Challenge #04532-L148: Surprising Discovery

There is a hollow world held together by the great spider web, spun by countless arachnids led by their queen -- Anon Guest

The Impossible Nebula should not exist. Nevertheless, it exists anyway. If there's enough gasses orbiting a sun to provide air to breathe, with asteroids mixed in, it should form a planet. Or even two of them.

Humans and other Deathworlders have made a sport of navigating the entire orbital circuit without major injury.

Most of the landmarks, stopping points, and service stations are in dwarf planetoids in the nebula. There is one in the third quadrant that looks like it should be a base, but does not have enough mass for anyone to slingshot around. There are "net stations" keeping place with the planetoid nicknamed Deceiver Rock. It is far lighter than it should be, and none have bothered to find out why. Until one Human decided to ask too many questions.

Nobody had any answers for Investigator Nudd, so ze went out for hirself. With appropriate paperwork and a Scootie Puff Personal Transport Unit to get there at a relatively safe speed.

Even then, ze was still fooled by its mass and took three goes just to land safely on the surface.

Deceiver Rock was light. Really light. Even the same diameter stone of pumice wouldn't be as light at this was. Therefore, to use a very Human phrase, something hinky was going on.

Ze activated hir scanners and found life signs. Lots and lots of life signs, almost boiling about inside Deceiver Rock. Lots and lots of eight-legged life forms.

Not H'nuffruff, but perhaps a convergent evolution similar to H'nuffruff.

Nudd activated the comms, "We're going to need at least one Melil who can use interpretive dance and sign language," ze said. "There are actually native inhabitants of the Impossible Nebula."

Life was just about to get way more interesting.

[Photo by Chaddix on Unsplash]

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