by D. J. Holmes
*
Two hours later Emilie’s self-doubt had only grown. An alien shuttle - they still didn’t know the name the species gave themselves, had docked with Intrepid as soon as the exploration cruiser entered orbit of the alien colony. Emilie, Alvarez, Shaw and Walker were sitting in the shuttle opposite four of the beetle like aliens. Besides the request for Emilie’s party to board the shuttle, none of the aliens had spoken. Supposedly, they were on their way to meet the leadership of the alien colony. For all intents and purposes, it felt more like they were on their way to a prison camp. It may just be their way, she told herself, not for the first time. In one sense it was a happy coincidence that the Vestarians, Kulreans and Crians had all been mammalian species who shared a number of Humanity’s personality traits. The Varanni and Flex-aor were another matter. It seemed that this species was the same. At least I hope so, Emilie thought.
With a slight bump, the shuttle touched down onto the planet’s surface. “We are here,” one of the aliens said. It spoke so quick that Emilie didn’t actually see which one. “Our leaders will greet you,” a slightly different voice said. This time Emilie identified it as the alien raised a mandible and pointed to the shuttle’s ramp.
With a nod Emilie let go of the rope like material she had been clinging onto. The shuttle had no seats she or her team had been able to sit in and it had been a precarious ride. “Thank you for the lift.” Leading her group to the shuttle’s ramp, Emilie paused to take in the scenery. From Intrepid’s scans of the planet, she knew the atmosphere was breathable, though not likely to be entirely pleasant. It had also been evident that the planet had a very vegetation rich biome. The scans don’t do it justice, Emilie thought as she stared around her. In the distance there were several buildings that were at least ten stories high. Yet all around them, there were several thick layers of vegetation. One group of treelike plants reached up more than one hundred meters into the air. Below and amongst them there was another group of shrub like plants, though they reached up to thirty meters in places. Then there was a thick multicolored array of grasses and other plants. Moving between them and singing loudly were far too many flying creatures for Emilie to count. There were thousands of them. “It’s beautiful,” she said.
“It sure is,” Alvarez agreed, then he nudged her in the ribs. “Though I think our guests are waiting for us.”
Looking down, Emilie spotted a group of fifteen or so aliens waiting a small distance from the shuttle. They were all standing perfectly still, their antennae pointed straight up. Hastily, Emilie walked down the shuttle’s ramp. She didn’t stop until she was just a meter in front of the alien at the head of the group. To her surprise, the alien barely came up to her shoulders. From those who had been sitting in the shuttle, she had thought the aliens would be taller. It seemed their legs were a lot shorter than she had expected. Not knowing who should speak first, Emilie waited several seconds. When the alien didn’t speak she bowed her head deeply. “My name is Emilie Kansas, I am the Captain of the exploration ship Intrepid. My mission is to explore new systems and seek out new friends and trading partners for my species. It is an honor to be invited onto your planet’s surface.”
“The honor is ours,” the lead alien said as it bowed its head as well. “My name is Habalan, and it is my privilege to greet you. It has been over two hundred years since our species has encountered another species. You have caused much excitement among our people. Though I am afraid you have arrived at an inconvenient time. I believe our Grand Admiral neglected to ask you, what does your species call itself?”
Emilie had to stop herself from glancing at Alverez. A part of her desperately wanted to know the answer to the reverse question, but she hadn’t asked it herself as she didn’t want to give her own answer. If this species had met the Karacknids, there was a chance they had already heard of a species who called themselves Humans. And Emilie was willing to bet they would not have heard anything good. There was no getting around the question though, if she tried to weasel around it her hosts would know. And if she lied it would only come back to bite her later. “We call ourselves Humans,” she answered after taking a deep breath. She had to fight not to scrunch her face up as she awaited the alien’s reaction. Of course, as the alien looked from one of its companions and then another, it was impossible for Emilie to tell its reaction. Its facial features and body language were just too foreign.
“That is not a name known to my species,” Habalan replied. “This is indeed a momentous occasion. Though I fear it could be ominous for your species.”
Emilie’s eyebrows rose in surprise, she hadn’t been expecting such an overt threat. “What do you mean?” she asked. “I hope it has been made clear to you that my species does not desire any kind of conflict.”
“Neither does ours,” Habalan replied as its antennae went crazy. “I apologize, that is not what I meant. Grand Admiral Tamkonna told us he has asked you about the Karacknids. I do not know how familiar you are with them, however. They have recently decided they wish to extend their territory into our star systems. I fear that having come into contact with us may bring you into contact with them. How much do you know about this species?”
