Tainted watched the participants of the debrief discuss safety regulations wich for it seemed quite obvious, simply stop feeding them if they get too big. However, there is a good reason for it to not participate in the ongoing discussion, what it says might either be a quite smart answer, more than what one would expect from it .. or that it is missing a key point and its answer is so useless that stating it would just be a waste.

Instead, it sends two separate messages to the ships engineering network, the server receiving and now displaying to anyone with access :

"Sower-Drone 7-4-1-N-7-3-D available for new task assignment"
"Sower-Drone 7-4-1-N-7-3-D requesting checkup and maintenance"

Secretly it hoped it would be tasked to maintain the ship-hull or other similar unpopulated areas of the ship.

Taken aback by the flurry of questions, Mantovani paused for a second to process an answer.

'hmm' he began, doing his best to give off an air of wisdom.

"one: yes.

two: by smearing a coloured oily paste onto the canvas with a brush.

three: about 3 days ago

four: no, at least i hope not."

His empression fell a little at the realisation of how bland that made art sound.

The Horatio Lifeform seemed to be experiencing a series of painful facial contustions. λ was unable to determine the source. Still, he had secured a new specimen. And he had remembered his phrases, instead of just taking it. Most lifeforms failed to see the urgency and import of his research when he confiscated specimens. 

With his prize craddled gently by one subarm, λ began to leave. He paused at the door frame, and then turned. 

"Thank-you-for-your-assistance. My-gratitude-is-in-you."

Phrase recited, λ exited the room with pride filling his mind. He was sure he had done an excellent job communicating 'politely' with The Horatio Lifeform. λ considered his prize. It would be a boon to his research, surely. But one could never have too many specimens. The away team! That had been his original goal. Surely they would have collected new specimens while on the planet. He would inquire on the bridge. 

Wait... to simply enter the bridge might invite 'anger'. 'Tree-passing' or something like that. And then they might take his specimens away. No, he needed another way. Ah! He should take The Horatio Lifeform with him. λ didn't think it was possible to 'Tree-pass' when one was with a Lifeform that liked trees. He retraced his steps towards the room.

"The Horatio Lifeform. We are goin... Can-you-take-me-to-the-bridge? I must speak to the away team about more specimens. And do you like trees?"

"Yes, Captain,"   Alice answered in her well-acted professional tone she mostly reserved for diplomatic affairs, "Results are...inconclusive so far.  The atmosphere is, as we suspected, nonexistant on the moon.   There's no movement on the surface, but I am picking up a faint energy signature, source unknown.   What does pique my interest is the video footage the probe was able to transmit briefly."

She tapped a few controls on her wrist and one of her drones floated into the center of the bridge activatating a holographic projector.    The footage was grainy but showed the pocked surface of the moon passing below the probe.   For a moment everything seemed normal until a glimpse of a structure rising towards the camera was caught right before the signal went dead.

"The probe appears to have ran out of power at that point,"   the engineer explained,  "Yet I designed them to last several days at the minimum.   Something on the surface drained its energy at an incredible rate.   I sent a second probe but kept it at a distance..."   the projector activated again, showing the surface from a much greater height.   The craters were mostly invisible at the altitude, but was more obvious were the gray spires, the same color as the surface, sprouting from the moon in a gridlike pattern, "I could not see any surface details on these constructs but the more fascinating thing to me is that they are made of the same material as the sphere's surface.    While it is covered in dust from asteroid impacts over time that have made scans difficult, I do believe the surface of the moon is artificial.   It's not a moon, it's a very old orbiting space station and it's my hypothesis these spires were used to service passing ships in some fashion."

She paused for a moment, flipping her projection over to the ship's scan of the satellite.   "What we must keep in mind is that it still has an active defence mechanism.   Any approach wi;; be hazardous to a powered craft.   Boarding pods would be ideal, but our ship does not have them.   Besides,  we do not know if this is the only defensive ability our target possesses."

Valorum watches the footage from Tanye I, leaning forward and stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"An ancient shipyard, you say?"

After a moment of pondering, the Captain nods and replies:

"Very good. Take what scans you can while we stay at a safe distance. Hopefully, something will present itself in time."

Looking back at the other assembled officers, Valorum concludes:

"All members of the Tanye II team are dismissed; rest, recover, and be ready for duty again in nine standard hours."

"the bridge? sure. I have completed my shift so it wont be a problem for me to wander around." 

Mantovani made his way out the door and began to walk down the corridor; the riftborn moved alongside him.

