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Chirakis

First Contact

First Contact
Chirakis Kirel
Captain Aayrn

Captain Aayrn removed his hood and stepped forward, extending his hand in greeting.  “Captain Chirakis.”
~chat log 2018-10-12


A series of gasps and one near-faint greeted Dahlem Captain Aayrn of the starship Voad when he suddenly appeared in CnC.   Kirel stood her ground, more curious than startled.  The beings who called themselves the Dahlem were newcomers to this area of the galaxy.  They were both interesting and frightening—overwhelmingly so.  Single representatives had appeared without notice twice before, creating quite a stir.  This was the third appearance, and would be more interesting than the last. The first two fumbled around, attempted to communicate, but could not make themselves understood.  This time, the representative was prepared.  He spoke Federation Standard and extended his bare hand in greeting.  As a precaution, Kirel did not respond to his first greeting.  Instead, she stood before him relaxed, her expression neutral, and her arms crossed,  gauging his reaction.

Lt Garand, Security’s second in command, stepped off the command lift.  As soon as the lift door closed, he secured CnC, then positioned himself at a discreet distance.

Kirel estimated the Dahlem captain's height at 2.2 meters—7 feet 3 inches.  His muscular frame showed a few scars, so he might have experienced some dangerous times.  His loose clothing was of lightweight athletic material. His white boots bore an intricate, interesting symbol.  The edge of his shirt collar bore two more images than those of the last visitor, a Dahlem commander.  Removing his hood exposed thick, fine white close-cropped hair and fair skin that complemented his deep silver eyes.   Aayrn stood erect, but relaxed, and he did not seem disturbed that Kirel would not take his hand in greeting.

“I am Captain Aayrn of the Dahlem Starship Voad, Captain Chirakis,” he repeated, dropping his hand to his side.

“Yes, Captain. I understand,” Kirel replied calmly, “and I am sure you understand that knowing the power in your touch is good enough reason to not take your hand in greeting.”  

“I do.”

Kirel gave a polite nod.  “Welcome to Sky Harbor Aegis, Captain.  Please follow me.”  She led the way to the unoccupied CnC lounge.  Its doorway was open to view by those in CnC while it provided a semi-private area to talk.  Lt Garand followed at a discreet distance, then positioned himself at the entrance—standard protocol for dignitary protection.

“You were correct, Captain,” Kirel began, as they settled in. “I am a captain, and my surname is Chirakis.  However, I am not the commanding officer.  I am responsible for the safety and security of this station and its inhabitants, which is why I am here and our commanding officer is not.  Before we go on, please state your purpose for entering this area of space.”

“Of course.” Captain Aayrn nodded.  “We are scientists.  We explore the galaxy, and have for thousands of years.  We entered this area of space for the first time when we received an alert that your ships were endangered by our transport conduit.  It was important to us that we contact those we endangered, examine the problem, and fix it with compatible technology.”

Kirel raised a brow, curious.  “I see.  And has this been done?”

“Not completely, Captain.  We might have to consult some of your engineers to fix the problem.”

First they want to meet the scientists, and now they need the expertise of our engineers.  Kirel leaned back to consider that for a moment, her skepticism growing.  

“Thank you, Captain Aayrn,” she continued, “for your concern regarding our starships.  As we move forward in diplomacy, we should be frank with each other. Do you agree?”

“I do,” he replied flatly.
 
“Then, I will begin by noting that we have many unanswered questions, the first being why you ask us for information when you have unimaginable telepathic powers that could provide the answers.”

Aayrn nodded into a congenital smile and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table.  “You are not the first of sentients to wonder,” he said, “but you are one of the few who have  asked me to explain.  Perhaps we are more powerful, but at times like this… what you call First Contact… we turn certain abilities off so we can relate to our new contacts.”

“So, at this moment you cannot read my thoughts?”

“Oh yes, I can. But I choose not to.  And since you did not take my hand in greeting—as is your custom—I will tell you that my hands can be overpowering.  Instead, I choose to have them function as yours do.  The same applies to communicating in Federation Standard. The best way to connect with and understand a previously unknown species is to learn the language and to follow their protocol.”

Kirel took more time to mull that over, watching the captain’s expressions closely. “Please, continue Captain.  You seem to have more that you are holding back for some reason.”

“Yes, there is more,” he said, his expression turning somber. “I admit that we overstepped our bounds in certain instances, but as scientists we try to learn quickly and to adapt quickly.  We observed your culture through the eyes of your Captain d’Ka and Doctor Sandero.”  Aayrn paused as though he was waiting for her reaction.

“Go on.”

“I must confess, then... that we used the telepathic connection with Doctor Sandero and Captain d’Ka to not only give you information, but to gather information about your culture, solely for the purpose of understanding.  By incorporating that information, we learned your Federation Standard within a short time frame.  And we learned many other things—your customs, your mores, and that you have many cultures in your area of space.  We also learned that you are shocked by our ability to travel instantly.”

“Why would we not be shocked?”

“Time is relative, Captain.  To you, our travel seems instantaneous when actually it is not. Time dilation is a difference in the elapsed time measured by two observers—in this case, us and you—either due to a velocity difference relative to each other, or by being differently situated relative to a gravitational field.  You see….”

Her hand went up.  “Thank you, Captain. I will defer that to our scientists.  There is a more pressing question I must ask, and that is about the Vladivostok.”

“I knew that your questions would eventually come to that,” he replied with a sigh, looking as though he did not know how to begin.

“Not all of us are scientists, Captain.  Not all of us learn quickly.  Those who found and rescued the crew of USS Vladivostok fumbled about to save them because they were not trained in the skills of what you call First Contact.  

“My clothing—the covering we use to shield ourselves from certain cosmic rays—is white. Theirs is a shade of brown.  Their expertise is in construction, not in science.  They stumbled across the crew while hunting for minerals.  When we first heard of their encounter, we mourned the ten who died and those who suffered from lack of food and nutrition. It will not happen again, Captain.  Anyone of us wanting to travel outside our own system must pass an exhaustive course on First Contact.”

“A wise choice, Captain”

The conversation continued for a while, then came to a lull while each considered the other. Kirel felt them forming... a kind of bond?  No, not a bond, but more of an understanding.  Captain to captain?  Individual to individual?  Alien to alien?

“Tea, Captain?” she asked finally.

Aayrn blinked, startled.  “Yes, please.”

[TBC in sim]
 

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