FSE

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I'm sorry but I just could not fit any yiff into this chapter without disrupting the flow. Nevertheless, I hope that it is a good read, and I promise yiff in the next chapter to come for sure.

I honestly need to consider making these chapters shorter because the editing is just killer haha...

Anyway, I enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading.

Meeting the Neighbors

Written By: Spudz

The situation was utterly dire as events spun hopelessly out of control. Death loomed ominously, waiting to ensnarl its victims in a cold embrace as the crew huddled together within the fragile confines of the space station module. It was only a matter of time until the inevitable.

For astronaut Keith Ramirez, this was certainly not the way he had envisioned his first trip into space. Together with his five counterparts, the former Air Force pilot found himself trapped aboard what was left of the International Space Station as it rotated awkwardly from the force of impact with a rogue satellite. They were sealed off inside the Zvezda module, or crew quarter's section, as the rest of the station had depressurized during impact or soon afterward. It was incredibly lucky all onboard had managed to scurry to safety before the atmosphere was violently sucked out of the structure.

"Now instead of a quick painless death, we get to suffocate slowly," Keith whispered softly to himself. Although the Zvezda module had a stable atmosphere, the oxygen recycling unit was inoperable. His counterparts worked fervently to try restoring power to the system, but he knew it was futile. The oxygen replenishing equipment drew power from the Zarya module which was completely destroyed during the initial impact. The ISS was officially dead in space.

Hope had lingered briefly after the crew had sealed themselves into the pod. In the event of catastrophic equipment failure, the station possessed an escape pod which was the Russian Soyuz spacecraft three of the crew had rode up to the ISS a month ago. The ship was still docked with the Zvezda module, but it was soon evident that the escape system was not a viable option due to the piece of satellite that now sat lodged in the side of the hull.

Keith watched silently as his colleagues laboring to restore power finally realized there was no hope. With a heavy sigh, the crew members allowed themselves to drift away from the fuse panel to float aimlessly. No one cried; no one so much as uttered a word. They all had known the risks that were involved with venturing up into space. Astronauts and cosmonauts alike slowly glided about in the darkness of the module as they came to grips with their fate.

There had been almost no warning. A sudden frantic call from the surface had tried to get the station's inhabitants to fire maneuvering thrusters in a desperate last second action, but it had been too little too late. They had managed to initiate the thrusters, but by that point the satellite was less than five seconds from impact. It was a wonder the station had not simply disintegrated during the initial collision.

Keith actually began wishing that the ISS had just ripped apart. It would've been a better way to go as opposed to slowly suffocating while you watched your colleagues and friends die along with you. The astronaut toyed with the idea of opening the docking hatch next to him to just get the pain over with... quick and easy. But, the thought was quickly shoved aside as he gazed out the module window to Earth while his viewpoint shifted with the awkward rotation of the station.

"Well I suppose if there was a way to go, this would be it," Keith murmured to himself. The astronaut decided he would spend his last moments just simply watching the splendor of the planet silently scroll by. She sure was gorgeous; such a beautiful world that he could call home. He wondered if any extraterrestrials had discovered Earth and marveled at her grandeur, if there were any that existed at all.

It was a driving question of the human civilization that seemed to never be answered; are we alone in the universe? Is there intelligent life out there somewhere? Is someone currently gazing down upon the fragile realm of humanity with the notion of someday making first contact? It was an idea that had fascinated Keith since childhood when he first looked up at the stars. The astronaut had always dreamed of being the first human to shake hands with another intelligent race, extending the olive branch toward building a lasting friendship that would pave the way toward human expansion into the mysterious dominion of space. Now though, it seemed his dreams would never be fulfilled.

"Heh, some intelligent race we are," Keith said abruptly, cutting through the silence as the others turned to regard him. "We can't even build and maintain a simple space station. If there is anyone else out there, they must look down at us and wonder how we ever made it this far." He uttered a bitter laugh at the thought as he continued watching the planet revolve by.

No one offered a reply as the silence began anew. The window now pointed down toward the surface, affording Keith a nice view of the United States. He focused his eyes on the panhandle of Florida where the shuttle was still sitting uselessly on the pad, invisible to his view. No doubt NASA was scrambling to begin prepping the spacecraft for a rescue mission. Too bad they would find nothing but frozen bodies whenever they managed to arrive at the crippled station.

A glint of sunlight suddenly reflected off of the surface of an object the astronaut had assumed was a piece of the station floating below. Keith gazed intently at the structure. Something just didn't seem right about it. Whatever it was, the object was getting closer... much closer... alarmingly fast! Panic played across his face as the distance closed rapidly. The damned thing was on a collision course!

At the last second right before collision, the structure abruptly decelerated the closure velocity, seemingly coming to a sudden dead stop to Keith's frame of reference. After a brief moment it settled neatly into synchronous orbit about 100 yards distant from the damaged ISS. The astronaut let out a deep sigh of relief after noticing he had been holding his breath. That was definitely close.

Suddenly, realization slapped him viciously across the face. "My God... it's a spacecraft!" his mind reeled.

He could not believe what he was seeing. The vessel was huge, probably about the size of two large passenger aircraft stacked nose to tail! Where could such a ship have come from?! He had no recollection of any nations possessing such technology aside from America's Space Shuttle and Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, but even then those designs were dwarfed by this sleek craft.

She looked fast, with a slender hull design and what appeared to be four massive cylindrical engine nacelles, each the size of a house, mounted in a quad-pod configuration toward the aft end, or at least he thought that was the stern. A distinctive large window adorned the upper portion of the bow that had to be the cockpit, while smaller windows were framed at random across the massive side of the exterior. The spacecraft was something right out of a Star Trek episode.

A knot suddenly formed in his stomach as realization set in. "This isn't human..." he whispered softly.

