You frantically tap at your wrist chrono, activating its limited sensor suite. The display flickers as it struggles to interpret the anomalous readings. Strange symbols scroll across the tiny screen - nothing like standard hyperspace metrics. The ensign peers over your shoulder, her breath warm against your neck. 'That's not Federation tech,' she whispers.

The chrono suddenly emits a high-pitched whine as the sensors overload. A holographic projection flickers to life above your wrist, showing a fragmented 3D scan of the object. It resembles some monstrous hybrid of ancient temple and spaceship, covered in those pulsating red veins that now seem to be reacting to your scan. The veins glow brighter, synchronizing with your chrono's pulse.

'Shut it off!' the ensign hisses, but it's too late. A deep resonant hum vibrates through the bulkheads. The viewport fractures as energy arcs from the alien structure, spiderwebbing across its surface. Crew members scramble backward as the glass begins to melt, reforming into strange geometric patterns. Through the warping viewport, you see the red veins detach from the main structure, forming writhing tendrils that reach toward your ship.

Your chrono display suddenly clears, showing a single line of text in perfect Federation Standard: 'Initiate docking sequence?' The words pulse ominously as the tendrils make contact with the hull. The entire corridor shudders violently, throwing everyone to the ground. Emergency forcefields snap into place just as the viewport shatters outward, but instead of explosive decompression, the fragments float suspended in zero gravity, swirling like leaves in reverse.