Here we go again, Emilie thought. Another question she had been wracking her brain for a way to answer. She was not a politician. She had no idea what impact her answers would have in a week’s or month’s or even a year’s time. Why did he send me here? she asked again. As panic from the stress of the situation threatened to make her freeze once more, Emilie closed her eyes. Something in her memory brought her back to her uncle’s office when he had given her Intrepid. He had explained himself then. He had wanted her to take command because she had served with him for a long time. Because she knew his mind. Suddenly it was clear how she should answer; just as her uncle would, with the truth. Her uncle rarely played games with his words. He is a man of honor. “The truth is,” she began as she locked eyes with Habalan, “we have come to know the Karacknids far too well over the last several years. We first encountered them when they sought to conquer a distant neighbor of my species. My species and several others sent war fleets to try and stop them. I was there during the battle for this species’ home system. Sadly, we failed and were driven back. Since then, the Karacknids have sought to conquer my species and their allies. Just months ago a fleet of over a thousand warships attacked my home system. We managed to drive them back, but at great cost. So, I understand all too well the predicament your species finds itself in.” Pausing, Emilie waited to see how the aliens would react. The antennae of all of the welcoming party had been slowly lowering and lowering as she spoke. Now they were all pointing right at her. As the seconds dragged on, she tried to think of something else she could say. There had to be some way she could show the aliens she was genuine.
Before anything came to her, Habalan spoke. “Your story is astounding. Almost unbelievable. Your species really has defeated the Karacknids in battle? No matter,” the alien continued without waiting for an answer, “we must hear more of this. But, you should come with us to a more private location. We have a reception room prepared for you. Some of our species will be glad of the news you bring. Others will fear it. We should not speak any more of this so openly. Please, come with us.”
Emilie nodded. “I understand the sensitive nature of our topic of conversation. By all means, we will be happy to speak more about this in private.” She shared a glance with Alvarez who gave her a slight nod. They were in, at least, the aliens were interested in hearing more of what they had to say. Given the overwhelming power the Karacknids had in comparison to their species, it was a start. “Shall we proceed?” Emilie asked as the aliens stood stationary, staring at her.
“Of course,” Habalan replied. Before it could move, another one of the aliens spoke, though it was too quiet for Emilie’s translator to pick up.
Whatever the alien said, it made Habalan’s antennae swirl around. “Those things your people carry,” he said as a mandible po
inted to Shaw, “are they weapons?”
Emilie glanced at Shaw to see where Habalan was pointing. “Yes, this is Lieutenant Shaw and specialist Walker,” Emilie replied as she pointed to Shaw and then Walker. “They are highly trained military personnel. They have orders to accompany me on first contact missions for my protection. Their weapons are small and only designed for self defense. I hope we have caused no insult by bringing them. It is standard protocol for my species.”
Habalan turned and spoke quietly to the other alien who had brought up their weapons. They communicated back-and-forth for several seconds before Habalan turned back to Emilie. “We will permit your people to carry these weapons. Though we intend to summon our own armed guards who will remain nearby during our discussions.”
“That is perfectly acceptable to us,” Emilie responded, surprised that the aliens hadn’t already taken such precautions. “We hope to earn your trust, but given our experiences with the Karacknids, we do not wish to take any unnecessary risks. We are happy for you to do the same.”
“Then we will do so,” Habalan replied. “Now, if you and your people will come with me, we are heading to that building in the distance.” Habalan pointed to the largest building within eyesight. “It is the center of our government on this colony.”
As they walked, Emilie followed Habalan’s instructions and changed the topic of conversation away from the Karacknids. “May I ask, what is the name of your species?”
“We call ourselves the Folians,” Habalan replied.
“How long has your species had the capability to travel between the stars?”
“For three hundred and thirty years. We had just begun to develop our own shift drive technology when one of our neighbors, the Lomalns, discovered a shift passage to our home system. They helped us develop our space technology and accelerated our expansion.”
“You were lucky to encounter such a friendly neighbor,” Emilie responded. “My species discovered shift drive technology two hundred and fifty years ago. We have been slowly expanding our reach ever since. You have called this world a colony several times. Is this system not your species home system then?”
Habalan’s antennae swirled and two of his mandibles waved at the passing areas of vegetation. “No, it is certainly not. Our home system is far more developed than this. Betasaad has been inhabited for just one hundred years.”
“Well it is certainly a beautiful world,” Emilie responded. “How does it compare to your homeworld?”
“Compare?” Habalan repeated. “I’m not sure I understand the question. As I have just said, our homeworld is far more built up.”
“I mean the vegetation and the planet’s climate,” Emilie explained. “Is this world similar to your homeworld in that way, or are there differences?”
“There were many differences before we prepared this world. Now though, it is all but identical to our homeworld in every way,” Habalan answered.
“You mean you have terraformed this world to replicate your homeworld?” Emilie asked as amazement filled her. Looking around she saw the planet in a new light. She couldn’t help but wonder what it had been like before the Folians had settled on it.
