The iris gradually opened fully to reveal a bare, yet functional interior. As he stared into the capsule, it struck him that he was looking at alien technology. The cabin was five meters deep and three meters in diameter; each side had flat shelves that ran along the full length of the unit, which he took to be seats; seats that appeared to be made for bigger passengers—and he began to feel some apprehension through the giddiness he had felt only minutes ago.
He continued to stare blankly for a few moments as he floated in the airlock. He finally shook his head in an attempt to clear it, then, deciding he was being invited to go inside, pushed off gently and coasted head-first into the pod.
As soon as his feet had cleared the threshold, he felt the gentle tug of gravity, and slowly sank to the floor. After a few moments of disorientation, he propped himself up on his knees, then raised himself onto one of the benches. As the gravity gently increased to near one-gee, the iris silently slid closed, and the pod began to move...
* * *
Jeel felt he had influenced the correct being. Through his highly developed sensory organs he could be both minimally telepathic with is own kind, and somewhat empathic with alien beings—a desirable trait to have as the leader of this expedition.
This was the part of his job he enjoyed most. Interacting with and learning about alien species suited his persona. Jeel had had three first-contacts in his six missions, and although he had some difficulties, had successfully interacted with all.
He had hoped at one time to be a history scholar, but it became necessary to join the First Protectorate of the Star Service due to the ongoing conflict with the Zon. The Queen had personally recruited him, as his reputation and his family’s contributions to the Empire had drawn her favor.
And now, he had his most important mission—a mission which could determine the fate of the Empire.
He collected his thoughts as he prepared to leave the bridge to Zaa and go to meet his newest contact. The being he was about to greet was a conflicted and tormented creature; intriguing and frightening—a being from a very violent culture—so unlike his own species: a species that only fought out of necessity for its survival—a species which cherished peace.
As he rode in his transfer capsule, he let his mind absorb all of the conflicted emotions being radiated by the alien mind. He began to sense fear mixed in with all of the other emotions, and tried to put himself in the being’s position. Yes, he thought, it would certainly be upsetting to be in its place.
* * *
Tomás Rexhaut’s sense of euphoria was fading as he sat quietly in the moving capsule. He was able to make out some external features through the semi-opaque wall of the pod and umbilical—and was quite overwhelmed to see the size of the alien ship as he approached it through the undulating conduit. He shivered as he turned in the opposite direction and spotted Rapier against the velvety blackness of space. It looked like a gnat in the grip of a giant beast’s tongue, with no way to escape.
He began to feel completely helpless and lost. He wondered what value his life had—and why, out of all the humans who ever existed, was he being given the great burden of first contact with an extraterrestrial entity. What would he say?
He closed his eyes and waited...
* * *
Jeel finished his transit and waited patiently behind a large, scruffy tree on an inside edge of the great domed atrium. From there he could also look out on the stark panorama of the local space. All crew had been ordered to leave the area until further notice. The large open and empty space suddenly felt strange. He then caught sight of the transfer capsule that contained the creature he was about to meet; and as it neared, his anticipation rose.
After a short time, the pod arrived.
* * *
T-Rex was jarred to alertness when the capsule bumped gently to a stop. He felt his heart rate and respiration increase as he waited. Then, softly and slowly, the iris at the far end opened. He was struck with an infusion of new, fresh, and cool air. And he noticed the air wafting in had the faint scent of honey.
He stood and walked tentatively toward the opening. A sense of encouragement came over him as he prepared to poke his head out of the portal, so he followed the feeling and stepped out gingerly and stood in awe. The eerie blue and violet lighting seemed certainly alien, and gave the scene a definite otherworldly look. He was in the approximate center of a deserted and huge vaulted hall he estimated to be fifty meters in diameter and thirty meters tall at its highest point. The floor felt soft and yielding as he took a few steps and looked around. It was similar to some of the enclosed parks he had been to on many of the moons of the solar system—artificial environments built for workers to get some time away from the everyday stresses of labor.
