A Dragon and a Jester - Drakari-Galactya First Contact

[Galaxiel]

Regional Galactyan Date: 17/03/5867 P.E.
Standard Sectorial Date: 212 BBT

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Region: Celestial Empire Of Galactya
Star System: Kairelia
At the edge of the Kairelian System
Kairulen Security Sensors Outpost

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Kairelia was one of the biggest trading centers in the Galactyan Empire. It’s worlds, especially the MainWorld Kairmios, were always full with citizens from all over the Empire and sometimes, even their alien friends would visit. But, at the edge of the system, in contrary to it’s other sibling worlds, was Kairulen.

Kairulen orbited far away from it’s mother star Kairelia together with it’s two moons. While all the other telluric and gaseous planets in the system had been terraformed and colonized, Kairulen had been barely touched. It’s core had died millions of years ago, deactivating it’s magnetic field and exposing the surface to dangerous amounts of harmful cosmic radiation. At that point, there wasn’t even an atmosphere to lose, since it had completely frozen much before that, now transformed into a slightly blueish snow that covered the entire planet. The crust and mantle were made of invaluable materials, and while the core could serve some purpose, the mining excavations would have been far too costly to be justified. It’s two moons were similarly purposeless and devoid of anything useful.

Therefore, Kairulen was rarely acknowledged by the Empire, as well as the population. But still, as was true virtue of Galactya, they managed to find a purpose for it.

On the frozen equator, large domes rose from the surface, almost camouflaging with the light-blue snow.
This complex of structures was the Security Sensors Outpost. To protect the rich and desirable system from outside invasions, the entire structure consisted of thousands upon thousands of experimental sensors to detect signals from incredible distances and with great accuracy. It also hosted one of the first models of Universal Translators gifted by the Star Empire Of Calerost. While the station was mostly operated remotely, a small team of maintenance engineers and technicians lived permanently in the living quarters, their job to check, repair and re-calibrate the many systems.

At last, a purpose was found for Kairulen. And it was this purpose, found in haste, that would be instrumental for Galactya’s new friendship.

[taisenbot]

Uncharted Space
12,002 Imperial Age/212 BBT
Drakari Exploratory Corps
Wanderer-class research vessel DSV Divine Sojourner

To the inhabitants of the frozen world, the void of space was as beautiful and seemingly unchanging as it always was. For those in the security business or research private or government-funded, this was indeed a good thing. Predictability meant security, consistent results, and above all else a kind of comfort.

That is, until, the facility’s sensor array began to notice something… unusual, perhaps for the first time in centuries beyond counting.

It would appear that LIGHTNING of all things was forming in the void, seemingly from nowhere. No sign of magnetic disturbances, no gas and dust drifting through from the nebula. Just… arcs of lightning piercing the infinite darkness until they began pulling inward towards a singular point. And then… it opened.

A rift in the very fabric of reality seemed to tear itself open, the observers below catching a glimpse of what could only be described as a shifting sea of cloud and color as a single vessel gently drifted out of it into realspace before the portal closed within moments of opening. The void visibly rippled as the anomaly closed, and yet nothing was physically affected by it.

Silence dominated the stars for a few tense moments. That is, until, the ship sent out a pulse, perhaps to survey the system.

[Galaxiel]

The Outpost’s sensors spotted something in the void of space, alerting the maintenance crew on the Station and the Security Nexus on Kairmios. The main interface then started scanning the strange event. As lightning appeared out of nothing, a large energy spike was located in the same exact area.

LARGE ENERGY SPIKE LOCATED IN KAIRELIA SYSTEM
DISTANCE: 0.5467 CELESTIAL UNITS
ENERGY SIGNATURE TYPE: WARP-223/PLK
GROWTH SPEED: 2467 KMN PER SECOND
ENERGY SOURCE: UNKNOWN
ACTIVATING OUTPOST TELESCOPES...

In a shine of a star, a large rift opened in space where the lightning had been, a strange vessel exiting it. The Outpost’s telescopes also quickly cam to life, pointing at the rift and watching the mysterious swirling colors inside of it, as well as the alien vessel exiting it. Before the scanners could begin properly analyzing it though, it closed again, disappearing into space as it were never there. The entirety of the Outpost was now focused on the alien vessel.

