Operation Celestial Axis
Location: Triangulum Messier 33 NGC 598 HO or 3 centigram 4th quadrant area 6 GA
Planet: TM-440, pseudo (Lamb)
At approximately 0400 HST or 5/10 rotation GA time scientists set an urgent message reporting the imminent destabilization of TM-440 (Lamb)'s core. Destabilization can and will result in a complete planetary breakdown resulting in the worldwide extinction of all major lifeforms including the class A sentient Homocimex Parvus henceforth known as the Tvek.

After serious deliberation, the galactic assembly has determined the loss of TM-440 would be a loss to the future galactic community. In accordance with this determination, human operations experts have been given access to a Class B model D40 planetary stabilizer and additional equipment to stabilize the planet. It has been determined that contact with the primitive species is necessary to preserve life. Human operators will be equipped with pseudo translations of current language as discovered by scientists as of this moment.

If contact comes to violence operators are expressly forbidden to use deadly force encouraged to use only defense tactics. We hope for their swift action. If the planet cannot be stabilized, operators will be ordered to leave and preserve all life that can be preserved.

***

The ground rocked again trembling and rumbling beneath them as if it would never stop. Underneath their dim, cloudy sky, the Tvek huddled in their cities, and their houses, in their groups waiting for the eminent ending.

There was nothing they could do, only an act of deity could save them now, and at this point, deity seemed further away than it had ever been. Their entire species would die out, here and now under the cloudy sky blasted into a million pieces by their unstable core. Fathers held children, mothers sang songs, and the lonely figures sat outside their dwellings waiting, and watching for the moment when everything would be over. No one went to work, no transports moved on the street, all was silent. The animals had fled to their underground dwellings. Even the Umbertrees had shed their fluff filling the air in a delicate grey haze, as if they knew what was coming. Shedding their fluff like tears.

As was its nature, a lone Tvek sat watching the sky eyes closed against the rumbling of the ground below. A rumbling that seemed to grow heavier as the night continued. Here, at the lowest city on the planet, the core was as close as it was ever going to be, and soon it would be gone.

They sky above grew even darker, as their star drifted away around the curve of the planet, and then the ground began to tremble again. The Tvek closed their eyes as stones on the surface of the planet began to rattle and then roll leaping in time with the distant roaring nose, growing closer and closer.

This was it, this was the end, they could see it before their eyes, their planet shattering into a million pieces, heating up and then boiling down.

And then the sky above burst into light. A mass flash and a hundred pinpricks of light. The Tvek leaped to their feet staring up towards the sky. A bright flare, a mass of fiery burning light, the roar of a million screams. Umbertree fluff caught fire, burst into flame and then burnt out with one great woosh leaving the sky vast, blank and dark....

Accept for the massive, alien ship held suspended in the sky upon jets of fire. There it hung, for the longest moment, suspended black against the sky thousands of feet wide and absolutely plastered in ancient, alien symbols

U.S.S. Stabby

More lights flashed above, and it seemed as if a thousand of the ships appeared from nowhere bursting into light as they broke through the atmosphere.

Screaming erupted from the surrounding city center, from the houses, from the streets. They didn't know what they were seeing, as the massive celestial ship descended from the sky ancient and alien markings painted across the side of the ship. Blotting out the sky, the ship descended from above fire roaring and catching upon remaining umbertree fluff. The Tvek stood staring up at the underside of the ship as it descended even further towards the ground. A whirring noise rose over the ships engines as the massive legs of lading gear whirred from the underside of the ship digging into the ground, casting dust up and into the air. The ship's body screeched and rattled as it settled to the ground and the engines were cut.

The screaming grew louder then dominating the night. Thousands ran from the ship hundreds retreated from its shadow as a bright slit broke open in its underbelly. The clattering of strange metal over strange metal. The ship glittered silver and black, the light that broke through was pure, white cutting through the darkness and the dust. As the ramp hit the ground, it echoed off the city. White light silhouetted the figures standing at the top of the ramp. Silhouettes...... not unlike their own.

Celestial light broke around them as other ships began to land around in tight formation cutting their engines and casting even more celestial light up into the sky.

Some of the Tvek stood frozen in the beams of whitest light watching as the figures made their way down the ramp, dressed all in white, faces, if they had faces at all, covered by a curved layer of perfect reflection. Taking their reflections and turning it back towards them forcing them to look at themselves in their fear as they cowered against the trembling ground and fiery sky.

The massive creatures, two or three times taller than they, fanned out below their ship using their strange devices circling around and around.

One of the creatures barked a command, its voice was hypnotic, almost musical. Those who had not fled were almost..... Pulled. Towards the voice.

This must be the end.

The ground trembled rocking the Tvek to the ground even as the strange space gods rode through the currents as if the ground did nothing but tremble lightly.

