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So, I decided to take a swipe at climate action. Nothing here is associated with any persons real or fictional and any resemblance is strictly coincidental. I don't know why I did this, but I did. Might be because I watched a documentary on it recently. I'm planning a 2-3 part thing for this, will see how it goes.
In this story, Arktak gets training, I critique a ship and there is pollution.
As usual, please scroll down to read the story if you don't want to download the pdf.
Smog Part I – “Nothing Wrong”
By Tanorath-drgn
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
“Yup intercept course,” I remarked, poking at my console, “Shields up, yellow alert. Weapons to half power. Inform High Command that we have a new FTL-capable species.”
Talorath nodded along as he dialed the new course in – he’s on rotation to get a few hours piloting the ship today while Arktak, as part of his training, was the acting first officer. “Got it, been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, we’ve not come this far out in a long while,” I replied, rubbing my chin and flicking my tail idly, “How’s the translation going?”
“It’ll be a few more minutes, Captain, but it looks like their mission control is trying to talk to the ship,” Arktak quipped as he tapped away at his pad, “I’ve never experienced initial contact like this before, perhaps I should hand back over…?”
“Nah. Better to experience it sooner than later, Arktak,” I replied, chuckling, “You’ll be just as anxious if we did this three years down the road. No amount of reading can prepare you for it.”
Arktak nodded, “I went through the entire ship’s library about it this morning, yes.”
I couldn’t help but shoot him a sideways glance at that, but since Arktak found out that he was a robot, he had been taking advantage of his newfound abilities, which included reading at incomprehensible speeds, “Did it help?”
“No.” Arktak replied flatly, rolling his eyes slightly as Talorath laughed, “Too many possibilities, gave me a headache.”
“Arktak, you can literally turn off your headaches, I don’t understand why you bother dealing with them,” I remarked, snorting, “I’d love to have the ability to turn off my hangovers.”
“It feels like I’m taking the easy way out, sir,” Arktak replied with a flick of his tail, “besides, I think it keeps me relatable.”
“I suppose it does,” I added, shrugging, “but as we all know, people are weird. Anyway, we have a few hours to go, I’m going to have a quick snack, bridge is yours. Oh, by the way, get Quaren up here. Might as well get him a second experience.”
Arktak nodded as I got up and strolled off, bound for my office to grab a few biscuits. He’s turning out to be an excellent officer, actually, and not as big a sticker to the rules as Talorath. Hector has been monitoring his progress thus far and seems to like the developments, but well, Hector is an Admiral, sometimes they’re harder to decipher than then FTL equations. Either way, I had my biscuits, grabbed myself a mug of tea and returned to the bridge.
Cadet Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
I walked onto the bridge to find Arktak leaning on the command chair while idly flicking through updates on his tablet. He nodded to me as I entered, “This is your second mission like this isn’t it?”
“Ah, yessir, I’ve been here for one prior,” I replied, looking up at the taller officer. At least he’s as friendly as he used to be. Maybe that’s why Tano’rath like him. “What about it?”
He paused and rubbed the back of his head lightly, and I recalled that he only really did that when he was feeling awkward, but he spoke before I could say anything, his voice low enough so that nobody else could hear, “Uh, any advice?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking the captain that?” I shot back, just as the door to Tano’rath’s office slid open. I took the opportunity to hustle my robotic colleague over, “Go, he can give better advice than I can!”
“N-no! I wanted to ask-“ He stuttered as I pushed him to the Captain. Honestly, he’s strong enough to quite literally toss me out an airlock, but he seems to make these things easy for the rest of us, “Quaren! Stop!”
“No, He’s the best person to ask, Arktak,” I couldn’t help but pat him on the shoulder lightly as Tano’rath looked over and I made myself scarse. I don’t quite know why he’s so awkward around the Captain, but it might be because Tano’rath is the one who fought off the I.I.S. to keep Arktak around. Either way, he has no choice now.
I could just hear Arktak muttering the questions to the Captain who simply smirked.
“Just wing it, mate,” Tano’rath replied with a grin, “No textbooks are gonna save you from this one.”
“Wing it?” Arktak spluttered, “B-but I…I don’t know-“
“Neither do I, Arktak,” Tanora’t replied as he sipped his tea, “Nor do Hector and Telricktus.”
