"Erin, plot a course for Phobos. I'd like to ask the Erimosi if they have anything interesting for us to do." You say, deciding that the best course of action is to consult the experts. Besides, asking them in person might reveal some missions that they kept away from the AI's helpful suggestions. Not that Erin didn't seem trustworthy.
"Aye aye, captain. It'll be nothing for my warp drive, barely a few light seconds away!" She says happily, as the ship eases out of dock and moves into space. "In fact, the trip is going to be effectively…" Suddenly you feel a moment of disorientation, as though you were suddenly in multiple places at once, and shouldn't be. "…instant! Welcome to Phobos, captain. I'll hail the Erimosi Embassy."
You shake your head, still feeling some lingering effects from the warp jump. It takes about a minute for your eyes to re-focus and your fingers to obey your commands once again, but it all comes back to you. You look out the view screen and see the potato-shaped moon of Phobos, most of the small surface covered in the alien architecture of the Erimosi's zero-g city. Well, less than 1% g, anyway. A decent sized Earth city would barely fit on this thing.
The obsidian face of an Erimosi fills your view screen. "Greetings, human." She says in a lovely alto, her white hair floating at the edges of the view screen. "You are the first human scout, are you not? What brings you to us? Is anything the matter?" The Erimosi purses her lips in concern, although you know that the gesture is human, and she must be doing it purposefully for your benefit. Still, you appreciate the concern.
"No, no, nothing's wrong." you reassure her. "I was just trying to figure out what to do for my first mission, and none of the straightforward options really jumped out at me. I was hoping I could consult the Erimosi for some more interesting options."
The Erimosi arches her eyebrows in another human gesture, and she seems to smile slightly. It's hard to tell her those black lips on black skin, like a starless night. But you do know that smiling and laughter mean the same thing to both races. "More interesting, was it? Very well. I am giving your computer docking coordinates. Let us speak face to face." And with that, the transmission ended, and you felt your ship move into position to land on the little moon.
Your not sure whether it's from some kind of tractor beam, or your AI slid the ship quickly into port, but in any case you've quickly landed on the moon. Getting out of your ship and bounding softly through the corridors, you see Erimosi in long loose robes walking about. In front of your ship is the same alien woman that greeted you on your viewscreen earlier. Wordlessly, she beckons for you to follow her, turning and gliding gracefully through the gravity less corridors. You move after her, your bounding gait the epitome of clumsiness in comparison. After a few dozen steps, you slowly get into a rhythm, and are able to keep up with her as she leads you to a room in which to talk. You notice as she floats effortlessly down the hall, her flowing robe ripples in the unearthly movement possible here, and in doing so gives a rare glimpse at the attractive female form hiding underneath.
The room you are brought to looks luxurious compared to the Spartan look of the space dock. A thick carpet softly hugs your boots, and vases filled with extraordinarily long feathers of various bright colors adorn the corners. You wonder what kind of alien avian could grow those feathers, longer than you are tall. The room contains two plush couches facing each other, the alien woman reclining in one and gesturing you towards the other. This Erimosi doesn't seem to be very talkative, but her wordless communication is still effective. You seat yourself in the other couch slowly, and as you do it seems to almost envelop you in the soft fabric, having a beanbag-like aspect to it.
"So." The Erimosi finally speaks in the same alluring alto tones you heard earlier. "You wished a consultation with us? My name is Avallala, and I will offer what assistance I can to you." You see her looking you over curiously, and the way her eyes scan up and down your body feels a little unnerving. Still, you haven't ever been this close to an Erimosi before, and maybe she hasn't either. Usually only diplomats and heads of state get to spend any real time with the aliens, although now that you're the first human scout, maybe you're important enough to join those ranks.
"Y-yes." You say, your voice betraying a bit of nervousness at meeting with her. "The standard options I've been given are all well and good, but… as the first scout, I wanted to do something a little more dramatic than mapping a colony world or saying 'hi' to the neighbors. I wanted to do something bigger, more exhilarating, more fun!" As you describe your feelings, your voice gets more animated, until you realize that the alien might not empathize with your human sense of adventure. "I'm not sure if that makes much sense to you, but…"
Avallala smiles at you, her head tilting toward one side. You find the expression warm and endearing, and you can't help but grin in return. "No, I don't think I do. But that's what makes you humans so interesting. Perhaps I can come up with something for you that you would consider 'big,' 'exhilarating,' and 'fun,' as you say." As she says this, her eyes seem to shine briefly in an odd expression, before returning to their previous shade of orange.
You contemplate what to ask her specifically. It seems like Avallala has some ideas already in mind for you, but perhaps you could ask if there's some sort of help a human could give to the Erimosi. After all, it'd be nice to give back after all they'd given to us. Or you could try and chat with her a while longer. You find yourself enjoying her company, not to mention the comfortable quarters and the fact that from what you can see, the alien is quite easy on the eyes. You make up your mind:
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