1. First contact
An endless space. Stars, planets, meteors, all are going somewhere. Drawn by the stream, I also fly to the unknown. Suddenly, I hear a distant rumble. A giant serpent is coiling around a crashed ship. It looks at me and opens its mouth. I fall into it, unable to do anything. And then, only blackness…
“He-e-ey, wake up.”
I slowly open my eyes, adjusting them to the bright light. The cryocapsule’s door is already open, and my crewmate Richard stands in front of me with his regular 36-teeth-wide smile. His clothes look oversized, probably because he lost a bit after so long of sleep. His ginger hair is a bit long - sadly, cryosleep hasn’t stopped it as we hoped.
“Finally! You are the last member of our crew who has decided to oversleep. Our captain is waiting on the bridge to discuss our next steps. Spoilers - we made it.” He slaps me on my shoulder and goes away.
Oh, so we’ve done it? I run to my room and change into regular clothes instead of cryo-sleeping ones while trying to organize my thoughts. We should have been asleep for a dozen years to reach the previous ship that was lost. With new technologies and improved engines, we should quickly catch up with it, possibly complete its mission and return with a report. Anyway, it’s time to listen to the captain. I finally get to the bridge and see our entire team - сaptain Lucas, doctor Emily, and engineers like me: Mikel and Richard.
“Oh, our sleeping beauty is finally here,” Lucas smirks at me, sipping coffee from a plastic cap. Unlike Richard, he managed to keep his bulky build. Or maybe he’s just managed to gain weight again - if I remember right, the captain needs to wake up way earlier than other crew members. His brown hair is cut very short, and barely visible under his captain cap.
“Welcome to the real world. How were your dreams?” Emily asks with a gentle smile.
“It was something very messy.” I shake my head.
“That’s normal. Don’t worry about it.”
“Emi, please, you can check him later. Pal, look at the window - you see it, right?” Mikel interrupts Emily and points at the front window, and indeed, I see some dark, uneven shape in the distance.
“Mikel, can I be a captain here?” Lucas finishes his coffee and stands in front of the control panel. “As everyone is here, let’s start our first deep space briefing. Spaceship Laguna, the first deep-space cruiser. From this point our command center got its last signal, and it is still here. We still don’t know what happened and why, so we must be cautious.”
He presses some buttons, and the window panel reveals the 3D view view of the ship’s structure.
“According to our scans, Laguna has no external damage; even some electronic systems still operational, responding to basic commands like providing info about air conditions. Sadly, no human response. By the way, it still has breathable air, but its quality is not very good - around 60%. You know, someone forgot to change the filters.” He smirks again, but we all know what that means.
“Can we dock?” Mikel gets straight to the point. Our primary mission is to check the ship and fetch all collected data.
“Technically, yes - Laguna responds to all general sequences, so I suppose we can try to dock in automatic mode. But we need to prepare suits anyway.”
“Do you assume biological threads on the ship?” Emily looks worried. Everyone has seen movies about zombies in space, and it would be a shame if they were actually real.
“I assume everything, but prepare for the breaking into the ship from the outside. We can’t know how well docking will work until we try.”
“Leave this to me!” Richard steps forward, smiling even brighter.
“Richard, we all know you love deep space, but not now.” Lucas sighs. “I know everyone wants to investigate the mystery, but let’s start with our ship first. Richard, check the engines. Mikel, check the docking module. Our sleeping beauty, don’t be like that someone, and please check the life-support system. Emily… Make me a coffee, please?”
“You can do it yourself. I will check Laguna’s biological data and see how our medical module goes.” Emily turns around harshly, and her blonde hair, tied in a simple tail, whips around.
“Can we at least get our hair cuts?” Mikel pulls out one of her brown hair strands and sadly looks at it. Her hair used to be short, but now it’s closer to medium.
Lucas sighs again. “After the check, ok?” Mikel gives a thumbs up.
“Damn captain, he should go first and lead us, not make his stupid jokes sitting in his stupid chair…” Mikel mumbles in her spacesuit while we slowly advence into Laguna’s dark corridors.
I totally understand her. The cold, empty environment lit with only dim emergency lights feels unfriendly. Loud echoes of our steps making it even worse.
