Lilana's normally quiet assistant Minka speaks up.

"The problem with sneaking is that if you get caught you have to explain why you were being sneaky."

"And at that point things are already going wrong," Lilana says.  "Are we sure there are no ships already down there?"

A double check of the sensors reveals only what they detected the first time:  a concealed landing pad, tents, pods.

"You know..." Lilana begins.  "We don't have to be sneaky here at all.  THEY are the ones being sneaky.  You don't hide enough hibernation pods to equip a colony ship on a lifeless planet unless you really don't want people to know what it's for.  But we didn't come all this way to get intimidated now that its right in front of us.  We should set down, and finally take a look.  And I think... we're going to have to catch up with one of those ships.  But once we have some good info, we'll be holding something we can talk about when we do.  Put us down someplace safe but in walking distance."

"Aye, captain", affirmed Abe, as he begun to calculate the neccessary entry

As the ship goes down Charles asks for detailed scans that reveal potential habitants or automated defences. Just so they do not end up dead faster then desired.

Charles watches the sensor readings carefully, looking for something more.

As the ship is setting down on the cleared landing area, throwing up some dust but not nearly as much as it would if the pad had been long abandoned, he finds something.

The pad is near to the pod storage area.  Not too near... apparently someone worried about a landing mishap destroying the pod collection.  But closer in, there are is another camouflaged structure.

This is an old style colonization module buried in a simple slit trench, with camouflage covering stretched over it like a tent, similar to the covering over the pods.  The camouflage is Not a simple vegetation mat, because there is no vegetation, these are tents of high tech fabric colored to look exactly like the surrounding terrain, and fool anything short of a close, detailed scan.

Closer in, and looking carefully, he can see the module.  It is typical of its type- designed to be a space transport module, but then landed permanently at a new colony site to be used as a habitat until permanent buildings are ready. There are colonies across the Hundred Worlds that have "historic districts" that are basically rows of these modules.  There must be tens of thousands of them scattered around human space.  They are still made, more advanced of course.  Hundreds are made every year.  This one looks to be decades old.

It's powered up.

Charles calls the others. to share his findings.

"Look at that. I don't expect to much of a force there but i think its safe to assume they know we are coming and might not want us there. Want to send a short band broadcast out to invite us over or just wanna barge in? Either way i expect they might be unfriendly."

"Let's see if we can wrangle an invite", offered Abe, scratching at a scar on his face, "We might presume hostility, but even a conversation will hold a few teasers as to who - or what - our hosts might be after"

Charled nods and turns to Florence.

"Wan't to do the honors governess? Your silken tongue might open roads blocked to us."

Until called upon, Florence had mostly stayed out of the way: she didn't know much of anything about scans, and not having ever used a void suit, she certainly wasn't going to volunteer for a trip on the ground. Not that it wouldn't be interesting...sometime. But possibly - maybe even probably - hostile territory was certainly not the place to experiment.

When Charles suggested she talk, she looked surprised, “Well, I'm not a Governor. Yet anyway, I'm just a student. Plus, Governors are administrators. Granted that comes with a few other areas of expertise, but we're not exactly diplomats...” And a bit doubtful, “Plus, powered up doesn't mean inhabited...”

“But...” She shrugged, “Sure I guess. Though... Maybe you want to be ready to go in while I talk to them? Maybe look for a backdoor or something? If there's someone 'friendly' it won't cost much, but if there are hostiles it might distract them enough that you'd be able to easily do your thing, no?”

"If we're here uninvited and we don't ask, it looks bad," Lilana says.  "I'm still working on what to tell them when they ask why we're here.  Telling them 'we tracked you down across half the frontier' is not going to win us any friends. The Crosser we bought the information from said nothing about this place being occupied."

"We do not act dishonestly," Marlo says.  If there is any hurt in the Crosser's voice, it is difficult to tell. While the Crossers are similar to Humans in many ways, and even have similar emotions, the physical cues for those emotions evolved hundreds of light years away.  From the Human point of view, it's easier to read the feelings of a duck.


"It is quite possible the facility had no one here when it was seen," Marlo says.  "Or perhaps it is not inhabited at the present."

"All the systems are powered up," Lilana reminds Marlo.

"But that only indicates that it may be inhabited.  Not that it is."

"It would be a terrible waste of power."