Directly in front of him was one of many settees which were scattered about and among the beautiful flora of the hall. The plant life displayed many different colors and shades of colors which were more striking than any he had ever seen in his life, and he found himself holding his breath as the wonder of it all washed over him.
He exhaled slowly and strode to the nearest settee. He could hear his own breathing and his heart beating in the silence as he decided to sit on the bench. He felt awkward as he settled into a seat which was a bit too high for him, and only his toes touched the floor. He surveyed the area and wondered what was next.
It was not long before he had his answer.
At the perimeter of the great atrium, he caught sight of some movement. There was a tall, stick-like creature shuffling in and out of the furnishings and plants. It appeared to Rexhaut’s eye to resemble a giant praying mantis, and as it approached, alarm bells started going off in his head. He wiped beads of perspiration from his brow and brushed his sweaty palms on his trousers, all the time fighting the urge to bolt away. He reached for his gun and remembered he had left it in his ready-room locker. He knew he had no choice but to stay. After all, if this creature was powerful enough to hold Rapier and compel him to come to this place, what could he do about it?
As the alien neared, he could see it was wearing clothing of a sort, and it pulled a metallic device from under a flap in its abdominal covering and held it up in a fully articulating hand.
Suddenly, voices in all the languages of Earth were emitted in rotating order, and finally, after about two minutes, T-Rex understood English coming from the device. He did not react in time, and the instrument continued to send out its message, until at last, it came back to English. He raised a hand and nodded his head to indicate he understood.
The alien came very near and settled onto the bench opposite Rexhaut. It pressed a stud on the gadget and placed it on the table between them.
There was a clicking sound made by the alien’s large mandibles, and a voice came from the device. “I am Jeel. I welcome you to my ship.” He leaned forward in an animated attempt to bow.
Rexhaut felt his eyes get wide as he stared into the multi-faceted reddish eyes near the top of the heart-shaped head of the extraterrestrial. He hesitated for a few moments before replying: “Thank you. I am Tomás Rexhaut.” He shivered, and felt odd—as though he were experiencing an out-of-body event. He heard the translation device click and buzz his response to Jeel—and patiently remained quiet, waiting for Jeel to speak again—still wondering why he felt no fear.
This was to be Jeel’s fourth first contact. Three of the other missions he had headed did not require contact, since the cultures were too primitive. Here was what he really cherished about first contact. It was about the learning process—it was always about the learning process to him. And, hopefully, to find a new ally.
The moments passed as Jeel thought about his first question. But, before he asked it, he decided to stop influencing his subject’s thoughts and emotions.
Then Rexhaut suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline course through his body as his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. For the first time since leaving Rapier, he was truly scared. His body twitched, and he
thought about running for the transfer capsule; but the reality of his situation hit him like a punch in the stomach.
Jeel, sensing Rexhaut’s uneasiness, spoke: “No harm will come to you. Please do not fear.”
T-Rex heard the clicking, whistling and buzzing sounds coming from his captor’s jaws, followed immediately by the translation. He tried to steady his nerves—he was sweating profusely now—then croaked out: “Yes. Yes. Okay.”
The weight of responsibility crushed down on him, and he believed deeply that he was representing his entire species. He shuddered and hoped he would do a good job of it. He wiped his brow on his shirtsleeve and took a cleansing breath.
Jeel, sensing his guest’s uncertainty, waited.
And, finally, Jeel decided it was time to proceed. “Must ask, what is your status in your society?”
T-Rex was snapped from his rumination by the sudden sound of Jeel’s speech. He waited for the translation. “I am a middle-class citizen. And, I—I am commander of the spacecraft Rapier; a light attack cruiser.”
“Average citizen? In charge of fighting vehicle?”
“Yes.”
“You did anticipate conflict with us?”
Rexhaut hesitated. “Perhaps—uh—we didn’t know what to expect.”
