It is almost 0900 hours when I wake up well-rested after my nightly visit to the medi-bay. My upset tummy was still not feeling like it should, so I decided it might be prudent to skip breakfast for now. 

After relaxing in a decadently long shower, I felt well enough to start the day. 
Now dressed in my freshly cleaned uniform, I inspected my looks from all angles in the bathroom mirror. I felt that something was missing. 

Of course! I still mostly look like I got fresh out of the medi-pod, no make-up and my long hair is uncombed and keeps ending up in front of my eyes.

The next fifteen or so minutes, I spent getting the computer to spit out a simple comb and a few hair clips of different styles. It took me longer than I had thought, but the end result was worth the effort. 
My hair now at least looks like I took some care of it and it is now neatly tied together with a hairclip. I admit, it's not the best looking style, but for a first effort more than enough. It's amazing that only changing your hairstyle with a simple clip could make such a difference. 

Now satisfied with my new hairstyle, I asked the computer for an update on today's tasks.  

Task list
-before 1200: No tasks - blocked by doctor's orders. Read the info on your datapad!
-at 1300 meet your comm.officer in commlab2. Contact Earth as discussed.
-if your efforts show any response from Earth, inform Admiral Ikeshia Jocaryn at once.
Mission objectives: 
-Primary objective: assist Earth in asking for our support in defending against an imminent Groknac attack.
-Secondary objective: motivate Earth into joining the Empire
Other objectives:
-learn to read, write and speak the Shalna language.

Just great, the doctor blocked my morning tasks, but still ordered me to read the information on the datapad she gave me. 

 

 

It took me until 1100 hours to review all of the doctor's mandatory articles and let's just say that they were very...informative..., especially the blushing part. I really need to control my feelings around these people, because I don't want to give any wrong impressions. It seems that a simple blush has a whole other meaning for these folks here. There was also a topic about pregnancies that I decided to skim as it was just a hoax, does she really think that I would believe this? The articles say that when you are pregnant, your nose will get a noticeable blue hue. The author must be a comedian as more of those peculiar things were mentioned. No, that is totally fake news, I am not that gullible!

Another interesting topic was the use of cosmetics in the military; they do allow the use of lipsticks, and they seem to have a weird appreciation for coloring the tip of their long ears, but any other cosmetics seem like a no-go, just like earrings.   

"Mmmmm, should I try lipstick?" I said to my reflection in the mirror. She nodded vigorously while showing a bright smile...now how can I refuse that smile?

It took some time to ask the computer to spit out an old-fashioned lipstick, as the "normal" way to apply makeup was by using some kind of gadget. These people really seem to have gadgets for anything. I tried to read the instructions of the make-up tool, but I already had to quit after a minute. Believe me, it is easier to learn how to fly a shuttle than to apply your own makeup using that thing! 

After a relaxed and uneventful lunch break, my tummy was alright again, so I decided it was time for Operation Lipstick. 

Now armed with lipstick, I am standing before the mirror again. Anxiety takes over as I have never practiced this before. Suffice to say that I needed to remove the lipstick multiple times and try again. 
After about twenty minutes of trial and error, I think I finally managed to get it just right: a thin layer of soft pink, almost glossy lipstick now adorns my lips. I can't wait to see what people think of this, and there is only one way to find out....

 

 

I left my quarters and asked the ship's computer to guide me to commlab2. Now that I think about it, those terms feel just like Earth's military's terms. It is really strange how familiar they sound to me. 

Walking through the long corridors, I noticed most women smiling as usual, but the men were mostly staring at my lips. Another thing I noticed was that I am probably the only one around here who can't seem to control her blushes...

I arrived at the requested location just before 1300 hours and tried to open the door, but the computer beeped "this is a restricted area. Please present your ID to the sensor." 

Assuming that it wanted to scan my chip, I waved my left hand in front of the only impatiently blinking blue light...and it worked.

"BEEP, access granted."

The door slides open and my comm.officer Taegen is already sitting in front of several large screens, which display something like a graphical representation of the Earth. I have absolutely no idea what he is doing, but at least there is nobody else in here who could distract me from today's tasks.  

"Good afternoon, Taegen," I said while trying to smile, but I failed miserably as soon as I remembered yesterday's events.

"Oh good afternoon, Ayanna, I.......I didn't see you enter the room...." Oh yes, he was definitely staring at hair, then my lips. He then continued, "...Do you know why our appointment was rescheduled to the afternoon?" He motioned me to sit next to him, in front of even more screens.

I sat down on the chair next to him, then answered his question "yes, I had a little medical emergency last night and had to visit the medi-bay, but all is fine now."

His big blue eyes seemed to grow even wider as he was honestly worried about me. 
"Oh goddess, are you really fine now? Don't you want to rest or something?"