“Emily, I think you are far enough,” we hear the captain’s voice from our transmitters, “You can start checking biological samples.”
“I know…” Emily, usually calm and friendly, seems annoyed for some reason. “I’ve already started with that, but I’ve still didn’t get anything.”
“So, is it safe to go without a suit?”
“My scanner shows …weird data. Until I understand why, I’d recommend staying in a suit.” Emily sighs.
“Weird how?” Mikel turns back and looks at Emily even more terrified than before.
“Calm down. Air quality has got better, that’s all. Lucas, what does your system say about that?”
“Ship’s system reports the same as your data, but I don’t have any explanations, either. Maybe it is some additional filter that turns on after docking?” Lucas’s voice sounds too unsure.
“I don’t remember anything about that.” Richards tries to scratch his head through the helmet. “Additionally, if you say the air is safe…” He takes off his helmet. “Phew, that’s way better.”
“Richard, you’re a piece of…” Emily facepalms, seeing Mikel also getting out of her suit as well. “Ok, guys, AT LEAST one of you should remain in a suit.” She looks at me. “I’ll take all collected data to our ship, and I can also take your suits.”
“Thank you, Emily, ~” Richard returns to his smiley state.
After some more time, we finally make it to the command center. Same emergency lights, same emptiness.
“Lucas, we’ve got to the center; what should we do next?” Mikel seems to be more optimistic now. Well, no monsters yet…
“Check the logs, especially the last one. Then connect to the transmitter, and I’ll download all of the essential data myself.”
“Logs, logs…” Richard starts pressing the keys and navigating through the files. “Man, this feels so outdated compared to our ship system.”
“Do you need help?” I get closer, looking at the screen over his shoulder.
“Oh, check other terminals, please. There should be one with audit logs, and this is not that one.”
“Guys, did you hear that?” Mikel asks weakly. When I look at her, she leans against the wall, looking around in panic.
“I’m in a suit, so no…”
Richard stands still, listening, and then his face turns paper-white. “It is… close.” He gestures to me to find a cover and hides behind the terminal himself.
Trying to step as lightly as possible, I get behind some locker and then I finally hear it. Steps followed with some weird muffled mix of growl, clatter and clicks.
I briefly wave to others and turn off my transmitter. We must not make any sound…
Judging by its shadow, the creature barely fits in the corridor. It peeks inside the room, sniffs and then continues down the corridor. When it turns its back to us, I peak out swiftly and see a massive reptile-looking creature with six limbs and an enormous spiked tail. Its head has no eyes and looks like an elongated ball with something that resembles nostrils. It slowly crawls away into the darkness.
When its step sounds fade away, we get out of our improvised hideouts.
“Oh my god, is it a real alien?” Mikel is clearly panicking. “We should return to our ship immediately!”
“Mikel, please, calm down. The way to our ship is now taken by this creature. So we need to contact our captain and figure out a different route.” Richard stands back at the terminal.
I turn my transmitter back on, and instantly, Lucas yells at us: “Why have you all turned off your radio sets?! Emily is almost crying from worrying about you.”
Richard briefly explains what’s happened.
“Alien life form, huh… Well, I agree with Mikel - you need to go back. That thing does not look safe at all. Richard, any info?”
“I found records about a docking sometime before - that probably was an alien ship or something, but decoding camera records will require too much…”
“Got you. Now, head back to our ship through the top floor. It will take a bit longer, but assumingly, you won’t encounter our guest.”
“We are almost there…” Mikel whispers, nervously looking around when a familiar growl reaches us from around the corner. She shrieks and runs to the docking corridor.
The creature crawls closer and, with a loud roar, tries to reach us.
“Run!” Richard yells and immediately follows his own advice, dashing to our ship. I follow it without hesitation.
Ten meters. The heavy suit slows down movement, and my heart pounds in my ears. Five meters. Richard and Mikel turn around, ready to close the door. Then, something suddenly punches me in the back, and I fall down, feeling like I crushed by a huge rock. Mikel screams again. Richard nervously holds his hand on the lever. The creature tears off my helmet and stabs me in the back of my head. The last thing I see is Richard closing the door…
“…But did you see what it has done?…” Their voices are barely audible over the crackle and hiss. “…We should depart now… (static) Who knows what else that thing is capable of.” I slowly open my eyes, and my head immediately starts hurting from the light. The sound from the radio becomes even more muffled. “…I know that we lost one of our members, but the others should live, and we should report it…” I try to cover my eyes with my hand but find out that my arms are tied with some metal device. The transmitter goes silent.