A long, warbling whistle followed by a click came from Jeel’s purplish mandibles. A laughing sound came from the translator: “Cha! Cha! Did you think you would succeed in attacking us? Cha!”
Rexhaut was stunned and angry at the apparent arrogance Jeel was displaying. He felt his face flush in response, and took a deep breath. He looked up at the high ceiling and beyond—and suddenly felt very small as he spotted the distant Sun—just a pinpoint in the infinite, deep darkness. The pulsing violet and deep blue hues the dome was immersed in seemed to have a calming effect on him. He relaxed, and after a few moments, he settled himself down and realized resentment would get him nowhere.
Jeel, sensing he had upset his visitor, spoke in what he hoped would be apologetic tones: “Tomás Rexhaut, I meant not to insult. But surely you see my ship has superior power?”
His anger surfaced again. “Obviously!” he snapped, and smacked his trembling hand on the table. “And—damn it! Why are you holding me?” He scowled and looked directly at Jeel with tears of frustration in his eyes.
Jeel digested the outburst and calmly replied: “You may go. We never hold visitors against their will.” He paused for effect and pointed to the transfer capsule, which was just three meters away. He then leaned toward Rexhaut. “But you then will not have answers to questions.”
Rexhaut mulled that over for a while. After all, no harm had come to him—so far. And, he was, after all, being given the opportunity millions of people have only dreamed about!
The two sat facing each other silently for several minutes.
Jeel finally broke the quiet. “Tomás Rexhaut. We are,” he waved his long forelimbs flamboyantly, “the T’Jang. We know you have not had contact with outsiders before. This is hard for you.”
T-Rex chuckled. “You could say that.”
“But—I just did.”
Rexhaut nearly doubled over as he tried to restrain a belly-laugh.
Jeel was puzzled by the response. He hesitated. Never had he met a being like this. So—unpredictable. “Obviously, I have missed some intricacy of your language.”
Rexhaut’s expression brightened. “Yes. A small one.” He preferred not to explain.
And again, Jeel sensed so many conflicting emotions! “Explain. Please?”
T-Rex chuffed, but thought carefully. He looked past Jeel as he formed his response. Then he shrugged. “It’s not important.”
Jeel thought about that and recalled viewing some of humanity’s entertainment transmissions. There was a wide variety of subjects, and most of the subtleties had not been understood. Even from language to language, meanings changed. Mankind was a very perplexing species. He decided to move on. “You have questions. I will attempt to answer all.” He bowed toward his guest.
Rexhaut was beginning to feel sincerity from his host. Yes—host, he thought, as he formulated his first question, wanting it to be important. He tapped a finger on his lips, and decided to go for the “Big One” first: “Do you, um, have a God?”
Jeel, somewhat surprised, replied, “Some of us believe in Deity. Question is unanswerable. But, we do sense each others’—spirit? I think is that what you would name it?”
“Hmm. Yes. I guess.” T-Rex rubbed his temples while focusing on another query. He noticed a change in the air. It became a bit cooler and drier, and the scent of something akin to Jasmine wafted through the area.
Before he could ask his next question, Jeel, sensing his guest’s curiosity, explained, “The air in this hall changes regularly, to make comfortable the many different races of my crew. This happens at regular intervals, to accommodate each during rest times.”
“How many different races are here?”
“Twelve.”
“How many in your entire crew? I mean—individuals.”
“Beings? Approximately three-thousand. Maintaining a spacecraft this large requires many citizens. And there are eleven other ships like this one surrounding your system.”
There was another long pause as Rexhaut digested the information. He felt sad suddenly, thinking how his wife would have been proud of him at this moment. He missed her...
The two sat quietly again for several minutes. Finally, after T-Rex had suppressed his sorrow, he resumed: “How do you power this ship?”
“We have harnessed vacuum energy. It provides enormous power.” Jeel was growing tired of this line of questioning. He wanted to get, and give, deeper, more personal information. After all, what is the point of meeting new species if not to learn about them, and not their technologies?
