One hour ago
The planet Yim III (grid 525,575), Treecuu Star Empire

The last few minutes of sunlight hit her face where shed stood, overlooking the beach. The clouds of condensed gasses glimmered. It was beautiful. A dangerous feast for her eyes.

With a great deal of envy she spotted silvery sea serpents play in the acidic liquid that would kill her in seconds. It looked delightful. They were soon accompanied by the "purple floaters", sucking in the plankton that splashed up into the air from the serpents' wild movements. She imagined what it must feel like. The radio attached to her atmosphere helmet beeped twice, bringing her back to the harsh reality.

"Anything to report, Professor?"

"All normal here."

"We have started sealing the surface doors. You wanted to be notified..."

"Yes. Thanks. On my way."

The thick doors, one of few access points to the city bellow the surface, would take an hour to seal, so there was still plenty of time. But the Professor had been reminded of them. Those two-legged creatures with slender bodies. Her little meditation session had been ruined, but she still decided to stay until the sun had disappeared behind the horizon. Two minutes left, according to her time peace.

Suddenly there was a movement in the sky. She looked up. A shiny streamlined vessel appeared.

No, two.

No, four.

No. There were more than she could count. It was them.

The Professor ran as fast as she could. It almost looked like neither of her four feet hit the ground.



Approximately one month ago
Government Complex, Ecteen, Treecuu Star Empire

"Ah, governor Looth! Long time, no see."

A holographic projection of the middle-aged governor of Bicaan appeared in front of the Committee for the Expansion of the Empire, and its chair spoke up. There was a delay before Looth answered that normally would have felt awkward, but the distance to one of the most far-away planets in the Empire meant there were technical issues that would affect the quality of the link.

"You know how it is out here. Barely a solar storm to report. But now I've got news for you."

"First contact I presume?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Naturally. Otherwise I wouldn't have requested all of you to attend the meeting. Three months ago a Lootuu-class cruiser placing border buoys nearly got hit by an alien space probe, and its trajectory suggested it came from the third planet in the Yim-Lootuu System. Further investigation revealed a class 2b civilisation." Good manners would have the governor wait for someone to respond or ask a question before he continued, but he wanted to avoid the likely awkwardness of the delays in the link would bring, so he continued.

"We have a Case 1. We made first contact. They received and understood the ultimatum."

"And?"

"They resisted."

(OOC: stay tuned, there will be a chance for other nations to respond and react to what's going on on the western-most border of the Treecuu Star Empire)