First Contact - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

Obituary, November 18, 2324:

The Galactic Exploration Service announces with regret that Lieutenant Kim Corman is missing, presumed dead. Lieutenant Corman was piloting a single-person scout mission to the newly-discovered planet of Orcadia, in the Ork Nebula. Her scout craft entered planetary atmosphere last week, appearing to spin out of control after a long multi-orbital descent. Remote drone sensors recorded a ground impact signature consistent with complete detonation of the scout craft. No further signals have been received. Launching a GES rescue/recovery mission will not be possible for some time.

Lieutenant Corman was a promising young officer of high accomplishments, holding a PhD in Computational Engineering from MarsTech University, and graduating top of her class at the GES Academy. She was commended for outstanding work on the Beta Cygni Exploration, and subsequently volunteered for the solo Orcadian Probe Mission. Lieutenant Corman’s piloting skills were rated exemplary, but this novel mission was expected to be navigationally hazardous because of the extreme local conditions.

Lieutenant Kim Corman will be sorely missed by her family, friends and colleagues in the GES.

 

From Galactipedia, the Free Encyclopedia:

The discovery of the Ork Nebula in CE2317 sparked immediate controversy, due to conflicting observations and scientific claims made by successive exploratory missions. At irregular intervals the Nebula exhibits unusual intense internal electromagnetic storms, sufficient to blind nearby starship navigational systems. The Leif Erikson Mission of 2321 claimed to have witnessed severe gravitational and spatiotemporal disturbances fluctuating within the nebula, but more recent expeditions have not confirmed this.

 

From Galactipedia, the Free Encyclopedia:

The Ork Nebula is home to the planet Orcadia. Initial remote drone analysis of the planet's atmosphere and environmental vital signs, predicts with high probability, that the planet harbors organic life, despite the mainly arid surface that are distant from the planetary poles. Planet Orcadia is also notable for the unprecedented range and complexity of its extra-planetary particle fields, thought in part to be influenced by many subsurface mineral deposits of unidentified composition.

In CE2320, planet Orcadia was categorized “high priority” in the GES search for potential alien life. However, the difficulties of navigating the Ork Nebula with a large starship constrain exploration. An investigatory attempt is planned, using only a small scout craft, in the near future (GES).

 

Lieutenant Corman’s final log entry (auto-transmission):

“Successfully passed through Nebula core and now approaching Orcadia, current distance zero-point-seven parsecs, closing. Nav systems destabilized by local conditions as per risk analysis, but still providing basic capability. ShipMind readouts confirm hypothesis of likely organic life presence. Course adjusted for Orcadia approach, low-orbit phase observational plans being set. Mission control, this is very exciting!”

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Kim’s excitement mounted, despite her professional discipline and caution, as Orcadia filled the view screen. What lay at those cooler polar regions of Orcadia? Would today even lead to one of those rare and precious First Contact encounters with new alien life?

The ShipMind suggested an orbital pattern. It had cheered up now, after complaining all the way through the outer shell of the Ork Nebula about anomalous this and that, hinting that the mission should really be aborted by anyone with basic common sense. Old fusspot, thought Kim to herself, these third-gen ShipMinds always got a bit staid and middle-aged after a few missions.

She replied, “No, take us lower straight away. Let’s see what’s in those green and brown zones near the poles. That is what we came for. Then give me manual control.”

The ShipMind paused, almost as if debating with itself, but after a few seconds it engaged deceleration routines, dropping the scout craft through the atmosphere.

 

Taking over control, Kim piloted the scout lower, and soon gasped aloud at the visuals. There was no mistaking it, the vast stretches of green were forests or jungles. Delighted, Kim dropped the scout even lower, taking in the panorama of foliage stretching to the horizon.

“You recording all this, ShipMind?” she asked, unnecessarily - it should data-catch by default.

Wait until she got space-side again and transmitted all this back to Sector, they were just going to love her for this! Complex flora hierarchies, no less!

“ShipMind, respond?” What was up with it?

But as she took the scout over a small ridge Kim suddenly saw something else. Something regular. Something large and organized and manufactured, not organic. Something that looked awfully like – buildings.

A settlement.

 

In the brief seconds it took to over-fly, Kim processed the sheer impossibility of it. An organized settlement, meaning intelligent life? If so, why had no signals from planet Orcadia been detected before, none of the usual electronic signatures of even quite primitive civilizations?

