Star Trek: Nexus

The USS Nexus cruised through the endless black of deep space, its mission of exploration continuing without interruption. The starship had encountered many wonders over its journeys, but today, the crew faced something truly extraordinary.

"A diamond five times the size of Earth?" Captain Anzyl Praxas asked, incredulous as he stared at the viewscreen. The planet before them gleamed like a massive, glittering jewel, radiating light from a nearby star. "How in the galaxy does a diamond form in the middle of nowhere—and grow to that size?"

Chief Science Officer Nolan Rivas looked equally puzzled, shaking his head as his fingers moved across the console. "I'm as confused as you are, sir. I'll keep scanning the planet and the surrounding area. Maybe we'll find some clues as to how this came to be."

From the operations station, Heluna leaned toward Eroga, eyes wide with awe. "Can you imagine how much jewelry you could make with a diamond that big?"

Eroga nodded in agreement, her gaze fixed on the viewscreen. "It's enough to fund the economy of an entire race," she whispered.

Anzyl, overhearing their conversation, nodded thoughtfully. "She's right. That planet alone could disrupt entire galactic markets in the gem and diamond trade."

Nolan's voice broke through the reverie. "Scans are complete, sir. It seems there are remnants of gases similar to those we observed in the gas giants from the previous system. Something may have drained this planet's gaseous atmosphere—perhaps a larger gas giant's gravity field. Over time, the planet likely lost so much mass it couldn't maintain its orbit around its star and was ejected into deep space."

"But how does that turn it into a diamond?" Commander Neil O'Reilly asked, folding his arms.

Nolan turned from his console, gesturing toward the massive diamond on the viewscreen. "It's not uncommon in the depths of gas giants for it to literally rain diamonds due to the immense heat and pressure inside. Over time, as the gas dissipated, all that was left was the core—pure diamond. Nature did the hard work of separating the valuable gem from the planet's atmosphere for us."

Anzyl's curiosity piqued. "Could a shuttle land on it?"

Nolan hesitated. "Technically, yes. But I wouldn't recommend it. The gravity is five times that of Earth. Unless someone on board can squat and press over 400 kilograms, they wouldn't be able to stand, let alone explore."

Anzyl nodded. "And even if we managed to land safely, we'd need enormous thrusters to break orbit again. The gravity would crush the shuttle before it could escape."

Lieutenant Commander Veirik, ever resourceful, leaned forward with a suggestion. "Sir, we could use the octo-omnidirectional beam on a kinetic cutting setting. I can slice off a chunk of the diamond, or maybe eight. We could transport it directly into Cargo Bay One. No need for a shuttle, and we'd avoid the gravity issue entirely."

Anzyl smiled, impressed with the idea. "That's a good plan. Let's do it." He turned to Heluna with a grin. "Looks like you're getting some new jewelry after all."

He turned back to Veirik. "With a diamond that size, slice off a chunk so every member of the crew gets a kilogram-sized piece. In fact," he chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief, "make it ten kilograms. That rock is five times the size of Earth. Even if every crew member took home 100 kilos, we wouldn't make a dent."

Veirik's eyes twinkled as he prepared to execute the order. "Slicing off 500,000 kilograms and transporting aboard now, sir."

Anzyl and the rest of the bridge crew gaped in shock.

Veirik shrugged nonchalantly. "You said 100 kilos per crew member. We've got about 5,000 on board. That makes 500,000 kilograms."

Anzyl chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "Alright then! One hundred kilograms of diamond for each crew member it is!"

Heluna and the others exchanged stunned glances, awe written across their faces as they imagined their new, glittering wealth. The bridge was buzzing with excitement.

Neil, ever practical, leaned over to the captain with a whisper. "That's a nice gift, sir, but… where exactly are we going to store 500,000 kilograms of raw, uncut diamond?"

Anzyl's eyes widened as he realized the logistics of that amount. He looked at Neil, then grinned. "I'm pretty sure we've got plenty of empty storage compartments—and if not, I'm sure there are a few jewelry boxes lying around that we can divide it up in."

The entire bridge erupted into laughter, the tension of their discovery dissolving in the humor. As the kinetic cutting beams from the Nexus carved into the largest known diamond in the galaxy, Anzyl couldn't help but marvel at the oddity of the universe—a vast expanse that could still surprise and amaze even the most seasoned explorers.

It was days like this that reminded him why they ventured into the stars.