The hull surface flashed a brilliant metallic blue tinge as the sunlight reflected off the exterior. It must've been some sort of high-tech composite metal alloy strong enough to absorb the stresses of space travel... and weapon's fire? The spacecraft was certainly a military vessel as various armaments protruded out slightly from the sleek hull structure to convey her firepower. The astronaut took special note of the massive slender gun that rested underneath the bow and jutted out forward menacingly from the superstructure. She was built to wage war, but against who?

Another stomach-twisting thought crossed Keith's mind. "Was this ship responsible for the satellite collision?"

He quickly dismissed the notion. Why hurl a satellite at a target when you could just plug it full of holes with a weapon shot. He was sure any single one of those nasty looking armaments mounted along the hull could wipe the ISS clean out of existence. It suddenly occurred to the astronaut that he hadn't informed his colleagues about this sudden turn of events.

"Erm... you all won't believe this... but there is a spacecraft orbiting just outside," Keith said matter-of-factly, making sure to speak up to be heard. His counterparts turned to gaze at him with a variety of emotions ranging from shock to utter anger, probably for thinking he was joking in some sick twisted fashion. "I'm not fucking kidding... there is a goddamned spacecraft out there," he added with more force to punctuate that he was in fact not joking.

That seemed to convince the others as they all quickly floated over toward his window. One of the cosmonauts reached him first and swiftly took a look through the glass.

"Christ, he's not joking," the Russian exclaimed with a thick accent. "Goddamn that thing is big. Where did it come from?"

"I don't know," Keith replied. "It just suddenly appeared."

After each of the crew had taken a quick peek with varying degrees of shock, Keith again took charge of the window. The ship had gotten much closer to the ISS since his last observation. The astronaut noted that the spacecraft was constantly correcting its orientation to stay perfectly aligned with the station as it continued spinning awkwardly. Quickly, the distance closed until the hull of the vessel was a mere 50 feet from the window.

"Jesus, they are docking with the module!" he exclaimed after noticing that the ship's structure was perfectly aligned with the docking station of the Zvezda module, which was positioned right next to his viewpoint.

As if on cue, a circular section of the exterior began extending out toward the pod's berthing port. Keith watched with rapt fascination as the docking extension slowly came into contact with the ISS hatch, causing a soft thump that reverberated throughout the module. Unseen to his eye, the atomic makeup of the station's structure became negatively charged as the surfaces remained in contact with one another. Additionally, the spacecraft hatch was given an equal but opposite positive charge that locked the two structures together in a solid airtight seal.

Almost as soon as the docking was complete, the crew heard an audible groan throughout the ISS structure as the spacecraft started applying careful thrust maneuvering to slow the rotation of the crippled station. All onboard tensed up while they silently prayed for the module to hold together as the sickening sound reverberated across the station's exterior. It felt like the structure was going to tear itself apart!

After several tortured moments, the creaking and moaning of fatigued metal ceased as the space station now orbited stably with no rotation. A heavy silence hung in the stale air of the module as the crew contemplated what came next.

Keith eyed the hatch door that now was the only barrier between the ISS crew and who or whatever resided on the other side. Without power he couldn't even discern if there was breathable atmosphere over there. The astronaut turned to regard his colleagues who all stared intently back at him, seemingly waiting for some sort of plan.

"Well, I suppose we should open the door," he spoke softly, silently asking his counterparts if they had a better idea. "Does anyone object?"

No one made a move to speak, deferring leadership to Keith who sighed heavily at the newfound burden. "Well I assume whatever happens will be better than sitting here and suffocating to death," he added while reaching up to grasp the hatch locking mechanism. Taking a deep breath, the astronaut screwed his eyes shut and opened the hatch door ever so slightly, waiting for the atmosphere to violently depressurize.

Instead, the exact opposite occurred as a refreshing burst of air rushed into the module, inundating the station crew with fresh oxygen. Keith inhaled deeply as the invigorating atmosphere seemed to breathe new life into him. They weren't dead yet... might as well keep going. Slowly, ever so slowly, he continued opening the hatch as bright light flooded into the dark module, making him squint as his eyes struggled to adjust. Finally after several grueling moments the door was completely open, revealing the space beyond.

The small hatch opened up into a rather large white-paneled corridor. Bright light strips extending along the upper length of the hallway toward a door at the far end, which was probably where the docking extension connected to the alien ship's hull. There was no sign of life as Keith eyed the alien structure carefully, searching for anything that might signify a threat.

Following a moment's consideration, he decided that the situation was not dangerous. Slowly the astronaut floated through the threshold of the hatch to emerge into the alien corridor. A wave of awkwardness quickly washed over him as his mind reoriented automatically to the floor and ceiling of the hallway. It took Keith a moment to steady his awareness before realizing he had drifted down and was now resting on the floor. An invisible force seemed to pull on his body, removing the null gravitational conditions that he was accustomed to while serving on the ISS.

"So then... this ship has artificial gravity," Keith mused, while slowly pushing himself up onto hands and knees. Working his muscles briefly to get the blood flowing, the astronaut then carefully stood upright as he tried to acclimate to the transition from null conditions. The gravity wasn't quite that of earth as he discovered he could bounce slightly and float for a brief moment before coming back into contact with the floor... probably about 0.5G.

Keith turned to look at his counterparts as they eyed him nervously from the hatch, still floating in the zero gravity of the station. "I'm going to check things out," he said evenly. "If something bad happens, don't hesitate to seal the hatch without me." Before anyone could reply, he turned and began awkwardly walking down the corridor. His footsteps echoed deafeningly in the quiet of the hallway as he moved toward the door at the far end.