“Do you unders-s-stand me now?” I hear a voice strangely low and rumbling, punctuated with sharp hisses, and look at its source.
The creature, towering at nearly four meters tall, sits in a massive chair that seems barely able to contain its presence. Its head is distinctly reptilian, with sharp, angular features and two pairs of piercing, bright-yellow eyes that glimmer with an unsettling intensity. Short, rigid, dark-colored hairs crown its head. Its mouth reveals rows of sharp, predatory teeth, each one glinting faintly under the ambient light.
It possesses two pairs of arms, the upper pair larger and more muscular, and the lower pair slightly smaller but no less dangerous, ending in long, clawed fingers. Its legs, equally powerful, terminate in vicious claws that look capable of shredding steel. From behind the chair, a long, thick tail coils and sways slowly, its sheer weight and size suggesting it’s as much a weapon as a balance aid.
The creature’s body is covered in intricate, snake-like patterns, each line twisting and weaving across its scaled skin in mesmerizing complexity. Some of these lines glow faintly, pulsing with a bioluminescent energy that alternates between soft hues. Draped over its formidable frame is a form-fitting suit that clings tightly to its body, adorned with numerous straps, pockets, and compartments.
“Trying to ignoring me won’t do you any good.” The creature stands up and steps closer, reaching me almost immediately.
“I… I’m… Yes, I understand.” I gulp and hasten to answer.
“Finally.” They sigh and cover its head with their the upper right hand. “Learning your s-stupid language from your memory was quite rough. Why do you have s-so unnecessarily complicated and overwhelming language?”
“Erm, who are you?” I decide to not answer a rhetorical question but rather to ask a more important one.
“Oh, my bad. I’ve already introduced myself in a common language, but let me repeat it in yours. I’m Vressakhan, the officer of the Outer Rim Enforcement Division. You are under arrest for s-scavenging the leftover ship.” They slightly turn their head. “Why do you have to make it so complicated? Why don’t you use the common language?”
“I don’t know it. We’ve never meet any aliens… I mean, other races before.”
The alien bursts a series of loud hisses, probably a laugh. “No way. This s-sector of space is s-scientifically proven to have no naturally s-spawned planet clusters with the possibility of intelligent life.” They think for a bit. “I’ve heard rumors about s-some raider clans degrade s-so low that they started to develop their own language, but that’s honestly hard to believe.”
“I’m not a raider! We had a task to get to our previous ship to know why its mission was interrupted.”
They let out another laugh. “You making it wors-se for you, you know? So you acknowledge that the ship without any required signs is yours, which adds to your crimes.”
“It’s not mine - I’m just an engineer. By ‘our,’ I mean our race, humans.”
“Humans? Eh, another funny word from your language. But there aren’t any ‘humans’ among known races in the galaxy. Actually, let me check your biological data. Looks like you are a chimera, a mix of different races, s-so I can’t identify it from the first sight.” They lift me effortlessly and put me into another chair in the open translucent green tube. “Sit s-still. Don’t make it even harder for both of us.” The sides of the tube slowly closes.
While I’m waiting, I have a chance to look around. I am in quite a big room filled with devices, monitors and some containers. I instantly recognize an item, which I remember from our last encounter - what I thought was an eyeless head appears to be a helmet. There’s also an armored suit lying nearby, which I misinterpreted as skin because it covered the creature in a very organic way.
Suddenly, the tail of that alien starts rapidly wiggling. I notice that they have a series of spikes on their back that are now raised. They jump to another screen and then wait, impatiently tapping their claws.
After a minute, the screen brightens up, and I see another alien - a softly glowing semitranslucent shape with three balls floating in it, apparently its eyes. Below them, there’s a metal device covering their mouth, or maybe just being it. I hear already familiar clicks, though they are way softer than from a reptilian-looking alien.
They exchange clicks for a few minutes, with the local one sometimes repeatedly pointing at me and swinging their tail. After the screen goes off, they sigh out loudly and turn to me.
