TOP SECRET // EYES ONLY
File Ref: NX-Δ7/CSF — Subject: Biobotanical Survey, Nith’montor (Syntax: “MOLK TREE”)
Classification: CLASS X2 – Xenobotanical Phenomena / Tier-2 Sentient Flora
Date: 2091-04-03 [Declassified 2130; Recovered Fragment: 2197]
CLASS X2 – EXOFLORA ARCHIVE
The Molk tree is a fictional alien species native to the valley world of Nith’montor. Characterized by its otherworldly beauty, the Molk tree is a tall, slender organism with narrow, dark trunks that stretch upward like skeletal fingers. Its most defining feature is its large, spherical leaves, each approximately six inches in diameter, shaped like delicate glass orbs suspended from thin, angular branches.
Each Molk tree bears hundreds of these glowing orb-leaves, filled with bioluminescent fluid that radiates in hues of bright orange or soft green. The liquid inside pulses faintly and often drips from the orbs, giving the impression that the trees themselves are weeping light. These droplets collect on the forest floor, saturating the valley with glowing color and mist.
The Molk tree’s biology is unlike terrestrial flora: Its vascular system is adapted to channel and sustain the glowing liquid in each leaf. The trunk is fibrous and hollow, aiding in the movement of light-infused sap. The leaves function in both photosynthesis (if the planet has sunlight) and luminescent signaling, possibly for reproduction or communication.
Seen from above or afar, groves of Molk trees look like constellations rooted in the earth—silent, radiant, and ancient.
The Molk Trees of Nith’montor
At night the forests burned, the horizon smeared red. Silver ships descended in silence, scattering powders that fell like gray snow, smothering the fire with ash-laced sorrow. The molk trees, tall and skeletal, stood unwavering beneath the falling soot. Their wide, resin-lined branches cradled hundreds of glowing orb-leaves—some bright orange, others soft green—each one filled with bioluminescent water. They shimmered through the smoke like stars refusing to be extinguished.
I climbed one.
Up its narrow trunk, fingers slipping on bark slick with ash and light, I reached the higher limbs. The orbs pulsed softly around me. Through the bark, I felt a second heartbeat—slow, patient. Not mine.
The molk tree is more than flora. Its slender anatomy is a conduit of memory. Inside each glowing orb is not just liquid, but presence. A taste of metal crept onto my tongue. A shadow of a bird passed not across my skin, but across something deeper. The soul, maybe.
See: Neur’s Oraculum 2.01–05
FROM THE BOOK “ALIEN I AM“
FILE 37 | Walking on Alien Worlds
DATE 29 JUNE | SL-3
—————————————————————
<Wake up, Emily>
“Are we there yet?”
<Almost.>
The whirring noise decelerated, and we came upon two bright stars. We passed one and came toward the other.
<I was sure our star was dying,> Neur said, sounding confused.
Behind the star was a black spot. As we approached it, a glitching flash revealed a planet. It was not unlike the blue marble I left behind days ago.
This world was shrouded in dark gray clouds, swirling with lightning cracking through them like spiderwebs.
As the ship drew closer, I felt the hull begin to tremble. The atmosphere wrapped around us, and the metal skin burned with fiery ribbons bright red and orange. My heartbeat matched the rising heat. For a moment, we were wrapped in a blaze, diving through the layers of fire.
Then, with one last shudder, the scanner moved smoothly again. Our ship plunged into storms thicker than anything I’d ever seen. The clouds were heavy enough to block out the sunlight, tossed with lightning blinking white. My eyes round, jaw muscles tight. I gripped my pant legs while falling like the best roller coaster in the world.
Out of the thick darkness, sharp mountain peaks rose around us, jagged edges poking up like broken teeth through the clouds. Neur motioned her hand quickly arching the controls, and the ship banked hard, missing the spear-like rocks that stabbed into the storm. The mountains soared impossibly high, their tips vanishing into the mist above.
The peaks fell away as our ship slowed to a crawl. A massive valley opened below, mountains surrounding us on all sides. In the center stood a black monolith with one slanting face that ran all the way to its tip. Tall and silent, its smooth surface was broken only by strange glowing lines that pulsed.
<Nith’montor,> Neur whispered to herself. ◇
All around the monolith up to the edges of the mountains, bizarre trees stretched upward, their trunks skinny and their branches holding huge round leaves. Water glimmered inside the orbs—some bright orange, some soft green, each glowing and dripping, painting the valley with shimmering color.
DI#30
Thrusters fired. The ship slowed and touched down with a gentle hiss, stirring up mist and sending spherical leaves shaking overhead. Silence fell except for the hum of our scanner and the distant strange pulse from the monolith.
I peered out at the new world through the hull walls.
This wild and mysterious place gave me a feeling of nerves amped with excitement. I was ready to explore whatever secrets waited for us.
The fluid drained from the plastic sac which peeled back off my face. I gasped, breathing a harsh air that burned my mouth and lungs a bit until it seemed to diminish. I floated with Neur to the bottom of the implantation chamber, the node core seemed silent.
A hole dilated at the bottom of the ship, and I could see the ground outside. I hesitated, the ground below was charcoal-black, with fine metallic flecks that caught the light from inside the ship.
<Storm ash. It will not harm you.>
The wind whipped below blowing the metallic flecks blurring like the stars on our long trip.
<You go first, Emily.>
“That’s one small step for a fifteen-year-old girl, one giant leap for the anomalies back home.”
I floated down to the ground, just like the Palraxians floated down to our city during the invasion.
My feet crunched on the ground. The surface was remarkably alien, but oddly familiar.
I turned to look for Neur, she was landing right behind me.
<Wait Emily,> Neur said sternly. <Here.>
She placed a small object in my hand. ◆ DI#14
<If you see any danger, point this, and think this exact word in your mind. XFUSION. Don’t ever think the word with this item in your hand unless you absolutely intend to kill something.>
My hand shook with the little gunlike object in my grip; it was heavy and felt warm. I felt warm all over and secure holding it.
<This is yours, only for you. Only you can wield it. I have been carrying this for you for over a century.>
I didn’t know how to respond. “Thank you so much, Neur,” I looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes, so happy to get my first gift from an advanced alien race.
<You are very welcome,> Neur said with a big sister feeling in her voice.
My mind quickly shifted from the warmth of my little metal friend.
“What is out here Neur?”
<Probably nothing.>
“Probably?” I gasped.
