Contact [INDEFINITE HOLD]

Contact

A/N: To all the readers, I would be overjoyed to hear your thoughts and comments on the writings. Every little bit can help imrpove what you read. Also, thank you to those who have given me the privilege of being their follow-ee. Please enjoy.

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Blue. It was beautiful. The shuttle didn't have windows for her to see her new home, but the live external display showed white and grey clouds spinning over variegated landscape, bordered by the deepest blue seas. The orbital surveillance imagery didn't do the curvature of the planet justice.

Being born on what amounted to a cylinder packed full of atmosphere and habitat spun for artificial gravity, Inyetso had only seen a real planet in pictures and telescope images. Until a few weeks ago, she had only imagined what the inhabitants would be like, whether they would be like herself, or whether there would even be intelligent life to protect. Like everyone else aboard the generational ship on which she'd been born, it was thrilling to know that their two species were so close that they could almost be confused of one another. Close enough that they could even stand on the same planet without environmental suits. She took another look at the breathtaking view, thinking of the billions of fellow beings that lived there, the thousands of years of history leading to this moment, and how thrilled she was to see it.

"Okay, troopers, listen up!" Sergeant Komoran began, cutting through her thoughts. "We're on escort duty for a civil engineering team. Local government has agreed to let us help them with some search and rescue work. They've settled in a hurricane zone and got whacked. We're here to help search for survivors and protect... civilians." Inyetso pulled her lips back in the equivalent of a smile. As communications support specialist, only she was truly conversant in the local language, and only now was it hitting her that these people were not preparing to fight for their lives at any second. The only way to say "civilian" in her language was "not-military."

Before Sergeant Komoran continued, one of Inye's fellows raised his hand. "Sir, what are they doing in a hurricane zone? As I understand it, atmospheric storms are hell." Komoran probably knew why, but nodded at Inye instead. As communications specialist, she above all others were required to be able to manage cultural questions.

In response, she said, "Historically, this was used as a shipping distribution node. Fell into disrepair after railroads were developed. Since they started undersea hydrocarbon mining off the coast, it's hung around. But other than that, tradition mostly." When someone snorted about the heat, she replied, "It could be worse. There are places in the region that reach 330 degrees." That shut them up. Even though all her people could survive even above water's boiling point for a short time, anything above 290 was less than ideal. Then again, they could have landed on a world much hotter. It was just lucky that they could even stand on the surface and breathe the air without being crushed or having their lungs explode out of their chest or having their soft tissues catch on fire or flash-freezing or some other one of an infinite number of horrible fates that awaited someone on a hostile environment.

The sergeant continued, "At this stage in our diplomatic relations, we're just getting the feel of each other. I want weapons to remain holstered, secured, and webbed unless I say so or if you perceive a direct threat to life or limb only! That being said, it's not clear how precisely they'll react. We may face anything from a polite mother asking us inside for confections to a full-blown riot. Whatever happens, you do not, I repeat not hit first, understood?" Everyone nodded as the pilot came over the PA telling them they were about to deorbit. Sergeant Komoran strapped into the only remaining seat. "Good. Now, once we get through reentry I want to brief you on how to handle..." He looked at his notes. "...reporters," he said, mouth shaping the strange word.

Inye took another look at the blue and white of the planet where she would live before the cameras shut off to protect them from the heat of reentry. It was beautiful.