“S-so… ‘Human,’ right?” They turn their head a bit, scratching its side. After a moment, they specify: “The name of your race.”
“Yes. Human from Earth…”
“Is-s it your first time s-seeing other aliens-s? What about other humans-s?” What I previously recognized as an annoyance appears to be confusion. What have they talked about?..
“Yes to both. At least, at the official level, there was no alien contact before.”
They look away and, after another pause, open the tube and touch the device on my arms. It clicks and releases me. With visible caution, they step away, looking at me. ““I’m… Erm.. S-Sorry.” They look away again, and their tail wiggles, sweeping the floor. You have been wrongly accus-sed of raiding and forc-cefully arrested. Now you’ve regained your free will, but… Please, do not touch anything on my s-ship.”
I slowly nod. They slightly open their mouth and nod back. Was that a smile? I look down and notice their tail now calmly waves from side to side. I suppose it will be easier for me to guess their emotions based on it rather than any facial expression, which is generally lacking.
“You can sit…” The alien twitchy looks around and takes out from some box something looking like a big soft pillow . “…Here. I don’t have many chairs in my s-ship, and all my …erm.. visitors are usually criminals that go s-straight into cryo-cameras.”
I look at my transmitter. “So, what happens with me now?”
They look away again, and their tail lowers. “That is-s… complicated. Your friends’ s-ship is gone already, and I can’t just chas-se them. My …friend will call me s-soon with further instructions. Now, please, jus-st wait… We can talk if you want…”
I sigh. What else do I have to lose anyway… “Ok, let’s talk. You seemed surprised when you got my biological data.”
“Why this-s question from the s-start, please s-spare me… I’m a simple officer.” They definitely say it aloud, and I feel that they even try to shrink.
“Why it’s so bad?”
“You probably don’t know about ‘The First Contact’ protocol. To make it s-short, what happened to you was totally opposite to it. I applied physical force and s-scared all of your team…”
“…So-o?” I feel like they trying to evade my question.
“The data s-said that your s-species is not registered as an intelligent being. But it is clear to me that you are intelligent, and it is your first contact.” I keep looking at their tail, which is now curling. Still evading, huh…
“But is it registered?” Let’s go straightforward.
The alien shudders and steps back. “Well… Technically, yes-s, but…” They let out a sigh. “Why are you as-sking me?”
Actually, it’s a good question. “You seem an honest person…” And also guilty of my arrest, but I don’t want to mention it.
Their tail uncurls, and their eyes widen. “Oh… Thank you.” After a few moments, they continue. “There’s some abnormal confidential data about your s-species; that’s why I called my friend. Please take it calmly, but your s-species is now classified as …food. The record is ancient and hasn’t been updated for a long time, and now your species is marked as ‘possibly extinct.’”
I remain completely motionless. “Food?..” With the immense size of their claws and teeth, I have no chance…
“Pleas-se, calm down!” The alien steps toward me, but I instantly flinch back. Nervously, they step back again. “Let me ex-splain. Crap, that’s why I didn’t want to talk about it… No one is going to eat you. I personally guarantee that. Pleas-se, relax…” They sit down on the ground and reach out to me a hand with an open palm. I see it slightly tremble. Their tail is nervously swinging back and forth.
“Can you explain more?”
With a quick shake of their head, they continue: “I have no other data than theses-s. Maybe some res-searchers have visited your planet when your s-species was too young to communicate. I really don’t know, s-sorry…”
“But why food?”
“It’s a default category for anything that contains calories and is not entirely pois-sonous.” They shrug. Well, that’s makes sense. I slowly calm down. After a bit of thinking, I slowly put my hand on their finger, not entirely sure what to expect. Their scales feel warm, but the size of the whole palm and claws is still terrifying. They slowly and gently wrap their fingers around my hand.
Without warning, the screen turns on, and I see the same alien that was there before. “Oh, I see you are getting on well. Glad to know.” Their voice sounds too synthetic and monotonous as if it is generated.
“Pharvyn, damn you!” The reptilian alien slightly shudders, then puts the hand aside. “Why did it take you s-so long?!”
I hear some bubbly sounds from the glowy creature. A laugh?
“Dear Vres, as you said, the language is definitely overcomplicated. About your request… I will send you the details later.” It suddenly switches to their clicking language. Oh, right, they have names… Vressakhan, right?
