[snip]

The Captains comm device chirped and when answered the voice of William sounded =^=Merrimack to Captain Glen=^=

“Sorry! That’ll be William.” Glen said.

=/\= William? Any further developments on the craft rescue? Is it one of their lost sleeper ships? =/\=

The voice answered calmly =^=Yes, sir. One of the Alstair ships helped stabilize the vessel and we managed to tow it into orbit. The signal we intercepted seems to have been some sort of signal flare set up so you could notice it from a distance, I have not yet determined how it was set up. The locals seem excited to have one of their sleeper ships back=^=

=/\= That’s good news. There is still one more ship out there somewhere, of course, but don’t worry, I won’t send you to look for it. I am sorry, you’ve missed the tours and the meal down here. It’s not exactly a party, but it has all gone very well so far. At least now you’ve put all those command hours under your belt you will qualify to take those senior officers exams. =/\=

=^=That I have, sir, I’ll keep the Merri on standby and continue passive scans on the system.=^=

“If it pleases the Captain, the first thing I would like to see is how their infrastructure is set up. One can usually tell a lot about a society by how they run their regions.”

“I just want us to gather all the intel we can, and to leave on good relations,” replied Glen. “After the debacle with the Dolphins , anything more is a bonus. I have no objection to you asking searching questions, and they do seem quite amenable to our questions. If anything, this mission is going too well! I keep worrying what the catch is that we aren’t seeing. Mind you, we do deserve a mission that goes to plan once…

Tia had chewed her lip long enough and finally spoke up. “Captain, with your permission, I would like to take Security NE Jeffries and see if they need any help with the sleeper ship.” Nodding to her guests, she affected her nicest smile. “I don’t with to seem rude, honestly. But I feel my curiosities and my help would be more beneficial in places less formal.” She was a mechanic, not a diplomat. And while Kord had more than opened her eyes to things that went beyond microchips and spano wrenches, she was still far more at home where technical things were the point of interest, not archeology, sociology, or diplomatic nodding. She just hoped she wasn’t offending anyone or stepping out of line in her request.

“I have no objection to that,” replied Glen. ” A report on Alstairean engineering and spacecraft design will probably be called for too. Keep in regular contact.”

There were pauses as the UT did its work translating back and forth, before finally the First replied =/\= Lt Tia if that is your wish I see no reason you can not do that. I admit I am curious myself on our lost ship returning but my responsibilities are here for now. Please keep me informed if you discover anything or anyone. =/\= The First said letting Tia and NE Jeffries depart at their will either by transporter or if they wanted taking the shuttle back.

Turning to Glen then, =/\= Your XO seems intent upon see our infrastructure. Our structural engineering center for this city is nearby we can stop there first. If that is what you prefer? =/\= She asked.

=/\= Yes, please show us the way. =/\=

-Glen, CO

Kord nodded politely in thanks.

As they walked Kord felt a sense of anticipation.

“May main interest is in the layout of transportation networks, power supply, citizen support, and financial systems.” Kord said.

• Kord, XO

Glen mused that the elephant in the room was still how they managed to reproduce. They still had not seen any male Alstaireans. Did they only adopt male sexual attributes once a month, during a period of sexual receptiveness and high fertility, or were they completely asexual? In any case, Glen wasn’t going to raise the subject now and spoil a mission that was going so well. No need to cause any embarrassment or shame about any vast state incubators, or the rows upon rows of secret gravid bottles and sperm test-tubes, and the brains kept alive in jars. No, no, that was far better left for the ‘Second Contact’ missions to broach when the UFP membership application paperwork would need to have the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed.

-Glen, CO