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When the Stars Fall from the Sky (Crest of Stars first contact)

Accelerator

Well-known member
Author
Once upon a time there was a traveler crouching in pain by the roadside. A man who was walking by sat next to the traveler before he could ask for help. The man lectured the traveler at length about having a healthy lifestyle in order to avoid sickness. Satisfied with his speech the man stood up and left. His name is the United Mankind. Next, a very beautiful woman approached the traveler with an inquisitive look on her face. The traveler said, "Well, don't just stand there, help me." The woman replied, "Do you want me to help you?" She then discussed at length the situation with the traveler until she fully understood the problem. And then she nodded and left. Shortly after, the woman brought all the doctors, nurses, and staff of the closest hospitals with her. Her name is the Humankind Empire Abh.


— A political allegory from the planet of Midgrat



Lafiel, Princess of the Empire, Viscountess of Paryunu nearly snarled in anger and frustration as the klaxons in the ship continued to scream out about the drop in air pressure. Nearly. Even in the worst of conditions, an Abrial was always elegant.

It was supposed to be so simple. "Please, Your Majesty, please. Just this one small favour. Please? It won't take long, and training allows you to take a break once every few months. Just this once, ok?" Lafiel had, after separating from Jinto, been approached by another one of her classmates for a favour to help transport some goods back and forth from a world on the behalf of some of her lander friends. But something had come up, and Lafiel was the only one she could rely on. Thrilled that finally has treated her like a human being, she had immediately agreed to it.


It was no great trouble. Lafiel enjoyed socialising with her classmates and finally having someone in her training to talk to. And it wasn't because she was glad that someone was treating her as anything other than a rather imposing and intimidating statue, oh no she didn't. She did as her friend requested. And that's where things went wrong.

The delivery went smoothly as possible. There were no delays nor accidents. The Landers were sent to the orbital elevator, mouths gaping and gasping at the new sights and sounds around them, as well as their first trip into outer space. It was kinda cute, how they reacted to such familiar things.

After leaving them at the main orbital, Lafiel had departed and back through the sord, back into planar space.


That was where things went wrong.


The route she took was not one that had heavy traffic, neither was it one that was known to have merchant or military convoys travelling along it. But neither were there regular military patrols. In all likelihood, it was an opportunistic attack by those pirates. One without planning nor preparation.


Not that it mattered to Abriel Lafiel, when she found herself facing down several stolen cruise ships from the United Mankind, while stuck in a nearly weaponless Isath (transport ship). They were obviously pirates. No actual trained enemy could actually have failed to kill her, not with such a great advantage. Alive, but not unscarred, she fled through Planar Space, managing to lose her pursuers through a sord and some very daring manoeuvres.


But the ship was not unscathed. There was damage to both life support and the energy transmission systems. Thankfully, all damage to the antimatter fuel tanks had been negligible, so she didn't have to worry about exploding from leaking antimatter. But the ship was leaking air at a worrying rate, and needed to be resealed and repressurized. The energy systems were erratic and dysfunctional, sending sudden surges of power through systems, nearly crashing the computers 3 times in the past 12 hours. She needed to reroute the damage, and replace the capacitors and fuses. Which needed one important thing. A port.


One could not repair complex life support and damaged hulls and energy systems without at least turning them off or lowering their activity. And without power and air, Lafiel would die. Even the Kin of the Stars could not survive in a vacuum. She needed some way of surviving without such necessities, while she shut down the ship for repairs. A Gono (pressurized suit) might work, if it wasn't for the fact that the time taken to repair the ship would most likely take more time than she had oxygen stored. Not to mention the hazards of doing repairs in deep space, what with the high levels of electromagnetic radiation floating and surging around, as well as numerous micrometeorites.


She needed a place with breathable atmosphere and at least nominal protection from the hazards of space. A world with breathable air, or a friendly shipyard. A safe zone. A port in the storm.


But where would she find such things? She was in the middle of nowhere. The chances of a habitable planet being close by were almost nil. Like the proverbial needle in a haystack. But she had to try. She couldn't bear the thought of the look on her father's face when he finds out she is dead. She wouldn't do that to him. And she couldn't bear the thought of captain Lexshue crying for her. Her father wouldn't. But she might.


And most of all, she was an Abrial. And they never quit.


Calling up the old map archives for all of known space, collated by the empire and stored within her Kreuno (Computer terminal waistband), she began to search.


******************​


The planet was the third one from the Sun, in a solar system of 7 planets and a single gas giant. Filled with both water and living vegetation, it was a suitable landing spot. Lafiel checked the air supply remaining within the ship's tanks. 100 hours. More if she spent power. 60 hours to get there from the edge of the system.


The star force usually didn't teach their cadets how to land ships upon worlds. The only time they did so, it was so that crew of damaged ships can land to await rescue. But now, she had to land, and in a way that she could take off again. This will strain her piloting skill and improvisation.


She just hoped the locals were friendly. The radio chatter showed that there was at least some technological sophistication. But no signs of major orbital infrastructure. That meant no ports, no ftl, no way to contact off world or get a new ship after this one is trashed.


Plotting a course, the ships engines increased, and began to approach the third planet.

******************
Jason Smith was bored.


It wasn't that his job was bad, it wasn't that it was unpleasant. It's just that it was so monotonous. He had always wanted to be an astronaut. Always interested in the stars and the planets in the solar system. Heck, he even built his own model solar systems out of home materials. Went to all the museums and all the conventions.


Then the funding for NASA dried up, and he realized that even if he made the cut in the air force, he would never be able to fly on a mission. There was no more competition now. The public just didn't care anymore. And without the public caring, neither did the politicians.


But he did. So he stayed here, watching the reports. Reading the instruments of the satellites they had pointed to outer space, looking at nebulae, sun flares, magnetic storms on Jupiter..... boring work. But it was close enough for him.
He just wished that he could land on the planets, instead of watching them through telescopes; to be able to walk on the surface of mars, or look at the first footsteps on the moon.


Setting the cup of coffee had had just bought, he turned to the screen, checking through the readouts over the past 24 hours.


Huh. New alert of a celestial body entering the solar system. Must be a new comet.....


Wait. That couldn't be a comet. They don't work like that.


Reaching to his landline, he made a call to the higher-ups. He didn't want them to miss this.


**************************
"So what are we looking at?" His boss, Jean Dan asked. Her hair was red, reaching down to her shoulders, with her eyes a soft blue. She had been his superior for about 9 years. Fair, good, but not as good as him at reading the sensory feeds.


Jason Smith swallowed. This could make or break his career. If he was wrong, he'll be thrown out. But if he was right, he could make the history books as a celebrity. His life would be a total success by that point. Pointing at a blip on the screen, he tried to point at the screen without shaking at the ramifications of what he was seeing. "That. That came out from out of system a few hours ago, and if it continues on its current course, it will reach earth."


Jean frowned at that. "But most comets don't damage the earth that much. They tend to burn up. What's so different about this one?" Jean was management. Once, she probably did she same thing she did. But time had rusted skills. She had no idea what the screens were showing.


"Because that's not a comet." Pointing at the screen, he gestured at the spectrograph analysis of the cases trailing behind the comet. The composition showed up. "No methane. Very little water vapour... But an abundance of carbon dioxide and oxygen. And then there's thus." He brought up another screen, this one showing and infrared image. "The comet is far from the sun. In fact, too far that it shouldn't be melting and giving off gas at this point. But this image shows that it's giving off its own heat far in excess compared to what it should be receiving." And finally Jason put up a map of the solar system, and showed the comets course through it. "Look at this. It's moving straight to earth, ignoring the other planets."


Jean just frowned. "So? I don't see why that so different from other comets."
Jason sighed internally. This was why they should have remedial classes. "Its ignoring the other planets gravity. That means that it's resisting them, under their own power. It can steer itself. The gas composition released from it is something never seen in comets before. And it's giving off too much infrared radiation. That means that there's a heat source inside of it."


He pointed at the blip indicating the 'comet'. "That's not a comet. That's a spaceship. And it's heading for earth


************************

Lafiel had gotten past the gas giant of the system, before she realized she had forgotten a crucial part of this plan. Communication. Most planets were terrified by their first contact, and by their nature, the sudden understanding that they were not alone in the universe almost always threw entire cities and planets into havoc. Religious uprisings, riots, wars, social dissent, all of which she could not allow in good conscience, and not to mention might kill her in the crossfire.


She had to talk to them. Activating the Borsh (control buttons), she activated the first contact program. Hopefully, in the cycles she would take to get to the planet, she would be able to get a working translator.


Now all she had to do the one thing she hated doing the most.


Wait. And maybe get a speech for the planet.
 
The emergency convention was not exactly.... going well.

First of all, was the scepticism. Then the political wrangling. Then the posturing. Then the angry shouts at the implications of what the readings being given meant.

"I'm telling you, it can't be anything other than a spaceship!"

"That's a impossible, this ain't science fiction! It's probably some kind of strange meteorite that's got a strange composition with some radioactive isotopes that are heating it up from within. You say this was moving under its own power? Its probably being maneuvered by sublimated gas from its surface."

"Are we even sure of the readings from these satellites and scopes are accurate? All we have are readings from decades old ones, that are few and far between. I suggest that we wait for more information first."

"I'm telling you, it's the greys! They're here to take us from Earth and use us as cattle, as the holy book says!"

"You moron! Its obviously the lizard-people! Watch out, I swear that their infiltrators will rise up to greet them soon!"

The entire convention, once so serious, started to become a farce as men began to shout, then shout nonsense, then tempers flared and the first physical blows began to ring out. It was chaos.

Jason Smith put his head in his hands, his newfound confidence and excitement gone. Could it really be a ship? Did he just wreck his entire career on nothing but a mad whim or even malfunctioning equipment?

Just as Jason's spirit was at its lowest, the doors burst open, and an aide rushed inwards, temporarily stopping the fight for awhile. "Guys, guys, there's been a message! Its of extraterrestrial origin, and its transmitting right now!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lafiel had no idea what languages these were, its strange symbols scrolling down her screen, but she didn't care. These two were the most common languages used by this civilization. Hoping that the translation machines had not failed this time, she prepared her speech.

She could not make any grand announcements. And she would not lie. She came not as a conquerer ahead of a vast fleet of ships, but in a simple damaged transport ship. It rankled her pride, but it had to be done.

"People of Earth, this is trainee flyer Lafiel, of the Humankind Empire of the Abh. I come in peace. This is a transport supply ship, it has no weapons nor hostile intentions. I was under attack several days ago by raiders and my ship is currently leaking air and power. This is a request for permission to land upon your world for repairs. I repeat, People of Earth-"

Having recorded down the message she wished to send, she sent the speech into the translation program. And it was spat out, as a seemingly nonsensical string of words. Sending it into the ships Datakryil (computer), she altered the ship's antenna configurations, and prepared it to broadcast on all bands.