Suddenly, said door swished open sideways into the wall, causing Keith to freeze mid-step looking very much like a deer in the headlights. There was no place for him to hide. The astronaut remained motionless with a foot in mid-air as he gazed intently at the now open passageway. But nothing came through the threshold. Finally after several agonizing moments, Keith took a labored breath and continued walking. With a couple more steps he reached the now open doorway and eyed the room beyond carefully.

The docking extension led to a small space that contained a large bench, which bisected the room lengthwise with large lockers adorning both bulkheads along the sides. Various handholds were mounted all across the walls and ceiling, while another closed door was situated opposite of his own. "This must be an airlock," he reasoned. "And I bet there are space suits stored inside of those lockers."

Poking his head through the threshold of the doorway, he surveyed every facet of the space while looking for anything signifying danger... but there was nobody to be seen. Deciding it was safe for the moment, Keith turned to give the all clear to his colleagues at the far end of the docking passageway.

It took some initial fumbling and blundering about in the gravity before the crew was able to stand steadily, but after a few minutes the group was able to make its way to the room where Keith stood. Their faces were an odd collage of emotions; ranging from fear, to amazement... careful apprehension, to outright curiosity.

Just when the last cosmonaut crossed the threshold, the door leading back to the ISS swished shut, trapping the humans within the confines of the alien airlock. Panic gripped the crew members as they realized just how powerless they were while eyes darted about looking for danger. No one knew what to do now.

In the sudden confusion, it was then that Keith noticed the window along the outside bulkhead of the airlock. He hadn't been able to look inward from the ISS due to some sort of technical feature that obscured the view inside the starship, but now he could easily gaze out toward the station. The scene that presented itself outside was utterly horrifying.

The station was completely destroyed with one of the major solar panel structures entirely missing. Debris floated all around the exterior while pieces of the impact satellite protruded out menacingly from the modules. God, it was a wonder they had survived... and even more of a miracle that this alien ship had mysteriously shown up.

The astronaut desperately hoped that the owners of the spacecraft were friendly. God help him if the situation turned out differently.

"Now what?" Keith muttered while he continued gazing out the window of the airlock to the shattered remains of his former home.

Roughly 200 feet forward of the airlock, another individual was wondering the same notion. For her the situation was serious as she had just broken one of the most significant protocols that governed her kind.

Riyla sat in her captain's chair, nervously stroking the underside of her wolfish muzzle with a hand while deep in thought. The kyree eyed the various visual displays that floated in the air above her console dash, showing the humans that now resided within the ship's airlock.

"Now what?" she breathed.

As captain, Riyla was responsible for her crew members; and as such, she had just thrown them headlong into a confounding situation. The crew of the Federation starship Arastos had saved the humans from certain death, but also had violated the Axis Prime Directive... an offense punishable by court marshal and imprisonment.

By no means, was an Axis vessel to make any form of contact with a non-warp capable species without explicit orders from high command. The directive was clear, concise, and upheld with the strictest guidelines and if violated... harshest consequences. Now here they sat, with said non-warp capable race in their airlock.

Riyla leaned back and closed her wolfish yellow eyes while she tried to figure out their next move. Obviously, she was going to have to contact high command at some point in the near future to inform her superiors of the situation. The kyree sighed heavily at the horrible thought. As captain she was responsible for what had transpired and consequently would probably be removed from command of Arastos among more serious punishments that would no doubt follow.

"And I had just gotten my first command," she muttered in the quiet of the bridge. "Just to throw it all away because my morals impeded my judgment."

"Hey now... I don't want to hear that talk from you," a masculine voice spoke just behind her chair, while a gentle hand came to rest on her shoulder.

The captain jumped at the sudden realization she wasn't alone on the bridge anymore. Quickly she turned in her seat to gaze at her mate in surprise as he regarded her with a heartfelt smile that just seemed to wash away Riyla's troubles. While deep in her thoughts, she hadn't even heard him enter from the corridor behind.

Kanolos's smile suddenly evaporated as his expression turned serious. "What we just did was the right choice," he continued, deftly reaching down and pulling Riyla to her feet. "Don't guilt yourself into thinking otherwise. Screw the fleet and their damned directives." He tenderly embraced his mate as she rested her muzzle against his shoulder, not wanting to ever let go.

Kano had always been there for her in rough times... always comforting, always ready to offer a hand to help Riyla through her toughest challenges. She was the luckiest kyree in the universe to have such a wonderful mate to love and rely on. For several moments they simply held one another in the silence of the bridge.

The captain allowed herself a genuine smile. "I don't know what I would ever do without you," she whispered, still clutching him tight.

Kano pulled back to gaze lovingly into his mate's eyes. "Well you'll never have to worry about that," he chuckled. "They could never keep me away from you, and that is a fact." He affectionately licked the side of her muzzle. "No matter what happens," he added with another warm smile. "Know that you have the full support of the crew and me. It is what I love about you... recognizing when to cast aside rules and regulations to do what you feel is right. It is a defining aspect of your personally that makes you the perfect captain."

Riyla licked the side of his muzzle just as he had done, displaying true affection for her mate while tickling Kanolos's whiskers and making him laugh.

"Thanks Kano. You always know just what to say to cheer me up," she replied, mirroring his smile.

"And I mean every word of it," he added with a wink. "Now then, I brought us some coffee from the mess hall." The kyree motioned over toward the door where he had set a thermos down on the floor upon entering. After Kano had docked the ship with the ISS and stopped the station's awkward rotation, the pilot had elected to venture down for some brew. He knew that tonight no one was getting any sleep. "Would you like a cup?"

"That would be nice. Thanks."

Over the month that Arastos had been orbiting the planet, the crew had come to enjoy several unique qualities of the local cuisine and drink. One such favorite was coffee. It had proven to be quite the perfect beverage for long hours on duty aboard a starship with its special bitter taste that smacked the sleep right out of the mind. Riyla liked her coffee black and strong, which Kanolos couldn't stomach as he preferred to add cream and sugar.