At that moment, Jeel was sensing Rexhaut’s emotional state, and decided to change the tone of the interview: “Tomás Rexhaut. I feel your anguish. You have sadness in your life?”
Rexhaut was startled by the query. How does Jeel know that? His grief welled-up again, and he spoke softly: “Yes. Terrorists, the low-life scum, murdered my wife for some obscure political reason.” He sniffed and held back tears. “They recorded a video and transmitted her execution. They tied her to a post on an airless moon and punctured her helmet. She died a slow, agonizing death. It was horrible...” He stood and began to pace as his sadness and grief at long last came fully to the surface.
Jeel remained silent and observed Rexhaut dealing with his pain. He noticed his watering eyes and his body wracking with spasms as he sobbed uncontrollably. It was a display of raw emotion which he had never seen or felt. And at that moment, he felt a bond with the endoskeletal creature, as he dealt with his own loneliness.
He missed his family—so far—so very far, away.
Rexhaut paced to and fro; sometimes walking around the nearest settees, with the memory of his wife’s execution playing in his mind like an endless film loop—a terrible, obscene image of the vicious side of human nature. At that moment he would have killed the terrorists as mercilessly as they had killed his wife, and walked away with no remorse.
As he stirred inside, the fresh, pleasant air, the soft light and quiet environs, helped him calm down. After a bit, he settled himself enough to once again sit at the table across from Jeel. The weight of the moment took over his thoughts, and he addressed his host. He spoke softly. “I’m sorry, Jeel. I got overwhelmed. I miss my wife.” He rubbed the moisture from his eyes with the backs of his hands.
Jeel leaned in. “I believe I understand. I have family on home world. I miss my mates and offspring very, very much. I have not seen them for many cycles.”
“Thank you for understanding. How many are in your family?”
“Yes. I understand. I have many hundreds in family.”
Rexhaut took a pause to absorb what he had just heard. Then asked: “What is your culture like—compared to mine?”
<
br /> Jeel scratched at his mandibles and tilted his head. “We are—.” He stopped, looked up, then back at T-Rex, “We are—cohesive. We are as one. We work toward the common good. Not as your society. Not at all.”
At first, Rexhaut thought Jeel was being judgmental, but quickly realized he was just telling the truth. He sighed, and spoke candidly. “Yes, I know. For the most part, humans are narcissistic barbarians.”
“Yes, Tomás Rexhaut, I know. We have observed your society for a time. Yes—” There was a pause as Jeel framed his next statement. Trying not to sound disparaging, he spoke, and once again the mechanical voice came from the translator: “Brutal and territorial is your species. You kill each other over differences in ideas. You never seem to do what is good for all. Sad.”
T-Rex’s brow scrunched up and he looked away sadly. He whispered, “I’m not very proud of my species.” His shoulders drooped as he looked back to Jeel with wonder. “You say you have been studying us?”
“Yes.”
Rexhaut felt himself holding his breath. He exhaled as he thought over the revelation. “Curiosity? Scientific study?”
Jeel hesitated momentarily. “Yes. And we search for viable allies. We are a peaceable society, but we have a serious situation. There is a vicious enemy, named Zon, we are at conflict with. We must fight.”
Rexhaut’s jaw hung open. He started to consider that he might be hallucinating. He had always believed there was sentient life in the Universe, but—.
“Let me explain. Zon are destroyers we have been battling for many centuries. A reptilian species that has no caring for other sentient life. They smash entire planetary systems for raw materials. They would turn this system into a dust cloud. And, they are coming this way.”
Rexhaut felt the hair on his neck stand up as a deep chill ran down his spine. “Oh, my God! How do you stop them?”
“We hide the systems they are targeting—but only if there are sentient beings there.”
“Oh—?”
“Yes. We are here to hide this system.”
“That’s why our sky is dark! You’re hiding us somewhere in space?”