Setting it to maximum power, she sent out the first message the human race of Earth will received from the stars. The program was simple, yet broadcast loudly throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. No one missed it. No program was needed to decode it. Everyone, from military satellites to ham radio owners, heard the message loud and clear. For many many years, SETI had been searching futilely for signals amongst outer space. Messages in probes had been sent out beyond the solar system. And now, an answer had come.

All across the world, people listened to their headsets and listened:

"People of Earth, this is trainee flyer Lafiel. I-

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The people of Earth were in an uproar. Some called it a hoax. Some called for war against what was obviously a vanguard for an invasion. Some called for a welcome, and some called for caution. Some wished to simply kidnap the so-called 'lafiel' and hold her for ransom.

One thing that all knew, was that nothing would ever be the same ever again.
 
The entire room was in an uproar. Men were shouting, waving pieces of paper around, calling for their fellow scientists and technicians to get this new piece of data. Coffee was spilled onto computers, and fires were started. Calls from nearly everywhere, was sent to the office, making the air nearly shake non-stop with the ringtones of incoming calls. Never in human history, had there been such an interesting event. Sun spots, nebulae, even the discovery of a possible habitable planet far out in the western regions of the galaxy had not caused such a stir as the discovery of what could have been a spaceship entering the Solar System.

Then The Call came, and the disorder and pandemonium multiplied by a thousandfold. Checks and inspections were carried out using all available satellites. The data was cross-referenced with every single sensor array, telescope and imager NASA had access to. Some even called friends and family who owned radios. They, too, had received the call. With that and triangulation of the signal indicating it came from outer space, they could only reach one conclusion:

There truly was alien life, and it was coming this way.

Some wept. Some were really excited. Some prayed as the human race was about to be changed. And some... Some got worried.
"We're not alone after all are we?" One asked.

"No, we're not alone." The other replied, shaking his head.

What ominous beings stood upon that ship, he wondered, as he looked upon the blip on the 3D map that represented the spacecraft travelling across the solar system. Do they come in peace or war? Were they humanoid, a strange form of life, or utterly recognizable as life in any way? Were their customs and rituals bizarre and inhuman? Would they understand each other, or would there be mutual frustration and confusion? Would it even deign to speak to them, or was it just a passing tourist?

Of course, all these questions were moot.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is this really necessary?"

The question came out to the other 9 people in the room. 9 of the most powerful people in America. And by extension, the world. The only reason he didn't feel intimidated, was because he was more important than any of them. After all, he was in charge.

"So, what do we have here? Does it pose a danger to the United States? And is it really necessary to retreat to one of our bunkers? Let me guess. Its the alien spaceship I've been hearing about."

One of the members of the Council looked vaguely uncomfortable, and the other replied. "Mr. President, despite the alien ship's calls for help and its proclamation of peace, its quite possible that it has malicious intentions for our world. We placed you here in this bunker in case of any... unfortunate incidents. The vice-president is already in another one."

At this, one of the aides standing by the group went over to the projector, displaying several graphs and grid lines. "This is our analysis of the exhaust from the alien's ship," The word 'alien ship' made the President startle. At this point, this entire event made him feel like he was in a dream. Not anymore. "We have analysed the energy given off, and we believe that the alien ship's movement is powered by antimatter, based upon the spectrum of light energy given off, and the fact that it had the power to travel to here, that the alien ship, designated A-01, is powered by anti-matter"

Switching to another slide, he showed the definition of antimatter, alongside a picture of a mushroom cloud. "Anti-matter is the opposite of ordinary matter, causing mutual annnihilation upon contact. It has an extremely high yield of energy. A teaspoon of antimatter is equivalent to the bomb 'Little boy'. We believe that the ship coming towards us may contain enough antimater to wipe out all life on earth. Or at least, render it uninhabitable for human life, by detonating an antimatter bomb and causing mass climate change."

This caused the room to become very very quiet, as they digested what was recently said. Then the President spoke up. "What are our options? Do we have any anti-space defenses? What about our nuclear missiles?"

The National security advisor spoke up. "That's unlikely. We do not have any weapons specialised for ground to space attack. Even if we were to send out any missiles, its likely that the aliens have prepared for that, with either ways to intercept them or to avoid them via ECM. And its unlikely anyway for us to be able to destroy any antimatter missile should they send it over to us. And no way to dispose of it safely either. Just having antimatter in contact with air is enough to detonate it."

That did not sit right with the president. Here he was, during the greatest event the world had ever known, in the world's greatest and strongest country, and they had no way of dealing with any attack.

The President of the United States, was, for the moment, helpless to protect the country.

That was a new, and sombering feeling.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

"We wait. And pray this 'Lafiel', whoever he is, to be friendly."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jackson was in the basement, tuning in to the ham radio, when The Call came. He was tinkering with it, scrolling through the bands. Most of the time, it was just static, with only a few others. He had been talking to some dude about 3 miles away, who also had an interest in building his own radios. He should meet him some day.

But as he was tinkering with the headphones, he heard a message. "This is trainee flyer Lafiel, of the Humankind Empire of the Abh-" It surprised him the first time the message came on. Then the message went on again. Then again. In a loop. The second time it was received, he finally understood what the message truly meant. He twisted the knob of the radio, but the message was being broadcast across all frequencies. Finally accepting that the message and its implications exists, he thought: 'This is either the biggest thing in history, or this is one of the hugest pranks in the world. But either way, I've got to tell people.'

Starting up his computer, he began to type a new thread into every single internet forum he knew about. This is going to be interesting.
 
Lafiel sat in the pilot seat, leaving the ship in orbit around the world. From here, she could see the clouds, forests, and continents of the world. Around her, floated debris from forgotten satellites and disposable rocket stages. It seems her initial assessment was wrong. They did have orbital infrastructure. Just not a lot of it. There was a whole host of commercial satellites, some military ones with hilariously primitive shielding and cloaking systems, and a single space station that her scanners indicated contained several human beings aboard.

Lafiel wanted to meet them. To meet other denizens of this world in her element. But she couldn't. She still needed to land.

The ping on the computer alerted Lafiel to the presence of messages being transmited to her via either satellites from orbit or from the ground. It seems that her message was discovered and her ship's location was found out. Time to enter negotiations.

"Good morning, citizens of this world. This is trainee flyer Lafiel-"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The President had called a press conference, in the middle of the day. Many were... prepared for such an event. For at least a few days, there had been whisperings around the grapevine and the water coolers. People from NASA talking about some spaceship travelling through the solar system, moving straight to earth. There had been meetings and movements, talks and communications between important people and organizations. The FBI, homeland security.... all very classified, but the movement was there.

There was the UFO. It was mostly likely a hoax, but there have been outcries from astronomers, both professional and amateur, that there was a spaceship floating in orbit. The professionals were saying nothing. The amateurs were excited and talking about it on the internet.

And then there was the Call. A day ago, every single radio station and cell phone, anything that could pick up a signal, suddenly transmitting calls of a 'trainee lafiel' of an 'humankind empire of the abh', stating that she needed to land for repairs. It was a joke, of course. It must be.

They gathered before the podium, anxiously waiting for the news to break out. The tension in the air was almost palpable. Everyone knew something strange was going on. The happenings in the past few days proved it. Something was going on. And they were going to find out. The news crews crowded forward, stopped only by the armed guards and the railings.

A small titter appereared as the President stepped up to the podium. Looking upon the gathered reporters and news crews for a moment, seemingly underneath a great burden. With a tap and whine, the microphone activated, and the President began to announce a piece of news which would rock the world. "Good morning you all. I would like to announce our first contact with an alien from another world, called trainee Lafiel. She is currently within her spaceship, at earth's orbit, and is currently in discussion on where is the most appopriate place to land. We-"

He could not finish the sentence before the room erupted in an uproar of questions and flashing lights.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, hey, hey! So do you see it? I got the new telescope. What do you think?"

Samuel excitedly stood next to his friend, as he let him look through the telescope at the night sky. The telescope was new, and much more powerful than the rest. It was much more accurate, too. The one currently looking through it, his childhood friend and fellow astronomy enthusiast David, peered through it at the coordinates inputed. "Yeah, I see it. Its.... just floating up there. Doesn't look like a satellite I've read of or seen pictures of. And it can't be ordinary rock debris. Its too regular. Doesn't seem to be a cast off rocket stage from a previous launch either."

Hearing David agree with him seemed to make Samuel even more excited. By now, he was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "yeah! And didn't you hear the radios suddenly talk just yesterday? Think that's the alien spaceship that's coming here? Man, I really want to meet this 'Lafiel', whoever he is!"

David looked sceptical at that. "There are no such things as aliens, Samuel."

"But what if there are?"

Looking up at the star studded sky above him, David replied. "Well, then my first request would be to beg them to let me travel with them to outer space."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lafiel sat in the cockpit, listening to the discussion.

It sounded like the screeching of prepubescent children. The numerous languages, alongside the translator, started to sound more like a cacophony instead of a conversation. And it was going so well. At first, it had been the Americans. And then, more and more intruders came in, butting into the conversation. Now it was just confusing.

"The United States of America would gladly welcome you to our land-"

"The People's republic of China would happily play host to our visitor from beyond the-"

"This is the Democratic Republic of Korea. We invite you to dine with our glorious Leader-"

This continued on and on, while Lafiel tried in vain to sort through the conversations. The headaches brought on by several days worth of constant consciousness did not help either. Finally, her patience was worn out.

"Enough!" The shout was, if transmitted correctly, defeaning. "This will never end. You are obviously rival powers to each other on this planet, and so will never accept your opponent getting first access to the first visit from an extraterrestrial visitor. So instead of arguing for each other, just go back to your masters, and agree on a location that all of you are willing to accept as the hosting area. Goodbye, have a nice day."

At this, Lafiel cut the signal, ending the entire farce. A planet with multiple leaders, nuclear weapons, and rival blocs of powers? This is a mess. Its a miracle that they haven't nuked each other to oblivion yet. Stalking towards the bed, Lafiel set the autopilot to maintain geostationary orbit.

Coming to this place, getting parts for repairs, and setting off back to the Empire may be harder than she thought. Lafiel wondered, uncomfortably in the back of her mind, whether or not her presence and the technology she brings has brought the world to ruin.
 
It took at least another planetary rotation for them to finally decide a landing spot. Sighing internally, Lafiel looked at the remaining stored air within her the ship. Still enough for several more rotations. But to think that there were several ruling parties... perhaps she should simply have gone to the space station itself. But moving out of orbit at this point may mean that the parties on the ground could not reach her, due to them not being able to find her in space.

The signal came over again, this time only one speaking to her. The voice was female, and sounded haggard and tired. "We've already decided on a place you could land, so as to speak with all of us at once. Please follow the signal being broadcast at this frequency." At that, Lafiel felt the thrum of a signal being broadcast, passing into the ship's sensors. It originated from one of the main continents on the planet.