Kim suddenly realized that the ShipMind was verbalizing again: “… imposs- imposs- imposs- self-testing initiated – imposs – my name is Ozzy – imposs – Osbourne, King of Kings – “

What?! She’d never heard a mature ShipMind babble like that before. Something serious ailed it. It had been well-shielded from the Nebula storms though...

And as that thought crystallized, the scout craft took a sudden deep turn to port, lurching toward the jungle less than half a klick below.

The delirium of the ShipMind was matched by suddenly chaotic handling of the human pilot controls. All her Academy training snapped into play as Kim fought the spongy and unresponsive flight systems. They dived towards the trees, miraculously entering a small valley.

Spotting an opening, Kim just managed to bring them down, crashing through trees and scything a broad path through the undergrowth, to an ominous chorus of rending and tearing wing material.

 

The ShipMind was silent, and the instrument panels darkened.

Unhurt but shaken, Kim reached for her helmet and opened the exterior hatch, anxious to check the damage. She gingerly exited, marveling that the scout ship had remained more or less upright.

Kim picked her way across broken timber, turning back to look at the battered scout ship. But as she turned, a large figure that was vaguely humanoid, appeared less than a hundred meters away, carrying some kind of metal tube.

She watched in total amazement, and then in horror, as the tube emitted a blast of flame, firing a projectile straight into the open hatchway she had just exited.

Time stood still.

 

Then the projectile exploded, sheeting the inside of the scout with flame.

Kim sprinted away. She could do nothing to save the ShipMind now, and she did not want to be in line of sight if and when the scout ship drive engine de-stabilized.

A few hundred meters on, and over the brow of a slope, Kim paused, head pounding. She could hear the roaring, crackling burning behind her, and see fast-rising smoke. The helmet readout confirmed that the atmosphere was breathable. Great. She might, possibly, live another few days then. Dependent on that rather large humanoid creature not finding her first. Need to get away from the crash site.

 

Kim unfastened her helmet, immediately smelling smoke. Fire was spreading through the area now. And then Kim froze as she heard multiple large footsteps ahead of her. Close. Very close.

A guttural voice barked from the undergrowth, sounding surprised, and was answered by two more voices. She had been seen.

Kim stood stock still, heart beating furiously, as three tall and bulky figures stepped towards her. They were humanoid, but definitely not quite human. Too large, too. Looked wrong. Of course they wouldn’t be human. This was not Earth…

 

The beings were partly-clothed, and carried what looked like primitive projectile weapons, reminiscent of twentieth century Earth. Their eyes and weapons fixed on Kim, who dropped her helmet and flight harness, instinctively raising her hands in surrender.

She hoped the gesture was sufficiently universal to ward off their violence.

 

Kim was frantically aware that these could be the last few moments of her thirty years of life, facing aggressive aliens who had, unprovoked, destroyed her only means of escape. But part of her was utterly fascinated. Here was a species already advanced enough to construct large settlements, and (inevitably) develop weapons. This was a rare, once in a lifetime event – First Contact with a new species, and intelligent civilization perhaps. Despite her jeopardy, Kim almost smiled in simple awe. How she wished she could record this historic moment.

The beings held an animated conference, apparently as surprised at Kim’s appearance as she was at theirs. They reminded her of nothing so much as - yes, Orcs. Real life Orcs. Their language was harsh, but apart from occasional clicking sounds the speech seemed to be vocalized through the throat like human larynx. It was nothing like any human language Kim had ever heard. They looked and sounded agitated.

The jungle was hot, and the smoke stung her eyes a little. Kim was perspiring inside her suit after the pell-mell sprint away from her burning scout craft. While the Orcs were distracted, clearly debating their next course of action, she quietly unzipped the top of her suit to get some air.

 

But Kim’s surreptitious move was spotted, a barked warning suspending the Orc's debate. They looked at her menacingly.

The leader came closer, glanced at her partly unzipped suit in surprise, and sneered. He looked thoughtfully at her cleavage for a moment.

"Arn-grrath? Slaagh?"

He raised his gun, and Kim’s hands shot up again nervously.

"Nud! Nud, slaagh!"

He gestured at her front, making a downward pulling gesture with his free hand. Kim stared back at him. What did that mean? Surely he didn’t want her to completely unzip the –  really? But he was still staring pointedly at her chest.

"Nud!... Nud!"

 

The Orcs all growled, and the gun's safety catch clicked loudly.

Kim swallowed. Okay, so that was actually what he wanted her to do, or rather undo.

Forty minutes after entering orbit around Orcadia, stranded and alone in an alien jungle, GES Lieutenant Kim Corman was made to strip at gunpoint.

Continued in Chapter 2...

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