“…then how do we make the decision?” Arktak replied after a long pause.
Tano’rath chuckled, “How’d you know that I wasn’t going to shoot you when you hugged me all those months ago?”
“I-I didn’t? I…just did?” Arktak stammered, suddenly trying to look small. Really, you’d expect someone like him to be more confident, but then again, he’s still adjusting. For some reason or other, he still thinks that the I.I.S. is after him. I don’t think they are, but they’re most definitely watching. I’m sure he knows this, but he seems to have put Tano’rath on some kind of plinth and I do understand why…
Tano’rath grinned as he sat down in the command chair, plonking his tea into the cupholder as usual, “Yup, so you just…figure it out as you go along. Relax, Arktak, you’re not alone in this. I’m here to help you figure it out.”
“But-“ Arktak protested.
Tano’rath held up a finger and wagged it – yup, he’s definitely enjoying it. “No, no, Arktak, everyone has their turn. Besides, nobody is going to eat you.”
Arktak simply rolled his eyes at the comment as Tano’rath shifted in his seat, draping his legs and tail over one armrest and leaning on the other, stretching lazily, “Well, everyone has a first time. Anyway, begin scans. Get me the rough planetary data once it’s ready. Arktak, you’re sticking with me for this one. Sorry, Quaren, but you’re shadowing ops for the duration.”
I nodded to the Captain who winked at me and gave me the thumbs up for a split second before Arktak walked over and kinda stood awkwardly next to him. “Captain, I presume you’re going to quiz me why we’re gathering this data: it’s so that we know what to expect if we have to land on the planet.”
“Spot on, Arktak, besides, it usually reveals how advanced they are.” Tano’rath added, still relaxing in his chair, “Have it sent down to the relevant parties, get a preliminary analysis done.”
Arktak nodded and went about arranging things for the captain as I started chatting with the ops officer, who was showing me who to work the decryption programs and how to tie it directly into the translation matrix to get things done quicker.
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
The analysis that came back was interesting, to say the least. A lot of key pollutants were reading past the dangerous thresholds and a lot of other parameters were abnormal. It seemed like this planet was not the best taken care of. Then again, though, our sensors have been due for a major calibration procedure, so it could be an anomalous reading. However, as we got closer, the readings got no better. In fact, they got worse.
“At this rate, we’re going to have to gather samples,” Talorath remarked, tapping away at his console, “The temperature readings I’m getting here are completely out for a planet of this class.”
“Mm, makes sense, sir. Their warming-gas levels are way higher than the average, especially carbon dioxide. We’re also reading dangerously low levels of ozone in the upper atmosphere,” Arktak added, flicking through the data on a tablet, “On the bright side, we’re reading a FTL signature re-entering the system. Must have been the test ship from earlier.”
“Well, prepare to drop to sub-light. Time it that we drop out just on their tail,” I replied, rubbing my chin, “What does the computer analysis say?”
“Class II Pollution Hazard,” Arktak replied, walking over and pointing to a line of red test on his tablet, “Not too big a surprise there. There’s also this warning about a climate hazard…?”
I glanced over and couldn’t help but raise an eyeridge, “Ooo, that’s a rare one. Their climate is changing…quite rapidly. Probably due to the warming. Put out an advisory as well: all crew will have to wear long sleeved attire, gloves, boots and sun protection. Too much UV getting through that ozone layer.”
Arktak nodded and tapped away at his tablet before pausing and glancing over, “Does that include me, sir?”
“You’re a robot in a meat-suit, the meat can still go wrong, you nitwit,” I replied with a half chuckle, “I’m sure you’ll be easier to cure, but you’re still part of my crew and I’m not having you go there and get your skin roasted off.”
Arktak cocked his head slightly, but for the first time today, he smiled slightly. “Got it, sir…wait, we’re going down?”
I nodded as I watched the sensor readouts on my screen. Not long now. “It usually happens, they’ll want us to meet them and they won’t come up to us – that means that we control the situation. They’ll want us down there and you, being my acting second in command, get to come along. If you want to go toilet, now’s your last chance.”
Arktak raised an eyeridge at my last comment but shook his head. Talorath, on the other hand, bolted to the toilet. He always goes at the last minute.
