novel method of FTL travel

[allforthehive]

One of the supposedly pre-warp systems the Prometheus is visiting may seem a little strange. Half an hour into its visit to this system, a new ship appears spontaneously near one of the stations, with no trace of a warp signature.

Comments

[warpfairy]

...That's weird. Maybe they're higher-tech than they look. They haven't hailed her... She tentatively continues her survey, her quiet computerized eavesdropping.

[allforthehive]

This planet is significantly warmer than your average M-class planet, and largely uninhabited. The cities appear to be largely underground, and data traffic is sparse, mostly ship and satellite telemetry and the like.

The ship that appeared cleared off to be replaced by an incoming ship, which uses chemical reaction engines to carefully position itself relative to the station. After fifteen minutes it disappears as suddenly and cleanly as the first one appeared. (The relevant station is pouring quite a lot of heat into space, probably from a power source)

They don't hail her unless her ship does something particularly noticeable or gets within a couple million kilometers of the planet.

[warpfairy]

She does have to get that close for a close survey read. She should probably turn tail and let Starfleet professionals have a look at the weird teleporting ships, but what if they send the wrong person, someone who doesn't care if the ships outright teleport if they don't warp...?

Creep, creep, she's close-ish to the planet now.

[allforthehive]

At some point she gets close enough for a satellite to detect her ship. It directs some not-particularly-elegant scanners at her, and thirty seconds later, she is hailed. The incoming hail is audio and... Something that her computer cannot immediately decipher.

[warpfairy]

Well, can the universal translator digest it...? It's too slow and clunky for real-time communication, but they aren't aiming weapons at her or anything, so.

[allforthehive]

The universal translator can digest the audio, has some guesses about the weird portion of the data, and warns her that its interpretation may not be entirely accurate.

"Unknown vessel, you are far from your princess and space is big. Are you still alive?"

[warpfairy]

"I am alive," T'Mir replies, both in raw English audio and the universal translator's attempt at the hailing language, "and I can go home whenever I choose. Who are you?"

[allforthehive]

A station transmitter pauses its data-dump to expand the call to include video. What comes on screen looks a bit like a three-meter tall Earth insect, complete with mandibles, compound eyes, and six limbs.

"We are the hive of Princess Zztk'n. Who are you?"

[warpfairy]

Hesitantly, Isabella offers video back. "I am Captain Isabella T'Mir of the United Federation of Planets survey vessel Prometheus."

[allforthehive]

The Hiver's antennas move excitedly. "You are not a Hiver. This is a momentous occasion. I think your language does not use scent? I can talk in dryspeak."

The non-audio data in the transmission stops. "You say you can go home whenever you like, but your ship is not large enough to contain a gate. Will I assume there is another way of breaking past light?"

[warpfairy]

Sheeee's in trouble. She might actually be able to get out of charges against her about this specific occasion but she wouldn't come through the scrutiny on her other activities unless she can get the hivers to cover for her. Which probably means reaching into her very shallow bag of tricks and teaching them warp, if they're friendly, or panicking if they're not.

"My language does not use scent. I have a device which is translating for me, and it may not be doing it well. Is the gate the way your ships can appear and disappear? My people do not do that."

[allforthehive]

"Yes, yes, you sound strange to us as we certainly do to you! We will remember the reason. The gate is many places and yet also only one place. It allows ships to travel from itself to its sisters. The network is busy, but we are not cut off."

He calms down a bit. "Know that though we are the only hive already on this world, we are not unarmed. If you threaten our princess we will attempt to destroy you. It is not a threat, simply a fact."

[warpfairy]

"I have no desire to harm any of you. Are the gates like wormholes?"

[allforthehive]

"Not exactly. More... My princess wishes to speak to you directly."

The image changes. "I am the princess Zztk'n. I welcome you to this system and hope our first contact with races other than our own can be peaceful and productive. Who is your princess?"

[warpfairy]

"I am not certain that 'princess' means anything that my people have. The United Federation of Planets is led by President Thross."

[allforthehive]

"Hiver royalty is many times as intelligent as all others, and I and my daughters are the mothers of the entire hive. It is the natural order that we direct its efforts. Your biology is alien to us if you have no princess. I suspect that the United Federation of Planets is not similar to the political system I know. The only federation I have ever heard of is a historical alliance between rebellious princesses who took exception to the Queen, before we learned to build the gates."

[warpfairy]

"The Federation I am from is several different species from separate planets, cooperating, and we know of more who do not belong to the group. My own kind does not have princesses, but I have not studied all of the other species' habits in detail to say if any of them might more resemble you."

If Isabella does think so herself this isn't going so badly. Maybe she can angle the entire thing into an anti-Directive activist movement.

[allforthehive]

"Our gene-weavers have long suspected that there is much life in the universe, waiting to be found. We have visited 343 systems, and gateships are travelling to 116 more at this moment. We would be very interested in information about your species' biology and a sample of your genetic code."

[warpfairy]

"...Among my people genetic information is considered very private. I would not like to offer you a sample of my own genome now. But I can tell you general things about the species of the Federation and the others we have met."

[allforthehive]

The princess makes an agitated noise. "How am I supposed to communicate without the subtleties provided by scent? That was intended as an offer to purchase genetic data, not me begging for it with nothing in return."

[warpfairy]

"The translations should improve in accuracy over time, but scent per se is not part of my device's capabilities. Whether my genome is available for purchase depends substantially on what you would want to do with it and how you would protect it from other things that might be done with it."

[allforthehive]

"We would study them and begin to understand the other ways life can be. I clarify that we are not interested in your genetic data in particular at this time, rather, the biology and genetics of your species and other species that you know of in general. Of course we will not share proprietary genes with all, if you wish to protect your competitive advantage."

[warpfairy]

"...I do not have any other genomes on my ship to share. My apologies for the misunderstanding. The concerns about sharing the genomes are not about competitive advantage but about privacy and the potential for cloning."

[allforthehive]

"We understand... You have technology that we do not. I hope the reverse is true so we have something to offer your hive in return."

[warpfairy]

"I've never heard of gates like the ones you use before."