Jerome looked over the readings on the panel in front of him and asked, “Is there still no response to our broadcast of greeting?”

“None yet, Major,” the Sister replied.

Bob piped up, “Do you think the language evolved to the point it is unintelligible? I mean, the Jergoon language files Redeemer got were already old when they attacked 271 years ago. If you add in that the Jergoon signal was originally detected and deciphered about 300 light-years from their planet, we could be looking at nearly 600 years of linguistic drift.”

“It’s a distinct possibility,” Jerome replied, “But you would think they might at least attempt some kind of response. Besides, we have the Sister here and I am confident she can bridge the gap.”

Turning his attention to her, he asked, “How is your connection to the ship? Is the new matrix compartment keeping everything a bit more secure?”

The little image beamed happily, “Oh yes! It feels so much better to not have my core just exposed out in the main compartment. It was embarrassing having all my wires out all the time for everyone to see. Lieutenant Parson actually tripped over the connection once. I was mortified.”

“Oh man,” Bob said, “I never knew it was embarrassing for you all. Major, we should make a note of that for future assignments.”

Jerome nodded as he examined his readings, “Yeah, I agree. I’ll bring it up with the Admiral when we get back.”

There was a small indicator light that pulsed to life on the display in front of Bob and he reported, “I’m getting a lot of radiologic signatures, Major.”

Jackson looked over at the blinking red light and asked, “Anything we need to be worried about?”

The Krador shook his head, “No, Sir. Based on the topographical indicators and the levels of radiation these detonations are very old. We still would have been fine if we got here a hundred years ago.”

At the altitude they were cruising at, only very general features could be made out below them. Their course followed what looked to be a road. In a few minutes, the Sister brought up a magnified image of the area in front of them. What they saw was readily identifiable as agriculture.

Jerome leaned over and nudged Bob with an elbow, “What do you say, Bob, should we make some crop circles and take off with a few cows?”

Bob’s antennae waved with confusion and he turned his head to face Jerome, “What? That’s not a very good way to insure a positive first impression.”

“Oh, come on,” Jerome pressed, “They would be talking about it for years I bet.”

“Are you sure you are feeling okay, Major?” Bob replied in a serious tone.

“I agree,” the Sister interjected, “That would be highly inappropriate behavior, Sir.”

Jerome looked first to Bob, then to the little holographic Krador the Sister was projecting.

“You’re kidding, right guys?” he asked, not quite able to believe their response.

“No, Sir, I’m not,” Bob said, looking concerned, “Are you sure you’re feeling well and able to continue the mission?”

“It’s a joke you two. Haven’t you ever heard of crop circles and abductions on Earth?”

Both of them looked surprised, and the Sister said, “Really? Someone has been kidnapping Humans? Why has nobody told us about this before now? When my Sisters find out about this I am sure we will telecast a contingent of our best warriors back over the QE-COM to aid you. We have projected it will take multiple channels a while for just one of us, but it’s doable. We would need to forward the schematics of our crystal matrix technology back so we had a place to go to over the connection first though. We need to get back to Earth and protect the people there!”

The Sister’s little holographic image was nearly vibrating with anger as she seethed, “Just wait until we find out who it is. My sisters and I will make them rue the day they dared harm a Creator.”

“Wait,” Bob added, “How come I never heard about this when I was at the Academy? Do you know what species it is that’s stealing your people? Are there any theories on how they are getting past the planetary defense nets? If the queens found out, I am sure they would start breeding bodyguards for you.”

Jerome was stunned for a moment and said, “What? No, it’s a conspiracy theory. I mean, there is an insanely small chance it has happened, but most of the people that believe stuff like that are on the very fringes of the intellectual landscape. It’s amusing because I was making fun of the idea that it happened and-”

Jerome caught himself short. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly then turned to stare intently at the little Krador hologram standing on the console.

“Sister, what’s all this about telecasting yourselves back to Earth?”

The little image waved her antennae from side to side innocently and brought all four of her hands together as if working on a miniscule puzzle and replied, “Tele-what-now?”