'specimens huh, i dont remember any pieces of art being uncoved in the ruins.' he thought. His mind flicked to the question posed by ...uh, he needed to find out its name.

"now, my opinion on trees. 

I do indeed like them, as a matter of fact every hotaio tends to. we as a people have a great appreciation for nature and its innate beauty. Even when it is horrifyingly violent or strange; it still remains so pretty, so beautiful. And trees represent that perfectly."

Mantovani decided to stop there, anything more would probably be too much for the extra-dimensional to comprehend in one sitting.

"oh wait, i dont know your name! 

Mantovani turned towrds the entity and gave a small bow.

"I am Mantovani HB7 Laboran. and you are?"

‘What?’ mantovani thought  ‘if lambda already knows of my kind it should be obvious why... oh, right. he’s an extra dimensional.

“before i can give you an accurate responce, do you know what a biological cell is? or how organisms reproduce?”

"Cell. Basic unit of life in this dimension. All things are made of it. It is a 'living-but-not-thinking. Like a tree."

"I am uncertain about organism reproduction. When I asked, a woman of great time will assault me."

Something was off about that last sentence... but λ could not determine what it was. He would review it later.

Reproduction. Cloning. It all sounded too complex. Nothing was ever easy here. It was a lot to take in at once. If the bridge was to be anything like this, perhaps the specimens wouldn't be worth it.

No, he had to keep trying. The Yellow might hold the key, each day λ drew closer to the breakthrough that would change everything. Confusion could be endured, success waited on the other side. Forward was the only way. 

 λ continued the rest of the walk in silence, stealing glances at his specimen now and again. Another turn, and the bridge door came into view. 

"The Horatio Lifeform. Mantovani. You like trees, you enter first. Please" 

Mantovani stopped and faced lambda, confusion sown on his face.

"what? how does me liking trees have to do with-"

He cut himself off. 

A hand rose up to cover his face as he tilted his head down.

"ah wait. you're just ignorant, arent you?"

At first to Mantovani, the actions taken by lambda seemed to be a small case of culture shock and an understandable lack of knowledge in key areas. But it now occured to Mantovani that lambda was probably suffering from the worst case of culture shock in history.

He sighed, removed his hand from his face and looked up at lambda.

"why did you even want to come to the bridge?"

Tainted was a bit shocked at the captain's statement.

Nine standard hours downtime, Do the other crewmembers really need that much, the sower wondered.
It has seen some species eat or drink now and then, but not sleep till now. it logged in its database that all this was needed and normal behavior for organics, but it simply couldn't imagine how they would do it. Being reminded of the differences between it and other crewmembers it came to the realization that even with a full recharge and a careful expectation it should need not more than 2 standard hours to return to operations.
Would that be something that is positively noted? Or just expected due to its nature? Could two members of different species be compared that easily?

All those unwanted questions that invade the mind of the machine causing it to stay idle for almost a standard minute. Then it reminded itself of the task at hand and flew to the exit of the bridge, stating.

"Unit will leave for checkup, maintenance, and recharging."

As it opened and passed the door it noted two crewmembers. One looked robotic in nature, but tainted hasn't seen any of that kind yet, maybe a new sophon model? Do they even make robots?

The other was obviously human, Tainted knows that he prefers to be designated as Horatio though. Tainted didn't like that human, he must have followed tainted through its entire travelings up here to the savior! This is the eight-time it saw him, the human was obviously hunting 7-4-1-N-7-3-D across the galaxy. The sower abandoned the hope that it was pure chance. The drone sped down to not fly into the robot and the stalker.

Irritating. The bridge was here. Specimens here. But now The Mantovani asked a question. λ was almost certain that he had explained this. Or he would explain it. Either way, why repeat these reasons. Still, he need The Mantovani to enter first. 

"Away Team is on bridge. They might have additional specimens. I require them for my research."

Another thing... The Mantovani had called him 'ignorant'. λ would hear this word before. He did not think it was a good word.

The bridge doors slid open behind The Mantovani, revealing a not-alive-but-thinking machine. This was a moving type, not a stationary type.  {Too much complexity, even the things that aren't alive refuse spacial conformity}. The machine slowed as it drew closer. Perhaps it had been part of the Away Team? 

Two subarms twisted with sudden activity. They shot past The Mantovani, grabbing the machine once it reached range. The rest of λ's frame remained unnaturally still. 

"Not-alive-but-thinking machine, I require The Yellow for my research. New specimens. Did Away Team procure any samples?"