DANGER - DANGER - DANGER
UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL LOCATED IN KAIRELIA SYSTEM
VESSEL ORIGIN: NOT KNOWN
INTENTIONS: NOT KNOWN
TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL: NOT KNOWN

As the Outpost’s emergency warning systems went (for the lack of a… better word) crazy, warning the entirety of the system and, therefore, the rest of the Empire, the alien ship emits an energetic pulse, minuscule compared to the large energy spike that came before the rift, but like it it’s true purpose was unknown. The system’s defense and attack fleets that were surveying the system were called back to Kairmios, and each planet’s defense system was activated. For the first time in hundreds of years, activity in the Kairelian System ceased.

[taisenbot]

Aboard the bridge of the relatively small starship, the crew, comprised of many species who had happily enlisted with the Corps to expand the horizons of the known universe, milled about as they began their long-range scans of the system. One amongst them as the data slowly began to trickle in happily began collating it, eager to see just what the system had of note to plan out the rest of the voyage.

“Let’s see here… a number of Garden-class worlds and gas giants…” they thought aloud, “one barren world…”

One their crewmates looked over from their station, a grin forming ever so slightly. “Quite rare to see that many Garden worlds in a single system, don’t you think?”

“Oh, definitely! If we get a closer look, perhaps we’ll be able to determine whether or not they’re naturally life-bearing or perhaps terraformed?”

“Eh, worth a look if you ask me,” another nodded. “We’ve come all the way out here to learn and explore. Would be a waste to just pack up and–” A faint alarm began going off at the station’s console. “What the…? Captain! We’re picking up engine signatures across the system! This entire system’s inhabited!”

Silence filled the bridge for a moment, broken only by the alarm that revealed that knowledge in the first place. The silence slowly grew more and more uncomfortable, only for every soul aboard the ship from the bridge to engineering to stellar cartography to break out into cheers.

“This is why I signed up,” one shouted.

“Daion be praised, this expedition already bears fruit!” Another cried out jubilantly.

“First Contact within minutes of exiting Warp Space? Don’t see that every day…” Yet another still muttered happily under their breath.

“Alright, alright, settle down all of you! We still have worked to do.” Their commanding officer raised his voice slightly, booming and thunderous. “You all know what to do for contact with spacefaring civilizations: Prepare First Contact data package for transmission to the nearest outpost or vessel.”

“Already done, Captain. Channels are open and waiting.”

The captain smiled as he rose from his command throne, his tail swaying behind him gently as he stepped into range of the holo-emitter, revealing his scaled and saurian visage to any who received the hail. “To the inhabitants of this system, the crew of the Divine Sojourner greet you on behalf of the Drakari Celestial Imperium and all those who dwell within its domain. We have crossed the great void in peace, in the hopes that we may share our knowledge with one another as we chart this galaxy.”

[Galaxiel]

SIGNAL DETECTED FROM UNRECOGNIZED VESSEL.
TRANSLATING MESSAGE...

The alien message was picked up by the sensors and quickly fed to the supercomupters of the Celrostian Translators, which accomplished their task in a less than a second. The Universal Translators were gifts from the Star Empire Of Calerost, and had only been installed in major worlds and in some outposts along the border. So, for the aliens to appear in the Kairelia System was… lucky, to say the least.

The message they received was… wonderful. Awesome, in fact! The alien vessels weren’t the ones of invaders or pillaging brutes, but the ones of curious scholars. And, thanks to the Translators (which they hoped the aliens also had on board with them), there weren’t going to be any misunderstandings, unlike what had happened the last time with the Edhelerim. Things were finally going to go well.

At least that’s what it seemed like. After all, the Translators could have completely mistranslated the message, or the message itself could be a fake in order to let the ill-intentioned invaders get closer to the colonies and cause much more damage. But, the Galactyans had hope for these new aliens. So, while still keeping the defense fleets ready to intervene at any moment, they sent a message to the rest of the Empire saying that the aliens spotted at the edge of the Kairelia System were seemingly not dangerous, and that backup would likely not be required.

