“That’s impossible!” Port Admiral Namatjira declared, glaring in disbelief at Commander Meadowlark of the Chakona Defense Force. “There’s no way that the Swarm has gotten past our blockade.”
The chakat returned his gaze with a frosty look. “Our sensors are not mistaken. The outer system satellites detected a light burst at 410 nm wavelength and is 93.2% linearly polarized which are the exact characteristics of the light emitted by the Swarm’s unknown plasma energy.”
“That still doesn’t explain how they could have gotten past us.”
“Irrelevant. You’ve been fighting them for decades and have failed to stop them, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they might have found their way around you. The point is that the Swarm is beyond the ability of the CDF to cope with, and we need Star Fleet out here right now!”
“Do you have anything to go on besides this light burst?”
“Of course. I dispatched a fast scout immediately before calling you, and even though shi will be approaching the area with caution, shi should be reporting any moment.” A light lit up on Meadowlark’s monitor with an accompanying ping. “Speaking of whom, shi’s reporting in now. I’m patching you into the call.”
Meadowlark answered the incoming transmission, and the screen split to reveal the helmeted head of another chakat. “Report, Lieutenant Calmstream.”
“Shir – I have found the source of the signal, and there’s definitely a starship there, but it’s like nothing we have ever seen before. Sending you images now.”
The monitor changed to show a telescopic view of a long cylindrical vessel seen side-on. At that distance, no markings could be distinguished, but as they watched, a pinpoint of light was ejected from the nose of the craft. As they watched, the light source exploded, and a cup-shaped force-field lit up, blocking the ejecta from reaching the ship. After a short time, this sequence of events repeated.
Calmstream spoke up again after the second explosion. “This has been happening ever since I came within telescopic view. Each time there’s a burst of the indicative polarized light. There’s no indication that the ship has noticed me. Do you wish for me to get closer?”
“Proceed with caution, Lieutenant,” Meadowlark ordered.
Namatjira spoke up. “That looks nothing like any Swarm ship that we have ever encountered.”
“I can see that for myself, Admiral. That does not lessen its potential threat.”
“Why is it travelling at sub-light speeds though? And why did it just appear out of nowhere on the outer fringes of the Chakastra System?”
“That’s what I am expecting you to find out, Admiral. Perhaps it’s a scout of some kind that you simply haven’t encountered before. Perhaps it’s mapping our system for invasion purposes. Whatever the reason, I have a world with millions of sapient beings that need defending, and if it’s Swarm-related, the CDF does not have the means to stop them.”
Namatjira frowned. “I will send a ship, but our fastest and most maneuverable battleships are on the front line of the blockade. One moment….”
Meadowlark’s monitor switched to a stand-by screen showing the Federation Star Fleet logo while Admiral Namatjira followed up on his words, and then his face returned. “I have ordered the Pegasus to proceed at top speed to Chakastra. That ship has the firepower to deal with any Swarm ship, although it doesn’t have the same maneuvering capabilities as the blockade ships. We’ll get you your answers, Commander.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
They both watched their monitors for a while as the scout ship approached the unknown starship cautiously. Eventually they could just make out some markings. There appeared to be two unfamiliar emblems on the side as well as what might be writing.
“Swarm ships all have an organic look to them, and none of them have any identifying emblems like those,” Namatjira commented.
“I agree, but that does not mean that they are not a threat. Nothing we’ve seen using that unknown energy has ever been of benefit to us.”
The admiral chuckled with dark humor. “Believe me, Commander – if they show any sign of attacking us, they will no longer be a threat to you.”
“There it is again, sir,” Gizmo Gears reported.
Wandering Path said, “Switch it to the main screen, Gizmo.”
The unicorn did so, revealing nothing but the unfamiliar starfield. “Wait for it….”
A glint of light accompanied by instrument read-outs appeared momentarily.
“You’re right. Try to focus on that object.”
“Trying, sir. It’s elusive though.”
“Use the TESS,” Starry said from the couch where she was lying and maintaining the mass-reduction spell.
