[Snip[

Thalos remained quietly attentive as Captain Glen addressed the elder Shiarian.

The chamber seemed almost to breathe around them, its harmonics flowing gently through the crystalline structure.

His tricorder continued its passive monitoring.

The readings remained unchanged.

No indication of hostility.

No change in the Shiarian disposition.

He lowered the device slightly, his attention returning fully to the elder.

“Captain.”

His voice was kept deliberately low, intended only for those nearby.

“I concur with Lieutenant Reeves’ assessment.”

His silver eyes briefly swept the chamber before returning to the assembled Shiarians.

“Every indication suggests they have been transparent with us from the moment we entered Vey’lan.”

He paused for a moment.

“Security recommends maintaining our present posture.”

His antennae shifted slightly.

“Alert, respectful, and without unnecessary provocation.”

Thalos inclined his head fractionally.

“Until they give us reason to do otherwise, I believe that is the most appropriate way to proceed.”

With that, he fell silent once more.

His attention remained fixed upon the elder Shiarian, waiting to hear what questions a civilisation that had waited so long for visitors would choose to ask first.

Grahams was studying his tricorder readings with absolute fascination with everything he was seeing. When the Shiarians spoke through their comms he’s attention immediately drifted away and he stood careful to listen to what they were saying. Since joining StarFleet he had seen many things that a simple country boy like him could never have even imagined, but this was going well beyond even that. “Mate this is awesome,” he said quietly to absolutely nobody in particular then fell silent listening as the others did to the captain’s conversation with their new friends.

The crystalline chamber remained filled with the gentle harmonic resonance of Vey’lan as Captain Glen’s words passed through the newly synchronized communicators. For the first time, the exchange no longer felt like two species struggling across an impossible barrier. The city itself seemed to carry the conversation around them.

Elyss Zavey’s tricorder registered another subtle shift in the surrounding harmonics. The patterns accompanying the elder’s communication were becoming increasingly distinct from the background resonance of the city, giving Science its first opportunity to begin separating what appeared to be deliberate Shiarian speech from the constant harmonic activity of Vey’lan.

Beside her, Lieutenant M’Mera’s engineering readings confirmed that the translation was not originating from any single transmitter. Every crystalline surface surrounding the away team participated in carrying the signal. Vey’lan itself appeared to be adapting the exchange, with the Merrimack’s communicators serving as little more than the final bridge between two fundamentally different technological systems.

Doctor Grahams’ medical tricorder continued monitoring the Shiarians nearest the away team. Their physiological readings remained stable, with no obvious stress response accompanying Glen’s admission that the Merrimack crew had initially been uncertain whether the Shiarian intervention had been hostile. Whatever the elder thought of the admission, there was no immediately measurable sign of agitation among those gathered nearby.

Reeves and Thalos likewise found nothing to contradict their assessments. There was no sudden movement among the Shiarians, no change in energy readings, and no indication that the Captain’s words had altered the peaceful character of the encounter. The chamber remained calm. For several seconds, the elder remained silent.

The crystalline formations surrounding him shimmered faintly, their illumination spreading outward through the chamber in slow waves. Then the harmonics returned.

This time, the Merrimack’s communicators translated them almost immediately.

=/= Your uncertainty was understood. =/=

The elder inclined his head toward Glen.

=/= Others who came before you also believed our protection to be aggression. They answered fear with force. You did not. You questioned what you perceived, and therefore you remained long enough for understanding to begin. =/=

Another soft harmonic pulse passed through the chamber.

=/= You offer us the first questions. Then we shall ask what we have wondered since your vessel entered our reach. =/=

The elder’s gaze moved slowly across the entire away team before returning to Captain Glen.

=/= What do the Shiarians wish to know? We wish to know you. =/=

The surrounding light brightened almost imperceptibly.

=/= Why do your people cross the darkness between stars? Why do you enter places unknown to you when you know that what waits beyond your understanding may bring danger? What do you seek when you leave the safety of your own worlds? =/=

The elder regarded Glen for another moment.

=/= And when you encounter a people unlike yourselves… what do you hope to find? =/=

The question lingered within the gentle resonance of Vey’lan.

For all the extraordinary technology surrounding them, the Shiarians’ first true question was remarkably simple.

They wanted to understand the people who had come to them.

GM Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare

Captain Glen replied =/\= In our ship, we are representatives of Starfleet, the exploratory arm of the United Federation of Planets. The Federation was founded about 140-years ago by four species, Humans, Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarians, from Earth, Vulcan, Andoria and Tellar Prime. It is an interstellar republic which promotes peaceful coexistence; universal liberty, rights, equality for all sentient beings; together with cooperation in scientific research and development, space exploration and mutual defence. =/\=

=/\= You asked that given the dangers involved, why do we explore and what do we hope to find? We’ve found that exploration is something common and universal to all sentient species we have met. Even those yet to develop the capability to travel beyond their own home star system still have a longing to do so. In the past, planets have had various different reasons that include the opening new trade routes and economic success, political reasons such as acquiring new territories and wealth, or spreading religion and political ideas, but that desire and longing seems to go way beyond that, and is often merely to satisfy some very basic curiosity. Starfleet does not engage in exploration for military advantage or resource exploration, although there is safety in numbers and there are minerals like Dilithium crystals that we cannot synthesise, but rather because seeking out new worlds and civilisations drives scientific advances and allows us to encounter new life and new ideas. There is also that thrill of exploration and of being the first to venture into the unknown. Nothing great has ever been achieved without danger, and we feel that our cause is worth the risk. When we encounter new people we hope to gain mutual benefits from an appreciation of their culture and their scientific knowledge which we append to own own. We might also offer them membership of the Federation, but that comes with later diplomatic negotiation, as while joining such a large organisation has great benefits it also means a loss of sovereignty and autonomy, and more bureaucracy and constraints, so it is certainly not something that is forced upon any cultures that we encounter. =/\=

• Glen, CO