“Right, ops, prep the comms array for an influx of incoming messages, prepare a short briefing on their climate problem that I can take with me. We can translate it later,” I added, rubbing my chin as Talorath came jogging back in, “Oh, Tal, put us on a parallel trajectory with their ship.”
Talorath nodded as he returned to his station and tapped away. Meanwhile, I could hear the engines spooling down, returning to the low idle hum as usual as the streaks of starlight resolved into the usual specks as we dropped to sublight speeds. In front of us was what looked like an ancient space shuttle with chunks of equipment and various attachments welded on.
“Should we ping them, sir?” Arktak remarked, squinting at the ship, “That…”
“Looks like shit, yes,” I replied, snorting, “But not everyone builds shiny new prototypes. Give them a moment. Lets the realisation sink in.”
“I’m reading a lot of comms traffic between them and the surface. The translation matrix is getting there, seems like they’re reporting a success but they haven’t seen us yet. Scans indicate that their rear sensors aren’t working,” Quaren rattled off, looking at the ops screen as the duty officer pointed at things, “Perhaps we should overtake them?”
“Yeah. Bring us to one quarter engines for a second or two. Should be enough,” I remarked, leaning on my armrest.
The ship gradually accelerated, passing the jury-rigged prototype in time, letting them get a good look at our flank. Predictably, the comms traffic exploded with them trying to get authorisation to contact us and so on. Seemed like this mission was managed by their military, not a civilian agency…
“Ah, I see why you waited,” Arktak replied, having watched me take a few notes on my console, “You’re gathering more data.”
“It’s always good to get as much background info as possible before moving forward,” I remarked, adding a few more notes before flicking my tail, “but don’t wait too long, makes people nervous. Open a channel, comms.”
Cadet Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
While there is a dedicated comms officer most of the time, ops runs comms during first contact to reduce the possibility of a miscommunication happening. The duty officer wasn’t much help either, since he just reclined his seat and pointed me to his station. “You’ve been here a while, work it yourself.”
“What..?” I couldn’t help but reply but he simply flicked his tail and pointed again, “Right, right.”
It took me a while and I got a funny look from the Captain as a result but he made no comment and I eventually got the channel open. “Channel open, Captain.”
He simply nodded, knowing that the mic was on and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, the other party came through with a burst of static. “…hello?”
Tano’rath raised an eyeridge but didn’t comment. He instead typed a short note into his console before shifting in his seat slightly. I could see that he had the standard greeting on the tip of his tongue, but everyone knows that it doesn’t work if the other party speaks first. “Unknown vessel, this is Captain Tano’rath of the DES Defiant, we detected your faster than light jump a few moments ago and have come to investigate and make contact.”
There was even more static from the other end followed by a muffled conversation. It’s one of those times where you can’t quite hear what’s being said but it’s loud enough for you to take notice. I personally find it quite irritating but the captain seemed not to care. Instead, Arktak was tapping away on a tablet while holding it at an angle so that Tano’rath could see. Evidently, he could pick things out better than us, and with our mic muted, he pointed out that they were trying to figure out how to reply.
With this being said, I poked around the scans of the planet to have several warning flags come up. “Captain, I’m reading several radiation sources emerging on the planet.”
“Ah, yes, they’re opening their silos,” Tano’rath remarked, rubbing his forehead, “Always happens when it’s military managed. How are we looking for countermeasures?”
I paused and flicked to check the ship status, poked around to make sure I had the right things open before nodding, “C.I.W.S. is online and ready. Hopefully we won’t need it.”
Tano’rath nodded as he shifted in his chair again, flicking his tail – he’s anxious, but who wouldn’t be in this situation? He unmuted the channel, changed his mind and muted it again. He rubbed his chin again and sighed, “Follow-“
He got cut off by another burst of static which elicited a growl of annoyance from him but he seemed relieved to have a message come through. “This is the Siloran ship….uh,” There was a rustling of papers for a moment before the voice continued, “Endeavour, apologies, we’ve gone through a few… Uh, we would like to uh welcome you…?”
Tano’rath raised an eyeridge and snorted slightly. He looked over at his console for a moment and then at me, “Silos still open?”
I glanced back at my screen and nodded.
Tano’rath tapped away on his console before he unmuted the mic, “Thank you. Welcome to the galactic community. Does your government wish to establish contact?”
