Ah, that's good. I've been chattering on a while, sometimes you don't realize how thirsty you get. So, the next day rolls around, of course it isn't really day because we're in space, and it's all artificial, but sometimes, it really doesn't matter. Captain Ramson finally figures out what I've known for a while, that this chattering is actually computer-speak. So, on my off hour, I mosey on over to my friend's quarters, and step on like three bags of cheetos once I get there. So, I ask him if he's learned anything, and he tells me that he can't crack the code for the life of him. He said he might never figure it out.
So, my on-duty hours start up again, and I'm called over to the bridge. Probably some faulty supercap on the auxiliary holoscreen again. That stupid thing is always breaking down. I don't complain, this puts me closer to the action. As I'm walking to the bridge, I notice everyone is tense. This thing is big, I think, we're finally going to meet some aliens.
I was one-hundred percent exactly right, and the supercap blew. I had brought along another one, so really, it would have taken about 20 seconds to just swap them out, but I knew if I took my time, I could learn a bit more about what was going on. I looked at the old supercap while I was taking it out. It was only rated for sublight use. Whatever idiot had installed these really needed to get his head examined. Well, just got to keep replacing them when they blow, I guess.
Captain Ramson looked extremely serious. I mean, he's a serious man, but I guess he knew that this alien thing was big. So, I suppose a lot of weight was on his shoulders. A lot of the time, it's easy to wish you're the guy in power, y'know, but he definitely does a lot of hard work and a fine job. Though I have to say he doesn't always make the right decisions. Well, I think I'm wandering off topic again, aren't I? Let me get back.
Captain Ramson was in a heated argument with a man in a suit. Later, I learned he was the chief Diplomat. Turns out, after he found out that it was an alien computer signal, he sent out pilots to investigate in person. One of the fighters had suddenly exploded. The ships systems were telling the pilot he was about to crash, but the pilot couldn't see anything. Poor guy probably thought the alarm was broken, seems like everything else on the Starlance is.
So the Captain wants to send out some all out attack, and the diplomat, of course, wants to try talking to the aliens. The Captain thinks that the aliens are using some sort of secret cloaking technology or something. Anyway, I'd want to stay for this kind of drama, but there's only so long I can draw out a simple replacement without looking incompetent, so I had to leave about then.
After work, I drop by my friend's quarters again, and he's looking extremely excited. Again, he's one step ahead of the crew, and he tells me he's been contacting the aliens. I look at what he's pointing to, and it looks like an antique radio transceiver. He's been ancient earth technology to talk with aliens! For some reason, he said it worked, but they weren't really exciting to talk to because they were still coming to terms with English. He said that he knew they wanted to talk, because all the other radio frequencies wouldn't work, but they've cleared up one just for him.
At this time, the crew was intercepting my friends messages to the aliens, and that gave the Diplomat the idea to send some of his own, over the same frequencies. You might not hear about it, hey, I can't blame them, it's pretty embarrassing to the Government if some of their best scientists and such get outdone in talking with aliens by some guy with an old radio. So, the bridge had it's own rig set up at this time, and were starting to get through to the aliens.
Of course, I began spending absolutely all of my free time with my friend, both of us listening in to his antique radio to see what the aliens had to say. The scientists have been saying how incredibly fast the aliens have picked up English, but to me it seemed so slow. The Aliens kept babbling on, playing around with every syllable and saying absolutely nothing that meant anything.
Onboard the ship, everyone was holding their breath. No one still had any idea of what was going on with the aliens. Were they hostile, or friendly? Nobody knew for sure, but everybody had an opinion. The rumor mill on the ship was churning as fast as it could. Some people were even suggesting that it was all some kind of hoax. Really, they'd think an entire ship would stop for a hoax?
A few days passed like this. Every day, it seemed, the babble got a little more comprehensible. The scientists were trying quite hard to teach these aliens how to speak English, and it seemed to be having an effect. Listening in to the radio became very exciting, and my job became more and more annoying to do, because it took me away from the radio. I really wanted to be there when the aliens said their “first words” in English. Well, I was lucky, as from the babble arose something that made quite a bit of sense. “Hello. We see you now, dark ship. Can talk. Will talk? You are not like us. We have made ship to explode?”
Oh drat, it seems like I had too much water back there. I'm really sorry, but I think I'll have to excuse myself for a moment. I hope you don't mind too much. Don't worry, I'm almost done with my story.
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