"Haha, no, Taegen, all's fine, really. Actually I am looking forward to working with you today."

He shows me his signature smug smile, "really? I am happy to hear that."

Only then did I understand my blunder and his reply to it, I took a deep breath, and another. I am trying to keep myself from blushing and it really seems to be working.
"Sorry, Taegen, can we please focus on our job? The Admiral is going to kill me if we don't get results soon." 

"Of course, I was only teasing you," he said, now innocently looking at the information displayed on the monitors, definitely not occasionally looking at my lips when he thought I wouldn't notice it.

"I know, but still, I need us to focus today. This is really important. You know what we are going to do, right?"

"Yes, my task list has all the relevant details. They want us to contact Earth and somehow establish a dialogue," he said, making this sound very easy.

"Eh, yes, that is about all there is to it. But I have some ideas on how to actually pull that off." I said, hoping he would stay focused on the job.

"Ah wait, there is one more thing before we start. Your three SF guards wanted to meet you this morning, I said that something important had come up and that you would meet them soon."

"My what?" I tilted my head.

"Ah, SF means Special Forces. Those three will be guarding you on your First Contact mission while you are on the planet."

"Ah, I understand. And thank you, but I guess they will have to wait for now." 

"Yes of course. Anyway, please tell me how you want to proceed."

I then explained the results of my brainstorm session to him, as I had told the Admiral already.  
We first scanned for television signals from Earth, which took some time. The ship's sensors usually ignored these "primitive" emissions, so we had to recalibrate them in order to receive Earth's signals. 
For Taegen this is probably just another day in the office, being a comm.officer and such.

Once he had understood that television was nothing more than a compressed binary datastream, Taegen managed to decode some transmissions and convert them to "our" standard format. His words, not mine! 
It all sounded very easy, coming from him. I think I got only half of what he had explained.

When the ship's sensors finally were capable of receiving television broadcasts, we were greeted by those pesky advertisements. The one and only thing I absolutely hate about television, is of course the very first thing to make it into an alien ship. Suffice to say that I asked Taegen to find something more suitable, preferably a news broadcast. 

However, when the next transmission appears on the view screen, we are greeted by barely clothed humans.

"Quickly, next, next, next!"  I shouted, and of course blushing again.

"Okay, okay..." he said, then switched to another transmission, shaking his head. 
He then continued "that seemed like a nature documentary or something. Why can't we use that example for our signal processing?"

I only glared at him. I think he got the message. Oh goddess, this is going to be a difficult day, I just know it. 

"Okay.....now what are we looking at? " he asked.

Only now did I recognize the new transmission, a basketball game. But there was no audio, so I asked him to scan the same frequency for audio patterns.

"Good, now that we can see and hear the transmission, we need to apply the same encoding to our recorded message. Then we need to send the transmission on a broad frequency range to a very confined location on Earth."

"I understand, but why would you want to send a signal to a specific location only?" he asked, genuinely interested, but probably only from a technical point of view.

"Because I don't want to scare the locals. I know how humans think, and trust me, a transmission from a ship which just happens to be in orbit above their planet does not promote trust."

"Ah, I think I understand, these people are not used to transmissions other than their own, right? Ayanna, we are good to go, do you want to record the message?"

"Yes, we need to do this quickly, who knows when the Groknac will arrive."

"Good, when you are ready, press this button and speak your message. It will record both video and audio, but don't worry, we can record the message again until you are satisfied with it."

"Alright, I will do that. Please make sure to capture my face in detail, I want them to see that I am not human. In the meantime, can you please find a way to use some type of relay device? I don't want to send the signal directly from our ship to Earth, that would paint our location above their skies."

"Paint? .....nevermind, I think I get it. Go ahead and record the message."

Good, my glaring message got across to him. I am not direct, not at all. 

Taegen then left to take care of the relay that I had asked him about, while I had the room to myself to record the message.

 

I recorded the following message:
"Warm greetings to the people of Earth.

This recorded message is intended for the President of the United States of America. 
My name is Ayanna Vohali and I speak on behalf of the Galactic Empire, which unites many worlds in peaceful cooperation. I speak to you from our ship which is currently orbiting your planet. Our intentions are peaceful. 

Recently, we received an emergency transmission from your planet, which used the principle of linked-atom communication. Unfortunately this message was not only received by us, but by other beings as well.

My people responded to your request for help, but we were attacked by those other beings who are also responsible for the destruction of your Navy vessel USS Portland. We apologize for not being able to help you.  

It is with great pain in my heart that I must warn you about an imminent attack on Earth by those other beings. 