“Good idea,” Wandering replied. He tapped the comm and said, “Cosmic Dawn – report to the bridge immediately.”
“On my way, sir,” came the immediate reply.
When the unicorn mare arrived, Wandering instructed her to use the TESS to investigate the odd phenomenon. After some fruitless attempts, the alicorn asked if she was making any progress.
“The problem, sir, is that whatever it is seems to be moving very fast and I have not been able to get a lock on it. The TESS was not designed for this kind of thing.”
“Keep trying, Dawn. Nothing else we’ve tried has given us any more information on the object as yet.”
After a few more minutes, Cosmic Dawn said, “Aha! Gotcha! Captain – it stayed relatively motionless for long enough for me to get a lock on it. Transferring the image to the big screen now.”
The starfield seemed to zoom in, revealing something totally unexpected.
“That’s a spacecraft!” Gizmo blurted out.
“Nothing like anything Equus ever built,” Wandering added.
“How is it moving like that though?” Gizmo asked as the ship changed direction.
“Some unknown form of magical propulsion?” Starry suggested.
“There’s zero sign of mana use according to the TESS,” Cosmic Dawn countered.
“Who cares?” Wandering said. “We’ve just encountered our first ever non-Equus civilization. What an enormous discovery! Some people had speculated on the existence of beings on another world, and here’s proof of that!”
“They’re being awfully shy,” Starry commented.
“Believe me, I’d be cautious too if I was meeting a new species for the first time. My past experiences back on Equus made me value a conservative approach. I’d like to reach out to them too, but let’s take our time. There’s no need to rush this.”
“What if they’re hostile?” Gizmo asked.
Wandering smiled grimly. “Our shield can stop a lot of things, but our real problem would be trying to get away from them. Right now, we are at the mercy of our limited means of propulsion. Have you made any progress in restoring the mana beacons or the interstellar comm systems yet, Dawn?”
“The entire staff is doing their best, Captain, but we haven’t restored them as yet. However, I do have some good news. We believe that the links have only been disrupted, not destroyed. If we can re-establish them, we may be able to restore communications.”
“That’s promising, but for now we’re at the mercy of the intentions of those unknown beings.”
Cosmic Dawn nodded. “I’m afraid so, sir.”
Wandering smirked. “Good thing I’m feeling optimistic about this then.”
Admiral Boyce Garald Kline was surprised when he got the orders from Fleet Admiral Namatjira to investigate a possible Swarm incursion in the Chakastra System. While the Pegasus was the flagship of the First Fleet and had seen action against the invaders, it had been relegated to its normal duties since the specialized blockade ships had been built. Since his ship was the closest, he had been directed to proceed with utmost haste to possibly defend Chakona until back-up from other Star Fleet ships could get there. After ordering the helmsman to lay in a course, he called in all his department heads and a few specialists to a meeting in the main conference room. Among them were his First Officer, Rosepetal Silpurr, a Caitian female with sandy-colored fur, long reddish-brown hair, and golden slit-pupiled eyes. Not incidentally, she was also Kline’s wife.
Although Rosepetal’s height was only 157cm (5’ 2”), she was actually very tall for her species, and her commanding presence more than made up for her lack of stature among the others gathered for the meeting. These included her co-wives – Chakat Forestwalker, Chakat Midnight, and M’Lai Saarath. While their husband was a human, he had married Rosepetal under Caitian customs which, due to the extreme gender quantity differences, allowed for up to six wives for each male. Boyce so far had five official wives, although the nature of a relationship with a chakat extended family had blurred that definition somewhat over the years. At 193cm (6’ 4”), M’Lai towered over her fellow Caitian. A victim of a childhood disease that had caused gigantism among other problems, she had finally found acceptance as Fifthwife of the Star Fleet Admiral to whose ship she had been assigned as Assistant Chief Medical Officer decades ago, now promoted to Chief of Staff.