And after this, they sent out a message to the alien ship itself.

DIVINE SOJOURNER OF THE DRAKARI CELESTIAL IMPERIUM, WE HAVE RECEIVED YOUR MESSAGE, AND UNDERSTAND YOUR INHOSTILITY. HOWEVER, YOU ARE CURRENTLY TRESPASSING TOO FAR INTO IMPERIAL TERRITORY. STILL, WE SHALL NOT ATTACK. DO YOU RECEIVE?

[taisenbot]

Aboard the Sojourner, her Captain gave what could be described as an almost sheepish smile despite his overall professional demeanor.

“Forgive us, friends. Our transit through Warp Space, even with precise navigational calculations fixed upon this system’s star, no doubt caused us to miss any beacons you have used to demarcate the boundaries of your territory. While this was an accident, I humbly offer my apologies for any fright or concern the arrival my ship may have caused.”

His crewmates smiled softly in turn as they watched the scene unfold, their eyes turning back to their stations frequently to ensure nothing was missed.

“If you would permit us,” he continued, “once my crew and I complete a preliminary report to our government, perhaps we may meet face to face at a location of your choosing within this system?”

[Galaxiel]

It was admittedly weird to jump to diplomacy this fast. To be honest though, after you go to war with the first two and almost go to war with the third exclusively over misapprehensions, it’s only natural to expect the same for the following ones. Instead, things were going differently this time.

And the Galactyans couldn’t be happier about it. They had longed for new friends for SOOO long, and now, they were finally getting what they most deserved.

Another message was sent to the alien vessel.

YOU ARE EXCUSED.

YOUR REQUEST HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED. IMMEDIATELY AFTER CONTACTING YOUR GOVERNMENT, YOU WILL DESCEND TO PLANET KAIRMIOS. PLANETARY AND TRAJECTORY INFO WILL BE SENT RIGHT NOW. IF THE PLANET IS IN ANY WAY NOT SUITABLE TO YOUR SPECIES, WE ASK YOU TO LET US KNOW RIGHT NOW.

Since the aliens seemed to be exceedingly peaceful compared to previous examples, the Main World Kairmios was chosen as the Meeting Place. They hoped that, when the aliens learned of Kairmios’ importance in the Empire, they would feel honored, or at least something similar to that.

[taisenbot]

“Understood. We look forward to greeting your people face to face.”

The Drakari smiled as the transmission cut out, letting out a sigh of relief as he turned to his crewmates.

“I take it that you’ve already sent the message to our superiors, Lieutenant?”

“Transmitted live via the astropathic relay.” She smirked cheerfully as she turned around. “All we need is to await their response.”

“Good. What do we know of the planet these locals are directing us to?”

“Garden-class world with more or less standard gravity. Atmosphere is breathable, but there are signs of slightly higher oxygen than the homeworld, so we may need to have the delegation acclimate themselves in the decon airlock.”

“Set course, then. One-third impulse. It will give us time to prepare ourselves.”

[Galaxiel]

Hephroll Muskarill, governor of the Kairelian Star System.

In the main room of Kairmios’ Surveillance Nexus, governor Hephroll listened to the transmission. He was rather pleased. The first extra-Regional alien first contact with the Star Empire Of Calerost hadn’t gone so smoothly as one would have liked, so it was a pleasure to be able to encounter another cilization and be able to understand each-other from the start. Regardless of the troubled nature of the first contact with the Edhelerim, the universal translators gifted to Galactya were one of the greatest gifts the Empire had ever received. The systems that had them could still be counted on an appendix, that was true , but the ones that had them were perfect for alien contact, and luckily the Kairelian System was one of them.

What pleased him even more was the behavior of the aliens. Curious, peaceful and respectful. If things went smoothly one day, Galactya was going to have the chance to make a new friend.

He got on his private Maglev Line and selected Kairmios’ Prime SpacePort as the destination. By now, the SpacePort’s crew should have already started preparing the Main Hall for the aliens’ arrival, separating the large crowd of citizens with temporary barriers to allow the aliens an easy passage.

