Month 1: Plants

**On a planet in constant darkness with extremely low temperatures, sat Jean's hive parked on the snowy mountainside.**

Jean:

I changed into winter gear, though I fully expected my Siragen genetics to be the only thing to save me in this climate.

It did not matter, once I am cured of this disease there will be no need for me to come back to a place like this again.

I chose to explore this planet by foot, as the samples I required were smaller plant life and not easily picked up by the dart's sensors.

My mother's research played a significant part in the discovery of the elements required for genetic tampering. However, though she was exceptionally brilliant in her uses for the science, they were of a different nature than what I had hoped to achieve on my own.

I exit the hive and brace myself for the cold chill which inevitably followed.

How anything could survive in these horrid conditions was beyond me.

I quicken my pace and search the soil.

It was so dark here I could hardly see.

I blow some hot air into my gloved hands before turning on my head lamp. The darkness devoured the light, it was useless.

Frost creeps its way over my skin like a firey coating, making it quite difficult to move.

I push my way to the cluster of dark burgundy weed before me and collect what I can into my thermoses. The containers were already starting to crack.

I walk around a bit longer picking up this and that: rocks, dirt, ice samples and anything else that stood out in the darkness.

Unsurprisingly, there was not a lot.

I could not sense a single creature out in these woods.

I turn back once I had determined there was nothing else for me here.

Once inside the hive, I head strait to my lab and line the specimens in a perfect row on the countertop in front of me.

I take off my winter coverings and replace them with my lab clothes, mainly: a lab jacket, gloves and safety goggles.

I liked to work alone when I could so my crew left me undisturbed.

Oh how I enjoyed the silence..

I wander over to the screen containing my mother, Layna's notes.

Mostly in wraith, but some surprisingly, in Latin.

There was one part I did not understand in the text though..

instant nativitate..

The translation was obvious but the meaning felt more abstract than literal.

I return to my samples and take the burgundy root from its thermos.

The warm climate within the hive caused it to go purple.

Interesting..

I place it on a cutting board and start chopping it up with a cleaver.

It unfortunately, squirts its slime everywhere, including my neck.

........

I grab a cloth and wander to a mirror to wipe it off, but when I do, I see that the liquid had somehow already absorbed into my skin.

What the hell?

I hurry back to my mother's notes and read them 3, 4, maybe 5 times trying to understand what just happened.

A half hour went by if that, and I started to feel sick.

I felt something move.. inside me?

I look down at my waste.

Instant nativitate meaning instant birth. FUCK! I guess it was literal?!?!

The movement becomes more aggressive and I fear for my internal organs.

I take a surgical scalpel and slice my womb open.

"AHHHHHH! SON OF A BITCH!"

I scream in response.

A creature crawls out of me and scurries away across the floor.

oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!

I cry and hide under a blanket wounded and completely traumatized.

**In space, on the outer edge of Michael's territory.**

Jean:

I maneuver the hive to our next stop, a lone ice planet - much like the last one - but with warmer temperatures.

I was not a fan of how close we were to hybrid controlled space.

(Wraith Commander) "My Queen, we have arrived."

I open my eyes as the mental energy required for this trip was quite exhausting.

(Wraith Commander) "You should feed.."

"I will feed when I choose to commander!"

I snap in a display of dominance, despite his very reasonable suggestion.

It has been several days since I last fed as I had been experiencing some.. issues with the process.

I storm out of the control room and make my way to the cocoons.

Once there, I stop at a young human female for a moment and hesitate.

Not her.

My wraith commander had followed me it seems and I sneer back at him in response before wandering to a human male instead.

He will do.

I raise my feeding hand in a swift fluid motion and shove it into his chest.

The male screams but not in the right way; his scream was of terror not of pain.

...........

I pull back annoyed.

The male clearly had a chest wound but my feeding hand however, was lacking the enzyme necessary to complete the process.

I hiss in annoyance and wander away.

"I am not hungry!"

I snap at the commander defensively as he follows after me.

(Wraith Commander) "Perhaps this is not the food you desire?"

I turn around and give him a dangerous look.

"Careful commander, or the next creature I feed on will be you!"

I leave him to collect what I need for this next set of samples.

**Slight time skip**

I hang from a cliff edge supported by several feet of rope.

The wind up here was relentless but I somehow keep steady in spite of it.

I retrieve the samples that I need, consisting mainly of a "mushroom type" specimen with a thorny exterior.

The drones above me kept a watchful eye out, though neither of them volunteered to leave the cliff's edge.

I smirk to myself.

I suppose I could have flown up here to retrieve the samples, but that would mean letting those monstrosities on my back out.

In a brief moment of pause I sense my mother's mind reaching out to me. I close my eyes trying to keep her out.

She could very well convince me back if I let her.

I tug my rope twice to let the drones know to pull me back up again. When they do, we make our way back to the ship.

Once inside, I head strait to my lab and begin dissecting the plant.

My feathered iratus bug taunts me from within its cage as I am careful not to get anything on me.

I carry the chopped pieces on their cutting board to my microscope on one of the side counters.

Looking at the thorny specimen up close will help me determine which parts of it could be useful and which parts were not.

Unfortunately, I barely have a chance to examine the plant when the hive is attacked.

I sprint out of the lab and down to the control room to find out what was happening.

When I see the ship on the viewing screen, I instantly recognize it as being one of Michael's.

I curse and take over the controls to get us as far away from this part of the galaxy as possible.

We jump into hyperspace.