It was Admiral Kline’s Thirdwife who was the greatest contrast though. Forestwalker, a jaguar-patterned chakat, was not only a taur, a being with four legs on a lower torso with two arms on an upper torso, shi was also a hermaphrodite. Although the feline centauroid strongly favored hir feminine side, like all hir species, shi also had masculine needs. Boyce had not only been comfortable with that, but he also found it attractive enough that Rosepetal, had insisted on formalizing their relationship, as was her right and duty as his Firstwife. Although not a Star Fleet officer, Forestwalker headed up the biology department staffed by civilian scientists. Later on in their relationship, Forestwalker’s mate, Midnight, became Boyce’s Fourthwife as home life and hir work in Star Fleet Security overlapped so much with them both.
When all the relevant departments were present, Boyce began the meeting with a display of what information had so far been gleaned. Although there was much concern about the possible threat to Chakona and her home planet, Forestwalker was the first to point out the other side of the coin.
“What if these are peaceful explorers from another species entirely, and no threat to the Federation?”
Boyce smiled grimly. “While that may be the best possible outcome, it’s our task first and foremost to ensure that it is not a threat to ships or inhabited worlds. The only species we have encountered so far that have utilized that enigmatic energy have been utterly hostile to everyone, so we will be proceeding with utmost caution. If necessary, we will destroy that ship before it becomes a danger to our colonized worlds. That’s our duty as Star Fleet.”
Forestwalker nodded. “I understand completely, but I hope that you give them every chance to prove otherwise. Please take advantage of my empathic abilities to do so.”
“You may be an E5 empath, Forestwalker, but even you need to be dangerously close to use your ability,” Rosepetal pointed out.
The chakat nodded solemnly. “I know, but it’s still better than a potentially fatal misunderstanding between possible allies.”
Boyce said, “Trust me, Forest – I’ll do my best to ensure that everyone comes through this incident safely.”
The shy spacecraft had continued to watch the Cosmic Lotus from a distance, and apparently had not made any attempts to communicate that the crew had been able to determine. It came as a shock when it was joined hours later by a huge starship that dwarfed not only the scout ship, but also the Equian’s own craft.
“Sweet Celestia – would you look at the size of that thing!” Gizmo exclaimed. “How did it move that fast and then come to a relative standstill so easily?”
Wandering had the same questions, but refrained from commenting. Unlike the small first ship, this one was a lot more intimidating, and he questioned the Lotus’ ability to defend itself against it. “Try communicating with it,” he ordered.
“Yes sir, but you realize that it will probably have the same problem as with the first ship, namely incompatible systems?”
“I know, but at least we can try.”
Gizmo attempted to contact the ship, but had the same lack of success as earlier.
Wandering sighed internally before deciding on his next approach. He tapped the comm to connect him to Engineering and ordered, “Cease deceleration procedures.” He then turned to Gizmo and said, “Reconfigure the shield for optimum defense.”
“Aye, sir!”
“What are you planning?” Starry asked as she discontinued the mass-reducing spell.
“I’m going to do some counting,” Wandering replied enigmatically.
“I think it’s some form of Orion Drive,” the helmsman opined.
The Pegasus had immediately brought its entire sensor suite to bear upon the strange starship when they had arrived. After matching velocity with it as close as they had dared to approach, they started delving for its secrets.
“I agree,” Rosepetal said from her position at the Science station. “And a remarkably effective one too. There must be some form of mass-cancelling technology at work for those explosive impulses to have that much of an inertial effect upon a ship of that size. My measurements suggest that they were decelerating at a rate and direction consistent with putting them into an orbit around Chakona. This indicates that they are probably aware of the inhabited nature of the world.”
“Any idea what those exploding balls of light are?” Boyce asked.
“None whatsoever, but I can tell you that they are the main source of the light signature of the same unknown energy that the Swarm uses. The force-field also radiates that signature while absorbing the impulse.”
“That’s an uncomfortable coincidence,” Boyce replied.
“Unless, of course, they are a species that have dealt with the Swarm and have knowledge of the same technology that produces that unknown energy,” Rosepetal pointed out.
“In which case, we may be best served by making an alliance with them.” He turned to the Communications station. “Have you had any response to your signals?”
