Drop

I got a real surprise today while traveling on the outer surface of my benefactor. I had zipped out of my hiding spot, after noticing and abnormal dip in photons, and getting kicked once by an unexpected blast from a plasma that was passing by just a little close. After arriving at the edge of one of the longer five-way branch points, I sat between an Eleven and its companion One-Eight-One, since the view is better from the midpoint rather than orbiting the Eleven.

This, would become a problem, since the companion One-Eight-One received company in the form of mass of One-Eight-Ones that simply wreaked havoc with my stable little observation post. Spinning wildly, looking to grab onto the Eleven, if I could find it. No doubt, it had a new fleet of companions, and was swapping freely amongst the deluge of One-Eight-Ones.

Lucky for me, there were enough things other than One-Eight-Ones, that movement was possible. A scan of the object revealed no trace of my benefactor. No chained Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six formations, just an outer layer of One-Eight-Ones that was mostly spherical.