"Roger, whoever you are. This is Trainee Lafiel, signing out and preparing for landing. Please standby." Pressing a button by her side, two pods detached from the ship, and firing antimatter thrusters, briefly lighting up the sensors in a dozen instruments now pointed out to space. One held itself in geostationary orbit, for the entire world to see. The other sped to the edge of the system, and powered itself down, slowly becoming indistinguishable from a random piece of space debris.


At that, Lafiel retracted the links to her tiara and began to walk to the back of the ship. It would b rude to bring a ship containing tanks of antimatter into the atmosphere of a world that had done her no wrong. Her boots clanking as she walked through the corridors, Lafiel wondered how she would break the news of the Abh Empire and their new fate to this world.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carolyn was there, when the ship landed.


The impromptu landing area had been selected, by the United Nations, picked over, debated, and finally chosen based upon the fact that there was absolutely nothing nearby for over a hundred miles. A military base at Groom Lake Test range, a remote base filled with rumours of alien and UFO sightings. Someone must have had a sense of humour.


The landing area was cordoned off by military personnel, the armed men in their fatigues and webbing standing out under the harsh glare of the overhead spotlights. From their shoulder patches, she recognized them as Army Rangers. Once upon a time she'd had a colleague, a reporter whom had spent time embedded with their 3rd Battalion in Afghanistan. He'd had stories from his time with them, many grim. She wisely chose not to approach them.


She was wearing a hazmat suit. The silver shining in the sunlight, and the faces obscured by the mask and the filters. They had made it mandatory to wear these. Anyone that might come into contact with the alien is to carry out countermeasures against possible biological contamination. No one was sure about what diseases were carried on the ship or that Lafiel carried, but everyone was well aware of what happened to the native Americans.


Looking around, she also saw noted several military trucks situated in a perimeter around the landing pad. Humvees specifically, fitted with what she recognized to be surface-to-air missile pods. Contemplating their purpose, she quietly hoped that neither they nor the soldiers around them would be necessary. Far in the distance, past the runway and the perimeter fence helicopters and planes buzzed overhead, their flight paths slowly circling the facility and their aviation lights twinkling against the starry night sky. There were others out there too, soldiers from the Nevada National Guard patrolling by foot and truck. Overall, it was hectic yet somehow not. The Nevada night air was uncomfortably warm, and filled with a strange, heady mix of unease and anticipation and the sound of muted nervous chatter and distant machinery.


The reporters around here were working, some holding up camcorders and speaking in commentary, and some taking photographs, or some were on calls talking to their managers. There weren't many of them. Only about 20 reporters and their associated helpers. She herself was only allowed due to several stints in military warzones, as well as her discretion on several military incidents where they wanted to keep things secret. Her stomach grumbled. She only had military rations, but reports said that the alien spaceship was moving in the direction of the base and was coming in to land. She wasn't going to miss this for the world.


Huh. Alien spaceship. She never thought that she would say it. It still seemed like a dream. It had appeared so fast. One day, all the radios had gone crazy, and then people were shouting about aliens. Then her boss had called her, telling her to take a plane to Area 51. It had taken him 3 repeats before she realized he was serious. So she washed her face, grabbed a toothbrush and a set of clothes, and then got there.


First contact. A historic moment in history. The presence of an alien in the solar system. The radio signal that had overridden everything with a sensor and a receiver on Earth, that constantly broadcast those few words. It had been truly an exhausting past few days, with constant panic and activity in the office, frantically answering calls and going out for interviews. The reactions were mixed. Some had bought food and gone into the wilderness. Some had gone to church. Some had hid in bunkers. And others had screamed about alien invasions. The last ones, she did not care about. What kind of alien invader comes into the solar system, calling out for help when he could just as easily dump rocks or relativistic missiles onto the planet? It made no sense.


Then she saw it.


It was a massive trail of fire, burning brightly in the afternoon sky. It was blinding, almost as bright as the sun, and it streaked across the horizon as it approached the landing zone. Cries of shock and surprise, and the click of cameras rang out as people started taking photos. The firey comet flew closer, closer…. until the ship itself appeared. It hung in the air, surrounded by plumes of fire, until it began to descend onto the recently created landing pad made for just this occasion. Retrorockets and thrusters spat out jets of flame, blackening the recently paved concrete and making the air blur with heat. And then, with a shudder and a thud, the spaceship landed and the rockets shut off.


There was silence.


Then a door on the ship opened, and a ramp extended downwards. Upon hitting the concrete flooring, there was a soft 'thunk'.


You could hear a pin drop.

Two men ran to the base of the ramp, and the red carpet was rolled out, from the ramp, extending out to a limousine parked out at the edge of the landing pad. The soldiers rushed out, apparently having practice at this. They lined up in formation, at each side of the carpet like statues.


A figure stepped out, and began descending the ramp.


There had been much speculation on what the aliens looked like. Some talked about how he must have be humanoid, for that is the most efficient design in nature. Some joked that it would be a tentacle monster, here for our women. Others said that it must look like the Greys. Others said little green men. More joked about how they must be blue skinned aliens. Some said that they must be insectoid, or not even mammalian. The more daring scientist she had interviewed had even said that they may not be physical.

No one expected the pilot to be a blue haired elf. Pointed ears included. The ears flared out from the side of her head, as if from some strange fantasy movie. She wasn't fancily - all she wore was a tight fitting suit. And it was definitely a she. Those two lumps on her chest was definitely something half the human species had and the other half loved.

There was now a murmur, as people started to register Trainee Flyer Lafiel's presence. Shutters clicked and lights flashed as the historic moment of an alien walking upon human soil occurred before their eyes. Carolyn took several photos, making sure to have her cameraman keep the camera trained on her. Meanwhile, she took notes.

The limousine doors opened, and out walked the United Nations ambassador for extraterrestrial contact. Maltar Ozman. A decorated Malaysian astrophysicist, whose appointment to her position had caused quite a stir 8 years ago. Some laughing, some saying that it was redundant, and some celebrating that the UN is taking extraterrestrial contact seriously. No one was laughing now. Maltar, on the other hand, looked like she was steeling herself for the possible confrontation. She could tell from the body language, although the face was obscured by the hazmat suit. Teana admired her resolve, but she was probably out of her league. This was not something any government or country on earth could possibly have predicted nor made sufficient plans for. Humankind Empire of the Abh..... the Empire.

Carolyn hoped that they didn't resemble the British.

The two stood before each other, from literally different worlds. One was an astrophysicist. Another a pilot. One was from earth, and the other beyond. Lafiel raised her hand and everyone tensed for a moment....

Only for them to relax as she brought up her hand in a two fingered salute.

"This is Trainee Flyer Lafiel, of the Humankind Empire of the Abh. I greet you as the kin of the stars, to the people of this planet. Please, bring me to your leaders. I have very important news for them."
 
Hey I'm enjoying this. Shame what happened with SV.

Could you post the chapters from SV over?
 
Scientists detect antimatter reaction in comet - strange astrological phenomenon, or alien spaceship?

Telescopes detect energy readings similar to that of antimatter annihilation in CERN

Today at 3:00 a.m. Scientists at NASA has detected energy being released by an exocomet, which has arrived in our solar system 2 days ago at high velocity, going past Pluto.

"It's a very strange thing, to see such readings coming from a comet that should be by all means be inert." He commented. Jason Smith was the first to note down the unknown comet's strange properties. "Its almost as if antimatter is being released. It must have been captured by the comet in some unknown reaction. Study of this comet may in fact give us more information on antimatter and how it works in space. "

Please click here for more details.

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BREAKING NEWS. WORLDWIDE RADIO BROADCAST. NASA SAYS THAT IT IS FROM SPACE - ALIEN BROADCAST, OR PRANK CALL?

This morning at 8:36 AM Pacific time, radio receivers and stations worldwide received a message, repeating in a loop. The contents of the message seem to be pretending to be from an alien asking for a place to land. Whomever made this, must be a fan of science fiction. The message is....Please click to expand

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"And now we have here, astrophysicist and astrobiologist Dr. Hartman, who we have invited here today to speak about the incoming spacecraft. Dr. Hartman?"

Applause came out, as a man came walked into the camera view from the side of the studio. He wore a suit, and his greying hair was short and straight. His glasses were clapsed on his shirt, giving him an informal yet dignified air. Someone that people would listen to.

"So Dr Hartman, what do we know about the spaceship?" Asked the newscaster. This would be the best interview of her job. She knew it.

"Well, Miss, from our readings of the Hubble telescope and the assorted satellites we have around the solar system, we have already gotten several photographs and good readings that give us quite a number of details." The newscaster nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"Here is a photograph of the ship, captured by a satellite called SP-01." The screen showed a ship, with a single squarish section at the front, before tapering and then flaring out again, with 4 pods attached to the sides of the segment at the back. Exhaust trailed behind the ship, and the picture seemed surreal, as if from a digital painting or a dream. The fact that it was real and travelling this way, made it seem even more fascinating. Beside the initial photograph, there were other versions, showing the appearance of the ship in terms of infra-red and radiation.

[IMG]


"Now look at the ship there. From what we can see, unless they are things that we cannot imagine, are hidden, or are too small to see, the ship has no weapons. It is, as the Trainee Flyer Lafiel said on the radio signal, a supply transport ship with no weapons."

The newscaster down at the list of questions she was supposed to ask, and spoke out loud. "So does that mean that we can be assured that we are safe? That the alien is of no danger to us?"

"Hah, no." Said Dr. Hartman, half chuckling, half laughing. He put up a spectrograph, alongside several other charts and readings showing the radiation released from the ship. He pointed at the exhaust from the ship in the picture. "That? That shows readings that we've only seen a few times in CERN. That shows both the marks of antimatter annihilation and nuclear reactions." He turned to the newscaster, the camera, and in extension, the audience. "It all makes sense. Faster than light travel, and interstellar travel in general, needs lots of energy. And the more mass you have, the harder it is to move. You need something energy-dense. And there's nothing more energy-dense than anti-matter. Antimatter which explodes with the force of nuclear bombs upon contact with normal matter."

"This flyer Lafiel may not have hostile intentions, but I hope like hell that he, she, or it, is a very good flyer. Crashing that ship onto earth would likely kill us all."

"What about the message? The one that said Humankind Empire of the Abh? Do you think this truly is a spaceship from a human race? What do you think of the hypothesis that humans were taken by aliens from ancient times, or the idea that humans originated from the stars and were not on earth originally?"

This Dr. Hartman looked thoughtful. He paused for several moments, deep in thought. Then he looked up, and replied. "I'm not sure. The humankind part is most likely a translation error. After all, it could simply be a mistranslation of a term meant to mean something similar to 'brotherhood' or 'People's'. Something to denote the Empire's wish to be seen as a bastion of unity and put others at ease."

