Tom Kenner stood before the board of directors for the Vester Deep Space Research Center. He'd been working for them for seven years, charting stars and nebulas, but where he really wanted to go, he doubted they'd let him.

"For what reason have you come before us today?" Asked the centermost of the council members. What he lacked in the way of hair on his head was compensated for by the exceedingly bushy mustache of soot black perched on his upper lip.

"I need the council's authorization to borrow a science vessel," Tom explained.

"The mission you intend to undertake?" prompted the blonde councilwoman on Tom's left.

Tom hesitated before answering, expecting to have the proverbial door slammed in his face.

"I want to completely explore the Ajs An'hlj nebula," he told them.

All three of the council members shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the nebula's name.

"You know full well the Ajs An'hlj nebula is off limits to all spacecraft!" the central councilman reminded forcefully, his mustache twitching rapidly as he spoke. "We've already lost three ships and sixty-seven highly trained officers."

"I'm aware of its history," Tom replied quickly before the conversation got further out of hand. "I've made a study of what was recovered from the doomed ships' sensor logs. Extreme gravity flux destroyed them, but I'm fairly confident I can avoid it."

"We are not prepared to risk any more ships or lives just to research a cloud of space gas," the councilman on the right said, speaking up for the first time since the meeting started.

"The nebula is out of bounds," added the councilwoman.

"As long as we are in charge of the Council, not a single one of our ships will enter the Ajs An'hlj," finished the central council member. "Is that understood?"

"Perfectly," Tom answered.

   ***   

Tom entered the hangar bay after typing in his access code. The spaceship residing in the center of the bay didn't belong to the Vester Deep Space Research Center. It was his personal craft, the Starglider, and although it didn't have as many features or redundant systems as a dedicated science vessel, he thought it might still do the job.

Shaped like a four sided pyramid on top and its upside down reflection underneath, the ship was held upright by support legs emerging one from each of the four lower sides. A three foot wide trench running around the middle of the craft was currently dark, but it would light up green when the drive system activated.

Climbing the ladder attached to one of the support legs, Tom entered a lower access hatch. Despite the large size of the spaceship, the interior passages were cramped because the majority of the space was occupied by the ship's systems and mechanics.

The flight station was in the center of the vessel, wedged underneath the sensor assembly and between the main power generator and navigational array. With all the control panels and computer terminals needed to operate the ship, there was barely room for the two chairs in the middle. One of the two chairs was currently occupied by his pilot and partner, Linda.

Dressed in the emerald green uniform of the science division, identical to his own, her chestnut colored hair was braided partway down her back. Currently, she was interfaced with the computer, her left hand index finger hinged back at the first joint to allow the connection jack hidden inside her finger to extend and plug into the console. A descendant of the original SHARA droid, it was only in moments like this that her nonhuman nature was evident.

"How did it go?" Linda asked when he took the seat beside her.

"They won't give us a ship," Tom informed her. "They say it's too dangerous, but I'm certain I'd be able to succeed."

"No one has been to the heart of the Ajs An'hlj nebula," Linda reminded. "Because no one's been there, no one knows what's at the center, so you can't know for certain what you'll encounter and if you'll be prepared for it."

"We're going to find out," Tom said firmly. "If they won't give us a science vessel, we'll take our own. As soon as we're out of the hangar, set a course for the nebula."

"As you wish," Linda accepted.

The drive powered up, illuminating the trench around the middle of the craft. As the ship lifted off the floor of the hangar, the supporting legs withdrew, panels sealing behind them. The hangar doors retracted into the ceiling and floor, and the Starglider cruised out of the station and into the endless blackness of space.

   ***   

The vibrant gold of the Ajs An'hlj nebula was rendered on the display screen at the front of the flight station in perfect detail. Tom stared at it intensely for a few moments before speaking.

"Notice anything?" he asked.

"The form and color pattern is different than the last visual scan," Linda answered. Interfaced with the ship sensors, she ran a full analysis and found something else. "The entire nebula has shifted point seven three out of its original position."

"Theorize as to cause," Tom prompted.

"The fluctuating gravity fields inside may be responsible for it changing shape," Linda suggested. "However, it would not explain the shift in position. The gravity in the center should've kept the nebula localized at a fixed point."

"Let's have a closer look," Tom said. "Take us into the heart of the nebula, slowest possible speed."

"Understood," Linda acknowledged.

As the Starglider moved toward the center of the cloud, electricity crackled along the outer edges of the hull.

"The chemicals in the nebula are giving off a charge," Linda reported. "Electrostatic dispersion fields in place and stable. Unless the energy from the nebula increases, we'll be fine."

Tom watched the sensor displays as the gases outside the ship were too thick to see through. The nebula was composed of a number of diverse chemicals, and their mixing together created not only the golden glow of the cloud but also the energy discharge crackling against the hull.

"Gravity field ahead," Linda warned.

Switching sensors, Tom saw a spherical object in front of them. Its size was half that of Earth, but its mass was just as great.  Because he waslooking at it through the sensors rather than with a visual scan, he couldn'tsee its color, only the slightly lumpy exterior texture.

"Is it a planet?" Tom asked.

"Negative," Linda denied. "Readings indicate it to be organic."

"That thing is alive?" Tom said questioningly.

"It would appear so," Linda confirmed. She abruptly veered the ship to port, throwing Tom against the wall of the flight station. Her android reflexes and artificial muscle let Linda remain unmoving in her seat.

From the side of the alien sphere facing the ship, three massive appendages formed and extended outward in a resemblance of tentacles, one of them brushing past the ship at dangerously close range.

When the ship was turned upright again, and Tom positioned himself properly in his seat, he noticed something about the alien.

"Is the alien shrinking?" Tom asked as the central mass seemed to be growing smaller in diameter with every passing second.

"Not shrinking," Linda corrected, "shifting. The mass of the creature is shifting from the main body down the tentacles to their tips, redistributing the weight. Sensors detect three more tentacles on the opposing side."

Tom was mesmerized as the alien reshaped itself before their eyes. The tentacles became thicker with spherical growths on the end of each while the main body of the alien behaved like a deflating balloon, reducing in size until it was smaller than the Starglider.

The shifting of mass caused a change in the gravity fields around the ship. Alarms blared as indicators on control panels flashed red. Rather than fight against the redirecting gravity, Linda allowed the ship to be pulled along, only using the engines to maintain a moderate distance from the alien. Tom felt certain if she'd tried to maneuver against the gravity, the ship would've been torn apart, and he suspected it was what had happened to the lost science vessels that had come before.

"It's changing more," Linda pointed out.

Tom watched his status displays to see what the alien did next. A pair of cylindrical tubes protruded a short distance from the much smaller alien, releasing gaseous clouds into the nebula.

"Sensors read the gas being emitted is the same chemical composition as the nebula itself," Linda informed Tom. "It would seem the alien is maintaining the cloud."

"Look at that!" Tom said excitedly as a row of long spines developed on the alien's skin, sticking out in all directions. A gleaming point of golden light tipped each spine.

Without warning, the alien moved, using the massive tentacles on either side as anchor points and swinging its much lighter central body forward. When the move had been completed, the alien drew its mass out of the tentacles and back into its body before retracting the tentacles as well.

"I'm reading a drop in energy from the nebula around the spines during its change in position," Linda said.

"Of course!" Tom practically shouted when the realization hit him. "It's feeding. The alien feeds on the energy of the nebula and expels the chemicals necessary to maintain the reaction. Its movements keep the gases mixed and active. This isn't a nebula at all. Ajs An'hlj is an alien habitat."