by John Coon
Dharcha arched a brow.
“What sort of unusual data?”
“Binary numbers. Whoever sent the probe also intended to share a message.”
Dharcha turned his chair toward a console behind his desk and pressed a square green button. A slot opened on the desktop and a thin oval monitor rose through the opening. He pressed a second smaller raised blue button on the console and the monitor lit up. The same rows of beacon data Calandra combed through a day earlier now appeared on the screen.
“If you scroll down a short distance,” she said. “You'll find the binary numbers in question.”
Dharcha's eyes widened when he reached the same rows of data where Calandra made her discovery. He gave a low whistle.
“It's certainly a message at the most basic level. The question is: who sent it?”
“That's the only thing I've really thought about over the past few hours.”
“Perhaps we've found a primitive race taking their first steps into space travel.”
Calandra's smile returned and shone brighter than ever. She liked the destination where his thoughts appeared to be traveling.
“This is a development worthy of our chief sovereign's attention.”
Dharcha spun around from the console and faced her a second time. He offered up a slight tight-lipped smile and shook his head.
“The chief sovereign is concerned with more pressing matters at this time. We shall study the probe in greater detail with one of our own when it becomes practical to send one.”
Her smile retreated back where it came from.
“I'm not exactly a stranger here. I'm not leaving until I see him.”
Dharcha let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his palms down his cheeks.
“I don't care what position your grandfather once held in our government. You can't demand an audience with the chief sovereign whenever you –”
“You may as well disturb him.” Calandra took on a more determined tone as she interrupted the minister. “I have no plans to leave until I see him, even if it requires staying in your office all night.”
The minister furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes. Calandra did not need to be a mind reader to see her determination tested his patience.
“I welcomed you as a professional courtesy, Calandra. I do not appreciate your defiant tone. We will study your probe further. Be grateful for it.”
She gnawed on her lip and gazed at the lavish Ebutoka carpet below his desk. Calandra had no intention of turning this matter over to Dharcha and leaving the palace. At best, he would ignore what she shared with him once she left. At worst, he would take sole credit for her discovery and shut her out of everything to do with the probe going forward.
Calandra still had one angle left to pursue.
“I imagine the Confederation will also study the probe in depth. I wonder what they plan to do when one of their astronomers uncovers the same message.”
Dharcha sprang to his feet and leaned over the desk. His palms pressed against the wooden edge.
“That probe will not fall into Confederation hands!” His voice echoed into the arched hallway. “We will bring this matter to the chief sovereign's attention now!”
Calandra nodded. A wry smile appeared on her lips once Dharcha turned away. She hurried after him as he barged through the doorway with a determined gait.
They re-entered the grand hall for a moment before veering off into another arched hallway on the left. This hall led directly to the chief sovereign's throne room. A mural filled with vibrant colors graced one wall while marble statues lined the opposite wall. Both extended through the length of the arched hallway, only stopping when the hall emerged at last into the throne room itself.
The mural's details seemed even richer than what Calandra remembered as a child. So much of Ra'ahm's history unfolded before her eyes. She could gaze on any moment depicted upon the vast mural — from the rise of ancient Lathoan civilizations to the Separatist War — and feel like a virtual eyewitness to those events.
Calandra wished she had more time to explore everything inside the palace. She glanced over at the row of statues and wondered if she would one day join her grandfather, Janthore, and become immortalized in such fashion. A burst of pride swelled inside her when Calandra laid eyes on his statue as she neared the throne room. Janthore forged a lasting friendship with their chief sovereign during the latter days of the Separatist War when he prevented a Confederation assassin from ending Delcor's life. That single act of bravery earned him a position of trust. Janthore became his first minister when Delcor became chief sovereign.
Then her grandfather abruptly resigned from his post while Calandra was still a child. He moved to a fledgling lunar colony on Laxa and expressed no desire to return to Luma or Lathos itself.
Even now, Calandra never understood why her grandfather chose to do what he did. Janthore communicated infrequently with her and her parents and remained elusive about his resignation when he did. Whenever Calandra had a chance to pose questions to him, he withheld answers and simply told her it would be better for their sake if he did not dwell on the past.
One look at the ornate throne room made Calandra wonder why anyone voluntarily left their chief sovereign's service. An intoxicating splendor blanketed the whole room. Furniture decorated in sapinoa hair cushions dotted the room. A thriving trade sprang up around these wild pack animals valued for their silky fur. Hunters and pirates often proved quite ruthless in competing for control over culling sapinoa herds. Purple tapestries adorned polished granite walls. Matching handwoven dyed ebutoka rugs blanketed hardwood floors. Three steps led up to a raised platform near the back of the room. A small golden throne, also cushioned with sapinoa hair, stood at the center of the platform. Single matching golden pillars flanked each side parallel to the throne. A mokai topped each pillar, sculpted in a manner so the bird's intense eyes bored deep into the soul of each approaching visitor.