Kano quickly moved to the door and retrieved the thermos and two cups before pouring the hot brew for the both of them. Riyla accepted her cup with thanks and carefully cradled it in her hands while taking delicate sips. After he had added the right amount of sweeteners to his own beverage, the kyree quickly joined his mate by the captain's chair as she watched the humans on the video displays.

"I would certainly hate to be in their shoes," Kano said while scratching one of his pointy ears.

"No kidding," the captain replied, taking another sip of her coffee. "We may be perplexed as to what comes next, but they must be absolutely terrified."

Just then, the bridge door swooshed open, revealing Shyla, one of the tactical officers. The kenseng carried a cup in her hands as she regarded the two kyree. "Lumina informed me you were bringing coffee up to the bridge," she spoke. "So I snagged a cup on the way back."

"Help yourself," Kano replied, while motioning toward the thermos that now sat on top of the holographic map table behind the captain's position.

While they were docking with the ISS, Riyla had asked Shyla and her mate Yanashi to head down to the airlock opposite the one linking up with the human station. Together they had changed into space suits and waited to exit Arastos for a hands-on rescue attempt if Plan A failed, which had worked thankfully without the need for more drastic action.

Shyla poured herself a cup and moved to stand next to Riyla. She also liked her coffee black, which puzzled Kano. He just supposed he was a wimp when it came to bitter tasting brew.

"Well we sure made our presence known," the kenseng breathed before taking a good sip of her strong beverage. Her tiger-like tail flicked about behind her figure while she watched the displays with interest. "So what is our next course of action?"

"I'm afraid I don't know yet," Riyla replied with a sigh. "I suppose I'll contact high command and inform the higher-ups of the situation." The captain took a long drink, shuddering briefly with the overwhelming taste. "We'll play things by ear depending on their response," she added evenly, belying her nervousness.

"Before you contact them," Kano chimed in, turning to eye his mate. "Let's get Eriras and Taylo up here along with Yana. I'm sure they want to be present."

Riyla mulled over his words for a moment before reluctantly agreeing. She quickly downed the rest of her coffee before making a call to bring the remaining crew up to the bridge.

After a few minutes it was time. Riyla could not put it off any longer.

She stood right behind her captain's chair, hands clasped firmly behind her figure and posture rigidly upright. Her black fluffy tail remained firmly stiff in her anxiety, while she stared straight ahead toward where the display window would eventually materialize.

Riyla wasn't alone though, as Kano's hand came to rest gently on her shoulder. "Remember, we're all here to support you," she heard him say from behind.

Kano stood just behind and to her side. He removed his hand and promptly clasped it behind his form in the same posture as his mate. In addition to the pilot, the remaining four crew members stood at attention behind their captain. On the captain's right stood the two kenseng engineers, Taylo and Eriras, mirroring Riyla's stance. To their left were the kyree and kenseng tactical officers, which where Yanashi and Shyla respectfully. Together all five crew stood behind their captain, silently voicing their support.

"Lumina, can you please bring subspace communications online?" the captain asked as she steadied her nerves... now or never.

"Aye captain," the tiny hologram replied as she stood on top of the console dash. Quickly a large blank display materialized into existence above the captain's dash. "Subspace antennas online," Lumina added after a few moments. "Shall I patch into the high command frequency?"

"Please."

After a brief moment, the display changed over to a video feed showing a female kyree regarding the crew from 15 light-years away in real-time, such was the capability of subspace transmission.

"This is officer Balani of High Command Communications," the kyree on the screen said. "How may I direct your transmission?"

Kano noted that Riyla tensed up briefly. "This is Captain Riyla of the Federation Axis vessel Arastos," the captain spoke tersely. "Please patch me through to Commander Chali... priority critical."

The communication officer's pointy ears twitched as she considered the captain's request. Priority critical was a message status reserved for information concerning imminent acts of war, or serious information relating to interstellar relations. Whatever information Riyla wished to convey, it could not wait.

The kyree on the other end then took notice of the crew standing at attention just behind their captain. This had to be serious. "Alright hold one moment," the comm. officer replied curtly. The display screen went to a standby visual while she switched channels to wake the commander who was currently sleeping.

Commander Chali was the regional senior officer tasked with maintaining fleet operations around the kyree and kenseng home world of Sora. Consequently, due to the fact that Earth was a mere 15 light-years away from Sora and the orbiting space station that constituted Axis High Command, the task of maintaining the human species isolation fell within his realm of control.

The crew of Arastos remained utterly motionless as several long minutes passed in complete silence, save for the barely audible hum of machinery working below the bridge. Finally, the display changed to reveal a gruff looking middle-aged kenseng who sat at a desk in what appeared to be a bedroom. His tan fur was matted and unkempt, probably due to just having woken up. He wore nothing but simple work clothing as the commander regarded Riyla. Although it was well into the middle of the night for him, the kenseng appeared to be wide awake as he sported a serious expression. It was not often a priority critical message arrived to wake him.

"Captain Riyla," he began. "What do you wish to report?"

Riyla took a deep breath before she launched into a lengthy account of the events that had just transpired. Through her entire discourse, Commander Chali remained motionless, while he rested his elbows on the desk surface and steepled his hands together. He showed no emotion as she continued, electing to remain silent until the captain was done.

"...the humans are still contained within our airlock and we have not made contact yet," Riyla finally said after finishing her report. She straightened up slightly as the commander remained silent on the other end. "I am fully aware of the consequences of my actions," the captain added calmly, contradicting the kyree's almost overwhelming anxiety.