The ferret morph shook her head. “No reply on any channel, sir. I have tried every military and civilian band and subspace channel that I can think of. Either they cannot hear us or they are not responding.”
“Sir!” the helmsman exclaimed. “The ship has stopped decelerating.”
“Maintain distance and velocity.”
“Aye, sir. What do you suppose they are up to?”
“If they’re anything like us, they are as curious as hell. What have we learned so far, Commander?”
“Some very curious aspects of this ship, Admiral,” Rosepetal replied. She manipulated and enhanced the image of the starship on the screen. “It’s a bizarre mixture of inconsistent technologies. At the rear of the ship are very definitely chemical rockets, absolutely useless for interstellar travel. Their current propulsion method which resembles an Orion Drive is only effective because they have some form of mass-cancelling technology, but judging by their rate of deceleration, they simply could not have used it to get anything close to the fraction of light speed for interstellar travel, not to mention having enough explosive material to maintain that boost for a significant period. Additionally, there are the remainders of eight masts encircling the ship. The enormous graphene sheet that we detected on our way here suggests that these are the anchor points of a solar sail arrangement, which is also inconsistent with interstellar travel. I would love to know how they manufactured that much graphene, by the way. That’s advanced technology even in this era. However, the structure of the ship suggests a streamlined design that is generally unnecessary for interstellar travel except at extreme sub-light speeds, so that suggests that it is designed for escaping a planet’s atmosphere. Aside from propulsion methods, the design is inconsistent with anything seen in the Swarm, and I find it very difficult to associate it with them. Finally, there are two logos where Swarm ships never have any. Based on all the data, I think we are looking at a first attempt at interstellar flight. ”
Boyce nodded. “A mystery wrapped in an enigma. What about that weak gamma ray burst that first revealed the ship’s presence? Would that be relevant?”
“Possible. The CDF scout ship is currently trying to backtrack the alien ship’s trajectory and investigate.”
“Any sign of a weapon system?”
“Putting aside the exploding spheres that powered their propulsion, I have detected nothing of that nature,” Chief of Security Chakat Midnight replied from hir station. The all-black furred taur had hir own weapons ready for use at a moment’s notice, but had seen no need to recommend their use.
Boyce leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed in thought. Nothing had indicated that this ship had anything to do with the Swarm except for the nature of the unknown energy that both used. This could very well be a normal First Contact situation, but under the circumstances, one that might have unforeseen hazards. His first instinct was to play things safe, but the lure of a potential new ally was great. His thoughts were interrupted just then.
“Admiral – there’s a light blinking on the side of the ship,” announced the helmsman.
Boyce looked up and saw what the crew person had noticed. A single strong light was blinking in longer and longer sequences. Then it paused and went back to a single flash, then four flashes, then nine, sixteen, and finally twenty-five before going back to one. “Those are the squares of the numbers one to five. They’re attempting to communicate with us! Commander – repeat that sequence back to them, but add the square of six to the end.”
“One moment while I repurpose a floodlight for that, sir.”
When the huge starship started blinking a light at them, Wandering breathlessly counted the flashes of light. The final group ended at thirty-six and he pumped a hoof in the air. “Yes! We have contact!”
“What now, Wandering?” Starry asked.
“Now the tricky bit. Prepare the skiff.”
“You’re going over there? Just because they seem willing to communicate doesn’t mean it’s safe to meet them.”
“I am aware of that, but I won’t be going in blind or unprepared. One of the reasons that I was chosen as the leader of this mission was because I have experience dealing with different civilizations, and I have alicorn-level abilities to deal with sticky situations. In the event that we met up with a sapient species, I also had pre-selected a team to back me up.” He touched the comm button. “Eon Path, Amethyst Scroll, and Phalanx report to airlock two. First Contact protocol. I will meet you there in five minutes.” Wandering then turned to Bluequill who had been called to the bridge earlier. “Commander, the ship is yours until I return. Do whatever you need to do to protect her if I don’t come back.”
“Yes, sir, but can I persuade you not to take this risk? The ship needs its captain.”