"I'm more worried on how she a managed to learn our language, and learn several in fact. This might not be the first time we have been observed...."

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He checked his bag. All clear. He took a cab to the outskirts of the city. There, he took the car he reserved for emergencies like this, and got to the bunker he prepared.

It was an 8 hour drive, and all this while, he was listening to the radio. They were talking about the alien, and whether or not it was hostile. What was it? Was it from a race filled with enlightenment? Energy beings? Green men?

Fools.

This was obviously a ploy made by the UN. They would gather up people under the pretense of alien contact, and then in one fell swoop, take over the planet.

He would be prepared. He had prepared for this for years.

They would never take him. Not without a fight.

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"And thus, behold, the evidence the devil has planted there, to deceive us! To weaken our faith! To turn us from the lord!"

The church was packed, far more than before. The pews were filled, and people were either sitting or standing on the floor. The doors were open, so that the people crowding just outside the doorway could hear his sermon.

Preacher Parkinson hadn't seen such a congregation for a long time. And neither had he felt such passion for his words. It must be God, sending out his power and granting his blessings so that he may warn his dear flock of what is to come.

"An alien? The bible makes no mention of aliens. And the bible is always true. That is no alien, but instead a fallen angel sent out, in order to make us go astray! The presence of aliens defiles and degrades the existence of God's creation. Their very existence goes against the divine nature of man, and his uniqueness amongst the Cosmos! Who here has read aliens in Genesis? There is none. Thus, they are not creations of Jehovah, but instead, of Lucifer."

The congregation here was listening intently, more attentive than ever. The arrival of this menace had them scared and doubtful, with people wondering if this was the beginning of some strange calamity. They had no need to fear. He was here to guide them.

"Do not worry, my fellow Christians. For though this 'alien' may seem dangerous, but our faith and the blessings of our Father in heaven shall shield us. All that is needed, is for us to make sure that it does not serve as a stumbling block for others. It would not be allowed to close people's eyes to God's word."

"My friends. We must kill the alien."

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He knew it. He knew it when the radio came alight, when the voice came, that he knew what he had to do. Crouched in the darkness, amongst filth and trash, lit only by the light of a computer screen, he realized the truth of his existence.

He knew he was always being watched, that there were people laughing at him.

The can of coke he bought in the market tasted off. There was a bitter after taste. The sourness tasted sweet instead of the rancidness he liked. He threw it away, and never went there again.

Another time, he received a letter from a government agency, claiming that they found something, that he was go to one of their offices to collect it. As if. After tearing it up and burning it in the trash, he watched his step for people stalking him. A man in the black suit entered his building, and got into the lift with him. That was nerve wracking. It only stopped when the man exited the floor right below his own.

And now, this alien had come. Claiming to be in a damaged ship and asking to land. It all clicked now. The reptiles were invading. This ship was the vanguard and the herald.

He went to his cupboard, and picked up what he was looking for. His father's old gun, a
IMI Desert Eagle. One with powerful enough bullets to kill with one shot. He loaded in hollow point rounds. He would protect the world, no matter what.

Putting it into his back pocket, he opened the door, and for the first time in a few weeks, stepped outside.
 
This story is on SV and you're about to be banned, can I suggest getting someone to get the people from there over?
 
shrugs

How open are you to invitations? I can invite them over. Or at least, my beta can.
I'm literally not opposed to any new members, as long as you're not recruiting from Stormfront. :p
 
In retrospect, she should have seen this coming.

Abriel Lafiel, princess of the empire, sighed as she sat upon the chair in the clinic. The manner of the nurses here were profesional, though nervous, which was a small blessing.

She should have seen this coming. Disease and plague were often scourges of any interstellar society, the new and deadly pathogens from foreign ecosystems and societies often a threat to any unprepared immune system. The Abh were in no danger to that. Updated immune systems as well as several new cell types and organs ensured that their bodies were immune to any form of pathogen or virus that was not a targeted bioweapon. But the people of this world was not. In retrospect it was foolish of her, her tiredness and her eagerness to meet a new society had overruled her good sense. It would not happen again.

She turned to the nurse, who had taken the blood sample and placed it within the machine. There seemed to be readouts, the screen showing the contents of her blood. She hoped nothing would cause a panic. Some societies were not used to the concepts of alien life.

"Excuse me," she asked. The nurse started, nearly jumping in fright. She frowned internally. This nervousness over her was truly getting annoying. "I understand the need for caution, but how long will this take? How many of your planetary rotations?" She needed to get to either the leaders and deliver the Abh empire's ultimatum, or get supplies to fix her ship.

"I'm sorry. But to be truly thorough, this will take about 7 days."

Fix the ship it is, then. But first of all, the most basic of human needs. Food.

"So.... I've been eating surplus military rations this past 3 planetary cycles. Do you have any actual food on this planet?"

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She was eating the food brought to her. Some slab of meat, alongside with a mash of some kind of tuber, all covered in some kind of sauce. It didn't matter. It was edible, and not rations. And that was what counted. As she ate, she talked to a man, sent here by the government ruling the continent she had landed on. James Carpenter. A polite, nondescript man in a suit, who has been sent here by the so-called United States of America. Polite and helpful, yet rather distant and seemingly calculating, he was a rather frustrating person to interact with. Now, they were discussing the arrangements with the United Nations. A forum where different nations on the planet can discuss and talk about things of national importance, such as the arrival and annexation of 'Earth' to the Abh empire. Now she was discussing the arrangements with him, eating while he sat opposite her.

"So assuming that the security is maximised to prevent the attacks from extremists and radicals, how long will it take to make sure that it is all set up?" She asked. She did not wish to let the first contact meeting be fraught with danger and attacks. This had happened before, when her people were still nomads, and the retaliation had been swift and deadly. She had to avoid that now.

"About several days or so. Maybe 12. Just to make sure that no one has infiltrated the premises and to ensure all possible terrorist groups are kept well-away. Not to mention setting up security." HIs tone was apologetic, but it did little to stop her impatience. She could do little in those 12 days. First contact packages, present in every single abh ship in case of emergency, were already downloaded into her computer. It was standard operating procedure, one she was familiar with. Now she was to do something else.

"I need supplies. Hydrogen. Water. Sheet metal. Purified Air. It is for the repair of my ship and for the life support system." She needed to fix the ship before going back to Abh space.

"Such a thing is doable. But it costs money, both to procure and bring such things over." Ah. They wanted something. Thank goodness she had something prepared.

She walked to her bag, and picked out a piece of jewellery. Gold, inset with blazing rubies and emeralds. People liked shiny things. That was a universal truth.

"Is there a place to exchange currency for valuables?" She asked, holding it out to the agent. The rubies glittered in the lamplight, and the gold itself was nearly pure, with a bit of impurity mixed into ensure that it does not become deformed. The rubies and emeralds were the size of human eyes. This planet had no asteroid mining. This jewellery should still be valuable.

"I'm sorry?" The agent seemed to be shocked by her statement.

Frowning, she wondered if she was wrong. Maybe it was a fluke, something that only appeared on the planet she had landed on during her and Jinto's escape from United Mankind? "I'm saying, is that can I exchange this piece of jewellery for local currency and money, so that I may purchase the supplies on my own?"

This seemed to shock the man out of his surprise, and he nodded vigorously. "I suppose that is acceptable. I would be happy to serve as a liaison to help sell this. I simply did not expect it from... an alien."

"My people were interstellar traders before they decided to settle down and become an empire. There are often things that are often liked throughout the galaxy by humans. Shiny things are one."

She placed it into his hand, and he clasped it, walking out of the room.

There. Now all she had to do was wait and.... damn it.

It had been 2 days, and they were still busy. This was taking too much time. She would go stir-crazy, sitting in this room for who knows how long, the gravity making it even difficult for her to move than normal. Abh could deal with boredom. But not this kind.

Besides, this is the second time she's on a planet. She should explore.

With that, Lafiel went to the door, and pushed it open.

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Sabah Frye was a graduate from Cambridge University, a Bachelor in biology, one with great academic scores as well as several notable accomplishments and achievements in her study of genomics and proteomics. Not to mention being close enough to actually arrive at Groom Lake, and with a reputation for discretion. Which was why, after she had set the blood sample from the alien to be scanned for possibly dangerous viruses and bacteria, she had been tasked to analyze the DNA obtained. And what she found amazed her.

The alien was... human. Yet not.

The basic DNA was the same. The letters were the same. There were the same base pairs. The same chromosomes. The same coiling and centromeres. There were several different alleles that she had seen in other human populations present within the DNA.

Heck, the cells she had were human. She had scanned the blood, and underneath the microscope, there were the same old cells she had seen. Red blood cells, white blood cells, lymphocytes and such.

But that was where the similarities ended. Although like the DNA, it was obvious that there was a solid link to humans. But the DNA that was from alien origin had several lines, links, and genetic sequences not present in any terrestrial population. Not to mention that the methylation, as well as several other genes that had been flagged for cancer and other, possibly debilitating conditions had been removed. There would always be one or two genes in a person, that coded or signaled possible preconditions to things like obesity or asthma, that did not cause any effect due to more dominant alleles that prevented such genes from being expressed, or were simply blocked from transcription via repressors. But all such genes were absent. Not to mention there were several immense sequences present within the DNA, that could not have happened naturally. They were large enough to code for drastic changes in the being they were present with. But what?

But with an addition of at least 2 or 3 more different types of cells that she had not seen before. She didn't know what kind of cell they were, or what their function was, but it was obvious from the proteins on their surface that these were obviously meant to interface with the alien's body. What were they? Nanites? New cell types? Symbiotes? Who knows?

Excitedly, she walked to her superiors. The alien was a human. A genetically engineered one. This would be the discovery of the century.

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She pushed open the door, and was immediately noticed by the sentries outside. Their helmets on their heads, and rifles held by their sides. They snapped to attention as the door swung open, and she saw their bodies tense as she stepped.

One stood forward, holding up a hand, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, but... it would be far more convenient for us if you were to stay inside."

Inwardly, Lafiel grew annoyed. But outwardly, she simply smiled. The Abh were elegant after all. "Is that so? Then by all means, how about you all escort me as I walk about? I'm fairly sure that I am not a prisoner here."

The soldier halted. She could see the conflict in his head. He had orders to keep her safe. To make sure she doesn't wander about. But again, he would be given orders to try not to offend her. But thankfully, as a magnanimous royalty, she would give him an out.

Placing her hands in front of her, she said. "I know, you have your orders. How about this? I bring out a chair, sit here, and make conversation with you people. Alternatively, you can bring your reporters in, which I'm sure you have for such an occasion, and I can start answering questions. Is that alright?"
 
