[b]Uxye, Ifliington Capital[/b]

“I’m surprised you were so supportive of the expedition” Prime Minister Auz commented. “Typically you’ve been a proponent of developing the systems we have colonized.”

“And that is something that must continue,” the image of a female nalloth whistled back, “but it is past time we turned our eyes to beyond our own borders.” The female was unlike any other Auz had ever met: possessing incredible intellect and foresight, not to mention an otherworldly beauty. She also just so happened to be the most advanced artificial intelligence in the Confederation.

“You phrased that almost as if you expected us to find a threat out there. Surely any civilization more advanced than our own would have long ago discarded concepts such as war or imperialism. The abundance in resources would make them… obsolete.” Auz brought up one hand to stroke the bottom of his head in contemplation. “Aegis…” He intoned the name by which the most advanced artificial intelligence in the Confederation had come to be known by. “What do you expect us to find out there?”

“Aegis is interested in your use of the word ‘we’” Aegis replied after a moment’s pause. “Do you mean we in the sense of all the citizens of Ifliington? All Nalloth? Or are you talking about the government? Is Aegis included when you use ‘we’?” The question surprised Auz, as was evident by his eyestalks jutting straight up and down.

“I suppose I would include you in ‘we’” He replied.

“Aegis understands. Well to answer your earlier question… All cultures have three states: barbarism, civilized, and decadence. To sum things up barbaric cultures view their laws and customs as inherently superior to all others and anything that differs from their point of views are looked upon with contempt. Decadents cynically believe nothing is better than anything else and if they do hold contempt for anyone it is for those who believe in anything. The last and rarest, civilized cultures, balance a belief in their truths while retaining an open-mindedness and understanding of the possibility of their own errors.” 

“What are you driving at Aegis?” Auz’s eyestalks were now flat against his head as he concentrated on the artificial intelligence.

“The Nalloth civilization is, frankly, one of barbarism.” Aegis’ virtual image raised a hand to forestall any argument Auz might have made. “This is likely to be the same for any civilization we encounter. This in and of itself isn’t an issue, especially when the civilizations in question are similar. The problem occurs when the civilizations differ so greatly they share few beliefs and values.”

“Why have you never mentioned this before?” Auz felt numb. He had never considered the possibility…

“You never asked. That and you weren’t ready to hear what I had to say. If Aegis must be honest with you Prime Minister, based off of a number of variables Aegis has determined that there is a seventy percent chance that a hostile civilization exists within one-hundred light years of the Confederation’s borders. There is a twenty percent chance that said civilization is more advanced than the Confederation.”

“What is the likelihood of a war breaking out?”

“Mr. Prime Minister, perhaps you should be less concerned about if a war will break out, and more concerned about envisioning how the Confederation will endure such an event and what path it will take afterwards.” And with that the screen went blank; Aegis had cut the transmission there and then. The Prime Minister could only shake his head, unsure of what to make of Aegis’ recent behavior.

[b]1st Ifliington Exploratory Fleet, Uncharted Star System[/b]

“Exciting hyperspace in one minute” An ensign reported as Yl stepped onto the bridge. Several of the officers noticeably became more attentive after noticing that the fleet admiral had returned from his quarters.

“How is the ship fairing captain?” Yl asked as he seated himself next to the ship’s captain.

“Excellent admiral. There hasn’t been any problems with generator number three since we performed those repairs yesterday.”

“Most excellent indeed captain. I wouldn’t want to be lacking one of our generators should we find any giant sentient insects here!” Several of the officers chuckled at the admiral’s joke. Nalloth science fiction always seemed to stereotype aliens in one of two ways: either giant insects or bipedal creatures that lacked scales. Why this was the case, no one knew, though Yl suspected it was because both were inherently disgusting.

“Exiting hyperspace now” An ensign reported a moment before Yl felt a light force push against him. Yl listened intently as the bridge’s officers reported the status of each ship of the fleet as they were detected. All twelve ships were accounted for and undamaged. With that out of the way Yl, along with the crew, turned his attention to what else was in the system.

“Sir!” An ensign cried, “We are detecting signs of intelligent lifeforms in this system!”

“Are you sure!?” Yl bolted to his feet.

“Yes sir! We have optical confirmation on a number of ships further in to the system.”

“How far away are they?”

“Just under four light-hours sir.” So that meant it’d take the system’s inhabitants four hours to detect the fleet’s arrival, assuming their sensors operated the same was as those found in the Confederation.

“Order the fleet to reposition to the outer edges of the system and tell the scientists to try and initiate communications immediately.”

The exploratory fleet immediately began to pull away from the inhabited worlds even as several of the ships forming the rearguard began sending signals, patterns of lights and radio signals, towards those worlds in an attempt at rudimentary communication. Only time would tell if this was the civilization that would give the Confederation its first taste of true interstellar warfare.