He put on his formal robe, activated his universal communicator and, after a minute, got out of the Maglev Capsule. He hoped the aliens wouldn’t be unsettled as the Edhelerim always were when seeing the Galactyans. He also wondered what they would look like.

[taisenbot]

As the fiery glow of reentry faded away from around the alien voidcraft’s shields, the assembled Galactyans would see it for what it was: a beautiful (if somewhat sharply pointed) vessel of white and gold livery, easily a hundred meters bow to stern and fifty across the beam. Massive landing gear, just as elegantly-designed as the rest of the ship, would extend down towards the surface as the ship drew near, hydraulics hissing softly as it finally came to rest.

A few silent moments would pass as its engines faded and cooled. No doubt some of the civilians were wondering if the aliens had changed their mind, or if they were going to use a hologram to communicate instead. That is, until, the ship extended a ramp down from just behind its forked bow.

As it descended, they would see them at last. The creature at the head of the delegation was massive beast of almost brass-colored scales and sweeping horns, easily two-and-a-half meters in height as it walked down the ramp, talons clicking softly against the metal beneath it and tail swishing gently behind it. Its uniform, no doubt semi-military in nature, was neatly pressed and as white as freshly-driven snow. Its faintly-glowing amber eyes swept about the crowd as it tucked away a rebreather, brows raised in amazement at the sheer variety of the local people.

It would come to a halt at the base of the ramp, gently inclining its head towards the governor to let him have the first word.

[Galaxiel]

As the alien exited the ship, the crowd and the governor admired it in awe. It was a certainly… majestic, creature, so to say. It looked like one of their subspecies, just bipedal and more intimidating, in a way. Thanks to it’s height it dwarfed many of the Galactyans of the now absolutely massive crowd that had gathered in front of the SpacePort, while others dwarfed it. When compared to aliens, Galactyans seemed incredibly diverse. Almost too diverse, if that made sense. They liked to be perceived like that. Being seen as weird and even eldritch did have it’s cons, sure, like being called monstrous or having your culture completely rejected, but it still felt nice.

Hephroll came closer to the alien. The governor wasn’t short by any means for his subspecies, being around 2 meters tall, but the alien still looked really big when compared to it. It didn’t feel intimidating though. Instead, it transmitted the feeling of a strong, parental figure. Uh. Weird.

Hephroll cleared his throat one last time, and introduced himself.

”Welcome! I am Hephroll Muskarill, Governor of the Kairelia Star System. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person.”

The aliens had seemed very nice for now, but it was still important for him to try his best and make a good impression. He didn’t know what limits their patience could have, if anything were to go wrong.

[taisenbot]

The creature gave the assembled crowd a smile as it placed a fist over their heart, bowing slightly in the process.

“In the name of the Imperial Senate and Her Imperial Majesty, Aresia the Second of the House of Io, I, Captain Cicero Trebena of the Divine Sojourner, humbly greet you in turn.” It… no, HIS voice, smoother than shimmersilk and deep as an ocean trench, rolled out to the assembled crowd.

“I must admit I was not expecting so many species gathered upon a single world, but it is a pleasant surprise. It is wonderful to see the infinite diversity of this universe shown amongst your people.”

[Galaxiel]

Oh. That was an admittedly wonderful thing to hear. Galactyans had never been “complimented” for their diversity. The Melaneans were disgusted, the U’Lnuib were scared, and while the Edhelerim weren’t neither of those things (at least not as strongly), they still had some problems with it. So, it was nice to meet a species that understood, at least a bit. It was finally time.

”We thank you for your compliments. You seem to be a bit diverse as well. At least that’s what I can see from the rest of your crew. I’d like to talk to you about these things, but alas, I fear there are more… pressing matters to discuss.”

”Would it be fine for you and a couple of members of your crew to follow me to my office. I think it would be more fit for diplomatic talks. You can bring whoever you desire, of course.”

[taisenbot]

“I would be honored, Governor.” The saurian giant smiled, only showing the slightest hints of his fanged maw before motioning for two of his crewmates to approach.

