Everything seems to be going well, and you're just about to unstrap yourself from your pilot's seat, when the ship jostles violently. If you had stood up a second sooner, your helmet would've smacked hard into a control panel, but thankfully you were still belted into the seat. "What the…!" you cry out, looking frantically at your instruments. "What's going on?"
Your question is soon answered by a stern feminine voice on the communicator. "Alien vessel. You have entered a restricted zone. This is the personal space belonging to the Kichi Imperial Family. By order of Princess Shaiya, your ship will be boarded and you submit yourself to questioning by the Imperial Guard. Do not resist."
"Wait, what? This is all a mistake!" You protest, hailing the Kichi ship back. "Please, I didn't know this area was restricted! I'm just trying to make peaceful contact with…"
The Kichi, apparently belonging to some kind of Imperial Guard, interrupts you. "Save your breath, alien. I don't know who or even what you are, but I'll figure it out during official questioning." The Kichi ship cuts off communications, and you feel another jolt as the larger ship presses forcefully against your own.
"Erin, what's going on? Why is she ramming us?" You ask, hoping to make some sense out of the situation.
"Our ships are docked with each other, but she's linking us up in a way that keeps us from disengaging." Erin tells you. "When I figured out she was trying to lock onto us like that, I tried to break the link-up. Apparently she didn't like that."
You start to hear sounds on the other side of the airlock, your mind racing as you try to figure out what to do. "Can we warp away? Is there anything we can do?"
"Sorry, captain." Erin responds. "The warp engines need time to recharge. Even if they were ready, we can't warp while attached like this. Either both ships would get torn apart, or we'd warp somewhere together. I don't think either of those helps. For now, we're stuck." Erin pauses for a moment, as if consulting her databanks. "But the Kichi have no record of harming prisoners or criminals. Even if they assume the worst, they shouldn't hurt you! If you can explain to them you aren't a threat, everything should be ok!"
You think about that last part. Erin's got a ton of information stored in the ship's computer, so its probably true that the Kichi don’t hurt their captives. Then again, the Kichi just now didn't exactly sound friendly. But if they're going to interrogate you, you still have the truth on your side. All you wanted was to make peaceful contact. Hopefully you can sort that out with the Kichi, and get on with it. And just who was this 'Princess Shaiya' the Kichi mentioned? Did you stumble onto some vacationing noble with an over-protective bodyguard? Before you can think too hard about any of that, the airlock of your ship begins to open.
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