Memt 'tasa Envoy

Memt 'tasa stretched in the flight seat as best as the g-harness would allow. His eyes burned from staring at the scanning screens and flight insrtuments for too many ahn. (Ahn: a standard measure of time roughly equal to four and three quarter hours of Earth time.) Minimal glare of design had improved over the last few centuries, but constant vigilance for more than several hundred ahn would place a strain on even the most practiced observer. Memt 'tasa punched in the new co-ordinates for the Manshra 'Rhupta star sector within the assigned Surl 'pena quadrant. His tour of duty had barely began and already routine started to dull his wits. His inner eye lids drooped from drowsiness and he nearly missed the brief amber flash on the scanner screen. Memt 'tasa sat forward within the harness, the inner lid totally retracted as renewed attentiveness banished his sleepiness.

There it was again. He noted the co-ordinates on the screen. A gurgling noise trilled from his vocal organs as he wondered aloud what caused that anomolous amber blip. Amber meant unidentified and proceed with caution. As per proceedure Memt 'tasa switched on his becon transmitter. He transmitted all data collected from his patrol with the last few moments coded for immediate analysis. He then turned his ship and waited for a response to his transmission. It would be several ahn for the light wave transmission to arrive at base, another several ahn for the decoders and analyzers to make their determination, and then return a light beam with his instructions. In the interim the scout reviewed all known data regarding the section of star system from where the anomolous blip pulsed through this unexpected rest phase.

The Manshra 'Rhupta sector was located on the outer most region of Surl 'pena space. An area seldom noted as interesting or important. The amber blip telegraphed from this part of space became a single note of interest. Memt 'tasa localized the position of the anomaly. Whatever it was, his investigation would center around Fern 'ost-3-b. Right in the midst of the sweet zone found in many star systems. The Sweet zone is that orbital area where the radiation of the local star isn't too much or too little for planet sized objects to develop liquid water and an atmoshphere. Of course, the planetoid must have a molten core or any atmosphere would be stripped by the local star's astro-storms. The ship board cosmic atlas revealed that Fern 'ost was a red dwarf with eight planets. The third planet had three moons, one of which would classify as a planet in its own right. It was this planet sized moon where the blip mocked him.

The cabin resounded with a light shwirrr. Memt 'tasa pressed the button for the speaker. The gurgles and clicks of command instructed him to approach with stealth and caution. The metallic signature eminating from Fern 'ost-3-b was indeed unknown alien technology.

He felt the temperature fluxations as his face flushed blue and green from excitement. He wondered what this new species of being was like. Would they be hideous monsters? Did they come to plunder and destroy like the Avnagarat or would they be susceptible to inclusion within the Surl 'pena enclave?

The scout ship approached the outer orbitals of the Fern 'ost system. Memt 'tasa recorded on all energy frequencies. He maneuvered his craft through the treacherous gravity shadows and ran the gauntlet of rogue asteroids. The difficulty to maneuver safely was the prime reason the Surl 'pena councils had disregarded this sector. That and the danger of a rogue asteroid collision everywhere at any time in this system promised failure to any serious colonizing venture. Well, until recently. The technology for detection and repulsion of large astro-bodies was now available. The problem was that the technology was too costly to implement just anywhere. Surl 'pena engineers surmised another quarter apenu (1 apenu=2400 Earth years) would be needed to develop the anti-gravity reflectors to the point of cost effectiveness.

By the time Memt 'tasa's ship was half way to Fern 'ost-3, his language computer had formulated a translation of some form of primitive language structure. He marvelled that the language base was found on the lower, slow broadbands of sound. The technology was alien and primitive. As he came closer to the outpost of 'Humans' he grew more and more amazed that they were still alive. The language computer auto adjusted to the band width and set up an electro-pulse language teach. Memt 'tasa learned Human/Earth speech patterns and language everytime he slept. So when he was just hours away from first contact, Memt 'tasa could converse with these adventurous, if a bit reckless and suicidal entities. More importantly, he had learned they were on Fern 'ost-3-b temporarily as they were preparing to change Fern 'ost-3's environment to be better suited for life forms they'd brought from their home planet. He was very much alarmed by this concept, as any civilized race of beings understood that planetary ecosystems were fragile and easily destroyed when altered through interstellar contamination.

Memt 'tasa Envoy

Memt 'tasa sat rigid, strained against his g-harness. Before he reached orbital range he sent out a sound band query toward the Fern 'ost-3-b outpost..

"Memt 'tasa of Surl 'pena bid you greetings. Request envoy conference with your leadership. Over."

The receiver crackled with background static. The first time the sound band had been quiet all the time of his approach. Memt 'tasa felt the blue and green flush of fear across his forehead as the silence could be an ill omen.

"Memt 'tasa of Surl 'pena bid you greetings. Request envoy conference with your leadership. Over."

Again, nothing but static. Just as he inhaled to repeat his hale for a third time, his cabin resounded with the strange pronunciation of his name.

"Meem ta taasa, umm a who are you again? And what do you want?"

"I am Memt 'tasa of the Surl 'pena compromise. You have occupied a moon within the jurisdiction of the Surl 'pena Enclave. I am an envoy, or ambassador sent to negotiate terms of occupation."

"Oh, Christ! Do you hear what I'm hearing? We landed on a alien owned planet!"

"Get yer thumb off the transmitter, you're broadcast..." Static hissed through Memt 'tasa's ship's receiver.

What a thoroughly strange response. Feeling edgy about the ambiguity of his position, Memt 'tasa light beamed his complete recorded activities and discoveries to base. Then he set the ship's radio to broadcast light beam updates every sixteenth ahn (every thirty minutes).

During the next two days by human reconning, Memt 'tasa had arranged a meeting with a Human titled Beau, to discuss the terms of occupation of Fern 'ost-3.