Kano so desperately wanted to reach out and comfort his mate, but he could not. Riyla was the captain and had to remain dignified in front of her superiors; he had to remain at her side, a part of her loyal supporting crew. It was tough to keep quiet, but he knew it was the best action he could do for her. He quelled his unease and remained absolutely motionless as the kyree voiced his support silently from her side.

A deafening quiet began to lengthen while the commander continued to gaze at the captain and crew from the display.

Finally, Commander Chali sighed deeply. "To be honest, I would have done the same thing if I was in your situation," he said while clasping his hands together on the surface of the desk. "A defining aspect of being a superior captain is to know when to adhere to the rules and regulations... and when to bend them to serve the greater good."

The kenseng on the display smiled slightly from his desk chair. "I feel that your actions were justified and I see no wrong in your decision," the commander added matter-of-factly.

Riyla visibly slumped somewhat where she stood in utter shock, taken aback by her superior's words. The kyree's hands became unclasped behind her figure and fell to hang limply at her sides. It was certainly not the verdict she had prepared for.

Seeing the captain's reaction, Chali chuckled. "Don't forget that I used to be a captain myself before I got so old and useless," he spoke with genuine mirth. "There were times where I too had to bend the rules, and thankfully my commander was wise enough to see the greater good that came out of my decisions. I'm glad that now I can be the one to value the judgment of my captain."

Riyla remained speechless as Commander Chali brought a hand up to stroke along the side of his feline muzzle. "This presents a tricky situation though," he began again. "The human race isn't warp-capable and probably won't be for some time. But, the Federation has been considering absolving humanity of the non-warp protocol due to Earth's close proximity to Sora and alliance territory. The talking heads of the government have been pressuring the Axis to do so for some time now. Moral issues are being raised by the general populace concerning the idea of keeping a race so primitively in the dark while they sit literally right on our doorstep."

The commander paused and gazed intently at Riyla and her crew. "So if we were to make our presence known to humanity, just how could we do it without destabilizing their society?" he asked after a moment's consideration.

Everyone present on both sides of the subspace transmission suddenly realized that history was being written. Decisions that were made right here and now would have lasting effects for an untold amount of time to come.

Kanolos didn't know where the idea came from, but suddenly the kyree had a plan formulating in his mind. It made sense to him, and could possibly work if carried out properly. The pilot stepped forward as Riyla glanced sideways at her mate in curiosity.

"Commander, I believe I have a plan," Kano said as Chali gazed intently at him from the screen. The commander made a gesture to proceed while he leaned back slightly in his desk chair and sipped some coffee. The drink had caught on quite quickly across the fleet, thanks to the predecessors of Arastos who had kept watch over Earth for roughly ten years prior.

For the next fifteen minutes, Kano outlined his strategy to everyone on both sides of the transmission. Commander Chali listened carefully while the kyree detailed his scheme... it was quite daring.

"In theory it should work with minimal negative impact on their society," he finally concluded. The elder kenseng mulled over the pilot's idea for several moments, hand rubbing subconsciously against his cheek fur.

"I like it," he said after a few moments. "You have my authorization to proceed Captain Riyla."

The captain seemed to snap out of her thoughts. "Aye... commander," she replied with some hesitation, still trying to come to grips with the sudden turn of events.

"Your crew is now officially assigned the title of ambassadors under my directive as of this moment," Chali continued. "I will convene a meeting of high command to discuss these events and a future course of action. For now though, I leave things in your hands... God speed." With those words the display closed and winked out of existence leaving the crew of Arastos standing motionless in the silence of the bridge.

Kano was the first to snap out of the daze. Gently he placed a hand on Riyla's shoulder, bringing her back to the here and now. "I'm glad things turned out fine," he said happily as she turned to gaze at her mate.

"You don't know how relieved I am," she breathed while embracing him quickly in a loving hug while the others looked on joyfully.

"Well that is one obstacle cleared," Eriras chimed in. "Now to tackle the next problem." The engineer's white-furred tail flicked about as she considered Kano's plan. "This is going to get very interesting indeed."

Riyla was about to reply when Lumina suddenly interrupted. "I have a situation here," the A.I. said as her hologram appeared standing alongside the crew members, this time at full height as opposed to her mini version. "I was running analysis on the events leading up to the satellite collision, and I found something interesting."

The display above the captain's dash came back to life and showed a series of data logs and plots. All six of the crew eyed the figures carefully until Riyla discovered what Lumina had found.

"My God," she breathed as the others made the same discovery. "This changes the situation drastically."

Keith had lost complete track of time. The astronaut had no idea how long it had been since the ISS crew ventured onto the alien vessel. The six of them remained huddled in what had to be an airlock compartment of the starship, waiting for God only knew what to come through the sealed door along the one bulkhead.

He had tried opening the sliding door barring any entrance back toward the crippled station that the spacecraft was still attached to, but found that it would not budge. The group had searched every facet of the space, but there were no other exits aside from the two doors opposite one another. The tiny air vents situated along the roof were too small to fit through. The crew was trapped, and all they could do was sit and wait for something to happen.

This helplessness had proved to be utterly maddening. Everyone tried busying themselves with different tasks, ranging from counting the stars out the window to simply closing eyes and trying to sleep. Keith opted to sit on the bench in the middle of the room and stare blankly at the lockers along the wall. He had also tried opening them, but they were locked as well.

The astronaut wondered what the aliens might look like. Where they friendly? Could they speak or did they use a different form of communication? Did they walk on two legs or more... maybe none? His mind ran wild with different mental pictures. It would certainly be an interesting moment when they finally were able to meet the owners of the ship... if they ever got that far.

"Hello."

That voice didn't come from one of the crew...

Keith, along with the rest of the group, spun around quickly toward the source in the corner of the room... toward... a woman?

