Trout watched the figure—whether prankster who would be in shit so deep they'd drown, or genuine alien… somehow—as they walked around in the quarantine room, their helmet constantly looking back and forth. There was something… inhuman about their body language and the way their head kept darting around like a bird as every limb seemed to be in constant motion, though that was to be expected, as they were probably not human. The balance of evidence was looking that way, especially considering the design of their space suit. Just the way the arms moved, completely unencumbered at the joints, showed they probably used design principles completely different from humans, although there might be overlap with pajhadin designs.

  Just to make sure this wasn't some kind of prank, the order had still been sent to make sure every space suit and space armor—the Shinkies had been distressingly fond of boarding actions during the war—was accounted for, the results of which were coming in now as every sector of the ship completed their own checks. The ones that hadn't been in their proper place had been found undergoing repairs. Someone had even had the initiative to check if someone had requestioned materials for yellow and black paint. No one had.

  The almost-certainly-an-alien appeared content to while away their time in the quarantine chamber, seemingly relaxed despite their hyperactivity and still being surrounded by heavily armored naval security personnel. He'd ordered all weapons deactivated and for them not to separate the alien from her container, reasoning that if its contents were harmful the quarantine chamber should be enough to contain whatever it was. Every sensor in the room scanned both of them. The scans on the alien came out inconclusive as the suit seemed to reflect every kind of electromagnetic radiation, which was probably exactly what it was supposed to do. The container was similarly shielded. Neither of them were emitting any radiation either, whether in real space or on the quantum bands, which ruled out some kind of active communication with someone else…

  "Scans complete, captain," Robertson reported. "No ships detected in the vicinity. There isn't even a gas trail for some kind of exhaust." The look on his face showed what he thought of that. "If they're out there, we can't see them." And wasn't that a terrifying thought.

  "Then we'll just have to assume they're around and respond accordingly," Trout said, his gaze drifting to the image of the Black Pearl. "They couldn't have gotten out here by themselves." Aliens or not, people didn't just appear on the hulls of ships. "Keep scanning. And launch fighters, just in case. Is the universal translator ready?" Trout didn't know how the universal translator worked, only that it did, it needed to be powered directly by the ship's quantum energy fusion reactor, and it only worked with live verbal transmissions and not recordings.

  "Engineering has rerouted the screens in the quarantine room through the translator," Robertson confirmed. "It's ready to go."

  Trout nodded grimly. The sensor probes they'd launched had managed to triangulate the supposed Hegemony drive reading, and had placed it on the plant's surface. They had also ascertained there were several such readings simultaneously, all also on the planet's surface, which had merely raised more questions. Passive scans had also resulted in some readings and regions where the scans were inconclusive or somehow messy.

  That was starting to look a lot more ominous now. Hopefully this intruder would have some kind of answers.

  Trout nodded, then after a moment's hesitation said quietly "Best to tell the crew." If this wasn't a prank… then one way or the other, no matter what the headaches to come, then this was a historical moment. First contact with the twentieth distinct, intelligent species in known space. "And let them watch."

  Robertson nodded, then said just as quietly, "It's going to be something to tell the grandkids, skipper."

  "All hands, this is the Captain speaking. As of 1428 hours, we have encountered what appears to be a new, unknown sentient race. Details will be relayed at a later date. However, their most likely place of origin is the planet GRN-2814-3, provisionally known as 'Black Pearl'. The unknown is currently a guest in one of the ship's quarantine rooms. In a few minutes, I will attempt to open a dialogue with this visitor. For the public record, the dialogue will be streamed on the ship's open channel, and we are allowing all off-duty personnel to view it. On-duty personnel are expected to remain at their stations and continue performing their duties in the best tradition of the navy."

  There was a pause.

  "Pray to any gods you have this goes well. That is all."

  Rose was already trying to synch the room's big screen to the ship's open channel, all work in the room forgotten…

  "You have the conn, Commander," Trout said formally. "While I speak to our… guest."

  There was a small office just off the bridge. Officially, it was intended for private communications and to act as an office for the captain or watch officer. Unofficially it was where the coffee, coffee adjacents, and small snacks were kept. Trout used it for its intended purpose now—after he'd moved the sludge pot offscreen—as he sat at the desk that people kept clear and faced the camera, his back to the wall.

  The screen on the desk switched to the view of the quarantine room again, and Trout took a moment to center himself before he activated two-way communications, a small icon indicating he was now connected and that the conversation was being recorded for the logs. The alien reacted immediately to the room's screen activating, turning away from its examination of the elbow of one of the space armors of their escort to face Trout… and immediately raised a hand and started waving enthusiastically.

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  Young Cadet Trout from decades ago was full of anxiety at being the first to actually speak to a new alien race. Captain Trout was the same, for different reasons. "Greetings," he said. The universal translator worked best with unambiguous language and words that were direct concepts. Less chance of confusion that way. "I am Captain Emmanuel Trout, of the Free Trade Confederacy starship Venture. As Captain, I officially give you permission to…" Trout's words slowed slightly as the alien immediately started tapping the side of its helmet and some kind of control panel on its left wrist. While he could be misinterpreting it—this was after all a completely unknown species whose body language was just as completely alien to them—he couldn't help but get the familiar sense of urgency and 'oh shit, something isn't turned on, gotta fix it quick' from the movements. "…come aboard and welcome you onto our ship."