“I’m not irreplaceable, Bluequill. This is one of the biggest reasons for me wanting to make this voyage, and I’m confident that this will go fine, but even if it doesn’t, you are more than capable of leading the crew to safety.”
Starry came over to give Wandering a parting hug. “I hope I’m one of the biggest reasons for you coming back safe.”
Wandering looked at her tenderly. “I promise that it is.” He then gave her a kiss and turned to head out to rendezvous with his team.
“Sir – an airlock appears to be opening on the alien ship,” Midnight warned her commanding officer. Shi readied her targeting systems just in case.
They watched the screen carefully as a small vessel emerged from the airlock. Very slowly, it headed towards them.
“It looks like a small shuttle. No weapons detected. I think the slow approach denotes either caution or a wish not to alarm us, possibly both. Shall I warn it off?”
Boyce shook his head. “No, I agree that it’s a cautious approach. Open our shuttle bay doors and allow them to come aboard. Have crash protocols in place just in case.”
“A wise move, sir. The crash force-fields will certainly foil any attempt to ram us.”
“Or by accident. Don’t put down to maliciousness what you can attribute to bad piloting. I want our visitors to arrive safely.”
“May I suggest that we have a security squad there to meet them?”
“Bring as many as you see fit, but keep them back from the shuttle. You and Rosepetal are going to meet them personally. You can bring along one other guard, but I am choosing the fourth member of your team.”
“Who would that be, sir?” Midnight asked.
“Forestwalker.”
The black chakat was rocked. “My lifemate, sir? Isn’t that a bit of a risk for hir? Shi’s a biologist, not a Star Fleet officer.”
“Forest indicated a desire to help make contact with these aliens, and we both know that shi’s the strongest empath on the ship. Plus shi’s had years of experience with dealing with various races. If anyone can tell if they’re friendly or hostile, shi can.”
Midnight was forced to agree with hir husband, but shi was going to ensure that hir lifemate was as well protected as possible. Shi set to work assigning hir security staff even as Boyce contacted Forestwalker.
As the Cosmic Lotus’s small skiff slowly approached the enormous starship, the alien vessel slowly swung around so that its stern faced them and equally huge doors opened to reveal a well-lit landing bay.
“Looks like we’re expected,” Wandering said cheerfully.
Eon smirked and replied, “Yeah, but for a party or a funeral?”
The alicorn chuckled. “Depends on whose funeral. All four of us are House Path warrior-scholars, and you’re in line to be the next Warmaster. I think that our soon-to-be-acquaintances had better be careful what path they choose to take.”
Wandering carefully maneuvered the skiff into the bay without incident. As the shuttle bay doors closed behind the skiff, it did not escape their notice that there was a large contingent waiting for them, all obviously armed. That was not unexpected though – they were coming armed also. What most intrigued the alicorn was that they had apparently been waiting there while the bay doors had been open to space.
“They must have had some sort of force-field holding back the air in the bay,” Wandering speculated.
“So? You could do a similar spell,” Eon replied.
“Yes, I could, but I detected no magic in use when we passed inside. I wonder how they did that?”
“You can ask them yourself. I see four of them approaching, and what a weird mixture of beings they are!”
“The instruments indicate a breathable atmosphere. Time to make history!” Wandering pressed the button to open the skiff’s door. Detecting a safe difference of pressure, the skiff’s system first equalized it and then opened it. They filed outside and lined up outside to face the alien delegation which stopped a discreet distance away while the two parties regarded each other with a mixture of intrigue and caution.
Eon said, “The two-legged female resembles an Abyssinian.”
Wandering nodded. “There’s a strong correlation, but the tail is very different. The other two-legger has a tail more like them, but he’s definitely not feline.”
“I don’t like the way he’s holding that weapon. What’s your reading on him, Phalanx?” Eon asked.
The Red Changeling replied, “He’s nervous and slightly hostile. Watch out for him. The Abyssinian-like one is worried but calm. I think she’s in command. The black four-legged one that resembles a feline centaur is razor-focused. I can only taste a bit of cool concern from her and I think that she may be a true warrior. The spotted one though, aside from some worry, she’s practically exploding with pleasure at seeing us.”
