[hider=Note] Any mention of "Old Imperial" or the "Old Imperial Tongue" is referring to English. [/hider] [sub][@Sigma][/sub] Amir regretted eating something spicy last night. He was just going to eat a yogurt and some salad but his mother insisted he come over for dinner. Now, if he had to pick a last meal, his mother's chicken and rice would be it. But if he had to pick a last meat to violently vomit in a trade ship's bathroom? He'd go with the yogurt. He hadn't eaten since his mother's place, either, because as he was leaving he got a call that he would be on the first three ships to enter the Gateway in three hundred years. And not only that, but he would do so as a representative of RAMA Corporation, the company he'd been toiling his way up since he graduated the Academy. He didn't sleep, he spent so long picking an outfit, and ordering his cleaning robot to iron it about thirty times. And now he stood staring over the toilet, vomit dripping from his neatly drimmed black beard, and he had to clean up quick because he was about to come face to face with humans from a different part of the galaxy. So he washed his face, rinsed his mouth out, and straightened his hair in the mirror. His brown skin was pale with fear, but he didn't have time to apply makeup. So Amir took a deep breath, straightened his purple suit, and stepped out from the bathroom. The rest of the trade ship looked at him, mostly representatives of the other major corporations and trade companies of Salome, as well as some military protection, including a handful of Askari soldiers, but none of them spoke the Old Tongues. That's why Amir was selected, after all, and, despite not having the same experience as many of the corporate employees present, Amir was to be the main source of communication between the two colonies. He walked to the bow of the ship and looked at the space station in the proximity of the Gateway. It seems as if their visit was expected. The ship followed the escort to the station, and Amir and the other representatives assembled by the ship's entrypoint, flanked by Askari and corporate guards on either side, to await whatever welcome they would be greeted with. Amir could feel his nausea return and he tried as hard as he could to brush it away. Seeing the fighter ship and the rest of this nation's military prowess certainly did not help him sort his nerves, nor did the fact that he stood to represent for people many years his senior. Swallowing deeply, he shook away his nerves and prepared for what was ahead. [hr] [sub][@Crusader Lord][/sub] After the Capital Fleet detached a few ships to keep guard of the Gateway, a team was dispatched to keep watch of anything entering. And, sure enough, a couple days after the Gateway opened, a lone drone entered with a message in Old Imperial Tongue, some alien language, and binary. Thank God for the binary, because there were no Old-Tongue linguists on site (which has since been remedied), and the drone exploded only a few hours later. After the message had been brought to the Assembly, it was decided that each of the moons would be allowed their own response. Nereid and Adama, following their actions in the last vote regarding the Gateway, would not send any response at all. Great Teacher Qubon decided that while Da'lu supported human endeavors of self discovery, the Forest Moon would not be interested in establishing contact itself. That left Shem. When Aluf Kazak heard of the Alien drone, she laughed. "So this is what we've earned at Shem, eh? A self-destroying robot?" Her aide waited a second for a response while Aria got back to her work. "What response should we send?" Aria shrugged. "What have they earned?" And so it was decided; Shem's response would be a drone of their own, this one bearing a stone tablet with an old saying in the Salome Script and in the Old Imperial Tongue inscribed. [b]"If you're thirsty, come to the river." -Shem and the People Shekhehan[/b] [hider=Message in Salome Script] [img]https://i.imgur.com/fVoNrYQ.jpg[/img] [/hider] [hr] [sub][@Irredeemable][/sub] Ela had eyes glued to the ship's windows, a wide, child-like smile strewn across her face. The woman, now in her fifties, looked excitedly at the whirring of machines below her. "Oh, would you look at that!" It was incredible-this nation's technology had far outpaced anything she'd see in Salome. Once the ship had recieved their greeting, she clamored for the communications and begin to sputter in Old Imperial. "H-hello! Hello, familiar strangers! I am Ela Altara, of the Great Academy of Ur'daat, I come representing the Four Moons of Salome! We, seekers of science, knowledge, and wisdome, come in peace!" When Ela first heard of the Gateways opening, she immediately volunteered to go. Her inquisitive nature had gotten her into trouble many times before-the daughter of a respected alchemist, she had many times been caught rifling through her father's laboratory as a young girl. She hoped her inquisitive nature wouldn't get her into trouble now, but she didn't quite care; the fact that she now leads one of the first three ships through the Gateway is enough of a legacy to die on. As her ship moved closer to the foreign vessel, the scientist quivered with excitement as to what she might find. Being a woman, she could never become an alchemist like her father and brothers. Perhaps here, her science could be appreciated more?