[center][h3]Collab between [@Raylah] and [@jorvhik][/h3][/center]

The situation around the Sol Gateway was confusing and Guardian Hamonga was stressed out, even though he would never show it in front of his subordinates. The entire fleet under his command was here to make sure the mining ships didn’t receive reinforcements. But how was supposed to know which ships were which? There was heavy traffic through the Gateway, everything from small personal shuttles bringing ambassadors to and from their planets, over cargo haulers headed towards the Meeting Place to bring supplies to the embassies, to large warships coming to join the raging battle. He flinched upon seeing the shattered remnants of the Zetan navy jump into the system. What were they hoping to achieve here with those trashcans barely holding together?

The new, unknown ships, have responded to their calls, at the very least sending some scrambled transponder signals that were so different from the hostile mining fleet that Hamonga waved them through, letting them continue their path to the Meeting Place. He wasn’t here to cause an international incident by accidentally attacking a survey vessel of some new nation.

It seemed to have been working well until the new ship arrived. The Hyperion tried to hail it several times, but unlike the ones before, this one didn’t respond at all. No angry “leave us alone” or frightened “we come in peace”, no even unintelligible alien blabbering on any of the frequencies the Undefeated fleet was able to receive. 

[i]Crap.[/i] Hamonga scratched his chin, trying to decide what to do. The ship wasn’t exactly small, but it was no match for the Battleships stationed around the wormhole. Destroying it would be simple, but that was definitely not what he was tasked to do. 

“Keep broadcasting on whatever frequency you can think of, let’s see if they try to respond in any way. Signal Sonne to deploy a squadron of fighters to circle around the unknown ship. Keep our weapons locked on it, but don’t charge them yet. Perhaps they will understand that as ‘stop or we will open fire’.” Hamonga truly hoped to avoid conflict. “Oh, and tell Commander Ross to assemble a boarding party and be ready to go on my signal.” Just in case.

On the Kudrioni ship, everything was in chaos. It had been half an hour since they had travelled through the gate and tried to make contact, but all that would come out of the comms’ system’s speaker was white noise and occasional garbled sounds. Emily, leaning over the control console to help some of the engineers, had no luck identifying the problem either. They had essentially no way to contact the outside world.

Behind her, she could hear the ship’s crew arguing. There had been much confusion since the ship arrived in the Sol system. What were these mysterious ships? Were they even human? Why were they here? Were they some sort of space police, sent out to intercept them? Probably not the latter, most of the crew had agreed. Still, the captain had ordered the ship to stop to figure out what these ships were.

“Well, if they wanted to kill us, they would’ve done so already,” Moimir said. “Even with their weapons locked on us, and their fighters around our ship, they haven’t fired a shot.”
It was then that King Dishuz realized what was about to happen. Years of experience in space combat had taught him what a situation like this meant. He picked up the microphone of the ship’s intercom and said: “All armed men are to spread out throughout the ship. Prepare to be boarded.” He turned to Emily. “Miss Bukkaz,” he said, “you’re not dressed for combat. You might want to stay here.”

Commander Peter Ross was nervously sitting in a boarding craft, a ship specifically designed to breach through enemy ships’ airlocks, along with eleven heavily armed men and women. They were all wearing the latest versions of combat exoskeletons, an essential part of the Undefeated gear that had been continually improved ever since the Gateway reopened. 

The original was designed to help soldiers withstand the hostile environment on Ellara and fight against the Screechers. But since the first contact with other colonies has been made, the requirements for combat gear have changed. The exosuits were now designed to help survive hard vacuum for some time, lighter and more compact for easier fighting in closed corridors of spaceships. They no longer needed to protect just against spears and arrows, but against bullets and various energy weapon discharges. The suits weren’t perfect by any means, but they gave better odds against murdering robots and mechs and monkeys and whatever else the universe decided to throw against them.

The lights in the boarding ship turned red and started flashing. Commander Ross inhaled deeply, he was hoping to avoid that. And of course, he was the one in charge now, so it would be his fault if something goes horribly wrong. He checked the latest orders on a datapad and turned to his men while their craft moved towards the unknown ship.

“Listen guys. We are going in. But,” Peter paused and looked around, making sure to make eye contact with every single one of the soldiers going on this mission, “we are NOT going to kill anyone if it’s not absolutely necessary, understood? I repeat, DO NOT shoot to kill. Even if they shoot first, just try to disarm them. There is a good chance this is just one huge misunderstanding and we don’t want to piss off another planet full of some fucking killer robots, is that clear?” They all nodded and gave them their “yes, sir” and Peter hoped they would remember his words when… no, if the fighting starts.

The boarding ship connected to an airlock with a loud metallic CLANG, automated tools quickly cutting through and forcing it open. Eleven green figures lit up on Peter’s HUD, all with rifles ready in their hands. They were going in.