One was a broad-shouldered and fur-covered mountain of a man (if the long and meticulously beaded and braided beard was any indication), his jaw set into a seemingly perpetual grimace by the small tusks that stood in place of lower canines. While slightly shorter than his captain at a mere two-hundred thirteen centimeters, it’d be a mistake to view him as any less formidable. Was… was that an AXE strapped across his back?! And yet… those ice-blue eyes of his seemed to exude a gentle and curious nature to him… like he was eager to study even the most minute details

The other would approach soon thereafter; she was a crimson-skinned creature of slightly-above average height but intimidating beauty, with bright red eyes that, much like her captain’s, seemed to faintly glow. Her hair, as black as a night with no moon, was cut quite short, showing off the strange, rune-marked gold en ornamentation she hooked into her slightly-pointed ears and upon the bestial ridges and spurs along her skull and neckline.

“May I present to you, Governor, Lieutenant Kurga Dranak, a son of Clan Kurga of the Sosa Republics…” the fur-covered creature nodded politely.

“A pleasure to accept your invitation, Governor.” His voice was light and soft, but had a firmness to it. “Hopefully our arrival didn’t cause too much of a scare.”

“…and my First Officer, Lady Draqia Ezrevial of the Sinthari Hegemony.”

“Charmed. I must say that your civilization has done well for itself, if so many races have flocked to your banner.” Her voice was a bit rougher than her hairy counterpart, and yet it seemed smoother than honey. No doubt a politician or aristocrat’s child…

[Galaxiel]

”It’s a pleasure to meet you all. And no, do not worry, we were actually thrilled to discover your presence. After we assessed that you weren’t a threat that is.”

”And just for the record, Lady Ezrevial, that’s a quite common misconception. The Edhel had that problem too. You see, technically only two species flocked under our “banner”, as you said. All of this diversity you see is quite… artificial.

”But, you can ask me all about us after we get to the office. Follow me, if you may.”

Getting up on his maglev capsule, he motioned for the aliens to follow him. After they did so, the capsule closed itself, and they departed through the city, the capsule travelling on its colorful magnetic track.

The city, as all Galactyan ones were, was purely majestic. Colorful buildings of incredible diversity and great and small size rose and extended high in the sky. The ground far under them was covered in gardens, with plants climbing up almost to the top of the skyscrapers. Citizens walked in the blooming parks and orchards, taking other bigger maglev capsules to get to their destination. Flying service drones flew at high speeds beside the capsule, ready to help the citizens and repair the buildings. And the sheer diversity of the people going about their day as the capsule travelled on its maglev track high above them was amazing in of itself. While they travelled, Lieutenant Dranak tried to count all the different species he could identify. 10… 30… 50, and even more. It was absolutely awe-inspiring.

After a couple of minutes, the capsule came to a halt beside a very large building, taller and larger than the rest. A great decorated plaza stood in front of it, full with diplomats, aristocrats and regular citizens walking fastly in and out of the building. It was the Central Administration Building, the heart of every Galactyan colony.

The Governor descended from the capsules, and like before, the aliens followed him.

”We’ve reached our destination. I hope you appreciated the city’s sights. We take quite the pride in our architectural capabilities.”

[taisenbot]

“They are quite lovely, Governor. It reminds me of some of the arcologies on the Throne World.” Cicero smiled as he followed suit, taking a moment to stretch as he stepped out of the tube.

“If you mind my asking,” Dranak interjected as he dusted off his uniform, “I couldn’thelp but notice just how many species you had milling about the city. Are they all races that your central government initiated First Contact with? Or, and this might be a bit… of a fringe theory, are they genetically modified?”

“Lieutenant, that is a bit rude to ask don’t you think?” Draqia shot him a sharp look, as if to reprimand him further before a brief growl from their captain got them back on track.

“I’m certain that Lieutenant Kurga meant no offense, Commander. Perhaps our host may be able to explain?”

[Galaxiel]

“You’d be surprised to know that the Liutenant was actually right. All of this you see, even me… we were all made. Not a single being in the entire Empire is an original Galactyan.”