"Today is a day to be remembered. Today is the greatest day in human history. Today is the day in which we, the human race, have realized that we are not alone...." With an air of finality Carolyn clicked the Send button, ushering out her article and gathered photos and video to her editor at the Post. There were others in the cramped room, said room having been repurposed from whatever role it had once served decades prior to an improvised journalist's office. While she had interviewed a number of people around the landing site in the past several days both civilian and military, she'd yet to get a chance to interview the alien herself, and she doubted she ever would. She simply didn't have the connections, nor did anyone else in the office there with her. Enough to get invited here, yes, but not enough to get to meet the alien herself. She suspected that it was a short list indeed of people that would be able to meet her and talk to her, one that included world leaders and foreign dignitaries and didn't include little old her.

Around her in the antiquated cubicle farm sat a number of her friends and colleagues. Or rather competitors, if she was honest with herself. Like her they were finishing up and polishing their pieces before sending them out via email. It… all of it… was almost breathtaking. History in the making, and they were right there, chronicling it. Like the reporters standing in Mission Control when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, she was documenting the end of an era… and the start of another.

Oswald Ackerman, an acquaintance and journalist from the BBC, had sent out his own story and closed his laptop with a click. He was pushing forty, a veteran correspondent for the prestigious network. With a heavy sigh he leaned back in the almost ancient office chair, very much sounding as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. After a moment he reached into his backpack before pulling out several bottles of liquor from within, no doubt acquired from the small commissary on the air base, followed by a stack of small plastic cups. The selection was small and too strong for her tastes, her preferring lighter spirits. Still though, it was better than nothing.

Oswald placed the drinks onto a table in the center of the office, and far from the first time Carolyn tried to ignore the absurd mustache on the man's face. Beside him sat Lillian Bouchard, a correspondent from France's AFP and Ying Yue, a young-looking woman from China's Xinhua News Agency. And finally there was James Armstrong, a long-time reporter for the New York Times, rounding out the quintet permitted onto one of the most secretive and remote government facilities in America.

"So... out of all the places on the globe, why Area 51?" James asked, breaking the uneasy silence. "Is it some kind of joke? Or maybe the theories and stories about the place are actually true?" His tone was half-joking, but his eyes said that this question was serious. Carolyn remembered what he'd said the day before, that Her arrival had up-ended everything mankind knew of itself, and every way that humans would view the rest of the universe. Like the others, Carolyn didn't have a response.

It was Lillian that ventured an answer. "Actually, such a thing is quite logical from the perspective of safety and isolation," she spoke. "We're in the middle of a desert, dozens of kilometers away the nearest town of any kind. And this place used to have aircraft of all kinds, right? They need to fix those."

"The U-2, SR-71, B-2 Spirit, just to name a few," Oswald stated. "All clandestine projects created in secrecy, and all were tested at this very base."

"You know your aircraft Mr. Ackerman," Ying said.

"I write about military history from time to time, Oswald explained. "This place probably still has a maintenance hangar. The lass wants to fix her ship, and well, she came to the right place."

"Still," Carolyn began, "alien ambassadors landing in Area 51 seemed like the ranting of a conspiracy theorists."

"Truth is always stranger than fiction my love."

"That it is." Ying was actually the first to grab a bottle of alcohol, a whiskey whose brand Carolyn didn't recognize.

"Yet, people don't like that she's landed in America, and meeting the UN," Ying said as she poured a glass for herself. "Plenty of people aren't at all too happy about the, ah, location."

"Ah yes, Nationalism," Armstrong spoke, understanding her implication. "Seems to be everywhere these days. Well, can't please everyone." He grabbed a bottle of vodka, twisting off the cap and pouring a glass of his own. "Personally I blame politicians of all stripes. Hopefully they're the first to go when our new alien overlords assume power." Carolyn thought the man was joking, or rather hoped.

"Obviously there's a… dislike of America abroad," Ying continued. "I know that my government plans on making their own invitations." Ying was right, Carolyn noted. There was an undercurrent of tension, amongst the nations of the world. And there had been a general outcry amongst many countries when the announcement was made that the ship would land in the America. Se couldn't even begin to speculate about the politicking that no doubt went on behind the scenes, quiet meetings in darkened rooms between people of immense power and wealth. But it was obvious that no one was going to let America hog the prestige of having an alien land there alone, what with First Contact being officially attributed to the UN, and the UN alone.

"So... she's been here for a few days, and is wanting to make a speech to the UN," Lillian stated. "So, what kind of speech?"

"Not a clue," Carolyn said herself, finally speaking up.

"Maybe a first contact greeting they have? An official one I mean. Or maybe offerings of technology? Or maybe some form of enlightenment that will end all war?" The way she said it, with a dreamy look on her face… maybe she was right. But that was unlikely.

"She ain't ending war, that's for sure," James said. "It's in mankind's blood."

"Well I'll offer up my own observation," Oswald began, "her ship's a transport, or so she says at least."

"So she says," Ying repeated, wariness evident in her voice.

"Well I doubt it's the vanguard to some invasion fleet."

"You seem convinced," Ling said.

Th Brit shrugged, taking a swig of whatever he was drinking. "Call it a gut instinct. The lass actually comes in peace, despite what the nutjobs say. Heh." He drained his cup, and poured himself another. Carolyn doubted the Brit would be sober for much longer.

"Her saying she had an emergency makes sense too, thinking about it. You see the scorch marks?"

"Scorch marks?" Carolyn asked.

"On the flanks and rear," James said. "Weapons fire, if I had to guess. Back in -03 when I was in Iraq, I saw aircraft with similar damage. Incendiaries can do that, but I can't even begin to speculate what caused the damage to that ship." James didn't bother to pour a glass, instead taking a neat swig from the bottle of something clear he got ahold of.

"She was in a fight," Lillian spoke.

"The receiving end of it at least. And speaking of ambassadors earlier, did you see how young she looked? I don't think an Ambassador from space would be a teenager." Another neat swig from his bottle. "But enough of the speculation. You all realize that she's all anyone's talking about on the Internet? She's world famous. And don't get me started on what's happening on 4chan."

"4chan?" Ying asked, do doubt in the dark about that portion of the Internet.

Carolyn grimaced. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

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"So she's human?" Although there was an attempt to disguise it, there was some surprise in the voice.

The voice came from her superior at Groom Lake, a man named John Jonson. No one commented on that to his face, however. A grim-faced, brooding man, noted for both professionalism and competence during the time he worked for the world health organisation, he made one instinctively lock up. A hard face with a bald head, always in a frown and eyes in intense concentration, he looked at her, a half-disbelieving expression on his face.

"Yes, I believe so. According to the scans and DNA test, yes. With a few additions that couldn't have been brought in by evolution. They must have been engineered in. Those ears and blue hair aren't natural, or at least, aren't native to earth. The girl has been genemodded, and I must say, probably from birth." Sabah Frye kept her voice calm, trying to keep her excitement at bay. This was incredible. The alien was a human. A genetically engineered one. A human. A human, that came from the stars. That raised so many questions, that very likely, the entire human race on earth would have to reevaluate their worldview.

Director Johnson looked through the reports on his desk. They were filled with charts and analysis. Blood content and pressure. DNA scans. Noted genes that were found on both the alien and human population. The portions of the genetic code shown to be genetically engineered inside the genome. White blood cell count. He looked at them all, eyes flicking over.

"We need to know more of this. I will go up to command, and ask them if we have permission to request for medical testing. And request for equipment. Some MRI machines. More analysis. " his voice was calm, iron hard. He looked at her sternly, his eyes set on her. "No matter what, this information doesn't get out. The DNA samples must be secured. Are they locked?" She nodded. "Get another lock. Make sure to retain information security. No one knows that the alien shares human DNA with us." She nodded again.

"What is your hypothesis, Doctor? Surely, you must have a theory on how this alien shares 99.999% of our DNA. Someone smart as you must have wondered how this was possible."

At that, she smiled, thrilled at finally being able to spill her theories at someone, even if that someone was the director. She had so many things to say, so many hypothesis...." I believe that the alien, that is, her masters, looked at our species media and our knowledge, and felt that creating a being that looked similar to us or one that would evoke feelings of awe and familiarity would be a good ambassador. Familiarity, hence the humanoid for. Awe, hence the beauty, the blue hair, and the pointed ears."

"Incorrect."

"Huh?"

"Several holes. First, why send out a message that she came in a transport that was damaged. Why send out a distress call at all? Why come in a damaged ship with scorch marks on it?"

"What?"

"You didn't see, did you? The ship was damaged. There were several scorch marks and damage on its flanks. Our little alien girl there, had people shooting at her. One that she fortunately survived."

"I... didn't see? I came later."

"Then I suggest that you look at everything we have on her. Because what we have here, is something that will rock the mind of the world. And be quiet about it."

"Somewhere above us, in the galaxy above, is a starfaring empire of genetically engineered human beings. And we all know what happens when an empire meets a smaller, weaker polity."

"So keep quiet about this, while I report this to my superiors."

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James Carpenter sighed to himself as he stalked down the hallways back from his meeting with his superiors. They were not pleased.

James Carpenter had been a diplomat, negotiator, mediator, and such roles for 20 years now. A veteran of the United States Diplomatic Corps, he was in charge of grabbing concessions from tyrannical dictators, bloodthirsty warlords, angry Chinese and Russians, and despots. But now, he felt, he was out of his depth.

The plan had been, when they realized the girl needed something, was to give her those supplies in the understanding that she would trade something for it. Gifts of technology or knowledge. A good word for them in her government. Some concessions later on from her government to give to the US later on in exchange for such help freely given.

He certainly didn't expect her to take out some goddamned jewellery out of her travelling bag, and then chuck it at him like it was worthless pebbles!

Now, he realized that he had been outmaneuvered. By a girl that didn't even know she had, and just realized something.

The aliens weren't idiots. He, and everyone else should have noticed that. But raised on a diet of idiot aliens coming to earth, and being beaten back by the American military, or of aliens coming to earth and somehow being bamboozled by the human race, they had, subconsciously, forgotten that there was a thinking being on the other end of the space.

The aliens were thinking beings, like them, and that was a problem. The aliens could not be defeated by cheap tactics. They would not be defeated by some easily found substance on Earth. The aliens were coming, in fleets that could go faster than light, with antimatter weapons and orbital bombardment, and they cannot be turned away, neither by native weapons nor native intelligence.

What exactly did they know of this 'Abh empire of Humankind.' Nothing. And that was a problem. They could be communist, but the knowledge of pawn shops put that to question. They could have a monarch, as was common for empires. What were their policies on planets populated by primitives. Why was 'Lafiel' so human-looking? What was her social status and situation? What was the Empire's geopolitical status, if any? Were they belligerent, or relatively neutral?

And worse of all, was there anybody they could appeal to, if the Empire turned out to be hostile? He thought not.