Jerome leaned his head down a little toward the image and said, “I’m impressed at your ever-increasing mastery of Krador body language, but you let the cat out of the bag. Playing dumb isn’t really on the table anymore.”

Her antennae flattened back on her head and she looked up at him. Seeing no quarter on his part, she turned to look to Bob, hoping for some sort of way out of the pickle she was in.

Bob leaned back and looked out the window, “Oh no, don’t come looking to me to bail you out, Sister. You stepped in this one all on your own. Besides, I kind of want to hear about it.”

She looked up at Jerome again and her tiny shoulders slumped somewhat as she replied, “I wasn’t supposed to tell, but I’m really bad at keeping secrets.”

“Have you been discussing it in your whispers?” Bob asked.

“Yeah,” she replied.

Jerome looked to the navigator, “Whispers, what are those?”

Bob replied with a dismissing wave of an arm, “Oh, it’s what they call the low power communications they take part in when they get into range of one another.”

Jerome seemed to think on that for a moment then said, “Whispers huh? Makes sense as a name. I suppose low energy radio waves for them would be pretty similar to us whispering.”

Turning his attention back to the Sister, he said, “Truth be told, we have considered the possibility of exactly that option if we ever needed it. We didn’t think it was safe enough though. We wouldn’t want to take the chance that the data stream may be corrupted or cut off or something. It’s well known how effective your kind can be at invading other computer systems with only a small amount of access. It is a different thing entirely to send your primary code through a pinhole sized data stream across the intergalactic void.”

“We would be willing to take the risk without hesitation if it meant we could keep you safe, Major,” she replied.

“I don’t doubt it Sister. I don’t doubt it at all.”

There were a few moments of silence before Bob reported, “Sir, it looks like those agricultural areas have access roads that lead into a centralized zone. I think those buildings there may be warehouses or distribution centers or something.”

He put the image up on the screen and the three of them looked it over.

“It’s as good a spot as any, I suppose,” the Major noted, “Put us down next to that big structure on the left there.”

“You got it, Sir,” Bob replied.

The ship made a slow decent and gently set down in a gravel covered area. The bay door on the back of the ship opened up and Jerome and Bob came out. Jerome was walking slowly in the lead, and Bob was on his Krador wheelchair in the rear. As they cautiously exited their craft in their armor, they surveyed the surroundings.

There was no sign of life, or any real motion besides the local flora swaying in a gentle breeze. The buildings around them showed signs of recent use, and had clearly been well maintained. On the side of the building was a stylized image of a Jergoon with a mushroom cloud over it and some illegible alien scrawl. A low hum was being emitted from what looked like some sort of truck across the lot.

Scattered haphazardly around them on the ground were small, roughly half-meter spheres. They were varying shades of brown, and had shells that looked roughly like walnuts in their texture. Down the middle they had a noticeable seam in them, bifurcating the whole almost evenly.

Jerome walked over slowly and picked one of them up to examine it more closely.

“Do you think these are what they are harvesting out there in the fields?” he asked into his com.

Bob wheeled up next to him and asked, “Why would they leave them all around like this? It seems rather sloppy given how well the rest of the area is organized.”

“Yeah, I ag-“

Jerome was cut off by the object in his hands opening violently. It surprised him completely, and he lost his grip on it. As it dropped to the ground, the two of them were shocked to see it open at the seam. On one side four thin legs unfolded and on the other a head and two arms popped out. It was a small, hunched over looking thing. When it oriented itself, it stood about half a meter tall and looked like a clam, walnut, and insect all mixed into one.

It started to run away and Jerome called out, “Wait, please. We are friends. We mean you no harm.”

The creature gave no indication of having heard him and darted away into a nearby building.

Bob and Jerome looked at one another and the Sister asked over the com, “Do you think that was one of the Godenians? If so, I’m glad we didn’t land on any of them.”

“No sudden moves,” Jerome said, “They are all around us, and appear to be pretty afraid. I should have picked up on it sooner. All the entrances to the buildings, and that vehicle over there are all scaled to be accessed or operated by something much smaller than we are. I should have seen it sooner.”