“Oh, OH! Yes, yes, they would like you to put into orbit, arrangements are being made!” The voice continued, “Please follow us.”
“Acknowledged,” Tano’rath replied, leaning back in his chair, “and sir, we’re reading a lot of atmospheric pollution and instability in the upper layers. We don’t usually pass this on so early, but there are a lot of warning flags that would be unwise for me to ignore.”
There was silence from the other end for a moment or two as their ship started moving, “Yes, we’re aware of the mild pollution, it is not a big issue, but thank you for your concern.”
“Acknowledged.” Tano’rath replied before muting the channel and raising an eyeridge.
Arktak put his tablet away as he flicked his tail. “Seems like they’ve…underestimated this problem.”
“Maybe,” Tano’rath replied as he got up and stretched his wings, “but from experience, it’s never that simple. You can’t really…underestimate something on this scale.”
“I suppose we’ll find out,” Talorath remarked from the helm station, “the data we’re getting isn’t changing, even with proximity, so it’s not the equipment.”
As we drew closer to the planet, Tano’rath grunted, “Oh we don’t need sensor readouts to tell it’s fucked. We’re coming into visual range, take a look.”
I looked away from the false colour render on my screen to look at the big viewscreen up front…he’s right. The atmosphere was grey-brown, with the sensors flagging a high concentration of particulate matter and combustion byproducts, smog around all their cities and giant industrial complexes belching thick black smoke that trailed across the globe. Some of them even spat flame. It was so bad that the jetstreams in the upper atmosphere were carrying the pollution all over the planet and there was so much interference as a result of this that the transmissions they were sending to their ship were exceptionally weak once they left the atmosphere…and that was only the air. Some of their lakes were black and one was bright green.
“By the fucking Emperor, this has to be a record,” Talorath remarked, staring at the looming planet.
Arktak paused and tapped away on his tablet for a moment before nodding, “It probably is…”
“Well, put us into orbit, get the doctor to rustle up something or other to keep our lungs from being dissolved,” Tano’rath remarked as he got up, “Give them some time to get things ready. Get me High Command and route the call to my office. Arktak, you’re with me. This one’s a fuckin doozy…”
[To Be Continued]
In this story, Arktak gets training, I critique a ship and there is pollution.
As usual, please scroll down to read the story if you don't want to download the pdf.
Smog Part I – “Nothing Wrong”
By Tanorath-drgn
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
“Yup intercept course,” I remarked, poking at my console, “Shields up, yellow alert. Weapons to half power. Inform High Command that we have a new FTL-capable species.”
Talorath nodded along as he dialed the new course in – he’s on rotation to get a few hours piloting the ship today while Arktak, as part of his training, was the acting first officer. “Got it, been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, we’ve not come this far out in a long while,” I replied, rubbing my chin and flicking my tail idly, “How’s the translation going?”
“It’ll be a few more minutes, Captain, but it looks like their mission control is trying to talk to the ship,” Arktak quipped as he tapped away at his pad, “I’ve never experienced initial contact like this before, perhaps I should hand back over…?”
“Nah. Better to experience it sooner than later, Arktak,” I replied, chuckling, “You’ll be just as anxious if we did this three years down the road. No amount of reading can prepare you for it.”
Arktak nodded, “I went through the entire ship’s library about it this morning, yes.”
I couldn’t help but shoot him a sideways glance at that, but since Arktak found out that he was a robot, he had been taking advantage of his newfound abilities, which included reading at incomprehensible speeds, “Did it help?”
“No.” Arktak replied flatly, rolling his eyes slightly as Talorath laughed, “Too many possibilities, gave me a headache.”
“Arktak, you can literally turn off your headaches, I don’t understand why you bother dealing with them,” I remarked, snorting, “I’d love to have the ability to turn off my hangovers.”
“It feels like I’m taking the easy way out, sir,” Arktak replied with a flick of his tail, “besides, I think it keeps me relatable.”
“I suppose it does,” I added, shrugging, “but as we all know, people are weird. Anyway, we have a few hours to go, I’m going to have a quick snack, bridge is yours. Oh, by the way, get Quaren up here. Might as well get him a second experience.”