It had been luck rather than any sort of strategy that led Moimir to be near the ship’s airlock when he heard the noise.. He and eleven of his clan’s warriors had been roaming around the ship, clad in their power armour. Kudrioni ships had no blast doors or automated turrets to combat invaders, trusting their warriors to do so. Boarding had been the staple of space combat between the clans, more honorable than simply shooting other ships from afar.

As soon as they heard the noise, Moimir and his men ran to the corridor adjacent to the airlock. It was narrow enough for them to hold off an assault if it came to it, but if they couldn’t hold them there, they were screwed. Many of the warriors were nervous. It had been three hundred years since the gateways had shut down, with no contact with other humans since that time. They had no idea of the boarders’ capabilities, and could only trust in the strength of their weapons.

“Form ranks!” Moimir commanded, and three of his warriors activated their hard-light shields, forming a shield wall in front of the rest. The rest readied their weapons, waiting for their commander’s signal. “But do not fire until they fire on us. I do not want our first contact to result in a war. Do you understand?” There was some part of him that wished for a fight, but his wisdom put his love for battle aside for now. 

And so, with their shields ready and their weapons pointing in the direction of the airlock, the warriors waited. 

Commander Ross peeked into the hallway, allowing the simple sensors on his helmet to draw a rough scan of the environment behind the airlock into his HUD. After the light steam created by breaching the airlock and equalizing the pressure on both sides dissipated, the suit’s software immediately picked up some movement on the other end of the hallway. Several red marks popped up in everyone’s view. Somebody was home and waiting for them.

It was not a good situation. The corridor was narrow without any cover points. It could easily become a shooting range from either side. Peter wasn’t sure what to do now. They could storm in, hopefully take the men on the other side by surprise. But it wouldn’t be without a bloodshed and the High Command wanted to avoid that, the orders were quite specific in that part.

His men were waiting, fingers on triggers. All it took was one wrong move and bullets and laser shots and whatever those other guys were using would start flying in both directions, most likely ending any chance of a friendly relationship with these people.

Crap. What now? Peter needed to make a move, the men on the other side were probably just as nervous as his men, if not more, it might as well be them to break the stalemate.

“Hey!” he shouted, using the amplifiers on his suit to make sure his voice was distinguishable even at the other end of the corridor. “Is there any chance you guys speak English?” Even if they were human, it wasn’t entirely guaranteed. But it was worth a shot. Figuratively speaking, of course.

There was no response from the Kudrioni. Some of the warriors nervously fidgeted their weapons, thinking that the strange noises on the other side of the corridor might be some sort of battlecry, but Moimir motioned for them to put down their weapons. He was puzzled as well. What he just heard was clearly a language, even sounding similar to the Kudrioni tongue at times, but he was unable to understand what they were saying.

The Kudrioni language, of course, had originated from many different Earth languages, including English, but the two weren’t mutually intelligible, owing to three hundred years of separation. None on the Kudrioni side of the corridor were able to understand what the intruders were saying, adding to the already tense atmosphere.

There was, however, one person on the ship who could speak English. Sitting in the bridge, the part of the ship’s crew that was unprepared for combat had been nervously watching live audio and video footage from Moimir’s helmet. As one of the intruders spoke, Emily Bukkaz perked up. She recognized this language, having learned it from old, founding-era texts, and songs about legendary deeds sung in a language forgotten to the common Kudrioni.

And so, after having asked permission from king Dishuz, and being given a rifle, just in case, she made her way down to the corridor where the standoff was taking place as fast as her legs could carry her. Moimir turned around, thinking that the intruders had somehow gotten behind them, but visibly relaxed when he saw the blonde woman approaching them.

Emily offered a small prayer to the gods for what she was about to do. She wasn’t overly religious, but when you’re about to make first contact with an unknown, possibly non-human civilization, it was better to be safe than sorry. She cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting into the distant corridor: “I can speak English. Who are you?”

Commander Ross was just about to order his men to attack, since there was no reaction to his words, but sighed heavily in relief upon hearing a female voice in the distance, claiming to speak English. Now they could talk, which was a start. It didn’t necessarily mean this wouldn’t still turn into a bloodbath, but it was better than nothing.

“I’m Commander Ross from the Undefeated nation,” he called back. “You think we could talk face to face instead of hollering at each other across this corridor? Maybe meet up halfway?” It would be dangerous for whoever goes there (and Peter already knew it would be him, this task was far too important to hand over to anyone else), but if it helps to avoid a fight, they had to try.

Emily wasn’t sure what to respond. She had essentially no authority to represent her country’s government, but given the fact that she was the only who could speak English on the ship, maybe even all of Kudrion, she was the only one who could negotiate with these intruders. Asking the king, or any of the other warriors currently on her side of the corridor to accompany her might be seen as an insult, or even worse, as a threat.