Delcor did not sit at his throne when Calandra entered the room with Dharcha. Instead, he occupied a chair behind a small writing table near the eastern wall. A scribe faced him silently. Delcor bent his head and closed his eyes as he dictated an official letter. His tone sounded sharper than Calandra had grown accustomed to hearing during public broadcasts. His words carried a hint of menace that at once turned her confident eagerness into apprehension.
“Begging your pardon, my sovereign. An urgent matter has come before me … requiring your attention.”
Dharcha hesitated as though he fully expected a thunderous rage to greet his words. Delcor's eyes popped open as he lifted his head. They locked on the minister, ignoring Calandra entirely.
“Do you not see I am engaged in another matter also requiring my attention?”
Dharcha bowed.
“Humble apologies, my sovereign.”
Delcor cast his eyes toward the scribe and dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
“We will finish this letter later.”
He turned back to the minister, who continued bowing before him. Calandra stiffened next to Dharcha. She grew uncertain about what she should say or do. Hearing such a gruff tone from their chief sovereign caught her off guard.
“Loosen your tongue, Dharcha. Tell me what warrants interrupting my correspondence.”
Not trusting Dharcha to accurately represent her discovery, Calandra dropped to her knees before the table and bowed her head. A lock of her auburn hair fell across her cheek.
“I made a historic discovery, my sovereign. A probe unlike any we have encountered before entered our solar system. This probe bears a message from an unidentified alien race.”
Calandra spoke without thinking, catching herself off guard. She continued staring at the throne room floor. The young astronomer could not see Delcor's reaction, but sensed his gray eyes probing her after Calandra blurted out those words. Their chief sovereign greeted her breathless announcement with silence. Her breath and her heartbeat quickened at an equal rate.
/> Isn't he going to say anything?
Waiting for his response only fed a growing nervousness gripping her from head to toe.
“Calandra Menankar! I thought I recognized you. Far too much time has passed since your last visit here. You've grown into quite a lovely young woman since I last saw you.”
Delcor's tone softened while addressing her. Calandra raised her head a little and glimpsed at their chief sovereign. She offered up a slight smile. He rose from his chair and thrust out a hand.
“Arise, Calandra. Tell me. How are your parents? How is your grandfather?”
Calandra's smile edged back into an equally slight frown. His efforts at making idle small talk struck her as him not taking her presence seriously.
“They are happy and healthy, my sovereign,” she said. “But I must insist we discuss the probe. It is of utmost importance.”
Delcor raised an eyebrow and flashed the same type of condescending smile Calandra always got from teachers as a small child whenever they forced themselves to listen to her words.
“How can you be certain you did not stumble across an old Confederation probe? So many probes have launched from Lathos. Some circle our planet. Others traveled out to distant stars beyond our sun.”
“This is nothing like those other probes. The technology is so much more basic — almost like the ones that the Wekonn Empire launched more than a hundred generations ago.”
“The ancient Wekonn probes no longer exist.”
“Yes, I know, my sovereign. This probe came from outside our system, sent from an unidentified planet. I think an intelligent alien race is trying to communicate with us.”
Delcor stiffened and pressed his lips together into a scowl. An angry sigh escaped from him as Calandra averted her eyes again. He smacked a fist down on the table. Both she and Dharcha — who continued to stare at the floor — flinched.
“Serbius must have sent a probe! How dare they violate the treaty? We signed it in good faith almost 60 years ago! Do they not understand what such an action entails?”
Hesitation returned to Calandra's voice.
“It is not … from Serbius. The design matches no probe on record … from that planet. We don't know … who sent it to us.”
His stern demeanor lingered on Delcor's face while he gazed at her. Calandra knew he did not believe what she told him. She needed to offer unmistakable proof.
Calandra nudged Dharcha with her elbow.
“Show our sovereign the message.”
The minister scowled at her and fished a small holocaster from his pocket. Dharcha slapped the device across his palm and brought up a holoscreen. Within a few seconds, an image appeared holding the same binary number laden message Calandra decoded earlier.
Delcor pushed back the chair and sauntered around to the front of his writing table. He hunched over and narrowed his eyes while peering at the data. After studying the holoscreen for a few seconds, he straightened himself and glanced at Calandra again.
“What are you proposing?”
“I don't think whoever sent it harbored hostile intentions. But we cannot get an accurate idea concerning its origin or purpose unless we take a closer look.”
“You want a scout ship to intercept it?”
She nodded.
“If you will sign off on it, my sovereign. Such a mission is the best course of action.”
Delcor's eyes turned skyward and he rubbed his chin. He glanced down at the holoscreen a second time and then a third time.
“The cost is steep for a potential fool's errand.” His voice adopted a lecturing tone. “The Stellar Guard is spread thin on other critical missions and probe retrieval is fraught with its own set of dangers. A mission of this nature is out of the question.”
“I tried to convey the same idea to her myself, my sovereign, when I —”
“I didn't ask for your input, Dharcha.” Delcor answered his minister with an equal crispness in words and expression. “I can judge this matter for myself without any help.”
Calandra also glanced over at the minister and then let her eyes trail back to their chief sovereign. That same wry smile she first wore when leaving Dharcha’s office reappeared on her lips. Maybe playing the same card again would yield similar favorable results.