"These Humans have a demonstrated history of odd behaviors."

“No one said you did, Marlo.” Florence appeased the Crosser. “It could just as well have remained unnoticed as anything else. After all, we were looking for something.”

“And I do agree that power on doesn't mean inhabited.” Which she had just said before after all, “It could just be that it's easier or cheaper to maintain the tent with a bit of power. Or if they didn't want the air would freeze and it might damage whatever is inside. Yet another possibility is that it's on a timer and the tent is expecting visitors. Or that it detected us, assumes we're friendly and got ready for us, even without anyone inside. All in all,” She shrugged, “There's just one way to know.”

“I'm not sure trying to talk to them would achieve much of anything, after all like you said,” the girl looked at Lilana, “There isn't a whole lot we can say that would convince them we're friends. We could try to bluff and say that we want in on their colony, but…” She shrugged, “They might not believe us, even if that's truly what this is all about.” Which was just a conjecture on her part after all.

“So… Should I try to talk to them now? Wait for some of you,” she glanced at Abe, “Are ready to get in the tent no matter what is said, or we just go in and see what happens?”

"'Speculation is the mother of all screw-ups'", quoted Abe, the memory of a smile playing across his features. He let Florence and Lilana mollify their Crosser guide, since they had the words for it. Regardless, he shrugged when they had finished, "It was true in the USMC, but it isn't necessarily out of place here, either. Hail them, but with some of the crew ready to approach regardless. If there's someone there, they know we're here or they aren't a threat"

"Ready to move on the Cpatain's word, or if harm comes our way before", he affirmed to Florence's final question

Charles just nods and gets his weapon ready and his suit sealed up.

"Also sending the drones out to take a look real quick."

With that he cycles out and takes a position out of potential harms way and sends the drones out to do what they really are supposed to be doing instead of making documentaries and scout the place out.

"I also remember them saying in the scouts 'Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing. So let's get ready and hope for the best" Jackson says as he rechecks the seals on his armored vac suit and considered his weapon options

The drones go out...

The report back is very, very peculiar.

Going in much closer, they can pick up more detailed readings.  On the other hand, even when they ought to be easily detectable by even basic radar warning systems in the habitat, there is absolutely no response.  No one tries to signal them, and no one tries to shoot at them.

The habitat is warm, which is consistent with living creatures being inside it.  It's a little cooler than Humans would ordinarily set things, though.  It's not shirt sleeve comfort inside.  Not arctic, either.  Sweater weather.

There is only one reaction, but its not directed at the ship or the drone.  An antenna outside moves.


With the drones close in, Charles is able to get a drone close enough to look in the windows.

One thing humanity has learned in its exploration into space- aliens do not like humans with rubber head pieces.  The Crossers, Droyne, and a few others are bipedal like humans, but that's as close as they get.  So the shapes Charles can see through the tinted windows are certainly human, but they don't seem to be doing much.  Standing around, looking out at the drones in curiosity.  That's it.

Charles sends the images of the inhabitants to the ship and looks at Abe.

"Think its time to go and pay a visit. Can someone figure out what the are sending or receiving as the people inside seem way to passive for uninvited guests to their secret base."

Waiting for Abe to join him Charles get ready to approach in person to go inside.

“Uh…” Florence frowned, “That was a tight beam emission, laser probably. If you're not right in the path of it, you can't intercept anything.” She grimaced slightly, “Which means there's no way we can know what has already been sent. Only thing we could do is intercept what they will send - either to block it or to receive it ourselves if we put the right kind of antenna on the way. But we should look where that antenna is pointed at: there will be something. Ship, station, relay… Something.”

Florence studied the feeds from the drones, “I wonder if…” She frowned, puzzled. And a bit worried.

The ship is landed nearby.. the pad is convenient to both the habitat and the sheltered pods.

"I think it's only decent we pay a visit to the locals first."

Strangely, they haven't been answering.

Among spacers, there's a code.  Okay, it's more of a code.  It's written into manuals.  If you are attempting to contact someone, and they are obviously in range to receive, and there is nothing wrong with your transmitter, assume there is a problem.

Spacers always help spacers with problems.

This isn't necessarily what documentary makers do.  Ideally, they would want to record the spacers helping the other spacers with the problems.  Maybe interview them afterwards.

One does not Become The Story.

