Babylon 5: Outrageous Fortune

[Dr Simon]

Linmer gives a slight bow, and brings out the shielded box that currently houses the Shadowtech item, placing it on the table of the conference room.

"For your imminent mission with Cheshana, your skills in this area will probably not be needed, we hope," he says to Croft. "However, there are other concerns here. What you are about to see is strictly classified. No-one outside of this room must know of it." He opens the box to reveal what looks like a dead beetle. A fist-sized, rounded chunk of black glossy material. Croft and Ashley immediately get a vague sense of unease. Cheshana mutters something and makes what is probably a protective or religious gesture, stepping away.

"This was found by an oxygen runner on the surface of Lison," says Linmer,

[sblock=Croft]
This obviously uses Shadow technology, but it is probably not Shadow made. It looks more like a fusion of Shadowtech with a lower level of advancement, although whether very new or very old you can't tell without much more study.
[/sblock]

 

[Leif]

Kirth Warren

"Why, that doesn't look so menacing. I've seen bigger bugs than that splattered across the windscreen of my airship back home."

 

[Vertexx69]

Croft shrugs, "And bugs much smaller have wiped out entire civilizations too...lets take a closer look." He breaks out a jewelers loop from some unseen pocket in his vest, and screws into his eye. From somewhere else he produce a tiny probing tool. Knowledge checks: Shadow Tech=23, Engineering=19

 

[Shayuri]

"I'm no expert," Ashley says quietly, "but shouldn't you be doing that in an isolated room or something?"

 

[Dr Simon]

At Ashley's words, Linmer and the two abbai take a step backwards away from Croft. Cheshana has already put himself as far as he can from the Centauri with the Shadowtech.

[Sblock=Croft]
As you initially guessed, this is Shadowtech grafted onto a lower tech item. You don't recognise the origins of the lower tech - to do so would require longer research - but it seems less advanced than, say, Centauri or Minbari.

The item itself is inert, something like an insect in structure complete with legs and sharp "jaws". It also seems to possess a mechanism for producing an electrical spark from the rear end.
[/sblock]

 

[Vertexx69]

A chesher grin spreads across the young Centari's face as he catches the apprehensive retreat of the observers. "These could cause quite a bit of damage if they got into a sensitive area of electrical systems or into the fuel pods. A single spark is all that's needed in the ships of several races."

 

[Leif]

Kirth Warren

Kirth is not impressed. He folds his arms and sighs, checking his watch every now and again. "If it were really that dangerous, I doubt whether they would be carrying out this operation in such a place as this, as you have observed, Ashley. Most centauri that I know anything about might sometimes be careless, but seldom, if ever, with their own skins. Now when he leaves," here Kirth indicates the cetauri, "I'm right on his heels and you'd better be as well."

 

[Vertexx69]

The Centari sounds very scientific as he drones on about what he has learned about the hybrid technology. "...Well this is just one, and its non-operational right now. I would think that anyone who wanted to use them in some sort of attack would use swarms of them."

 

[Shayuri]

"The point is," Ashley said, trying to stay focused, "what is this thing, and why was it on a planet with no known connections to the Shadows?"

 

[Blackrat]

"I do not think it matters to us." Sarhat answers to Ashley. "We can let the scientists figure that out and consentrate on the mission at hand ourself."