The image of the Jokaero turning a rock into energy jam had barely faded from the main screen when another window opened over it, blinking urgently. It was a direct link from Stetmann's lab.
The face of the eccentric genius appeared, his eyes magnified by protective goggles and his hair standing on end as if he'd been electrocuted.
"Commander! Julius! You have to see this! I HAVE TO GO THERE!"
His voice was a high-pitched mix of excitement and desperate pleading. In the background, holographic schematics of Jokaero DNA swirled next to models of energy crystals, all surrounded by equations so complex they were illegible.
"Calm down, Egon," replied Julius, slightly amused by his scientist's frenzy. "Where exactly do you want to go?"
"THERE! To the monkey planet! Nemesis-5! Jokaero-Prime! Whatever the name is!" Stetmann exclaimed, waving his arms. "Look at the residual energy readings from their 'tinkering'! It's a form of organic techno-synergy I've never observed! Their cognitive abilities must be based on a quantum interface with inert matter! Do you understand?!"
He took a deep breath, almost out of breath.
"They don't design technology, they dialogue with it! It's the key to surpassing the limits of Terran cybernetics, to creating perfect man-machine interfaces, for... for EVERYTHING! I can learn from them! We can learn together!"
He stared at Julius with an almost frightening intensity.
"I want to move my lab there. Immediately. Today. Now."
A silence followed this declaration. Raynor rolled his eyes. Nova displayed an expression of deep mistrust. Caleb seemed intrigued. Data, as always, was analytical.
"Sending our primary scientist to an unsecured xeno world, whose society we do not understand, presents an unacceptable risk of critical asset loss," declared the android.
"Asset loss?! I'll be safer there than here!" Stetmann retorted. "These creatures aren't hostile, they're curious! Like me! I'll bring them toys! Shiny things! They'll love me!"
Julius observed Stetmann's passionate face, then looked again at the recorded images of the Jokaero. The idea was risky. But the potential... The potential was incalculable. Stetmann, left alone with the Jokaero, could either cause a dimensional catastrophe or pave the way for a technological revolution that would put Julius's empire decades, even centuries, ahead.
"Alright, Egon," Julius said finally.
"REALLY?! Yay!"
"UNDER conditions," Julius added, raising a finger. "You don't go alone. A squad of Marines at all times, discreet but on alert. Nova will deploy a team of Ghosts to monitor the surroundings. And you install a priority distress beacon, directly linked to my implant. At the first sign of trouble, I come to get you personally."
"Bodyguards, spies, and a beacon, yes, yes, no problem!" Stetmann babbled, already frantically packing equipment off-screen. "I'll take the prototype of the miniature antimatter generator, they're gonna love it..."
"And you do NOT give them anything that could be turned into a weapon of mass destruction!" Julius insisted.
"Of course not! Just fun and educational things! Promise! Click." The communication cut out.
A heavy silence fell once more on the bridge.
"You just unleashed Stetmann on a world full of gifted monkeys," Raynor summarized, shaking his head. "What could possibly go wrong?"
"Either we come back for a pile of smoking ashes, or we come back for a god of technology with a questionable haircut," Tosh commented with his usual phlegm.
Julius sighed, but a smile still played on his lips. It was a gamble. The biggest he had ever taken. But for the first time, he wasn't betting on destruction, but on creation. And that, in the dark 30th millennium, was well worth the risk