The thing worse than the near-total lack of information, was the solid idea, or at least the reasonable deduction, that Earth was not the dominant party here. The United States, for the first time in living memory, might soon find itself placed in the same category as Iraq, North Korea, and Qin China. Helpless before foreign invaders, and forced to bow to their every command.

He rushed onwards. He had to buy some things.
 
"So, there's this old 'TV show' called 'Star Trek,' where people explore the galaxy?" Lafiel's eyes crinkled at the thought. "And 'warp drive?' Faster-than-light travel in deep space? But wouldn't that run into the problem of collisions?"

"It's a- well it's science fiction, it's not meant to be realistic," The officer, who had introduced himself as Captain Dubois, seemed to be uncomfortable as he tried to explain the plot to her. It seemed that he was frazzled at the idea of talking about shows of humans meeting aliens, to an actual alien, so to speak. But to his credit, he pressed on. "If I recall, they had what they called deflector shields, that made sure that the ships didn't, umm… you know what, this is kinda stupid." He shook his head and looked down at her. What I'm trying to ask here is, well, how do you- rather, how do your people travel through space? Is it something like using wormholes, or something slower, like generation ships?"

Oh, so that's what he was wanting to know. Lafiel studied him for just a moment, and decided that he likely didn't have ulterior motives. And this probably wasn't planned for since they had probably expected her to stay in the room. She searched through what she was allowed to tell him. No specifics, nor equations.... but the general gist was allowed.

"We don't travel through normal space," she began with a smile. "There are holes in space that open up to a two-dimensional universe. The relative distance travelled is smaller due to a fewer number of dimensions, and so someone can travel faster than if they were doing so in three-dimensional space." She could see heads turning now, the soldiers made curious by the conversation occurring between her and their commanding officer. She didn't care that she had an audience, not after two days of near total isolation. And any information she could learn from them could be useful.

"Hmm, so less Star Trek and more Stargate then?" he asked.

"'Stargate?' What's that?"

"Oh, right, television," DuBois remembered. "So, something like a network of portals then?

She nodded. "Yes, that's fairly descriptive, actually.. You enter a hole in space, navigate to another hole of your choice, and then exit through it at another point in space. ." Lafiel felt that her explanation was satisfactory, and she suspected that the Captain before her was able to at least grasp concepts that simple. Hopefully, she wasn't being condescending.

"So, this 2D space, it's more akin to an ocean in some respects?" He ventured. "At least in terms of navigation?"

"That… is a fairly accurate analogy, yes. So long as you stay on the surface of the water, that is." The surface of an ocean was as accurate a description of any, she supposed, and would have to do for at least the time being. And the explanation and discussion did seem to satisfy him.

Which left her becoming aware of her current situation. Alone in a hallway, surrounded by the soldiers. And everyone, herself included, unsure of what else to do. The silence stretched on, becoming awkward. Lafiel wracked her brains. She never had this problem with Jinto! She thought long and hard. Just what did Landers talk about?

The situation was saved when another soldier stepped in. "So.... what sports are there?"

Ah, she was saved. And she did know several sports. She began by telling them of the aerial jousting of the Academy that she had frequently participated in. Followed by the zero-gravity races across space stations. She told them about the racers bouncing from one marked section of hallway to the next, all to the sound of cheering fans, trying to reach the finish point in a display of spatial awareness and gymnastics. And the binding ceremonies between crewmen, where they competed in friendly competition to build camaraderie.

And as idle conversation went, the talk gradually shifted away from sports to that of war and conflict. Then they told her of the World Wars, great conflicts that had plagued their world only decades prior. They hadn't told her much about it, Byond thee being two of them, and that nuclear weapons were used to force the end of the latter of them. Captain DuBois had had an ancestor that had fought somewhere called 'Omaha Beach.' And there had been talk of more recent events. She had asked them about their own attempts at space exploration, and was intrigued that the Landers had managed to put people on their moon with relatively crude chemical rockets. A feat that actually mildly impressed her, almost as much as not using atomic weapons in war since.

And then the conversation shifted to the present. To her, and her being there on Earth, and to why Captain DuBois and his men had been assigned to protect her. It seemed that no matter her intentions or circumstances, she had caused tensions amongst the factions on this world.

No matter what, the worlds of the Landers would always be their own.

The conversation went on and on. Then it turned from the culture clashes that caused tensions between ethnic groups, to what caused them, to culture.

"So.... I've heard from a friend of mine, that some people people on planets carry out some ritual called marriage. It's supposedly between a man and a woman. What, exactly, is this?"

Captain Dubois looked surprised at this statement, his eyes widening. "Well, in here, its when two people fall in love. And they decide to spend the rest of their lives together and raise a family. And not just man and women. Marriage between those of same gender are possible as well. You don't have that, from where you came from?"

"No, we don't." Rest of their lives? How boring. The love would fade away, and then they would be unhappy with each other. "We simply find partners we like, and then if we like them enough, we make children with them, and then we go our separate ways when the passion fades. One parent keeps the resulting child, and its considered part of his or her family."

Captain Dubois thought of that for a moment, his eyes squinting. "Seeing how half of our marriages seem to end in messy divorces and custody battles, I can't really say that doesn't have merit. Still, though, how do you deal with pairings of the same gender? Do you adopt, or use surrogate mothers?"

Surrogate mothers? As in using a human being to deliver a baby? How.... barbaric. And primitive. Lafiel tried to make sure that her disgust did not show on her face. 'Calm down, Lafiel. Its not their fault their technology has not advanced that much yet.' They must not have iron wombs here. "No, we do not. Instead, we use artificial wombs." She then told him of how the Abh would take the genomes of the partner, or several people, or the donor himself, collate it, edit it to remove mutations and add in desired characteristics, and then place it within an iron womb to mature into a fetus.

She noticed how his expression flickered when she mentioned "genetic engineering" and "add in desired traits". Perhaps an anti-gene alteration cultural trait? Had she misstepped? Perhaps they were more like United Mankind than she thought?

"Well.... if you're talking about genetically engineering people, then I suggest that you don't really mention it. Some people get really upset over it."

Ah, a thing to take note of.

"Say, Captain Dubois? Mind if I simply go for a walk? You can escort me if you want." Lafiel didn't want to bother them too much. Nevertheless, she was getting way too bored. Maybe being able to move her legs for some time would be able to chase off this sense of ennui she had for the past few days.

The captain, to his credit, took this all in stride. Motioning to two of soldiers next to him, they took off with her as Lafiel began to wander the corridors of Area 51, the sound of her shoes echoing across the walls as it finally housed an alien, according to myth and legend

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Zhang Wei groaned as he stood back. Typical americans. No proper chinese food. All greasy and oily. Unhealthy as always.

Zhang Wei was an official from China, from its foreign policy. Born in the countryside, he had come to the city to learn, take part in the exams, and hopefully start on a prosperous and successful career. Sadly, not having many connections, he had not had an easy way to rise up. He stood in the same position, year after year, as subordinates and colleageus with less talent and skill than he had skyrocketed up, virtue of their parents or family friends.

Frustrated, he had taken to drink... and shown up to work drunk, telling his supervisors what he thought of them.

He was told he was lucky to be shunted into foreign policy.

China's diplomatic corps, was not known to be the best, to put it kindly. Long since used as a dumping ground for the unlucky, the untalented, and the unfortunate, it was shown as his country's boorishness was shown on the international stage. China was no longer a 3rd world nation, a plaything of the greater powers. But it's influence on other nations was abysmal, it's soft power near non existent.

Zhang Wei had resigned himself to a life of obscurity and failure. Until the aliens came. Then it had changed. Diplomacy and foreign policy was no longer a place of no import. They needed someone to go.

But no one wanted to risk it. And in such short notice, they couldn't find anyone competent. The ball fell to Zhang Wei.

Now he was in a American military base, ordered to meet with the alien, while surrounded by American soldiers. With no leverage amongst the American government. An impossible mission. Sigh.

He'll probably be lambasted for his 'failure' after this.

Sighing, he stood up and walked out from his room. It was spacious, with suitable amenities, but he had not had the opportunity to talk to anyone important. No connections, no leverage... he was just a placeholder until the government could scrounge up someone actually good at his job.

He sighed again as he walked. His head hung low, he struggled to put one foot after another as he walked the corridors.

Up until he went past a corner and then was knocked to the ground. He looked up, ready to curse the person that hit him, then he noticed the soldiers. Then he noticed that she had blue hair.


Blue hair.


The alien was here. Dazed, he took up the hand that was offered to him, half-remembering the diplomatic protocols he had learnt during his training. What was it again? It had been 8 years since he last went. He didn't even go through the primer, what with him thinking that he had no chance. He was profoundly regretting that now.


"I'm sorry, are you alright?" The alien was holding out a hand to him. Taking it, he pulled himself up. Gods, she was stronger than she looked. She was at chest height. A child. Suddenly, he was nostalgic of his daughter. They… looked the same age.


"I… apologise. For not looking the way. I was distracted." He spoken in accented English. He cursed himself. Now was not the time to play the fool!


The girl simply laughed, and pressed several buttons on some kind of panel on her wrist. At this, there was a crackle. And the same words came out, but now in his own native mandarin! It seems that she has a universal translator. Needed for any interstellar travel. Zhang Wei had loved those stories. And it seemed that it had come to life before him.

"May I ask, what are you doing now? Going to somewhere?" He had to be polite. And have an opportunity to talk to her. This could be his big chance to go up in the ranks! He waited for her answer, watching her expression.

She turned to her bodyguards, two soldiers wearing the uniform of the US army. "Is he allowed to come with us? We're not going anywhere in particular. Or is his movement forbidden?"


The two soldiers looked at each other, obviously not used to this. They must have standing orders. But he couldn't let that stop him. "I'm fairly sure that, no matter what, as gracious hosts, the United States of America would allow you to meet whomever you wish. We can have talks about differing cultures as we take a walk. My government, for one, wishes to avoid offending the abh empire, and for there to have good relations."


The girl smiled. It was not a nice smile. "Of course, Mr...." "Zhang Wei. My family name is Zhang."


"By all means. Let us talk."
 
"Say, Captain Dubois? Would you mind if I simply went for a walk? You can escort me if you want." While Lafiel didn't want to bother them too much, She was nevertheless growing far too bored. Maybe being able to move her legs for some time would be able to chase off this sense of ennui she had for the past few days.

The Captain to his credit took her request in stride. "Certainly. Although I should advise you to stay within the confines of the facility. A quarantine is in effect, as I'm sure you understand." The Captain motioned to two of his men. "I'm sure Sergeants Collins and Fairchild will be satisfactory in helping to show you around?"

Lafiel nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Captain." With that said, they parted ways, and the two soldiers fell into step beside her as she set off. "Sergeant Collins?" she asked one of the two men.

"Ma'am?"

