I had landed a few weeks ago on Nexus for a routine scout mission of this peculiar human outpost. Nexus is an Earth-like planet in a vast solar system with sixteen other planets about 17 light-years from Earth, orbiting Altair, a type-A main-sequence star with about 1.8 times the mass of the Sun and 11 times its luminosity in the constellation of Aquila. Nexus is about twice the size of Earth with a slightly heavier gravity force, about 1.5 times that of Earth.

Survival is always high on the list of priorities of any organism. The main native specie on Nexus have taken this to a gorgeous next level. On arrival the colonists still didn't have a word for the huge, winged birdlike reptilian insects who shared the wide forests with them. They were just known as the "Shape-Shifting Scarecrows”. Within their carefully crafted nests, the scarecrow would shift from male to female when laying eggs or guarding the precious offsprings, and then switch back to its male form when hunting or gathering for food.

I was done with my inspection and sampling in the thick woods. I was just about to leave when something crackled near me. I almost stepped over one of the massive nests, but managed to step aside on time and snap a shot of the female Scarecrow shape-shifting into its male form for protection. I quickly took a shot of the magnificent creature and took off back to my ship.

Distance to Earth: 16.73 light years

Constellation: Aquila