THE RELIANT

THE RELIABLES

If there was one duty of being an Alliance officer Captain John dreaded it was that of first contact. On the one hand, while it could be exciting to be introduced to a new species or peoples. On the other hand, one never knew what they were getting into whenever you met a species or people for the very first time. For instance, a brief skirmish almost broke out between the Alliance and the Dukati people after they objected to the table manners of the crew of the ship The Aries after they had made first contact with them. So to say Captain Yager had some reservations when Admiral Flagg informed him and his crew would be making first contact with the Pedorans would have been an understatement.

The rest of The Reliant crew, however, did not share in John's skepticism when he told them how they would be making first contact with the Pedorans. He knew the reason for their excitement, save for Bortis and Roger, was due to the fact that none of them, with the exception of Commander Steiner, had ever been involved in making a first contact and therefore weren't aware of the possible pitfalls of this type of assignment. He only hoped this one would go smoothly and that they wouldn't offend no one of the planet Pedora. But, though he had a lot of respect for his crew, he still didn't have a lot of faith that would happen.

"So, Roger," John said to the ship's android, "what do we know about the Pedorans?"

"Not much, I'm afraid, Captain," Roger told him. "As you know, Pedorans are strict isolationists and wouldn't allow themselves to associate with those on other planets."

"So what made them change their minds about being isolationists?" asked John.

"They recently had a change of government. They replaced their aging Supreme Leader with a new one named Sorgi who is more open to allowing his world to at least meeting with those on other worlds."

"What do we know about the Pedorans themselves?"

"Again, not much, Captain. They are said to value intellectualism and logic above all else.'

"Huh," John said. "They sound la lot like Vorlocks."

"Wasn't the first officer on your previous ship The Pretorius a Vorlock, Captain?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, he was." He nodded. "Commander Lazz. Last I heard, he became an Ambassador after the Karnin war."

"So, I just have to ask, Captain," Lisa began to say, grinning her usual snarky grin, "who was the better first officer: me or Lazz?"

John shrugged. "You both have your pros . . . and your cons."

John gazed over at Lisa while grinning a snarky grin of his own.

Lisa nodded, still grinning. "Fair enough."

"So when are we scheduled to meet Supreme Leader Srgi, Captain?" Tamala asked.

John sighed. "We're scheduled to meet Supreme Leader Sorgi at 0900 hours on The Reliant."

"You don't seem too enthused about that, Captain," Lisa remarked.

"Let's just say I've seen enough of these first contacts go south to give me cause for concern."

"Well, I've been involved in a couple of first contacts myself when I've served on other ships and they went pretty well."

"Well, as they say on Earth, there's a first time for everything, Commander."

"Pardon me for asking, Captain," Roger began, "but do you see any reason this first contact will go, as you said, go south?"

"I really hope not, Roger. But, like always, I expect everyone to be on their best behavior and treat Supreme Leader Sorgi and his people with respect at all times." He looked directly at Zack. "And, yes, Mr. Renjay, that also means you."