Arktak nodded as I got up and strolled off, bound for my office to grab a few biscuits. He’s turning out to be an excellent officer, actually, and not as big a sticker to the rules as Talorath. Hector has been monitoring his progress thus far and seems to like the developments, but well, Hector is an Admiral, sometimes they’re harder to decipher than then FTL equations. Either way, I had my biscuits, grabbed myself a mug of tea and returned to the bridge.
Cadet Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
I walked onto the bridge to find Arktak leaning on the command chair while idly flicking through updates on his tablet. He nodded to me as I entered, “This is your second mission like this isn’t it?”
“Ah, yessir, I’ve been here for one prior,” I replied, looking up at the taller officer. At least he’s as friendly as he used to be. Maybe that’s why Tano’rath like him. “What about it?”
He paused and rubbed the back of his head lightly, and I recalled that he only really did that when he was feeling awkward, but he spoke before I could say anything, his voice low enough so that nobody else could hear, “Uh, any advice?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking the captain that?” I shot back, just as the door to Tano’rath’s office slid open. I took the opportunity to hustle my robotic colleague over, “Go, he can give better advice than I can!”
“N-no! I wanted to ask-“ He stuttered as I pushed him to the Captain. Honestly, he’s strong enough to quite literally toss me out an airlock, but he seems to make these things easy for the rest of us, “Quaren! Stop!”
“No, He’s the best person to ask, Arktak,” I couldn’t help but pat him on the shoulder lightly as Tano’rath looked over and I made myself scarse. I don’t quite know why he’s so awkward around the Captain, but it might be because Tano’rath is the one who fought off the I.I.S. to keep Arktak around. Either way, he has no choice now.
I could just hear Arktak muttering the questions to the Captain who simply smirked.
“Just wing it, mate,” Tano’rath replied with a grin, “No textbooks are gonna save you from this one.”
“Wing it?” Arktak spluttered, “B-but I…I don’t know-“
“Neither do I, Arktak,” Tanora’t replied as he sipped his tea, “Nor do Hector and Telricktus.”
“…then how do we make the decision?” Arktak replied after a long pause.
Tano’rath chuckled, “How’d you know that I wasn’t going to shoot you when you hugged me all those months ago?”
“I-I didn’t? I…just did?” Arktak stammered, suddenly trying to look small. Really, you’d expect someone like him to be more confident, but then again, he’s still adjusting. For some reason or other, he still thinks that the I.I.S. is after him. I don’t think they are, but they’re most definitely watching. I’m sure he knows this, but he seems to have put Tano’rath on some kind of plinth and I do understand why…
Tano’rath grinned as he sat down in the command chair, plonking his tea into the cupholder as usual, “Yup, so you just…figure it out as you go along. Relax, Arktak, you’re not alone in this. I’m here to help you figure it out.”
“But-“ Arktak protested.
Tano’rath held up a finger and wagged it – yup, he’s definitely enjoying it. “No, no, Arktak, everyone has their turn. Besides, nobody is going to eat you.”
Arktak simply rolled his eyes at the comment as Tano’rath shifted in his seat, draping his legs and tail over one armrest and leaning on the other, stretching lazily, “Well, everyone has a first time. Anyway, begin scans. Get me the rough planetary data once it’s ready. Arktak, you’re sticking with me for this one. Sorry, Quaren, but you’re shadowing ops for the duration.”
I nodded to the Captain who winked at me and gave me the thumbs up for a split second before Arktak walked over and kinda stood awkwardly next to him. “Captain, I presume you’re going to quiz me why we’re gathering this data: it’s so that we know what to expect if we have to land on the planet.”
“Spot on, Arktak, besides, it usually reveals how advanced they are.” Tano’rath added, still relaxing in his chair, “Have it sent down to the relevant parties, get a preliminary analysis done.”
Arktak nodded and went about arranging things for the captain as I started chatting with the ops officer, who was showing me who to work the decryption programs and how to tie it directly into the translation matrix to get things done quicker.
Snr Captain Tano’rath
Cmdr, DES Defiant
The analysis that came back was interesting, to say the least. A lot of key pollutants were reading past the dangerous thresholds and a lot of other parameters were abnormal. It seemed like this planet was not the best taken care of. Then again, though, our sensors have been due for a major calibration procedure, so it could be an anomalous reading. However, as we got closer, the readings got no better. In fact, they got worse.