  He paused, awaiting a response and hoping the universal translator was able to use whatever quantum mechanics it did to directly convey those concepts to their guest's mind… and hope the guest wasn't too freaked out. While they had opened with communications in English—written English, although the font was different from what he was used to, with too many curves and flourishes—they were likely to be surprised at hearing themselves be greeted in what sounded like their own language before realizing that was a sort of auditory hallucination overlaid on top of the actual words being said.

  The alien began to gesture, then paused. Trout got the distinct sense they slumped slightly, before it started patting its helmet and control panel again. A moment later, the sound of deep, almost mechanical breathing began to echo through Trout's speakers, and the alien hastily adjusted something to bring the sound down. He felt some pity for the alien. Equipment error could be so embarrassing.

  The alien gestured again, raising their open hand, showing they had four fingers and a thumb. "Bawipu guranah weepuh ninibong!"

  Trout wondered if the universal translator was broken, because that had been complete gibberish.

  "Greetings, Earthlings," the alien immediately continued, and the words were in English too instead of simply translated, though there was a strange accent. The voice sounded feminine, although that was just his biases talking. "We are Star Ranger Paladin Rain and Star Ranger Paladin Princess of the Kaedekin space service. We come in peace for all Kaedekin, and wish you all prosperity and long life! May the mass multiplied by acceleration be with you!"

  Even as Trout tried to parse the strange greeting, the alien—Rain?—turned towards one of the piloted pods resting on wheels and wrapped their arms around themselves. A hum arose from probably-Rain, and was immediately translated to Trout. "Greetings, Ones Who Changes Through Life. These ones are called Rain and Princess. We have crossed the airless night in search of you. We are not substance of your substance. Your sounds are strange to us. Your strength is not our strength. However, we extend the touch of soul to soul so that you may know that in this time without depth, you are not alone. We are also here."

  What?

  Rain turned towards the unmistakable rakido space armors, stomping their foot in a rhythmic way. "Greetings, traveler from beyond the endless night!" she said, and under the English translation Trout was able to hear the words in what sounded like the rakido's nearly consonantless language. "We are Rain and Princess of Surcease, adherents to the Rangers of the Stars. Our fates are now intertwined. In this endless universe of emptiness, could our meeting merely be chance? What say you? Shall we walk together on this lonely journey to cross the gaps between worlds and learn in jolly cooperation?"

  Wait, he recognized that phrasing… wasn't there a rakido science fiction novel or something…?

  "Greetings, hunters stalking the woods." Rain had turned towards the armored pajhadin now, arms spread wide, their voice echoing in a way that tried to mimic the chorus-like sound of a pajhadin's multiple sets of vocal cords. "We are Rain and Princess, Ranger Paladins of the Kaedekin. We have journeyed from beyond the edge of the unknowable sky to stand before you with our hands open, our tentacles draped upon us, and our teeth hidden. Shall we share the meat of the same prey?"

  Finally, Rain turned to another piloted pod, this one standing on multiple sets of legs. "Greetings, children of Tianiata." The sounds they were making were so high-pitched they were nearly inaudible. Only the translation let Trout know they were words at all. "Welcome you as guests, and swear to do you and yours no harm. Thrice do we swear and bind myself true. Our true names are Rain and Princess. Speak our names to all you know, for we place no curse upon you. Even if you should whisper our names to another, the light of the sky will not forsake you, the water will not leave the soil at your roots, and food shall not escape from your grasp. We give you no gifts to place you in our debt, but extend our welcome for you to root in our soil and bask in our Dancer's light."

  Rain gave a satisfied nod, then finally turned back to Trout. "Captain Trout," they said, speaking English once more. "By my right as victor, Princess and I have been chosen to represent our people to this first contact with yours. We are the Kaedekin, and we welcome the good ship Venture to the Dancer system. As the duly deputized local representative, I am hereby authorized to grant the Venture permission to enter the local orbital space of Surcease, and do so as a gesture of welcome and goodwill. Let this day be remembered as the beginning of a long friendship."

  "A sentiment I completely agree with," Trout said. "May I ask what form of address would be appropriate?"

  "Of course, Captain," they said. "Formally, I am Ranger Paladin Rain. 'Ranger' designates that I am part of our world's military forces. 'Paladin' is my rank, which is roughly analogous to Lieutenant in your navy. In conversation, 'Paladin Rain' or simply 'Paladin' is acceptable. The same convention holds true for Paladin Princess."

  Trout frowned. "I was not aware we had detained two of you, Paladin." Cadet Trout of long ago was mildly envious their military seemed to have much nicer-sounding ranks.

  "Paladin Princess has chosen to remain a spectator," Rain said, tapping the control panel on their wrist. They must be in communication with someone, then. Trout hoped the bridge was able to track the signal. "However, they are still present at this meeting, and it would be rude not to introduce them or to inform you of their presence."

  "Then in the interest of disclosure, I must inform you that this conversation is being recorded and watched by off-duty personnel," Trout said a bit belatedly.

  Rain's hand instantly rose and waved. "Greetings to you Earthlings, Ones Who Change Through Life, hunters stalking the woods, travelers from beyond the endless night and children of Tianiata! We come in peace and are speaking with your leader!"

  And that would be remembered forever.