Habalan looked down at an electronic device it was carrying. “Yes, I believe that is an accurate term,” it said when it looked back up. “We have conformed this world to our homeworld. My species is very sensitive to our surroundings. We would not be able to survive long on a world that had not been changed to suit us. Has your species not altered the biome of worlds it has colonized?”
Emilie nodded. “We have, but not in such a complete way. Usually we introduce our own flora and fauna, but the result is a mixture of native species and ones we have brought in. Only one world in our home system have we truly tried to terraform. But even then it is not quite like Earth, our home planet. Your terraforming processes must be impressive.”
“I am not sure how they would compare to yours,” Habalan answered. “But we have had to put much effort into them. If we hadn’t, my species would still be confined to our homeworld. Ah, we are here.” It stepped in front of the large government building. “This is the center of our government on Betasaad.
Emilie slowly raised her eyes as she studied it. The architecture was unlike anything she had seen before. The building appeared to be entirely made out of some kind of wood like material. Turning her head, she looked more closely at some of the large trees in the distance. Their trunks looked very similar to the building. Though when she looked back at the building she couldn’t see any lines or other features that suggested trees had been felled and used in its construction. Instead, it almost looked like the building was made out of one single piece of wood. “It is impressive,” Emilie said. “How was it built?”
“Built? You mean like our space stations are built? No,” Habalan said. “Our buildings are not built, they are grown. We have engineered our plant species so that we can use them to form whatever ground structures we need.”
Emilie had to stop herself from shaking her head at the Kulrean translators’ translation. Whatever word the Folians used for buildings obviously did not carry the same connotations that the Human word did. The translator had failed to communicate that nuance. “I’m very interested to see the inside,” Emilie said as she reached out and touched the exterior of the building. It felt strange, not like any wood she was used to, yet it certainly felt like it was part of a plant and not a piece of inanimate brick or permacrete.
“I would be happy to give you an extended tour after we finish our initial discussions,” Habalan replied. “For now I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about it as we proceed to the audience chamber.”
Chapter 16
Sensor technology is one of the few areas of science that have developed slowly over the course of the Empire’s history. The only major breakthrough was the use of tachyon pulses to map out a system in faster than light timeframes. To this day it is still extremely expensive to build a warship with a tachyon sensor array. Despite the strategic usefulness of these sensors, it was the shocking discovery of the Sun Gates that the development of the tachyon sensors will be remembered for.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Habalan said as a mandible gestured towards the table like construction in the center of the audience room. “We have gathered a wide assortment of the foodstuffs we eat. It may be that none of it is appetizing to you. We won’t be offended, but you may sample what you wish. We have also provided resting perches. Again, if they are suitable, you may make use of them. Once you have settled in, we can begin our discussions.”
“Your hospitality is very generous, thank you,” Emilie replied. Turning to her team she raised her eyebrows and gestured with her head towards the food. This should be interesting, she thought. For the next ten minutes Habalan took them around the table pointing out various different items of food. Emilie was content to let Spence scan each item and then try the ones that were edible. Alvarez and Shaw were a little quicker, but all four of them were careful only to try small bites. Walker refused to take anything. He was happy to stand slightly back and keep his eye on things. To Emilie’s surprise, more than a few of the food items were edible and some were even tasty.
“If it’s okay with you, we will have to arrange a trade so we can take some of these items home with us,” Emilie said to Habalan after enjoying a particularly pleasing mixture of plants and what she understood to be herbs. “There will be many on my homeworld who would very much like to try your cuisine. Perhaps we could trade some of our own foodstuffs with you?”
“I’m sure we can arrange that,” Habalan replied. “What kinds of food do you eat. Are your species carnivores?”
Habalan’s question made Emilie pause. Glancing at the different meals in front of her, it hit her that none included any kind of meat. They are herbivores, she realized. I wonder what they think of carnivores? I guess we’re about to find out. “Tec
hnically, we are omnivores. We eat both animals and plants in our diet.”
Habalan’s tendrils twitched. “That may explain some things. The Karacknids are carnivores. We believe that explains the source of their aggressive nature. If your species has such tendencies that may be why you were able to defeat them.”
Though Emilie disagreed, she nodded anyway. “It may,” she responded. A few years ago she had read a couple of papers that suggested a similar kind of thinking from some university professors. They claimed Humanity’s warlike history was largely based on the aggressive instincts developed over millennia of hunting and killing for food. Whilst it had been an interesting theory, Emilie had grown up on the Alpha colony. There she had experienced some of the worst sides of Humanity. She knew exactly where most wars and aggression came from. Humans were territorial, selfish and at times simply evil. Aggression and warfare weren’t traits Humanity had learnt, it was innate. But now is not the time for philosophy, she thought as Habalan’s tendrils spread to the sides. She thought it was a sign of agreement.