“At this rate, we’re going to have to gather samples,” Talorath remarked, tapping away at his console, “The temperature readings I’m getting here are completely out for a planet of this class.”
“Mm, makes sense, sir. Their warming-gas levels are way higher than the average, especially carbon dioxide. We’re also reading dangerously low levels of ozone in the upper atmosphere,” Arktak added, flicking through the data on a tablet, “On the bright side, we’re reading a FTL signature re-entering the system. Must have been the test ship from earlier.”
“Well, prepare to drop to sub-light. Time it that we drop out just on their tail,” I replied, rubbing my chin, “What does the computer analysis say?”
“Class II Pollution Hazard,” Arktak replied, walking over and pointing to a line of red test on his tablet, “Not too big a surprise there. There’s also this warning about a climate hazard…?”
I glanced over and couldn’t help but raise an eyeridge, “Ooo, that’s a rare one. Their climate is changing…quite rapidly. Probably due to the warming. Put out an advisory as well: all crew will have to wear long sleeved attire, gloves, boots and sun protection. Too much UV getting through that ozone layer.”
Arktak nodded and tapped away at his tablet before pausing and glancing over, “Does that include me, sir?”
“You’re a robot in a meat-suit, the meat can still go wrong, you nitwit,” I replied with a half chuckle, “I’m sure you’ll be easier to cure, but you’re still part of my crew and I’m not having you go there and get your skin roasted off.”
Arktak cocked his head slightly, but for the first time today, he smiled slightly. “Got it, sir…wait, we’re going down?”
I nodded as I watched the sensor readouts on my screen. Not long now. “It usually happens, they’ll want us to meet them and they won’t come up to us – that means that we control the situation. They’ll want us down there and you, being my acting second in command, get to come along. If you want to go toilet, now’s your last chance.”
Arktak raised an eyeridge at my last comment but shook his head. Talorath, on the other hand, bolted to the toilet. He always goes at the last minute.
“Right, ops, prep the comms array for an influx of incoming messages, prepare a short briefing on their climate problem that I can take with me. We can translate it later,” I added, rubbing my chin as Talorath came jogging back in, “Oh, Tal, put us on a parallel trajectory with their ship.”
Talorath nodded as he returned to his station and tapped away. Meanwhile, I could hear the engines spooling down, returning to the low idle hum as usual as the streaks of starlight resolved into the usual specks as we dropped to sublight speeds. In front of us was what looked like an ancient space shuttle with chunks of equipment and various attachments welded on.
“Should we ping them, sir?” Arktak remarked, squinting at the ship, “That…”
“Looks like shit, yes,” I replied, snorting, “But not everyone builds shiny new prototypes. Give them a moment. Lets the realisation sink in.”
“I’m reading a lot of comms traffic between them and the surface. The translation matrix is getting there, seems like they’re reporting a success but they haven’t seen us yet. Scans indicate that their rear sensors aren’t working,” Quaren rattled off, looking at the ops screen as the duty officer pointed at things, “Perhaps we should overtake them?”
“Yeah. Bring us to one quarter engines for a second or two. Should be enough,” I remarked, leaning on my armrest.
The ship gradually accelerated, passing the jury-rigged prototype in time, letting them get a good look at our flank. Predictably, the comms traffic exploded with them trying to get authorisation to contact us and so on. Seemed like this mission was managed by their military, not a civilian agency…
“Ah, I see why you waited,” Arktak replied, having watched me take a few notes on my console, “You’re gathering more data.”
“It’s always good to get as much background info as possible before moving forward,” I remarked, adding a few more notes before flicking my tail, “but don’t wait too long, makes people nervous. Open a channel, comms.”
Cadet Quaren
I.D.A.F. Command Training Program
While there is a dedicated comms officer most of the time, ops runs comms during first contact to reduce the possibility of a miscommunication happening. The duty officer wasn’t much help either, since he just reclined his seat and pointed me to his station. “You’ve been here a while, work it yourself.”
“What..?” I couldn’t help but reply but he simply flicked his tail and pointed again, “Right, right.”
It took me a while and I got a funny look from the Captain as a result but he made no comment and I eventually got the channel open. “Channel open, Captain.”
He simply nodded, knowing that the mic was on and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, the other party came through with a burst of static. “…hello?”