"Maybe we could send just one drone to inspect the pods while we make a visit... I'd say, you guys with the vac suit experience should be first in."

Charles nods and one drone breaks off to the location of the pods as he approaches the habitat weapon at the ready and avoiding to get in any line of fire seemingly he has some combat experience. He sends one of his drones up to get an aerial view of their breach. Making his way to the door he takes a breach position and waits for Abe to do the same expecting the vetran to know the drill.

"You want to do the honors?"

Florence watched, curious and a bit worried: she had a bit of a theory, but… Well, not only she had been wrong a lot, so that didn't give her confidence but that one was even more far fetched than her previous ones.

No, this time, she decided she was going to keep her mouth shut and simply wait to know more. Hopefully, that wasn't going to take too long…

Still on the Nellie Bly, Lilana observes the progress as the cross over to the habitat.  Several times, she tries to make contact with the habitat, but there is no response, even when she says “We know you’re in there, we saw you in the window!”

"Someone less... well... less armed should go with Charles and Abe," Lilana's assistant Minka says.  "You know, like that they might scare them."

"We have no idea what they might be walking into," Lilana says.  "They know how to handle themselves. We make entertaining reports."

"I would do it," Minka says.

"All yours if you can catch up to them."

*** *** ***

Not until Charles and Abe actually reach the airlock entrance to the habitat is there a response to their attempts to make contact- and then only on the short range frequencies used to communicate externally.

The voice is very calm, like the kind you get from an automated system, but with an odd, childlike tone.

“Standby, depressurizing now, we will let you in.”

The airlock seems to take a long time to open.  Like maybe they were hoping you’d get bored and leave, instead of wait.  They certainly seem to be in no hurry.  Or maybe the pump has a problem.

From there it is very much routine; a small chamber with alcoves for pressure suits, the hiss of the air pumps, the pressure door leading into the habitat beyond.

And then the same calm childlike voice.

“Please remove environmental suits in the next compartment.  Because of biological security measures, decontamination is necessary.”

Charles eyes Abe and shakes his head before he answers.

"Negative. You can decontaminate the suits we will not take them off and maintain our own environment inside."

The response takes a few moments, and when it comes, the only emotion the voice carries is bewilderment.

It is not a child's voice, but there is a remarkably childlike quality about it.


"But you're supposed to.  It's what is done, every time.  It's a rule."

Charles summons up the ELUA of one of his drones onto his screen and quickly flashes it at the camera so it can not be really read and just presents a wall of text.

"You are right but we are here for a special reason. Its exemption x13b401. If we leave our suits we might actually contaminate you so we have to keep wearing it. Its okay we got permission to come in."

Charles says full of confidence hoping these people where as naive and backwards as they sounded.If not he could always just bust open the airlock.

“I…” Florence stopped there for a long moment, obviously struggling. Finally, and a bit reluctantly, she said “The temperature, the lack of response, the calm in what should have be a stressful situation, the childlike voice, care for biological contamination… The location of the Baccarat's company's HQ… I think they're eco-sentience…” She looked - and sounded - really disturbed. “I really, really hope that I'm wrong,” once again… “But if that's the case… This,” She pointed at the screen, “Could be so much worse than anything we've thought it might be… Humans exploiting humans? No one but us cares. Humans exploiting aliens, when some of our allies are already worried about how aggressively we seem to be expanding our sphere of influence?” She shook her head. “If they've been tricked or abused in any way, this could blow up to catastrophic proportions.”

Opening the mic, she said, “Charles, can you ask for your interlocutor's name and origin please? And… It's okay to tell him about you a bit, but try to not share too much information and whatever you do… Please don't lie anymore. Not even by misdirection, omissions or whatever.” After another brief hesitation, she seemed to take a decision as she mumbled “I need to be there.” Louder to allow her voice to be picked up by the mic, she said “I'm coming.”

Not waiting for Lilana's green light, Florence jogged to the back of the ship to quickly slip into a vacsuit and join Abe and Charles.

Within the outer airlock, Abe nodded once at Florence's message, having very much let Charles take the lead until now. He smiled inside his suit, letting the camera note his apparent ease, "Who's rule, friend? I'm Abe, by the way. Who is it I'm speaking too? What brought you and your companions here, it seems a little far from the main spacelanes?"