1 First contact

In a galaxy far away in deep space, just after midnight on the planet known to it's inhabitants as Plaska, a lone astronomer was sitting in an observatory. Watching a bank of screens before him, looking for a sign, any kind of response to the radio signals that were being routinely beamed out into the vast depths of space, which might give an indication of intelligent life somewhere out there among the stars.

Suddenly a splattering of dots started appearing first on one screen, then another, finally culminating in a shower of dots on appearing on all the screens.

Warning alarms rang throughout the observatory. The astronomer quickly got on the communicator to the authorities.

This was the moment the researchers had been searching for, hoping against hope that someone or something out there in the murky depths of space would respond to the radio waves which they had been routinely beaming out into deep space.

This was a history in the making. It was also a moment of great trepidation, mixed emotions, and high hopes.

What would the extraterrestrials appearing on the observatory’s computer screens be like, would they be friendly or would they be hostile. Only one thing was certain, that life would never be the same again after the encounter with extraterrestrials.

At the people’s palace, King Krain flanked by his guards quickly walked to the throne room with long legged strides. He was accompanied by his daughter, princess Nina the skirts of whose flowing gown swept the floor as she hurried along beside her father.

Advisers and military personnel respectfully rose to their feet from the oblong desk around which they had been seated as king Krain proceeded to the dias beyond the long table where they had been seating watching the giant monitor on the far side of the room. Technicians were manning a bank of consoles along the walls of the throne room.

King Krain proceeded to the dais and sitting himself on the throne, asked the supreme commander of all Plaskarite forces who was sittingtaking close to the throne as more officials walked into the room and proceeded to sit at the long table,

“General what is the situation for which I have been roused this late at night?” king Krain asked momentarily taking his eyes away from the giant screen in front of him to face the general.

“Your majesty”, the supreme commander replying, ‘just after midnight a fast moving fleet of space craft was detected by observatory1 approaching the planet’. ’It is what you are seeing on the screen”.

’Are you telling me what I am seeing on that screen are space ships from another world?“, king Krain asked incredulously.

’Yes your majesty the age old question we have grappled for years has finally been answered, calmly replied the general.

Which question is that, general?” curiously asked king Krain.

"It has always been the question of whether we are truly alone in the universe? Or if there other intelligent life forms out there among the stars", replied the general.

“It would seem to me though that the critical question of the moment is what are these extraterretrials intentions? Do they come in peace? What will first contact with beings from another world mean for our civilization, king Krain thoughtfully speculated.

“Have any attempts the space craft been hailed?” asked King Krain.

Yes your majesty, we have tried communicating with them on all the sub space frequencies but they have neither to our hails or slowed down the speed of their approach to the planet.

“Maybe they did not understand the attempts at trying to achieve communication with them", suggested King Krain.

"That is unlikely your majesty, we have tried varying wave length using algorithims that are basic to the formulation of intelligent speech.

’General are you suggesting..

"Unfortunately your majesty, I m afraid they appear to be hostile”. At their current velocity they will shortly be within range of our defence satellites long range lasers.

An automated voice from the monitor suddenly broke in as though in agreement with the general, ’Long range lasers online, firing in 5, 4, 3..

All eyes were on the screen as the gap between the alien vessels and the defence satellites which were now in view rapidly diminished.

Lasers smashed into the lead vessels of the advancing alien fleet.