He slowly sat down on the ground and said, “See, that’s what I get for getting used to all the sentient species we encounter being much bigger than I am. There are those dangerous assumptions I was talking about earlier.”

“Why are you sitting down?” Bob asked.

He looked back over his shoulder slowly and responded, “It’s just a hunch, but I think it may make me seem less intimidating. I learned it years ago interacting with my sister’s kids. Sometimes a shy child can open right up if you physically get down on their level. Maybe it’s stupid in this instance, but I think it also conveys that we are not aggressive.”

Bob couldn’t exactly get lower on his wheelchair, but he took up a position behind the Major and quietly sat and waited.

They stayed that way for some time. Occasionally, Jerome would attempt to say something to the frightened Godenians, but none of them made any reply.

After some time with no response, Bob observed, “I bet they are the agricultural workers. I mean, that would make sense, right?”

“It would,” Jerome answered, “Poor folks just trying to go about their business then aliens land and mess up their entire routine. On top of that, I am concerned we may be dealing with a xenophobic species. Did you see the mural on the wall over there? They still maintain a presence of the Jergoon invasion over two and a half centuries later. For that to still be such a significant event in their social consciousness that they depict it in common spaces would indicate that it still retains great cultural importance. It also seems to confirm our suspicions that they relied on atomic weapons to deal with the Jergoon that landed before they initiated the Ablation Cascade. All that taken together could mean things may turn out a bit more difficult than I was hoping for.”

When about twenty minutes had passed, the Sister said, “Sir, I am detecting a number of air vehicles closing on our location from the West. They are coming fast, and should be here in a little under one minute.”

“Good” he replied, “just stay calm and don’t make any sudden moves when they get here.”

“Not that I disagree, but why do you say this is good?” Bob inquired.

“Because too much more of this and my butt would get sore. Also, it brings this contact situation to phase two.”

“Phase two?” Bob asked.

“Mutual recognition,” Jerome replied somewhat mechanically.

“What was phase one?” The Sister questioned over the coms.

“Initiation of contact. Okay, here they come. Remember, stay calm and don’t do anything that could be misconstrued as aggressive.”

As he spoke, from low on the horizon a group of roughly a dozen ships came speeding toward them. One of them was much larger than the others, and looked very different. While the smaller craft gave the impression of being fighters, the larger ship looked much more like a cargo carrier or troop ship of some kind.

The smaller craft began encircling them, hovering five meters off the ground. When they were all in position, loudspeakers started blaring out some form of alien speech. Immediately, the Godenians that had been curled up around them unfolded and began racing away in all directions.

Jerome just sat there, not moving at all. These creatures were clearly advanced, and while he couldn’t make out the specifics of their weapons technology, he trusted his words more than the advanced armor he wore.

“Sir, I am picking up radio signals between the ships. I don’t understand it yet, but I thought you ought to know. Also, it seems the smaller ships are targeting all of us.”

“Thank you for the information,” he replied.

Once the civilians were in the clear, the larger craft approached and landed across the gravel lot from them. While not overly impressive for its size alone, the ship still conveyed a sense of strength with its presence.

A bay door on the side facing them opened outward and dropped down forming a ramp. Out of it rolled scores of metallic spheres. When they reached the bottom of the ramp, they sprang open. They were simply some kind of thick armor. Jerome could only assume were Godenian soldiers.

With no preamble, the Godenian military quickly surrounded the two of them. Bob and Jerome remained still throughout this process so as not to cause them any alarm.

After the foot soldiers were in place, they heard a deep, thudding sound from inside the transport ship. They looked up, and were greeted with the arrival of a giant machine walking on four legs. It was a walking tank on the scale of a fully armed and armored Broda-lun.

“Ooooooh coooool! They have Mecha!” Bob said quietly over the com system.

“Yeah, and big guns pointed directly at us,” Jerome retorted.