"Can you, how can I say it, 'lead the way?'"

"Certainly. Only been here a couple of days myself but I think I know the general layout of the place." Lafiel let herself follow the soldier through the corridors of Area 51, and for the first time in its history, footsteps of an alien echoed through its halls.

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Zhang Wei groaned as he stood back. Typical Americans. No proper Chinese food. All greasy and oily and unhealthy as always.

Zhang Wei was an government official from China, and only one of two allowed onto the secret American base if he counted one of the functionaries in the U.N. delegation. He'd been born in the countryside to a pair of farmers, and like many in his position he had come to the city to learn, take part in the exams, and hopefully start on a prosperous and successful career. Sadly, by not having the guanxi, the political connections of many of his peers, he had not had the easy path up through the ranks of the Party as he had once dreamt of. He was forced to watch, year after year as subordinates and colleagues alike with less talent and skill than himself were promoted over him, by virtue of their parents or family friends.

Frustrated, he had taken to drink... and one unfortunate day he had shown up to work drunk, before telling his idiot boss exactly what he thought of him. After the fallout of that incident, he was told by a friend he was lucky to be shunted into foreign policy, and not one of the re-education camps. That would have been a grave insult to his ancestors, he imagined.

An 'emergency diplomatic corps,' as it had been described to him. While each country had a set of diplomats assigned to it, sometimes new countries or factions arose, and a different diplomat had to be assigned there so as to avoid poaching manpower and talent from the more established departments. On paper it was a good idea, But in reality it was used as a dumping ground for the unlucky, the untalented and the unfortunate such as himself. Zhang could attest to the fact that most of his 'colleagues' were only that in name alone as most of them were lazy, drunkards worse than he was, or showed up to work late, if at all. But now, with the appearance of the so-called Abh Empire... this was no longer the case.

Zhang Wei had resigned himself to a life of obscurity and failure. That was, until the Alien had come. Then things had changed, diplomacy and foreign policy was no longer a place of no import. They needed someone to go, and this was the situation his department was made for. And as fate would have it, he was the only one who had shown up to work that day, where his coworkers were all either hungover or habitually tardy. The ball had fallen into Zhang Wei's hands Maybe, as the old farmer from the Taoist saying would have said.

Now, just a couple of days later, the flip-side of that old farmer's story was becoming apparent. he was in a American military base under orders to meet with the alien, while surrounded by American soldiers and government personnel and with no leverage amongst the American government. An impossible mission. He'll probably be lambasted for his 'failure' after this, he grimly thought.

Sighing, he stood up and walked out from his room. It was spacious, with suitable amenities, but he had not had the opportunity to talk to anyone important. No connections, no leverage... he was just a placeholder until the government could scrounge up someone actually good at his job. His head hung low, he struggled to put one foot after another as he walked the corridors, as he tried to figure out how to play the hand that had been dealt him. It was getting towards lunchtime, s maybe he could return to the dining facility and see if they had something on offer that wasn't the usual Western fare.

He was still lost in thought when he rounded a corner, trying to navigate the seemingly labyrinthian hallways and all but ran into the very person he had come to meet, as well as her escorts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The lights were too bright, the suit was uncomfortable, and the smile of the interviewer looked forced. All in all, an atypical day for him.

Jason Smith adjusted his tie one last time as the interview began. Never in his life had he thought it would be like this. For a long, long time he had always wanted to contribute something to the field of astronomy Either by helping to discover a new and unusual exoplanet or even some new celestial phenomena. Or hell, even a few mentions in a peer-reviewed science journal. He'd been stuck at a radio observatory for most of his career, and until now he sadly hadn't seen a way past it.

But this… this was something he never expected to have happen to him, going down in history as the man who discovered alien life. There was a click as the tripod-mounted camera began to record and the interview began in earnest with a smile from the interviewer.

"So, Mr. Smith, how do you feel about being the first to find out about the alien spaceship?"

"Well, I'm rather shocked. I never expected this to happen." Smith tried to keep his voice calm, his mind ordered and organised. It wasn't working very well. He just hoped he was insignificant enough to be forgotten after all this.

"There are people, such as Reverend Pastor Cole Phelps of the Church of our Holiness, that says that the alien is a sign from the devil. What is your opinion on this?"

"I-" he began before halting mid-sentence. This was going to be one of those interviews, he grimly realized. He'll have to choose his words carefully. "Matters of the faith aren't my purview. Space is."

The questions went on and on, and fortunately for Jason there were few curveballs like the first question had been. Some were important, such as how he could tell it was a spaceship. Some were inane, such as whether the alien was pretty or not. And by the end of it Jason felt like he had been drained, body and soul. At the conclusion of the interview he felt relieved, and shook hands with the reporter before leaving, and promptly spent the rest of that afternoon and evening worried he'd made a mistake.

The next day wasn't much better. For all intents and purposes he was famous now, immortalized in the 'Annals of History', as the old saying went. His coworkers called. His friends called. Girlfriends he had never heard of called, telling him of children he didn't know he had. Which was a difficult feat for him, what with in insistence on condoms.

As the morning progressed, and Jason contemplated finding a hole somewhere to curl up and die in, his boss popped into his cramped office. Fortunately for him she was jovial, giving him her customary hello by clapping him hard on the shoulder. "Good news Jason, it seems that the higher-ups like the fact that one of our own is famous. They're using this to try to leverage for more funding."

He turned to her, aghast, almost as if she had committed blasphemy. "There's.... an alien ship in orbit. An alien that just came out and talked to us. And we're talking about funding?"

"Yep." The reply was nonchalant, relaxed.

"Why?"

"Because the world is still spinning, Jason. Just because the alien has come, doesn't mean everything's changed." She patted his shoulder. "I heard that you got several offers from several more stations. Good luck with that." She looked at his expression. "Don't be so down. With the confirmation of alien life, someone in Congress is agitating to put some military funding and direct it to NASA. We'll be able to fly again, soon. Maybe even get the SLS program the funding it needs. Come to think of it, aren't you still trying to apply for astronaut training?"

"Yeah," he answered. "The competition for it is insane though."

"Or who knows, maybe you can hitch a ride from the alien?"

Yeah, that was an idea too.

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The town was called Rachel, in the state of Nevada. With a listed population of fifty-four, its primary industry was cattle ranching with small-scale farming on the side. The town's sole claim to fame was the fact that twenty miles to the south, on the far side of a rocky desert ridge lay the most famous place in alien and UFO lore: Groom Lake, or as it was better known as, Area 51. As a result of this modest fame, the tiny town had become a sort of tourist trap, as evidenced by the alien-themed restaurant in the center of town and the stable income the single store and motel provided. It was as close as anyone could get to the facility, and if one were willing to hike into the desert and up a short ridge, they could even glimpse the sprawling base, glittering far off in the distance. A modest tourist destination, and about as sleepy and quiet as such a place could ever hope to become.

And then the quiet ended when the Alien arrived. And promptly landed in the not-so-secret base over the ridge to the south, a princess, from a faraway star..

In the first day several dozen visitors had arrived in small groups, parking in the motel and rooming double. By the next week several hundred more cars had arrived, completely filling the town to capacity and beyond. The restaurant, the shop and the motel were simply overloaded, the typically slow businesses not used to such a number of customers. Smelling profit, others came. Not for the alien, but for the people. Merchants selling food and drink, hawkers selling trinkets and memorabilia and t-shirts.

The residents of the town had realized the worst was yet to come and had acted quickly, renting the services of several catering companies. Alongside the steady stream of tourists came the porta-potty services, catering companies bringing food and refreshments, rented shelters-on-wheels. It was doubtful that any of those that came would ever catch sight of the alien, the only thing they could see after a hike up the southern ridge was her ship where it was parked on the far-distant tarmac, brightly reflecting the Nevada sun.

As the congregation of people grew, so did the talks regarding the alien, both her nature and purpose. Some thought that she was from an enlightened culture, here to spread their wisdom and philosophy and to bring peace, harmony with nature and love between all people. There were those who protested her, holding up signs decrying the presence of the Alien on American soil. They held up banners, Lafiel's face pasted on and crossed out. Many openly carried pistols and rifles, strapped to their backs or holstered. Others still spoke of of alien invasion, of government subversion and of presidents and governments being in league with the Alien. That she was the vanguard and that this was all a prelude to the End Times. There was no violence… yet. But a theme repeated by the most extreme amongst the gathering was 'protecting humanity' from the alien.

Others were UFO enthusiasts, self-alleged abduction victims, those who had received visions or just plain anyone with an interest in aliens. They shared stories, took different sides from different camps and generally talked to anyone who was interested. They kept watch on the alien ship, but early on the National Guard came across the ridge and established a perimeter at the high ground above the town. They anxiously waiting for more news, wondering the alien named Lafiel would deny or confirm their past experiences and worldviews.

By this point in time, the camp had grown massively in size. The air was filled with the chatter of noise and machinery, as talked and turned on their radios and televisions. Like spires, up rose antennas and satellite dishes for radio and TV and the Internet. The place quickly began to reek of sweat, vehicle exhaust, and the desert sand.

People from countless different walks of life had all converged upon an oasis in the desert, hoping to be as close as humanly possible to one of the greatest events in the history of their planet. Looking out from the side of the limousine, Alexis Bolmard sighed as the vehicle passed through the National Guard checkpoint as they followed the long, winding single-lane road south and west towards Groom Lake. Some of the people she had seen in the camp saw her and waved, some booed or waved their signs. None got in his way. She was a cultural liaison, a scholar of the cultures of far away people and making sure they do not come to friction, as well as avoiding culture shock. High Command had called her here, in hopes of preventing any... unfortunate incidents.
 
She sat within the vehicle, its low rumbling annoying her. She looked upon the throng of Landers gathered alongside the streets, through bullet proof glass. Or at least, what these people claimed to be bullet proof glass. She did not feel like betting her life on their knowledge of material science. She suppressed a twinge of annoyance. But she couldn't help it! Who on earth uses hydrocarbons for fuel? And not only for fuel, but to also move a vehicle by using explosions of all things? Ridiculous. One can truly find nearly anything in the universe, no matter how ridiculous. A pity that they did not have any anti-gravity.

She looked again. At this distance, the crowd's expressions were hard to make out, and their words, hard to see. But her contact lenses were working, and connected to the translator. Looking at them, she saw..... slogans of welcome to her planet? Screams for her to go back to the hell she crawled out of? Slogans cursing her to be a bringer of the end of days?

A mixture of feelings welled up within her. Defiance, to those telling her to leave. Contempt, for those who had such primitive superstitions. She turned from the window, turning to the intercom before her, connecting her to the driver's cabin.