“I can't help wondering if a Confederation astronomer also detected the alien probe. If they uncovered the same data as I did, they could be preparing a vessel to retrieve it as we speak.”
Delcor shook his head with vigor and stamped his foot against the wooden floor.
“No Confederate ship will reach that probe first if I have anything to say about it!”
He marched behind the table and opened a small drawer. Delcor produced a metal plate and a stylus resembling the ones Dharcha used earlier, along with a stamp. Calandra's smile broadened when she saw him bring out those items.
She knew exactly what this meant.
“You have your wish, Calandra. I will authorize an immediate probe retrieval mission.”
Calandra bowed her head.
“I am forever in your debt, my sovereign.”
Delcor carved several lines of text on the metal plate with the stylus. He signed it and applied the stamp under his signature. A blue light flickered underneath the stamp and a small symbol remained when he withdrew it. His official seal displayed a golden sun with rays extending in every direction and a Mokai flying below the orb. She recognized it as the national symbol of Ra'ahm itself.
“This is my official decree authorizing the mission,” Delcor said. “I will leave it up to you and Dharcha to coordinate with an available master pilot to begin probe retrieval.”
Calandra snatched the plate from his hand before the minister could think to reach for it and bowed again in gratitude. A perfect master pilot to head up this mission already crossed her mind as she exited the throne room. She could not wait to set everything in motion and take another step closer to unraveling the alien probe's mysterious origins.
4
No matter how many times she visited this place, Calandra always felt like an insect staring up at a giant fashioned from glass, wood, and stone. It pierced the sky with the boldness of a temple and bore resemblance to one in parts of its structural design. Stone pillars stood on all four corners and climbed upward until merging into a peaked roof topped with a spire. Those pillars surrounded a box-shaped building. Rows of mirrored windows served as identifiers for apartments. An exterior elevator ran on a fixed vertical path going up and down the face of the building itself.
Calandra stepped inside and rode the elevator to the seventh floor. She gazed out across an expansive skyline filled with similar buildings as it climbed upward. Architecture on the network of streets in this part of the old city reflected a rich history within Luma's borders. Many buildings resembled intricate sculptures to Calandra, each one carved with the touch of a master sculptor's hand. Jeweled spires rose from a Temple of Ahm at the heart of the city. Towering fountains and statues dotted an expansive surrounding courtyard. Behind her, she discerned a silhouette of the Nectura River winding along the city's southern edge. Seeing everything under the glow of twin moons and countless stars only made it all feel more magical.
Do the aliens who sent out the probe come from a world as beautiful as this city?
Calandra longed to answer that question floating inside her mind. She would give anything for a chance to gaze at their distant planet — even for a moment — and learn how that place compared to her own familiar world. It stirred her imagination and fueled her desire to capture the alien probe.
The elevator opened into a long narrow hall. Calandra stepped out into a small entryway. A pair of hanging lamps with black trim lit the area. Dull light shone on a pair of light brown wooden chairs, a matching table, and maroon carpet. She heard a steady hum from an overhead fan.
Calandra attacked the hall with a brisk pace and knocked on the fifth door. She brushed back her auburn locks and adjusted both sleeves on he
r silk shirt. The door slid open to reveal a man around her age. Disheveled light brown curls adorned his head. Dark blue eyes peeked through half-opened lids. No shirt covered his smooth olive-toned chest. A pair of ashen sleep pants were his only clothing.
His eyes opened wider and his lips twisted into a worried expression.
"Calandra? I'm surprised to see you here so late. Is everything all right?"
A broad smile graced her lips. Calandra threw her arms around him in an embrace. She tilted her head and pressed her lips against his. They lingered in that same spot for a minute before Calandra pulled back again while staying in his arms.
"I have wonderful news! I couldn't wait to share it with you, Xttra. I tried your arca vox first, but it didn't connect."
Xttra glanced over his shoulder at his open bedroom door. His arca vox sat on a small square table. It displayed no blinking lights.
"Sorry. I must have turned it off on accident." He faced her again. "So, what's this exciting news?"
"I found an alien probe."
Xttra's expression went blank.
"No really. You can tell me."
Calandra scrunched up her face and frowned.
"I'm being serious."
"A probe, huh? There are lots of probes around Lathos and other planets in our solar system. What makes this one special?"
"This one didn't come from Lathos or any system cataloged in the observatory archives. The design also does not match any known probe design. And, the best part is, I uncovered a short message from an unidentified alien race.”
Xttra pulled his arms from around Calandra's back and peeked outside the doorway. His eyes darted up and down the hall. No other doors were open. Satisfied that none of his neighbors were eavesdropping on their conversation, he closed and locked the apartment door.
"An alien message?" Excitement tinged Xttra's voice and his eyes widened as he turned to face her again. "This sounds like a first contact situation."
"That's what I'm hoping." Calandra toyed with a lock of her hair as she gazed at him. "It took a meeting with our chief sovereign himself, but I received authorization to retrieve the probe and bring it back to Lathos to study."
