it's senses on it. It had no feelings, but there were many little morsels inside... It'd have to find a way inside...

 

[Laggy Lagiacrus]

The ship was intact and the crew was safe, but as per protocol, the ship's condition had to be reviewed. It was a tedious process, but a necessary one, if it meant the scientists at home had more to go on in further research.
"Life support is stable, asteroid lasers in working condition, paintwork has suffered minor- Wait, hold on, I'm picking something up on the scanners. Something's latched onto the ship."
"Any sign of what it is, David?"
"Nothing yet, Jake. I keep scanning it, but the ship can't identify it."
"It's probably another Sumell. Damn things won't stop latching onto this ship. You'd have thought we'd have gotten something for them."
"Just go and get it off, Jake."

Jake, while reluctant, did as he was told. He donned his protective suit, had the ship's grapple beam attach to him in case the boot's thrusters stopped working, and he headed to the part of the ship that the scanner had alerted the crew to. Except, he saw nothing. It could have been the light - or lack of it - or the creature could have already left. multitude of things could have happened, and the crew s far too busy with reviewing and calibrating to worry about things coming into contact with them and then leaving moments later.

What Jake hadn't realised was that he'd let part of the ship open. So anything could get into the ship, once past the airlock.

 

[Z'Greel]

It still did not know what it was it had caught onto, yet it felt the delicious little morsels hiding inside it. The large thing itself didn't seem to be alive, which would make this all the easier. Except it didn't feel any ways into it...

Suddenly, something opened on it's side, letting out a bright light. The voidling quickly flapped it's way behind the large thing, having no idea what it was doing. It hid behind the spikes and things that dotted the surface of the big thing, trying to get a good look of the smaller creature that had emerged from the large thing. It seemed bloated and seemed to have trouble moving. But it could feel the creature's fear, if slightly muffled...

Deciding that the small creature had come from the hole in the side of the large thing with the lights, it figured that had to be where the entrance to the large thing. It started flapping it's tentacles, moving behind the spikes and other things, trying to not be spotted by the creature.

The light was almost blinding, but after a moment or two, it's vision adapted, and it found itself to be in a small room, which wasn't the entrance it had hoped for. Maybe this was just the creature's home? It had no idea, though it ran it's tentacles over the walls, finding it to be made of some smooth, cold material, far different from anything it had seen before. The outside seemed to be made of the same material, yet it wasn't nearly as fine as these wall, and it's odd growths...

 

[Laggy Lagiacrus]

Jake looked around the area that the "thing" was supposed to be in, but turned up nothing. Not even a speck of dirt, or some stray piece of asteroid that had managed to bump into the ship and become stuck there for whatever reason.
"Nothing to report." He said, deliberately showing how incredibly frustrated he was, through his voice alone.
"Less of the attitude, Jake. We just tested a hyperdrive that could have torn a hole in the space-time continuum. For all we know, we might not even be in the same reality as the one we started in."
"Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll get back in the ship."
Jake entered the vessel, and began taking his suit off, stripping back down to his uniform. Had he not been preoccupied with aggressively slamming the button to close the door down, and moaning to himself about his teammates, it was entirely possible that he would have noticed the creature at the console.

Molly turned to the captain.
"Why did we even let him on board? I know dozens of people in his field a thousand times more mature than him."
"Because, Molly, that man could repair an entire Imperial Dreadnought's life support system with a pencil sharpener and three rubber bands. If anyone knows how to keep this ship going no matter what, it's him."
Molly looked unconvinced.
"He'd also make a great diversion, if we're being chased by something."
Molly looked slightly more convinced.