“Huh! I wonder why that is?” Wandering said.
“Oh my god, they’re so cute!” Forestwalker exclaimed softly to Rosepetal.
Although Rosepetal tended to agree about two of them, cute did not mean that they weren’t dangerous. The one standing slightly in front of the others had hooves and a generally equine appearance if you discounted the horn and feathery wings. While the tallest of the group, it only came up to the Caitian’s chest level. It gave the impression of being a male, while the other similar being had what looked like wing casings and seemed female. Both had huge eyes unlike any species that she had encountered before. The third looked like a blend between reptile and one of those equines, with blue fur, talons on his forelegs, hooves on the hind legs, and golden bat-wings on his back. Those talons loosely gripped a sword that he had sheathed at his side, and somehow she believed that he knew how to use it well, and it was not simply ceremonial. He was likely the most dangerous of the lot. The title of weirdest went to the fourth member who had the same basic form as the equines, but had diaphanous wings, red glowing eyes, and what appeared to be reddish-brown chitin covering his body wherever it was not obscured by the uniforms all four wore.
“They appear to have as diverse a crew as we do,” Rosepetal commented. “What do your empathic senses tell you?”
The one out front is cautious but eager to meet us. The female next to him is also eager, but anxious. The dragonish one is very focused and cool. However, I can’t detect the slightest thing from the red one.”
Rosepetal was surprised. “Nothing at all? Is it truly alive?”
“My nose and other senses tell me yes, but he’s just a total mental blank empathically.”
“How strange. However, it seems like it’s safe to proceed to the next stage. Let’s try to communicate, starting with the obvious.” She took a step forward and raised her voice to an authoritative level. “I am Commander Rosepetal Silpurr, and I welcome you aboard the Federation Star Ship Pegasus.”
Forestwalker snickered and quietly said, “We’re welcoming a winged horse aboard the Pegasus – how appropriate!”
Rosepetal resisted the temptation to roll her eyes while she awaited a response.
“I think the spotted one just made a joke,” Amethyst Scroll commented.
“That’s encouraging, even if I didn’t understand a word of what the leader said. Did you?” asked Wandering
“No, although a couple of words sounded vaguely familiar. Probably a coincidence though.”
“Well, that won’t stop me from doing my part.” The alicorn took a step forward. “I am Captain Wandering Path of the starship Cosmic Lotus. I bring greetings on behalf of the united races of Equus.”
While the catlike one smiled in response, it was obvious that she no more understood him than he had comprehended her words. He turned back to Amethyst. “Looks like you’re finally going to put that new spell to the test. I sure hope that works.”
Amethyst smiled reassuringly. “The language spell was developed in conjunction with Lord Path and Lady Twilight. While we had no new languages to test it, we are fully confident that it will work. Just not how well it will work.”
“Okay – it’s not as if we have much of a choice. Let’s do the little play that we rehearsed earlier.” He turned back to the alien’s leader and said, “Please pay attention,” while gesturing to Amethyst. He did not expect her to understand the words, but hoped that she would infer the intention. He faced Amethyst again, and then in an exaggerated manner, he said, “Blah, blah, blah, blah.”
Amethyst then responded with, “Yap, yap, yap, yap!”
Wandering then assumed a puzzled expression and tone of voice and replied, “Blah, blah, blah, blah?”
Amethyst also looked puzzled and replied, “Yap, yap, yap, yap?”
Wandering shrugged and said, “Blah, blah!”
Amethyst held up a foreleg and gestured for Wandering to approach. Her horn lit up with a harmless glow and she touched it to Wandering’s head. After a long moment, she drew her horn back and said, “Blah yap, blah yap?”
Wandering then responded with, “Yap blah, yap blah!” Then he looked back over to alien catlike leader. He pointed at her and then Amethyst and said, “Yap, blah?”
“What do you suppose that was all about?” the Security wolf morph asked.
