NaNoWriMo Assignment Oct. 26th

Lightyears from Earth, a large sleek vessel glided through the darkness of space towards a massive gas cloud that had been called the Canterbury Nebula. It was inside this nebula the first of many jump gates were carefully constructed and hidden. It was a necessary step to keep the telescopes and probes built by pre-faster than light travel civilizations from discovering them before they were ready. A powerful alliance of dozens of worlds known as the Galactic Council, had unanimously decided long ago to advise against any direct or indirect contact with pre-FTL sentient worlds. It was seen far safer to observe their advancements and make first contact when deemed ‘necessary’ by the Galactic Council. Inside the vessel, five delegates each representing their own world within the council nervously sat. They each traveled with one child, equally nervous and excited at the same time, waiting to eventually arrive at Earth.

Gnosarac, (No-saw-rack) the Chameleon like reptilian biped from the jungle world of Dylax (Die-lax) sighed as he turned to his son, Vada. He had found himself on Earth due to his adolescent curiosity of the nebula getting the best of him. Fortunately, he had the sense to leave a message regarding his investigative plans and was safely retrieved from Earth a few short rotations later.

Vada, meeting Gnosarc’s gaze, offered a small smile. “It was not my intention to visit the Earth, father.”

Gnosarac returned the weak smile. “You uncovered an unknown property of the nebula during your investigation. Its energies can still open random wormholes; one which led you to Earth.”

Gadanor (Gad-a-nor) the grey skinned shapeshifter from the many floating islands of Teranor (Tear-a-nor) nodded in agreement. He then turned to his son, Diron (Dee-iron) with a bemused smile on his face. “It was an otherwise harmless game of hide and seek that led my son to arriving on Earth.”

Diron blushed. “I did not know it was an escape pod until I was actually in it. They are normally all closed and sealed.”

Gadanor smiled. “No one blames you, youngling. The escape pod was faulty and no one knew of it until the computer alerted the bridge of its launch. Maybe now the captain will listen when the engineer tells him we need more inspections.”

Norida (Nor-eye-da) the tiger like biped noble from the misty world of Purrearth (Purr-earth) smiled in response. “All of our children did well on Earth.”

Norida’s daughter, princess Kyteen (Kitten) blushed. “I found myself on Earth after a botched kidnapping attempt.”

Norida giggled. “You fought your kidnappers and forced the ship to crash on Earth. Your kidnappers did not live long to regret their decision to take you.”

Kyteen managed a smile. “I was rescued by a group of kind humans who called themselves Marines.”

Maxceo (Max-c-e-o)the sentient machine robot biped entity from the ancient world of Digitex (di-gee-Tex) also nodded in agreement. “Your daughter showed the true strength and character that is expected of a princess. Much like my daughter.”

Maxceo’s daughter, Era glowed gentle rose color indicating a bush. “I found myself on Earth after to finding an unknown relic on an archeological learning outing.”

Maxceo let out a mechanical laugh. “You single handedly proved that mankind is far older than anyone, including the humans themselves had realized. You made history.”

Era shined a brighter rose color. “The humans I had befriended told me this as well.”

Cahzea (Caw-z-ah)the parrot like avian from the gas giant like world of Croctna (Croc-tea-nah) chirped in agreement. “I believe all of our children have made history in their own unique way.”

Cahzea’s frail daughter, Atrace (A-trace) sighed, looking sad. “I found myself on Earth due to a simple navigational error that sent me through an uncharted wormhole.”

Cahzea placed a light wing over her daughter. “A wormhole that only a few can see. A worm hole that branched off to dozens of other nebulas to dozens of other worlds including Earth. You proved that these pre FTL worlds were closer to us than the Galactic Council dared imagine.”

Atrace blushed, a smile forming on her face. “I didn’t think of it that way.”

In the light of the children’s unusual situations, an emergency meeting was called. The children and their dominant parent were summoned to stand before the Galactic Council. The head of the council, Racnorac (Rack- nor- rack) a wise, centuries old rock skinned being from the desert world of Myraj (Mirage) addressed them. He spoke firmly but not unkind.

“The incidents which lead your children to visit Earth were both fortunate and unfortunate. They uncovered many things previously unknown to the council but also awakened a hostile, previously unaware pre-FTL civilization to the fact they are not alone in the cosmos.”

Racnorac only eyes the parents full knowing the children were on the verge of an emotional outburst. The situation was serious but not so serious to demand any harsh punishments. By Galactic law, no one was to make eye contact with children in the council chambers unless they were subject to punishment, questioning or praising. After all, one only gets to be a child once.

Gnosarac respectfully nodded. “What were the consequences of these events? Also, are we to be punished for these escalating incidents regarding Earth and its people?”

Racnorac gave a patient smile. “The incidents in question were unintentional and technically did not break any galactic laws. As they all occurred within the span of seven Earth rotations, it has been determined to be a fault of a series of unforeseen events. As the humans put it, “Shit happens.”

The other council members nodded in approval as Racnorac continued to speak. “This is not the first time the humans of Earth had encountered beings from outside their solar system so it is not unprecedented. Only this time, these humans have been given intact technology on a proverbial silver platter that would have taken them decades to develop on their own.”

Gadanor again gave a respectful nod. “The humans are divided at the moment; will this technology upscale their conflicts?”

Racnorac shook his head. “Surprisingly, this caused the opposite effect. It lead to the nations of Earth to unite under one flag. Our experts suggest that the humans, known for their explosive adaptability, will be capable of faster than light travel within the next decade. Some fear the humans may surpass the council worlds within a few generations.”

The parents and their children stood uncomfortably before the stern glares of the council members but were surprised as they then all gave snake like grins. Racnorac was about to pass his judgement upon the parents of the children.

“It was due to the strange misadventures of your children that the council unanimously selected you all to serve as diplomats of the Council to begin the official first contact protocols with the human race. Do not see this as a punishment but as an honor. Your children, though innocent of any wrong doing, were the ones to make first contact so they will be part of the diplomatic team.”

The humans themselves were an enigma. It was thought that no sentient species could evolve on what was classified as a high level death world. Everything on that planet had evolved to literally kill in order to survive. Against all from the tiniest microscopic viruses to the largest land predators, the humans had evolved. Against the violent weather and volatile tectonic plates, humans had not only lived but thrived. They were capable of incredible cruelty and destruction yet, at the same time, capable of great compassion and kindness. The diplomats all knew that working with these unpredictable humans would not be easy. The council had made it clear they wanted the Earth to fall in line with strict regulations and restrictions to ensure their authority and control. However, from what they had learned from their children, the humans were not new to the diplomatic game and the council’s gambit may well backfire on them.