We would like to offer our assistance in this matter, but we are not allowed to intervene unless you would ask us for our help. Such a request for help can only be made on behalf of the majority of your planet. We do not seek any other compensation for our help than friendship between galactic neighbors. 

We contacted you first, and not any other nation on your planet, as a courtesy for we were unable to protect your vessel and also with the hope that you would be willing to discuss this matter with your other nations.  

We ask you to answer this transmission on the same frequency and encoding, directed at the coordinates of this message. We hope...no....I hope.... you will allow me to visit your world and discuss the matter in a more convenient way. This message will end in 5..4..3..2..1.."

I decided to mention the USS Portland by name so they would know that my message is not a fake one. Who else could possibly know what had happened to it?

 

 

"Well, that sounded really....eh...diplomatic....Ayanna," Taegen returned and so did his annoying grin. 

"Ah Taegen, you are back. Yes, it should, it took me all afternoon yesterday to come up with that. Now, can you please encode the message and send it three times, each time with a little delay?"

"Of course, you are my superior after all. I will do as you ask, those are my orders," his expression was cold and professional, not the direct Taegen I remembered from yesterday at all.

"Taegen....what is going on? I glared at him, really intensely.

"Alright, alright. I'm just disappointed that you don't return my feelings," he said.

"Really? I told you I just need some time, then we can talk about it. I even did the goddess movement thingy for you! So please, I really need to send that signal now. As in right now." 

I must have sounded really assertive, as he saluted me "yes, as you command."

"Taegen....ahhh! You win. We will talk later, okay?"

"But of course Ayanna," his grin reappeared. 

Taegen was suddenly more cooperative and sent my message to Earth without further delay. As discussed, he transmitted the message as a narrow beam transmission to only the premises of the White House. He assured me that one of our probes was relaying the message, so our ship was in no danger of being detected.

 

 

After the message had been sent, I sent a text message to the Admiral, informing her that we had successfully sent the message and are waiting for a reply. I then contacted our bridge and asked them to keep an eye on the probe, if some narrow beam transmission would reach it, I wanted to be notified.

With things settled for now, I decided it was the right time to wipe the grin off of someone's face.

"Taegen, let's have a break in the mess hall. And talk."

We arrived in the mess hall at around 1430 hours, and luckily there were only a few other people here. We sat down at my favorite spot, close to the food dispenser. Oh goddess, I would kill for a cup of coffee right now. 

 

 

"Taegen, let's talk." First our eyes are locked onto each other, like we were contestants in a staring competition. Then I switched between his lips and his eyes, waiting for his reply. But he remained silent, so I took this as his agreement for me to continue. "The way you talk and pressure me is considered very rude on my planet. A person's feelings are a sensitive topic. I have noticed that you are a bit direct, and honestly, you are too direct for my taste. So I want to know your intentions, what is it that you are doing to me? Are you bullying me, are you trying to make me look bad?"

His smile vanished as snow in midsummer. "Ayanna, I am sorry you feel this way. Please let me explain. 

I am truly honest here. As I already said, it is considered polite in our culture to convey feelings. You either accept them or reject them and move on. But you are just ignoring my feelings."  

I started to blush, I know, I know, I just can't control it. He knows how to make me feel guilty.

"You want direct? Good, I can do that. What are your feelings exactly, Taegen?"

"Alright, then allow me to be as direct as I can be. As it should be.
Ayanna, I fell in love with you at first sight. You are kind, caring and..well..beautiful. And I like what you've done to your hair and even the color on your lips too, even though it's a bit unconventional. However, it hurts that you don't share your feelings towards me. I will make this transparent, so there can be no cultural misunderstanding. I love you, I want to invite you into a relationship. Are you interested?"

My face is as red as it can possibly be. Redder than the setting sun. Warmer than the temperature in the Death Valley desert on a summer afternoon. So he really is absolutely serious about this. What do I need to do? I complained about not having any friends, and he wants to be close to me. Should I let him? Do I even like him?

"You are glowing again." He grinned.  

With my left hand, I put a strand of hair back to its rightful place, behind my left ear. 
"Yes, Taegen. I am. You want my feelings. Good. I like you, you are handsome and I like it when you care for me. You are smart and funny, but you are too damn direct. Can't you slow down? I want to take things slowly."

"Thank you. Thank you Ayanna for sharing your feelings with me. So you are not against a relationship?"

"No, I am not, Taegen. But please understand that this is difficult for me. I am still trying to understand my own feelings. How can I share my feelings with you when I don't understand them myself?"

I put my hands on the table, trying to stand up, but then he puts his hand on mine, making me stop and wonder what he wants to say.  

"You just did, Ayanna, you just did. And I thank you for it. I will gladly give you more time. You are too precious to me to lose."  

Oh he is smooth. I turn around, hiding my face in my hands when he stands next to me. 