She was human, Caucasian, with long blond hair and deep blue eyes. The newcomer smiled warmly from the corner as everyone's faces became the definition of absolute shock. Where the hell did she come from?!

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you all," the strange woman said bashfully in English. "My name is Lumina. It is a pleasure to meet you." She tilted her head slightly in a form of greeting while the crew remained motionless. "I apologize for the lack of hospitality, but we first had to make contact with our superiors to get permission to proceed further. I'm terribly sorry about the loss of your space station. We had to scramble to mount a quick rescue mission."

She paused, allowing for anyone to speak up. Keith soon overcame his initial shock, deciding he would have to assume the lead again. "When you say 'we,' who are you referring to?" he asked tentatively, surprised he was able to form a coherent sentence. "You can't possibly be human."

Lumina seemed to consider his question for a moment before she replied. "I am actually the farthest thing from human," she said bluntly, causing everyone to recoil visibly from her presence. "I decided to portray myself like this to ease the tension. I am actually technically not a living being at all."

She appeared to notice the odd quizzical looks of her captive audience. "I suppose that only confuses you more. I am an A.I. construct and what you are seeing before you is actually a holographic projection," Lumina added quickly. She punctuated this by taking her hand and passing it through her stomach to emerge through the small of her back. "I am the ship's computer... I believe that is the best way to put it."

The revelation threw Keith through a loop. "So... that would explain your... sudden appearance," he stammered. The astronaut couldn't believe he was gazing at a light projected object that appeared so real, let alone that this being was an artificial intelligence.

"How did you know we were in distress?" he asked after a moment's hesitation. "Were you orbiting nearby?"

"That question will be answered in due course," the A.I. responded. "Right now though, I have to ask for one of you to accompany me to the bridge. The others will remain here for the time being."

The ISS crew tensed up at the notion of being confined longer within the airlock. "It won't be for long, and I promise no harm will come to anyone," Lumina added upon seeing the looks of concern.

None of the others made a move to speak as the construct went silent.

"I will go," Keith said calmly while standing to face her. The astronaut was nervous as all hell, but at the same time he was utterly fascinated to finally meet these mysterious aliens that had come to his rescue. Meeting Lumina was absolutely intriguing in itself. No one spoke up in disagreement.

Lumina nodded in acknowledgement and moved toward the door opposite the one they had entered from. Right on cue, said door slid sideways into the wall revealing a hallway beyond. The A.I. didn't waste any time and quickly crossed the threshold before turning to look at Keith as he remained motionless at the doorway.

"I promise I don't bite," she chuckled while motioning him forward.

Taking a deep breath, the astronaut moved into the hallway as the door slid shut behind him, officially separating him from the crew and bringing on a feeling of complete helplessness. Now he really was alone.

Quickly he took in his surroundings, noting that the corridor extended for a couple hundred feet in both directions with various doorways spaced at random intervals along the bulkheads. The gravity felt heavier here than in the airlock as he staggered briefly.

"We toned the gravity down in the airlock to help your crew transition from null conditions," the A.I. said, apparently able to read his mind. "I hope that 1G conditions aren't too much for you."

Keith took a deep breath and straightened somewhat. "I'll be ok," he replied. After a moment he decided to venture a question. "So are we heading to the bridge?"

It continued to amaze the astronaut that he was talking with an artificial intelligence. Aside from the hand through the stomach trick, she could pass for a typical human appearance wise.

"Aye, it is right down the corridor," she responded with a smile while motioning down the hallway. "Please don't be nervous, I promise the crew is quite friendly." With those words Lumina turned and began walking as Keith moved to fall instep behind her form.

Aside from the barely audible hum of random machinery, only the sound of his footfalls could be heard echoing off the bulkheads. It was unnerving that the astronaut couldn't hear her walking. But then again he had to remind himself that she was simply a light projection. Events were moving just too fast for his liking, but Keith had no choice but to go along for the ride.

They walked on in silence until after a few moments Lumina stopped just in front of the doorway situated against the end of the corridor. She turned to eye him as he came to stand next to her figure.

"The bridge is just on the other side of this door," she said. The A.I. gazed intently at him for a moment as Keith worked to steady his nerves. "Are you ready?"

The astronaut gave a curt nod. Suddenly the door swooshed open sideways into the wall, revealing the space beyond. Keith gasped softly as he got his first glimpse at the two individuals that regarded him silently from across the threshold. They were... were... wolves?!

There were two of them... and they looked just like wolves, although standing on two legs as opposed to four... how was that possible?

The first one stood leaning against a chair eyeing him attentively. The creature possessed glossy black fur that covered it from pointy ear to its wolfish tail... no, wait... it had to be a she as Keith now took notice of her distinctive feminine figure beneath the simple clothing she wore. Her eyes shone a brilliant golden hue in stark contrast to the black fur as they seemed to stare into his soul, unsettling him greatly as he remained frozen in place.

The other alien was no less striking to behold as it stood just behind the first with a fur coat of a deep crimson-red tinge. Keith figured this individual was male as he lacked the other's feminine features. His fur coat pattern was similar to that of a fox with a splash of white across the muzzle that flowed down his neck and disappeared beneath the collar of the shirt he wore. In addition, his hands were covered in a glove-like patch of black fur along with the bottom of his legs and the tip of the tail. His wolfish eyes glowed the same striking golden color as the other's while they studied Keith knowingly.

For several long awkward moments a heavy silence hung in the air as the astronaut gawked at the two aliens. Finally, the female smiled warmly as she moved to stand upright.

"Greetings," the black wolf said in English. "Welcome aboard the Federation Axis starship Arastos." Keith was astonished. She spoke his language flawlessly.

The wolf seemed to take notice of his surprise as she continued smiling. "I suppose it comes as a surprise that I can speak your language so well," she continued. "As it so happens, I've had a lot of practice."