“Oh, I’m not worried about that, Sir. You will make friends with them in no time, I am sure of it,” Bob replied.

“Major,” the Sister reported, “I have gained access to their communications network. It is a local network comprised of all the units present, connected to the larger ship acting as a central hub.”

“Good work, have you found anything that might help me make a good first impression?”

“No, not really. They seem to be pretty set on shooting you the moment they get the green light from their superiors. Should I start preparing the ship for a quick departure?”

“No, if they haven’t opened fire yet it’s for a reason. Let’s see what that is.”

“Affirmative, Sir. Oh, and I have gained access to some of the schematics of their weaponry. I am sending the details to your HUD now.”

“I’m seeing it. Hmm, that’s interesting. Pretty much all energy weapons huh? Good to know. Are these power output levels accurate?”

“Well, there is a chance I may have misinterpreted some of their language in the conversion to Human units, but I have a very high level of confidence those numbers are accurate.”

“How high are we talking here?”

“97.2% or greater, Sir.”

“Good enough.”

Bob broke into the conversation, “Ooh, look, someone is coming out of the ship without armor on. Maybe that’s their commanding officer or some sort of civilian leader?”

“I can update the translation software with the latest linguistic information that I got off their network, Sir, just give me a moment.”

“No, don’t,” Jerome said, “I don’t want to explain how we have such mastery over their language so quickly. Go ahead and make sure we can understand them, though.”

“Understood, Major.”

The new arrival approached them cautiously with an almost sideways walk. It seemed on the verge of turning all the way back and running any moment. While it was impossible to be sure, Jerome sensed it was probably quite scared to be this close to them.

It gestured an arm toward them and said, “I warn you, any hostile actions you make will result in your death. You are only alive because you have shown no aggressive behavior, and that made us curious.”

Jerome said, “We understand. We have no hostile intentions toward you or your people.”

The creature seemed to straighten up somewhat at that, and looked over them.

“You do not look like the records we have of the Jergoon, and there is more than one kind of creature before me. Are you agents of theirs?”

Jerome replied, “We are neither agents nor friends of the Jergoon. They are presently our enemies, and we have fought with them regularly.”

The Godenian seemed to think on that for a long moment before responding, “How did you learn of our planet?”

“We discovered a record of your world in a Jergoon information cache. It indicated they did not defeat you as they have so many others, and we came to investigate and introduce ourselves. My name is Jerome Jackson, and I hold the military rank of Major. I am a first contact specialist.”

The creature seemed to be concentrating on something when its head snapped up to look at him, “Military rank?”

The delay in reaction indicated to the Major that this creature must have been using some sort of translator. Clearly, the linguistic drift Bob was worried about was being an issue for them.

“You seem to be using a translator. With your permission, I could link our devices and aid in a more immediate and accurate communication, if your device is capable,” Jerome offered.

It eyed him for a moment and said, “I would be intrigued to see this. You may proceed.”

When it had spoken, it reached into a hollow area in its shell behind its main body and pulled out a small, roughly egg shaped object. It took a few hesitant steps forward and presented it to him.

“Sister, please tell me you can hack this thing and link us up,” Jerome whispered over the com.

“When it pulled it out, he activated the remote access settings. I did it already.”

“There now,” Jerome said to the envoy, “That’s better now, isn’t it?”

The little creature was taken aback and said, “That was fast. I am no expert, but I would venture to say it was impossibly fast.”

The creature made a gesture with one of its arms and all the soldiers pointed their weapons at Bob and Jerome.

“How long have you been spying on us? Tell me truthfully now under pain of death.”

Jerome considered his options for a moment, and then a data stream crossed his HUD from the Sister.

“We aren’t spies,” he said simply, “We only came here to meet you and to offer our friendship.”

The creature bristled with anger and said, “You are spies, and unless you tell me the truth I will order these soldiers to open fire.”

Jerome slowly stood up, towering over the small Godenian. He looked around slowly and deliberately. He and Bob were completely surrounded.

Finally turning and looking down at the representative, he said, “Go ahead.”