"I think you could use a glass of cold water, am I right?"  

I nodded.

 

 

After drinking the water, we were preparing to return to our commlab2 to see if there were any developments. I had expected them to reply already, probably we need to re-transit the message, just to be sure.

It was then when Taegen said, "Eh, Ayanna...don't you have a comm.device?"

"What is that?"

He points to his watch.

"No, I don't think so,"  I shook my head.

"Let me order one really quickly. You are an officer and you are required to wear one of those on your wrist. See, like I have."  

"Ohhh..so that's why they are not calling me. I thought they would call for me on the ship's intercom."

He looked at me as if I were really stupid. Hey, like, you could have said that earlier you know!
But I didn't voice my thoughts. He then walked over to the food dispenser, which apparently also is able to create god knows what else. Anything but coffee.

I put the comm.device on my wrist and then I needed to hold it close to a sensor to be registered....and done. My very own comm.device. Looks stylish too, like an expensive watch...but more expensive.

Not even a minute later, BEEP, "incoming message confirmed."

I stare at the screen and it is now set to English with Taegen's help. 

"That's it? That is all they tell me?" I said in surprise.

"Well, you told the bridge to inform you when the signal was received and that they did. Nothing more, nothing less." He said.

We then quickly returned to our commlab2 and checked the receiver logs.

 

 

After about a minute, Taegen found the message. He also shared the bridge's comments, as they indeed did more than only notify me. They told us that at the location of the White House, an increase in ground-based communications as well as aircraft activity was detected. The probe detected several different kinds of beams pointed at it. I assumed they were speaking about radar signals. The reply from Earth was recorded and was waiting for us to be viewed here, in our lab.

The first person I saw when Taegen started the message, was the President of the United States, yes it was really him, sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. A man in his sixties, silver gray hair, handsomely dressed in a suit and matching tie, but still carrying a warm smile. 

Received message
"Warm greetings to you and your people, Ayanna Vohali. I am Ben Marshall, President of the United States of America. I apologize for the delay in replying to your message, as we needed to confirm the origin of the signal. Honestly...for a moment we doubted its authenticity. It is not every day that we get communications from this far.

We are aware of the incident regarding our USS Portland, but we have a saying on Earth, "trust has to be earned." This means that while we are very grateful for you contacting us, we are also a very careful people. 

We would like to invite you, personally, to visit me and my staff on our planet at your earliest convenience. 
We welcome you with peaceful intentions. 

Embedded in this message are the coordinates we propose for your arrival. We respectfully ask that you arrive in a small craft and not fly above inhabited areas. Those coordinates should provide protection for you and for us as well. 

May your arrival bring prosperity to both our races. 
End of message."

 

 

"Well, that was a nice reply," Taegen said.

"Ha ha, yes. But the president has people who wrote that message for him. So it better be good.
Can you extract the coordinates?"

"Already did, let's see, it is a series of numbers?"

"Yes, those are GPS coordinates, lucky for you I know how those work." 

After a minute of explaining, we were able to pinpoint the requested location on the planet, Cheyenne Mountain Complex, home of NORAD.

"Do you know where this is?" He asked.

"I do, that is one of the most secure installations in their country."

"I see. So they are likely to have some defenses there then?"

"Taegen, of that I am absolutely certain. They will have the whole area covered with air defenses and ground units, trust me."

"I do." he grinned.

I glared at him. Good, no more grin. 

I then confirmed the location in my transmission to the President, making sure to actually call it Cheyenne Mountain Complex. And that I would be arriving in a small craft, arriving at slow speed. There would be 3 guards with me, and I asked them to please not be alarmed about my difference of appearance. I finally re-confirmed my best intentions.

The reply was only a quick confirmation that they were awaiting me now.

"Oh goddess. This is really happening, isn't it?" I said, nervously fidgeting with my fingers.

"I am afraid so, Ayanna. But you will have your guards with you, so don't worry. And you already know what to expect, besides they don't know that you know..."

"Yes, yes, I get the point," now it was my turn to grin for a second.

I quickly sent a text message to the Admiral, keeping her up-to-date as ordered. Also informing her that I would be leaving for the planet soon.

"Taegen...this is where we part. I need to do this alone."

"I know, stay safe," he said softly, embracing me. Smooth...
But why the embrace? Too fast! Too damn fast!

"Yes, I will miss you too. Maybe we can have a proper date when I return?"

He then ended the embrace and said "I look forward to that, Ayanna. May the goddess smile upon you."

That sounded cheesy, is that really what they say here? But let's play along, "and you, Taegen."

I left the room, and could just hear his final words, before the door closed, "I will wait for you."

Really, that guy is direct. Maybe some time back on good old Earth will calm my nerves.