The black-furred alien moved toward him as Keith remained frozen in place. Slowly she extended a hand to him after stopping just a few feet from where he stood. "My name is Riyla, and I am captain of this vessel. It is nice to make your acquaintance."

For a moment the astronaut hesitated, unsure of what to do. His mind was still reeling from the crazy events that had so far transpired and now here he was standing mere feet away from an intelligent race of another planet, something right out of his wildest dreams... best not to make a bad first impression.

The human slowly reached up to grasp the offered hand in greeting as first contact was finally made, albeit in a somewhat anticlimactic fashion.

"Keith... my name is Keith," he stammered while marveling at how soft her fur was. "It is nice to meet you as well." The human was surprised he could speak at all.

After a few moments they released the handshake. "I can imagine that you're quite overwhelmed," Riyla said with a hint of mirth. "Trust me you are in good hands. We have every intention of returning you to the surface."

"Oh... well that is good to hear," Keith breathed after a moment's pause. He decided to ask a question in the silence that followed. "How is it you know my language so well? I mean, you could pass for a typical human... physical appearance notwithstanding."

"Well, my kind has been watching over your planet for quite some time now," the black wolf replied. "Our ship arrived just over a month ago to relieve the crew before us. There is usually at least one vessel in orbit around Earth at any given time."

Riyla couldn't help but chuckle briefly at the astronaut's utter look of shock. "We've actually been to the surface on a number of occasions," she added with a grin.

"How is that possible?!" Keith blurted out, still floored by her words. It was astonishing that all this time humanity had strived to find intelligent life out in the great abyss of space and it turned out that said life had literally been sitting on Earth's doorstep all along... even walking around on the surface?!

To answer his question, Riyla motioned silently for Lumina to come to them. Her holographic human persona had been standing quietly off to the side.

"You know that Lumina is an A.I. construct and what you see before you is a holographic light projection," Riyla began while waving her arm through Lumina's body to emphasize her point. "We use a portable version of the same technology to mask our outward appearance to look human. It is quite effective as a camouflage." The wolf winked with a smile as Keith realized his mouth was hanging ajar and promptly closed it.

"Unbelievable," the astronaut mumbled as the A.I. hologram slowly began to dissipate before vanishing out of sight. It was alarming that something that looked so real and lifelike could just simply disappear like that.

"Our race is known as kyree," Riyla continued while casually folding her arms across her chest. "We come from a planet named Sora which we share with our sister race the kenseng. Currently this ship is tasked with monitoring Earth's development, although by rescuing you and the ISS crew we violated a serious directive, namely to avoid all contact with humanity."

Keith mulled over her words for a moment. "So is that why after all of this time your kind hasn't made first contact?" he asked after a brief pause.

"Correct, we are forbidden to interfere with non-warp capable civilizations. Unfortunately this includes the human race."

"If you violated your directive concerning contact, what happens to you now?" he asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"Violation usually results in imprisonment, and discharge from service among other consequences," the other kyree said, chiming in for the first time to the conversation. Keith had almost forgotten he was still standing behind Riyla. "But luckily, high command agreed with our decision to mount a rescue mission."

The second kyree's pointy ears abruptly flattened against his head in what appeared to be embarrassment. "I'm sorry... where are my manners?" the male added bashfully. "My name is Kanolos, but you can call me Kano for short." The crimson-furred alien walked forward to extend a hand and shake with Keith in greeting as Riyla watched with a grin.

"You'll have to excuse my mate. He can sort of space out at times," Riyla said after a moment as she cuffed Kano lightly on the arm to his amusement.

"You two are a couple?" Keith asked hesitantly.

"Mated just over a year ago," Kano replied with a grin. "I may drive this ship as the pilot, but she drives our relationship with an iron fist." The kyree brought his hands up to fend off feigned blows from Riyla as she smirked in response.

Keith was beginning to feel more at ease. These two may have appeared completely alien to him, but they talked and acted just like regular people in a way that made him feel comfortable. Perhaps it was almost like speaking with an everyday average couple, except with a weird two-legged wolfish appearance.

Both aliens turned their attention back to Keith. "I'm afraid that for now, you will be the only human to see us in our true form," Riyla said as Kano placed a hand around her waist while he stood next to her. "We had you come to the bridge because we wanted to ask you a favor."

The astronaut's face took on a look of puzzlement. "A favor...?" he inquired, curious what she was planning.

"Indeed, we would like you to be our ambassador to Earth," she continued.

"Me?! Why me?"

"Several reasons really," Riyla replied while holding up a finger. "First, you probably know that if we suddenly showed up looking like scary anthromorphic wolves, some people might become frightened and start shooting, and we really don't want that." She held up a second finger. "Second, we want to ease into your society so to speak. Sudden abrupt realization that humanity is not alone in the universe might upset the stable fabric of your civilization, which is something we want to minimize as much as possible."

Riyla held up a third finger. "Additionally, we figure that if you acted as our voice, someone that is human and easy to converse with and already somewhat of a hero for being an astronaut, it would help us communicate with the various governments of Earth." The kyree held up a fourth finger. "And Last, because we want to have a friend to talk with and ask opinions of." She finished speaking with a warm smile as Keith absorbed her words.

"Well..." the astronaut began after a few moments before pausing. "This is certainly not something I had expected. But the idea intrigues me. I'll gladly be your ambassador. How often is someone in my position asked to befriend another race?"

Both kyree's tails wagged happily. "Wonderful!" Riyla replied. "I'm so glad I can finally become friends with a human who realizes me for what I truly am."

Suddenly, her smile evaporated as the captain's expression got serious. "I'm afraid we have some bad news to convey though," she began. "The collision with the satellite was not an accident."

"You're kidding me..." the astronaut breathed.