Vres lowers their head, avoiding eye contact, and replies something. A silence falls over the room.
Suddenly, Pharvyn speaks again in my language. “Vres, I know you are incompetent in any contact missions, but there should be a limit to it.”
Waving their arms, Vres replies: “See, they are fine. There was a tiny misunderstanding, and that’s all.”
Pharvyn’s voice sounds metallic. “So, what’s their expression for themselves?”
Vres shudders once more and looks at me, slowly closing and opening their mouth.
“My expression? You mean a name?” I suddenly become the center of their attention.
Pharvyn slowly, as if they are carefully choosing their words, explains with a softer tone: “Yes, a name. The protocol requires, if the contact is inevitable, to act gently and start with recognizing the planet name, species name and names of contacted individuals to make a vocabulary bond.”
Vres sighs sadly.
“My name is Evan. What is yours?”
“It is Pharvyn. I’m a consul of a diplomatic corps in the Outer Rim Division. I’m glad to meet you, Evan.” The alien moves up and down slightly. Is it kind of a bow? “By the way, dear Vressakhan…” The voice of the creature turns back to metallic. “Was doing the same that hard?”
“I’ve s-said I’m s-sorry! You know that it is hard to fix what is mes-s-sed up…” Vras’s voice, at the same time, becomes weaker and softer. I feel sorry for them…
I decide to interrupt them. “We are fine. Vres has explained everything, so it makes sense to me why I happened to be in that …position. But what awaits me now?” Maybe the glowy alien will answer the main question?
“I’m glad that you are treating the situation with understanding. About your future… Usually, the new species is tested with several questions and examinations to create or update the record, and then they will decide what to do, including returning to the home planet.”
“Usually, huh. I’m an exception?”
Pharvyn goes silent for a moment. “…Yes. I suppose we should go full transparency in your case. If the species decides to refuse contact and further integration with the global society, their memory is erased. But in your case, we know about several people who have already encountered Vres and got off the radar. It’s a big issue.”
Vres laughs a bit. “I gues-s-s the whole corps is in a panic now.”
“Vres. Shut. Your. Mouth.” I shiver at how aggressive it was. Pharvyn notices it and immediately tries to fix the damage: “I’m sorry, Evan. She is right; the first contact is always a big deal for us, especially when it goes wrong. But at the same time, she is the source of the damage and constantly tries to make it worse for us. I should be more …concentrated.” I’m surprised that that bubble of glass can express emotions at all. Wait, is the reptile alien a “she”?
“Are my friends in danger?” They said that they are a problem, after all…
“No, they will be fine. We won’t enter your region or somehow try to catch your ship - it will cause even more damage to our reputation.”
“What happened to our previous ship? We found some info about docking with the unknown ship but didn’t have time to analyze records due to …Vres.”
“That info is out of my scope of knowledge. I think you are in full rights to investigate it. Additionally, please allow Vres to accompany you, because for us it is also important to know it. I know she may seem intimidating to you, but she is a good officer.”
I look at her and see how broadly she wiggles her tail. It makes me giggle. “Well, honestly, she in her space suit looked like a typical sci-fi horror movie monster for us.”
Pharvyn freezes a bit, makes a few clicking sounds to the side, and continues. “I see. Thank you for the information.” At the same time Vres also makes some sounds, but more like short snores. “A mons-ster. A good image to work with, right, Pharvyn?”
“Dear Vressakhan, I’ve already told you what you should do with your mouth.” The metallic voice changes to soft again. “Evan, I admire your bravery. Please be assured that she is totally safe for you.”
“Honestly, this all still feels like a fever dream. I’ve been captured by aliens, our mission has failed, my ship and friends are gone, and my future is vague.”
“I have to disagree. You can continue your mission. Vres’s ship is still docked to your old one, so there are no problems. You will return to your planet. Your friends are safe and probably on their way home now. About your future, you will decidse what to do. Please, just give us time to work out possible scenarios.”
I nod, thinking about my situation. The awkward silence resumes.
Pharvyn waits a bit and ends the call with a justification: “Please excuse me, I need to continue with my work.” The screen turns black again.
I suddenly feel so tired that I just take that pillow, lie down on it and fall into dreams.