Weighing these factors in her mind, she quickly made the decision. “I think that might be for the best. I will meet you halfway,” she replied to the voice down the corridor. After putting down her rifle, and motioning the warriors behind her not to follow her, she began the walk towards the midway point. Unsure about whether these moments would be her last, she held her breath and soldiered on. 

Peter left all his weapons at the airlock. He wasn’t sure the opposing side would do the same, but in case a gunfight broke out, he would be first in line to die anyway, getting caught in the middle. So it hardly mattered whether he was armed or not, although it was a strange, unfamiliar feeling. He was still in his combat suit, which gave him advantage over the unusually tall woman who came to meet him, unarmed and wearing normal clothes and a lab coat. Maybe she was some sort of a scientist? How strange of them to send her alone.

He opened his helmet, trying not to picture a bullet hitting his forehead at that very moment, and tried to put on a friendly face. “Hello.” He raised his hand and waved nervously. “I, uh… I know this seems like we are attacking you, but, well…” He was never good with words, especially around women. “There is a battle going on in the Sol system right now, and we are just making sure the enemy doesn’t receive any reinforcements. Your ship is of unknown design and you haven’t responded to any of our calls, we weren’t sure who you were, so we came here to check.” Yes, breaking through someone’s door and barging inside fully armed is a great way to meet new people. Peter was fairly certain at this point that whoever these guys were, they didn’t belong to the fleet of the mining ships. Which of course didn’t mean they couldn’t turn into enemies if he screws this up.

Emily let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw that the man was alone and seemingly had no weapons on him. Her sense of relief was doubled when she saw that she was talking to what looked like an actual human, rather than an alien. Looking at his armor, she started to feel a little vulnerable, clad as she was in her lab coat and work clothes, and Emily was starting to wonder whether just walking in was a bad idea. The second thing she noticed was the man’s height. Emily was at the average height for a woman on Kudrion, but she was as tall, if not taller than Commander Ross. This was rather odd, she thought, unless the average height on Kudrion was greater than that of other nations. But that would mean…

She quickly snapped herself out of her train of thoughts, remembering where she was and what she had to do. Listening to what the man had to say, she appeared pensive. [i]That would explain the hostility, [/i] she thought, before finally replying. “I see. My name is Emily Bukkaz. I am a researcher from the Kingdom of Kudrion, and our system’s gateway opened on this day. We were unable to respond to your calls, as our comms systems broke inexplicably. I am the only person capable of speaking English among our ship’s crew. Forgive us for the hostile response, you don’t get boarded by an unknown force every day,” she said, her expression blank. Inside her mind, though, she was ecstatic. All the years of studying ancient languages, old lore and investigating Kudrion’s native species had finally paid off. She was the first to make contact with what was likely one of humanity’s other lost colonies. Hopefully, this was to be a peaceful occasion.

Peter was relieved that the woman sounded quite reasonable. She was even apologizing to him for being hostile? That was ironic. “I think we are the ones who ought to be apologizing here. I can assure you that under normal circumstances your ship would be allowed through without trouble even with malfunctioning communications. We are certainly no galactic police. But in the middle of a battle…” The suit hydraulics didn’t really allow him to shrug, so he just gave her an uncertain smile. “I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

He was really not sure what to do now, the situation was still pretty tense. Is this how battles were done in those ancient times before phones and radios and online 3D transmissions to every remote corner of the planet? Armies just camped on the opposite sides of a field and a few brave ones met up in the middle to talk? It was certainly interesting. “I’m not really authorized to do any diplomatic negotiations, but I can offer you some help, if you would accept it. We do have engineers that could take a look at your comm systems. And fix the door we broke.” Yes, that’s the very least they could do. “I’ll order my men to put their weapons down and retreat to our ship, if you manage to do the same. This has hardly been an ideal first contact, but if we can stop it from becoming an actual battle, I would still call it a success.” He chuckled nervously, not sure if Emily appreciates his humor.

[i]Well, that answers the space police question,[/i] Emily thought. “We would appreciate the assistance. Our engineers weren’t able to repair it, but a fresh pair of eyes might be helpful. I’ll see if I can get our warriors to stand down as well.” The scientist, all business at the moment, elected to ignore the man’s attempt at humor, hardly appropriate for the current situation. Privately, she hoped that the whole incident could be forgotten quickly. Nearly starting a fight the moment you met another nation wasn’t a good look.

Finally, Commander Ross was able to breathe a bit easier, even feeling a bit proud. This could have turned into a huge problem. Now, hopefully, the diplomats from both sides will have something funny to remember when the real negotiations between their nations start.