“And, Captain, just some advice for the future. Here, it’s probably more rude to have a stigma against genetic modification. Especially since a lot of our culture revolves around it. And our history. From past experiences we have learned that not everyone is… fine, let’s say, with this. I hope this doesn’t apply to your nation.”

“Again, we can discuss it more properly later on. Now, we have more pressing matters to attend to. This way.”

The alien trio followed the Captain into the large building. They walked past the central hall, filled with hundreds of people going on about their day. They took an elevator, and rose up to 589th floor, at the top of the skyscraper. They got out into some sort of antichamber, with a large closed door on the other side.

“Oh, right. I always forget about this. Wait a second, please.”

The Governor walked up to a small panel beside the door. He pushed his hand into it, revealing a strange soft and fleshy consistency. After a couple of seconds, the door opened.

As per his request, the aliens sat down on large colorful armchairs in front of his desk. His office was grand and luxurious, as were all offices of Imperial Positions. Behind him, a window overlooked over the rest of the city, and far off in the distance the start of the Wild Ecosystem could be seen. Large storm clouds had started rising on the horizon a couple of hours ago. He hoped the meteorologists had activated the dispellers along the city’s border. He didn’t want rain to ruin the mood.

“Now that we’re ready, feel free to ask me anything you want to know about the Empire. After all, it’s important to know whose house you’re inside of. Also, would you like anything to drink? Big changes in oxygen always make me very thirsty.”

[taisenbot]

The trio of guests would recline in the offered seats, equally impressed and perturbed by the strange biotechnology, but held their tongues for the time being.

“A bit of red wine for me, I think,” the Captain would finally remark. “Something full-bodied in particular.”

Dranak smirked beneath his beard. “Whiskey. The kind that burns going down, to be precise.”

Lady Ezrevial, leaned back with almost cat-like grace, her eyes wandering around the office. “I think I’ll go with tea, Governor. Tell me, what would you recommend?”

[Galaxiel]

“Okay so I don’t really have red wine but I do have Maglen, and I was told by a Calerostian that it basically tastes the same. I hope you can forgive me!”

“Again, I don’t have whiskey but I do have some Thall that also tastes similarly smokey, so you should still enjoy that one.”

“Also, be a bit careful with drinking those because I have been told by some hosts from Calerost that they can be quite… strong.”

“As for you Lady Ezvrial, I do have some tea! If I remember correctly, the favourite one preferred by the Florafopes is flavoured with seaflowers from Olmaestav, so, given your similar felineness, you should enjoy it too.”

“Just give me a second and you’ll have your drinks immediately.”

“HelperBot?”

A male voice responded, it’s voice coming from everywhere in the room.

"Yes my governor?"

”Give our guests some drinks, will you? I’m sure you picked up on their requests."

"Of course my governor."

In a minute, the three drinks appeared on levitating trays that floated besides the three hosts’ armchairs. They didn’t look like what they had…expected. Captain Cicero looked uncertain at the vibrant blue liquid in his glass. Dranak, ever curious, examined the colorful prismatic fluid in his cup with much interest. Lady Ezvrial, luckily for her, just looked at the unusually vibrant redness of her tea, that didn’t look too different from what she had drank at home. In an effort to show respectful of their offer, they picked the glasses and drank some of their drinks.

[Galaxiel]

“Anywho, I’d like to start this… meeting by exchanging some information about our respective states.”

“The Galactyan Empire was founded almost 9500 standard years ago on the homonymously named world of Galactya, situated around 100 light years from here. The Empire has a total population of around 79 trillion citizens, and is inhabited by hundreds of different species, most of which were created through the genetic engineering of our ancestral dna or from provolving other sentient or even unsentient species, even though some were reassembled from our neighbouring allied nation, the Star Empire Of Calerost. The Empire holds at it’s core the values of collaboration and peace, despite how much such values have been tested throught the millennia.”

“From what I can see, I take it the Drakari Imperium is quite diverse as well. Maybe not the same amount of diversity as Galactya, but still quite remarkable. As it was for you, it’s a definitely positive change of pace for us as well. We have never met any other nation with such diversity before.”