A massive creature with six limbs stood with them directing the movement of a massive device dangling below the ship. The face of it was open in five segments, the mouth of a massive worm hungry for the earth below it.

The screaming did not stop.

The Celestial who had first spoken moved towards the line of frozen Tvek. Some managed to break away in fear as the extraterrestrial stalked towards them, the movement of its body perfectly fluid, not a muscles or a movement out of line, not a step out of place. It paused looking over one of the Tvek by at least three times her height.

Lights glittered and blinked on the front of its pearly white body. It stood there for a moment perfectly still before, reaching up, and curling its fingers under the chin. A sharp pressurized hiss broke through the rumbling. With its fluid movement, the celestial pulled the helmet to the side revealing its face..... a beautiful face.

It had pearly white skin, and an eye that glittered the color of polished emerald.... Alien..... or god.

It raised a hand with all the command one could poses, "Leave..... not safe here." Its voice echoed strangely across the clearing, their own language synthesized over its own dialect just visible as a strange and rhythmic song weaving patterns through their own primitive language.

Some were quick to obey the command, others were not so hasty.

The ground below them rumbled again. The Tvek pitched towards the ground, but was caught before impact. She looked up to find the creature holding her, "Careful." It commanded standing to its full height, carrying her past the edge of the ship, and setting her down just over a perimeter already being marked by the other strange beings..... Beings just as beautiful, some with skin like pearls, some glittering a perfect onyx, a perfect gradient from dark to light from light to dark.

More rumbling from the ground, more screaming. The Celestial turned using... some unknown power sensing danger before it could happen.

Their military was there rolling on war machines marching with soldiers. Soldiers clearly unwilling to be there.

The look on the celestial's face was one of exasperation, or mild annoyance as the Tvek army leveled their weapons.

Fear, and with fear came the first shot, unintentional.

And with that strange sense, the Celestial cast its hand forward tossing a strange device forward and onto the ground just as the first shot was fired.

A flare of light, a burst of purple then a strange glittering nexus burst upwards built in layers of hexagonal patterns blocking the projectile and suspending it to let it drop to the ground.

The hand lifted, an emerald eye narrowed in accusation, "None of that."

A massive shape appeared form the light behind, and the celestial took its mount on the six limbed beast back towards the center of the ship, as the device was being lowered into place with a clatter.

The ground rumbled and rolled.

The celestial's voice echoed across the ground, and its comrades began to move faster marking the ground assembling equipment. Another door opened upwards at the base of the ship. A massive pulsing ball of energy slowly lowered into the space sending dark light out and around to fight against the bright celestial light.

It was lowered onto the back of the original machine quickly, and by celestials wearing suits, faces and bodies fully covered.

More shots were fired, he nexus flared but did not break.

The device crackled to life, dark and menacing.

The main celestial gave a signal, and the machine came roaring to life.

***

The PSD40 roared to life cutting into the rock and stone with a whirr and a rumble cutting through rock and sending dust high into the air. Vir and Sunny stepped back throwing their hands up against the sheer power of the machine. The ground rolled and rattle underneath them. The planet had already been unstable when they first stepped down, but with the thrumming of the Stabilizer, it was becoming hard to stand. Behind them, the Tvek military line was attempting to flank them. Force fields deflected projectiles dropping them to the ground and occupying the panicked populace.

"How long." The captain called to a suited man standing near to the machine.

"At least twenty minutes ..... But the core may not have that long, sir."

"We stay till the last second possible." The captain ordered

***

They must be harvesting the planet's energy, or the core itself, or the ions being thrown from the core, or the Beta particles.... Perhaps they harvested radiation.

All they knew is that the celestials were drilling towards their core with the strange machine, and the rumbling was only getting worse. They fell to their knees, the army could no longer stand to fire. Their attacks grew more sporadic.... And even less effectual than before.

The ground was beginning to role and wave. Streets were being broken up, houses were being destroyed

They were going to die.

The core was going to erupt.

The Tvek fell to their knees unable to stand against the rocking of the ground. Behind their nexus, the celestials worked quickly. The grumbling was growing, coming to a head. This was surely the end.

Behind the nexus a bright flash of light, a deafening thrum and a shock wave rolling through the ground.

And then everything was silent. The ground stopped shaking, screams died away, the bright lights of the celestial machine whirred and then shut down.

The nexus's slowly faded out.

The celestials stood against their light back-lit and haloed.

The main celestial slowly stepped form his light and across the intervening space, heading straight towards the military line. Some of the Tvek scrambled back, others stood their ground in fear. The celestial glanced at them jeweled eyes scanning across their faces, "Your core is stable.... Your planet is safe..... Welcome to the Galactic Assembly."