First Contact

Harmony in the Extremes

<<I HAVE A SIGNAL>> THOMAS STARX REPORTED AS HE LUMBERED HIS NON-REGULATION FRAME OVER THE SLEEK NAVIGATION CONSOLE. <<Faint, but inviting.>>

<<What distance?>> Commander John Larkin replied, roused from his bucket-seat occupation of gazing literally into space. Though inquiring, his voice was covered with a considerable coat of cynicism.

Starx examined his equipment and said: <<Approximately 6.2 billion kilometers, Commander. The signal seems to have originated from the second planet of this system. Possibly a ground beacon.>>

<<This is not a habitated system>> the Commander dismissed. <<It's probably not even surveyed yet. Plot a course to the second planet, however; it might only be an ancient, strayed craft, but we have to examine every lead.>>

A rumble from the Alcubierre drive in the stomach of the Mnemosyne indicated a shift in speed and direction. After a babble of digital information from the console, Starx said: <<Analysis of the signal is complete. While it is not a conventional distress call, it is curious, nonetheless. It is composed of two blips, silence, six blips, silence, one blip, silence, eight blibs, silence. The figure 2618, in other words. The current year, under the old Terran calendar.>>

<<The Terran calendar is best!>> the Commander snapped abruptly. <<And the old calendar is the one we will continue to use on this mission. I'll have no more references to Galactic Time, is that clear? There is nothing wrong with the ways of humanity.>>

<<Yes sir; sorry sir>> Starx said, and hid his embarrassment behind guiding the Mnemosyne towards the brightening orb growing in the viewscreen sky.

<<Do you think it's the New Atlantis?>> co-pilot Hang Quach asked at length.

<<It's possible>> the Commander conceded. <<But I can't understand how it wandered this far off course.>>

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SOME SIX HOURS LATER the Mnemosyne swung into synchronous orbit around the obscure planet, which currently bore the ignoble name of TKU 3139B, Galactic Reckoning. The world was M-class, moonless and shrouded with thick white banks of cloud punctuated here and there by stretches of ocean and land.

Hang proceeded to rattle off a host of planetary details as Starx attempted to pinpoint the ground beacon. Commander Larkin watched in silence.

Finally Hang announced: <<The data banks of the Mnemosyne confirm that the body TKU 3139B has been visited by several expeditions, starting with the Tren probe of 2551 (Terran Reckoning), in which a small automated beacon was erected (terminated functioning in 2575), and then by two manned Terran Space Authority (TSA) missions in 2563 and 2579, respectively. During the Terra-Soosagin War of 2587-99, the planet hosted an enemy base, although this facility was destroyed during the Soosagin retreat. The last recorded visit was in 2613, five years ago, by another TSA vessel. According to the Honrakki Convention of May last year, the entire planet is designated as a nature reserve. Its largely methane atmosphere makes it unsuitable for colonization, while mining is restricted due to its unique indigenous ecology.>>

<<Thanks for the history lesson!>> smirked co-pilot Dean Huntley, much to the amusement of medical officer Jenn Maquire, but not producing the same effect on Larkin. He was of the "war generation", as Huntley would like to say, reticent and stubborn, stranded along with Starx somewhere in his fifties. Huntley and Maguire, on the other hand, were postwar zoomers who often complimented themselves for their enthusiasm and zest for change. They had graduated as cadets from Space Patrol two years previously, and ended up in the new team of Squad 432 to complement (or inject new blood into) the veterans on the crew.