“I think they were trying to show that they could teach us their language,” Forestwalker replied. “Did you see the way her horn glowed? Maybe it’s a form of telepathy?”
“Telepathy can’t translate languages,” Midnight said.
“No, not as we know it anyway. I’m not sure if it is safe,” Rosepetal said.
“Oh, come on, Rose… I mean, Commander. Isn’t it worth the risk? In fact, let me do it, please!”
Rosepetal frowned. “Are you sure about this, Forestwalker?”
The chakat nodded eagerly. “I can feel her trying to project friendliness and reassurance. I’m sure that this is the right thing to do.”
Rosepetal sighed and muttered, “Boyce is going to kill me if anything happens to you while I’m in charge. Be careful, please!”
“I will – don’t worry.” Forestwalker stepped forward to within a pace of the female equine and pointed at her, saying, “Yap, blah!”
A smile grew on the mare’s face, and she gestured for the chakat to lie on the floor so that she could easily touch her horn to Forestwalker’s head. Her purple mane fell forward as she closed her eyes and her horn started glowing. The chakat smiled reassuringly as the procedure started.
Forestwalker’s mind was suddenly overwhelmed with a flood of words and concepts, and a moan escaped hir lips. The wolf guard started forward to break it up, but Midnight ordered him back with a stern command. While shi was nowhere near as talented empathically as hir mate, even shi could tell that while Forestwalker was distressed by the overload, shi did not appear to be under attack. In fact, the little mare seemed equally impacted by whatever she was doing.
For several nerve-wracking minutes, the procedure continued until with a mutual groan, they fell apart and the mare’s horn flickered out.
Forestwalker held hir head in hir hands as if it was threatening to explode and said, “My brain hurts like it’s been pummeled by a set of antique encyclopedias!”
“My head is pounding too,” Amethyst said.
Forestwalker blinked and almost forgot hir headache. “I understood that!” Then shi switched languages. “Do you… hear my words?”
Amethyst grinned in delight. “Yes! It worked!”
“Why does my head hurt so much?”
“While one of the words escaped Amethyst, she guessed its meaning. “The spell is…” She searched for a new word. “…not test. It makes new… connections.” She could not dredge up an equivalent word in the new language.
“Are you okay, Forest?” Rosepetal asked with grave concern.
“Aside from a pounding headache, I’m fine. If I understand correctly, it’s a consequence of making new neural pathways. However, I now have a limited vocabulary in their language. I’m hunting for words, but I can understand some of what I hear now.” Shi stood up, and then faced Amethyst. “My name is Forestwalker. Means… walk in many trees,” shi said in Equish.
The mare replied in Terranglo, “My name is Amethyst. Means…” She shrugged, lacking the word.
Rosepetal stepped up and said, “My name is Rosepetal. Welcome aboard the Pegasus.”
Amethyst blinked in surprise. Half of what the Caitian had said had not translated, but the word ‘pegasus’ had. She lifted a hoof to point at the floor. “This… pegasus?”
“Yes,” Rosepetal replied.
Amethyst turned around to look at Wandering. “Captain! The word ‘pegasus’ translates!”
“So? Wasn’t that the point of the spell?”
“You don’t understand – this isn’t one of the several hundred new alien words inserted into our vocabularies. This word already existed!”
“What? Are you sure they mean the same thing? It may just be a phonetic coincidence.”
“I can tell the difference. The meaning is the same.”
Wandering gaped in surprise. “This may just be the most significant discovery we made today. Just wait until I tell Techbird about this!”
Rosepetal looked over to Forestwalker and asked, “What are they saying?”
The chakat looked a bit confused. “They’re talking too fast for me to keep up, and there are too many words that I don’t know yet. Something about words being the same which excites them.”
“Whatever the case, I believe we have just made a peaceful First Contact and these people have nothing to do with the Swarm. While there are many puzzles yet to be answered, I only have one burning question left right now.”
“What’s that?”
Rosepetal gestured towards the two excited equines. “How in the name of the eternally shifting sands does a species with only hooves build a starship?!”
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