The Dawn of a Galactic Era

"The Discovery"

Velutaria Prime: The Palace of Luminaries. January 8th, 2024

The grand estate of Velutaria Prime stood head and shoulders above the capital, its spires reaching into the sky. Inside its gilded halls, light from a thousand chandeliers cast down golden glows upon the people. Empress Thyssara sat upon her throne of irisescent crystals. Masterpiece of Velutarian arts, the walls in holographic tapestries and polished obsidian floors.

Empress Thyssara, an imposing and elegant visage of power, looked through the humongous viewport demonstrating the Velutoa System in all of its beauty. Her robes shimmered with embedded nanofibers, changing colors to describe her mood, until today they were toned down to an almost somber, red-tinged brown. Her usual expression belonged to the ineffable, serene, tinged with curiosity and expectancy today.

As the doors to the throne room opened, the High Commander Jarek of the Velutarian scouts entered. Nice armor, the resplendent shine between sleek, metallic, easily reflected the room into a grandeur that approached the throne and, with it, his own mixture of reverence and urgency.

"Your Excellency," Jarek began, his voice resonating with respect, "I bring news from our latest expedition."

Thyssara's eyes were deep pools of wisdom and power that arrested Jarek's. "Speak, Commander. What have you discovered?"

Jarek worked a control at his elbow, and the room filled with a hol-image of the Sol System. A yellow star, surrounded by a series of planets, spun gently in front of him. Jarek's finger traced a path to the third world, a green and blue marble nestled within the habitable life band.

"This is Earth, Jarek declared. We've run some preliminary scans and established that this planet is in a Pre-FTL Early Space Age."

Thyssara leaned forward in interest. "Early Space Age? Describe this civilization to me.

Jarek nodded, allowing a number of images and data streams to display. "This planet's population calls themselves humans. They already work on their space programs, but managed to travel only within the surrounding area of their solar system; they still fail at interstellar travel. It is primitive technology, as compared to ours, but their culture is rich and varies from place to place.

Thyssara looked at the imagery before her: bustling cities, tall buildings, and all kinds of conveyance. Their societies were vibrant with life upon consideration with their technological handicaps.

"And their social caste?" Thyssara asked.

"In structure and kind of governance, their governments vary greatly from one region to another," Jarek replied. "From democratic to extremely authoritarian, it seems, though all driven by some combination of scientific curiosity and political ambition."

Thyssara's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "How did they respond to our initial probe?"

Jarek's face grew graver. "They intercepted our probe but they have not yet gleaned its source. It has left their scientists baffled, and they have yet to realize our true potential." There was a pause as Thyssara weighed the implications. "This changes so much for us in ways that we haven't seen before. We can meddle with Earth's future, for worse or better you know. But we must really be careful here. Their society is fragile; overt action could have unintended consequences. Jarek nodded. "What be your orders, Your Excellency?" Thyssara rose from her throne; she hadn't used a bit of energy, yet she compelled every eye. "We'd better play this one carefully. Dispatch a second probe—it should be capable of closer-range imaging. I'm quite curious to see their culture—their politics, their inclination for progression. We can already field an army of envoys trained in the arts of diplomacy; once you have the data, we'll decide whether Earth is to be left untouched, nudged, or shielded. The High Commander bowed, made his preparation to carry out the orders, and Thyssara looked back at the projection of the Earth. The planet spun serenely in the vastness of space, a world on the cusp of its next great leap, while the Empress of Velutaria Prime prepared for the role her civilization might play in its unfolding destiny.