"Is it always like this? How many are there?" Her voice resounded, slightly tinny due to the translator. The driver's voice came back nearly immediately, voice tinged with mirth, as if she had asked something funny. "Almost several thousand. You've caused quite a stir, young lady. Sorry for the crazies. They always spout off the darnedest things. Like how you're here as a herald to take over the world, or that you're a member of a genocidal empire."

A thought went through Lafiel's mind. A remembrance of the defiance of another world. Memories of Abh ships firing down and wiping out recalcitrant and disobedient worlds flickered through, along with the memories of a boy whose world was forced into the empire.

Thoughts swam through her mind, thinking of a dozen tactics by which the Abh empire had managed to take over entire worlds without a single shot being fired. Bribes and genetic upgrades to the elites. Money and rare metals and luxuries imported from other worlds. Some had simply thrown their lot in, and had conquered the other world in exchange for greater standing. Others, had simply been talked to, negotiated with, and over the generations, simply shrugged shoulders, and joined the empire.

She sighed, and leaned back into her seat, thinking back to every single negotiation tactic and history lesson she had learnt. This was going to be difficult. She had no staff. No vast array of researchers and cultural anthropologists that she could talk to. No fleets in orbit to showcase her technology and frankly speaking, no case of intimidation to show just what the Empire can bring to bear.

The ones she were about to speak to… she had spoken to the soldiers, and observed them. Their energy storage technology were vastly inferior to her own, even ignoring how they were unable to create antimatter or build their own fusion reactors. Their own medical technology was similarly primitive, being unable to create medical nanites, recreate lost limbs, organs, or reliably genetically engineer away hereditary diseases. Constant complaints and warnings about 'climate change', 'global warming' as well as many resource wars. Constant civilian unrest, many, many religious and ethnic schisms. She had seen things like this before. The world of Saburan 5. The moons of Tali. The ring-worlds of Batarn.

She had plans.

A knock on the door interrupted her musings. A man with gloves and a dark suit stood in front of the door and opened it for her. As it opened, she swung her legs, and walked down the red carpet.

It was time to talk to a world.

~

The room was nearly silent, except for hushed whispers, as they waited. Everyone had a representative there, with translators for their respective languages. Everyone was there. Even Somalia and North Korea. Some had felt that no one should be left out of this momentous event in human history, not even the traditional pariahs in the international community.

The girl walked in. At first glance, one could call her beautiful. And then, one could say she was ethereal. Her hair, a beautiful shade of blue matching her eyes. Human perfection etched upon her features. A confident and serene expression. A swift gait, neither hurried nor slow. Body wrapped in a skintight suit of polymer, similar to the jumpsuits often shown in shows like star trek or similar shows.

You could hear a pin drop in the silence as she entered. Only the sound of her boots echoing on the linoleum floor resounded across the empty. This was history, each thought. She was going to make a message. The world is going to change. Each had their own idea on what was goign to happen. Enlightenment? Threats? Revealing of wonders? Pleas for help? A thank you for the help so far?

She got to the podium and tapped on the mike. No feedback nor static occurred. The technicains had worked full time on this. The message shall be swift and clear.

The girl looked upon her audience, and spoke a single word, testing out how the intercom system worked. It seemed to satisfy her.

She opened her eyes wide, and spoke the worlds that would change the world.

---------------------------------------

Lafiel looked upon the assembly before her. Thousands of representatives. Primitive translators helping alter her words that were altered from Abh to English then to whatever was their native language. Beside them, the heraldry of their respective nations. She knew what to say. She had decided it. She had few resources, so she must make it succinct and short. She had few examples of her technology. So she must use what she had, their imaginations, and logical extrapolations to let it do the work that she couldn't. She planned the words out, selecting them like the bullets in a magazine, and fired them at her audience.

"Greetings, fellow humans." She spoke, the words bringing them to a stir. For a microsecond, she wondered if there would be issues with translation. It was new, after all…. But she continued on.

She looked at the dawning comprehension on their faces, and took out a holographic projector she had prepared, showing a diagram of the galaxy. Showing the holdings of the Abh empire, with blank spaces where the other space nations were. A small little planet on one of the spiral arms.

"My name.... is Ablïarsec Néïc Dubleuscr Bœrh Parhynr Lamhirh, Viscountess Abriel Paryunu, Princess Lafiel, Trainee Flyer of the Space Force. Thank you for your assistance in letting me land my ship. I owe you a debt for that."

There was silence at this.

"The Humankind Empire of the Abh, is one with a distinguished pedigree and culture. a polity that rules half the galaxy. Our fleets number in the hundreds of thousands. Our Lander population numbers in the quintillions. Our Abh number in the trillions. We have more star systems than you can count." She said, letting the words slowly sink into her audience. Yes, show them that they are outnumbered. That they are so very small in this universe. That there were worlds out for the taking.
"I have been not only surfing your international data network, but also talking to several of your own citizens. I'm sure that many of you already know of my ship. I know the various questions you have to ask." She raised a hand. "Yes, we have created faster than light travel. Yes, we have fusion. Yes, we indeed, have antimatter engines and ion thrusters. And yes, we have the energy storage to make space travel plausible. And yes, we have the technology to make the usage of oil and hydrocarbons obsolete." She looked upon several nations. Hydrocarbons. Hilarious. A highly finite resource, one pumped out of the grounds, in the charge of several dozen nations. Many nations depended on oil exports in order to survive, oil being the lifeblood of their economy. A stranglehold of oil, created by the so-called 'OPEC' in order to make sure that they grew rich. Classical monopoly of a precious natural resource.

And hilariously obsolete when she arrived. She already espied several representatives of nations which greatly depended on the imports of such substances. And representatives of nations whose greater export were such. Divide and conquer. An age old tactic.

"And I see that you have many issues. Starting with your genetics and many hereditary diseases. I see that you have many injured or suffering from cancers. We, too, have many cures for that." A veritable morass of images, ranging from images of regrown organs to diagrams of nanomachines. "Nanomachines that infallibly cure any known disease amongst the galaxy, working with far greater efficacy and speed than any other substance. Genetic engineering, both in the womb and for full grown humans, that can help curb disease and weakness." They had single-gene edits that they couldn't deal with. How unfortunate. Everyone needed healthcare. Everyone. Especially for diseases that struck through your own body. This meeting was being broadcast everywhere and being able to appeal to people's desire for their loved one's health would mean many governments would be pressured to work with the Abh empire. At least, for the medical supplies and techniques.

"Our empire is one that greatly focuses on space, admittedly to the point where we simply ignore things that occur on planets," she said, remembering a certain faction's enthusiasm of space travel. "We see that there are many issues present here. Ranging from mineral shortages, to other issues. We can help you bring your world to heights of prosperity and paradise once reserved only for your most affluent." She said, remembering that these people liked their agency. She heard a distinct murmur. She had read their files. Their technology was too primitive for the dreams they desired. But desired, they did. Nothing a few loans of money and equipment couldn't fix.

"In recognition of the future joyous interaction with the Empire., you may ask questions now."

The room exploded.

A/N: Apologies. If there was some discontinuity. I haven't written this for nearly a year.
 
The first to ask, was a man with a flag of red and white, with a 9 pointed blade. "May I ask, what is your purpose here? We know that you are here because of an accident? Yet, that you are here, introducing the technologies. Yet you are introducing these technologies of the empire. What is the purpose of the speech?"

"I am very glad that you asked that, Mr Canada." Said Lafiel, her smile widening. "Well, here is the thing. Since I have crashed down onto your planet, and you have so graciously helped me, I would like to give you the greatest gift of all. Entrance within the empire. Best of all, since you saved me, that gives you far greater upper hand when carrying out negotiations for entering."

"You say entrance within the empire. What would happen to us if we refuse?" said another. This was a man from... Ah, yes. China. One of the larger countries. "Well, if you refuse, we will simply postpone talks on joining our empire. Or since you are all on a divided planet, simply talk to others. After all, if some nations wish to join our empire and some nations do not, I see no reason why we shouldn't just talk to you separately."

"Are these technologies freely given, or are they something only with access to those within the Empire itself?"

Lafiel simply smiled. "Well, the Empire rarely trades outside its borders. I'm afraid that such technologies are for the nations that agree to join the empire itself, and those who can afford it. Though since you are all on the same planet, intra-planetary trade is allowed. Yes?" She said, gesturing to a woman who was with a flag with a red and white cross on a blue background.

"This is a divide and conquer strategy, isn't it?" she said, with a bite in her voice.

Lafiel nodded at that. "Yes. It is a divide and conquer strategy. Some nations will become prosperous from our support, and the ones who don't join will not gain it. The economic gap will further incentivise joining our empire. Also, the people in the nations that do not join us, will see one side has a higher standard of living, with access to technology and trade. Thus, they will be forced to join us. Or be rendered obsolete."

"Why are you telling us this? It seems like it will be something that an invader should keep secret." A man, from the continent of Africa, asking. Green and white stripes.

"Because," said Lafiel, clasping her hands together. "Because a part of the Abh is honesty. Deception in warfare is allowed, but our policy is honesty when making trade dealings and negotiations with worlds. Thus, we will tell you what our intentions and plans are. Besides, what can you do?" she asked, fluttering her eyes. "We are inevitable. And you are just one planet, alone in the darkness."

"What colour's your underwear?"

"I'm not wearing any."

"You say that you postpone it. What happens if we say no, continuously? For the rest of infinity? Irregardless of what happens?" said a man, dressed in a dark suit.

"Well, no one has been able to say no to the Empire for long. The longest taken is-" she checked the records. "-300 years. Eventually, they give up, they fail, or they attack us and we annex them. We win, eventually. Its just a matter of time."

"What are the demands of the empire?" asked a man.

"Quite simple. A space force recruitment office. No ownage of faster than light vehicles without us as pilots. And a territorial ruler."

"what kind of territorial ruler? What powers does he have?"

"Access to taxes when trading in and outside of your system. And as for what power he has? That occurs from a negotiation between you and him." she said. Then she clarified. "There's nothing that says that he has to be coming from us. You can select one of your own - whether by choice, vote, or lottery, and send him up. He will be your representative to the rest of the Empire."

There was a murmur at this. Probably the thought of being able to select their own representative made them rather happy, or at least, took the sting off being taken over.

A man with a flag of black, then red, then green, indicated that he wished to speak. "Dear Miss Lafiel. I suppose that you have done this before, seeing as you seem to already know an established protocol. My country has been taken over by nationals who were not of it, taking over them, under the guise that they were superior to us. What is your reasoning, that lets you infringe upon the sovereignty and territories of other people?"

There was silence at this.

Lafiel simply looked down. "Because sovereignty is predicated upon being able to use faster than light speed travel. You do not even have suitable space infrastructure. In the eyes of the Abh empire, the amount of sovereignty you have, is none."

There were more questions after that. But most of it, the small details. What goods were there. What were the mores and thoughts of the empire. What did the gene mods entail. How light of a hand did the empire do?

And then it was done.
 
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