Bubbles

Bubbles is presumed to have been born in 2233 CE by an unknown space amoeba in the Vana system. The fate of the mother is unknown, but it abandoned its child in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant Vana IX. Shortly thereafter, the science ship UNS Explorer entered the Vana system to begin a routine survey. Upon arrival at Vana IX, a sensor analyst detected an anomaly in the upper cloud layer of the gas giant. Based on the movements of the sensor anomaly, it was presumed to be some kind of ship. The Explorer tracked the sensor anomaly for several days, before the anomaly revealed itself as a juvenile space amoeba. At the time, the aggression of space amoeba towards starships (due to unregulated plasma venting) was not fully understood, so the crew of the Explorer braced for an emergency jump to evade incoming fire.

However, the juvenile amoeba did not attack. Instead, it imprinted on the Explorer and began following the science ship as it concluded its survey of the Vana system. Due to the interference of the juvenile amoeba, however, further surveying was put on hold until it could be transferred away from the science ship. A week later, a nearby destroyer, the UNS Zürich, was able to take custody of the juvenile and lead it into UNE space. Over the following year, the amoeba spent most of its time 'playing' with the warships of the UNNF, much to the chagrin of their commanding officers. However, the Markov administration was adamant that this was a unique opportunity to study a poorly-understood form of life.

On the one-year anniversary of the amoeba's discovery, it was finally given a name, selected by popular vote from across the UNE. The winning name was Bubbles, after three rounds of voting. As Bubbles spent more time around UNE starships, UNNF officers figured out how to train the amoeba to follow instructions. Over time, Bubbles became a loyal and integral part of the UNNF, patrolling spacelanes for piracy alongside crewed warships. Bubbles also fought in several conflicts, defending UNE space against Tzynn, Xanid, and Minamar incursions over the decades. During the First Concord-Xanid War, she achieved the title of 'space ace' by destroying five enemy ships over the course of the war.

Today, Bubbles has grown to an impressive size, far larger than most space amoeba (owing to a safe upbringing and easy access to nutrition). She is a symbol of the UNNF and the UNE as a whole, with images of her (or anthropomorphisations of her) found as nose art on strike craft across the fleet.