Tano’rath raised an eyeridge but didn’t comment. He instead typed a short note into his console before shifting in his seat slightly. I could see that he had the standard greeting on the tip of his tongue, but everyone knows that it doesn’t work if the other party speaks first. “Unknown vessel, this is Captain Tano’rath of the DES Defiant, we detected your faster than light jump a few moments ago and have come to investigate and make contact.”
There was even more static from the other end followed by a muffled conversation. It’s one of those times where you can’t quite hear what’s being said but it’s loud enough for you to take notice. I personally find it quite irritating but the captain seemed not to care. Instead, Arktak was tapping away on a tablet while holding it at an angle so that Tano’rath could see. Evidently, he could pick things out better than us, and with our mic muted, he pointed out that they were trying to figure out how to reply.
With this being said, I poked around the scans of the planet to have several warning flags come up. “Captain, I’m reading several radiation sources emerging on the planet.”
“Ah, yes, they’re opening their silos,” Tano’rath remarked, rubbing his forehead, “Always happens when it’s military managed. How are we looking for countermeasures?”
I paused and flicked to check the ship status, poked around to make sure I had the right things open before nodding, “C.I.W.S. is online and ready. Hopefully we won’t need it.”
Tano’rath nodded as he shifted in his chair again, flicking his tail – he’s anxious, but who wouldn’t be in this situation? He unmuted the channel, changed his mind and muted it again. He rubbed his chin again and sighed, “Follow-“
He got cut off by another burst of static which elicited a growl of annoyance from him but he seemed relieved to have a message come through. “This is the Siloran ship….uh,” There was a rustling of papers for a moment before the voice continued, “Endeavour, apologies, we’ve gone through a few… Uh, we would like to uh welcome you…?”
Tano’rath raised an eyeridge and snorted slightly. He looked over at his console for a moment and then at me, “Silos still open?”
I glanced back at my screen and nodded.
Tano’rath tapped away on his console before he unmuted the mic, “Thank you. Welcome to the galactic community. Does your government wish to establish contact?”
“Oh, OH! Yes, yes, they would like you to put into orbit, arrangements are being made!” The voice continued, “Please follow us.”
“Acknowledged,” Tano’rath replied, leaning back in his chair, “and sir, we’re reading a lot of atmospheric pollution and instability in the upper layers. We don’t usually pass this on so early, but there are a lot of warning flags that would be unwise for me to ignore.”
There was silence from the other end for a moment or two as their ship started moving, “Yes, we’re aware of the mild pollution, it is not a big issue, but thank you for your concern.”
“Acknowledged.” Tano’rath replied before muting the channel and raising an eyeridge.
Arktak put his tablet away as he flicked his tail. “Seems like they’ve…underestimated this problem.”
“Maybe,” Tano’rath replied as he got up and stretched his wings, “but from experience, it’s never that simple. You can’t really…underestimate something on this scale.”
“I suppose we’ll find out,” Talorath remarked from the helm station, “the data we’re getting isn’t changing, even with proximity, so it’s not the equipment.”
As we drew closer to the planet, Tano’rath grunted, “Oh we don’t need sensor readouts to tell it’s fucked. We’re coming into visual range, take a look.”
I looked away from the false colour render on my screen to look at the big viewscreen up front…he’s right. The atmosphere was grey-brown, with the sensors flagging a high concentration of particulate matter and combustion byproducts, smog around all their cities and giant industrial complexes belching thick black smoke that trailed across the globe. Some of them even spat flame. It was so bad that the jetstreams in the upper atmosphere were carrying the pollution all over the planet and there was so much interference as a result of this that the transmissions they were sending to their ship were exceptionally weak once they left the atmosphere…and that was only the air. Some of their lakes were black and one was bright green.
“By the fucking Emperor, this has to be a record,” Talorath remarked, staring at the looming planet.
Arktak paused and tapped away on his tablet for a moment before nodding, “It probably is…”
“Well, put us into orbit, get the doctor to rustle up something or other to keep our lungs from being dissolved,” Tano’rath remarked as he got up, “Give them some time to get things ready. Get me High Command and route the call to my office. Arktak, you’re with me. This one’s a fuckin doozy…”
[To Be Continued]
Category Story / Fantasy
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