The other victim

While the scanning continued, the Grey doctor rattled off a steady stream of techobabble regarding the new discovery. Some of it you understood, but much of it likely required a much deeper understanding of xenobiology that you didn't possess. What was clear is that this was indeed some kind of egg with rather unique properties. It was covered with a series of tiny needles which were coated with a strong neurotoxin. The egg emitted an attractive scent which also acted as a strong hallucinogen in certain species, including humans. Apparently, the egg also functioned somewhat like a parasite, feeding off anything that happened to fall prey to it's toxin, and draining its victims to allow the egg to grow to maturity. However, it was unknown how much larger it would need to become before hatching.

Suddenly it all clicked. "It's been feeding on the Feeler!" you declared. That would explain the deteriorating health of the Feeler, including its desiccated appearance.

"Another astute deduction," acknowledged the Grey doctor. "It appears that its toxin affects not only certain alien species and animals, but also certain types of plants including the Feeler. Once we safely remove the egg from this room, this Feeler should begin to recover."

"What will you do with the egg?" you asked.

"We are moving it to a spare lab for further analysis. Not only do we need to learn more about it, but we need to know where it came from, how it got on board, and why it went undetected for this long," explained the doctor. "We're fortunate that you stumbled onto it when you did. Otherwise, it's entirely possible that this egg could have reached maturity and hatched, allowing a completely unknown and potentially dangerous lifeform to move throughout the ship."

You watched as the two Greys placed some silver bands around the egg and then used a set of floating disks to levitate one end of the egg. If it was narrower, it would have looked a bit like a clear surfboard. With the egg tilted upward, they were then able to work it free from under the Feeler, and as it finally came free, a series of larger needle-like spines could be seen at the end. "That's how it's been feeding on the Feeler," you proclaimed.

"Correct. It appears the spines grow into the victim to allow the egg to feed upon it," replied the doctor. "That would have likely happened to you if we hadn't reached you in time."

You shivered at the thought of the egg's spines growing into you. With the toxin, you would have likely already been dead, or at least not able to have felt it at all, but it would have been a pretty horrible way to die, getting your fluids sucked out to feed an alien egg.

It was then that you realized that was exactly what had been happening to the Feeler for the past several weeks. It may have just been a plant, but it was intelligent. Did it know what was happening to it? Perhaps it had tried to signal for help, but it was unable to do so since it's language was still foreign even to the Greys. You now had a strange kinship with this plant. Both of you had been victims of the alien egg, and you both could have been killed by it. Instead, your inquisitiveness had likely saved the Feeler.