"I'm being honest. While we were rescuing your crew, Lumina did a data backlog analysis on events leading up to the collision and she found something disturbing."

On cue, the construct's hologram materialized again; although this time in a miniature white-furred kyree form on top of the console dash the aliens were standing next to. At the same moment a series of displays flashed into existence along the port side bulkhead nearby. The main visual illustrated the satellite's trajectory and the drastic course adjustment that was performed prior to impact.

"The satellite was hacked into and a course adjustment made to a collision orbit with the ISS," Kano chimed in evenly. "We traced the uplink to a small facility in the country of Syria. The targeted satellite was an American multispectral spying platform, meaning that the hacker had to bypass one hell of a firewall system to gain access." He paused to allow Riyla to continue the discussion.

"The terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda is claiming responsibility for the attack and is currently touting the declaration across multiple media outlets," she added. "They have been attempting to breach more satellite communication links, but we are jamming their transmitters. I'm afraid if we hadn't been here, they might have begun crashing more platforms."

Keith absorbed this new troubling information silently. It made sense now why there was little warning from ground control before impact. It was frightening to know that those crazy bastards had actually gained the ability to carry out such a complicated and deadly attack. Lucky for him and the other crew there were friends nearby to offer help.

"I'm afraid that their attack is having the desired effects," Kano said, taking up the conversation. "The American intelligence network is in disarray and of course NASA, along with the partner space programs, is in utter chaos. The news is starting to spread across the populace, so we figure our first course of action is to establish communications with Houston to bring them up to speed. Because right now... you are presumed dead."

That statement was like a slap across the face for Keith as he stood silently. "Ok, what do I need to do?" he asked with anger creeping into the human's voice. Those bastards had the nerve to try killing him, so he was going to make damned sure they learned of their failure.

"Alright stand there for now," Riyla responded, motioning for him to move behind the captain's console chair. "We're going to patch into the ISS communications frequency. A display will appear in front of you momentary when we establish a link and you will be able to talk directly with Houston just like on the station. Let them know that we are going to land at NASA's Cape Canaveral facility. We don't want to appear above any populated city for fear of people getting notions of Independence Day alien relations."

She shook her head slightly with a chuckle. "Humanity certainly has a bleak outlook when it comes to making first contact as evidenced by the movies we've watched," the kyree added.

Riyla then turned her attention to the hologram after Keith had gotten into position. "Alright Lumina, go ahead."

"Aye, captain... establishing link now," the A.I. replied. The before mentioned display appeared in front of Keith as he stood eyeing the black screen intently, not knowing what was going to happen. "Patching into the channel now... synching data flow rate. Connection established," she added after a moment's pause.

The black screen suddenly snapped to a visual feed of the ISS control center in Houston from the camera positioned along the one wall, showing the entire room full of frantic looking people dashing about. What the astronaut couldn't see was that the main viewing monitor along the same wall had abruptly switched to a live feed of one of the supposed dead ISS crew. All activity stopped as everyone turned to look flabbergasted at the screen showing Keith, who was still very much alive.

"Um... hello there," Keith began coyly...

For roughly half an hour the astronaut conversed with the control center staff. It was amusing to Kano how at first Houston refused to believe that Keith was currently on an alien vessel, let alone alive to begin with. But after some convincing and due to the fact that he wasn't floating around in null gravity, the human began to get the point across. That was when denial turned to outright fascination, and amazement.

The kyree stood next to his mate and watched the question-answer session continue for some time. "And now there is no turning back," Kano thought as Riyla gave the kill signal and the astronaut quickly said goodbye to the dismay of the ground staff. With those words Lumina cut off the feed and the display disappeared.

Of course those on the ground had asked what the aliens looked like, and Keith had answered accordingly being as descriptive as possible. Kano wondered how the control staff would picture his appearance. That would surely be interesting to see.

The kyree quickly shoved the thought aside. There were more important matters to attend to.

"Well that was interesting," Keith proclaimed while subconsciously running a hand through his brown hair. "At least NASA is now aware of the situation up here, although I doubt they believe my story fully. It just seems too farfetched to comprehend."

"They'll believe once we come knocking," Riyla replied mischievously. The captain moved to stand looking out the port bridge window and gaze down at Earth as it slowly scrolled by. "Lumina what time is it on the eastern seaboard of America?"

"10:35pm captain," the A.I. responded from the dash of the captain's controls.

"Alright let's make plans to descend within the hour. We'll use the cover of night to sneak Arastos in to land at the Cape."

After roughly an hour it was time. Kano had taken his place at the helm while Riyla assumed her seat in the captain's chair. Meanwhile, Keith stood silently off to the side as he observed the happenings of the bridge. To the human it was quite intriguing to watch the two kyree go about their tasks, making an effort to speak in English to put him more at ease.

The astronaut had been surprised again when two more of the crew had entered the bridge. The first one, named Yana, was kyree like Kano and Riyla with a grey fur coat and was quite shy. She offered only a polite hello and nod of the head before moving to sit at her station. What was fascinating was the other alien, which was kenseng.

Her name was Shyla and she was quite a sight to look at. As kyree bore a resemblance to the grey wolf, kenseng resembled that of Earth's tiger species. Her fur was not a striking orange tinge, but rather a muter but no less eye-catching deep crimson red much like Kano's. However, she did possess the distinct tiger-like stripes that ran across her figure at regular intervals from muzzle to the tip of her tail which flicked about.

Unlike Yana, she was quite outgoing and had embraced Keith quite forcefully. That had been an interesting experience as it felt like he was hugging a giant stuffed animal... that purred.

As Keith tried to rearrange his spine, the kenseng moved to sit at the console adjoining Yana's. Another shocker had come when the human learned the two newcomers were mated. That had proved an interesting bit of information to him.

"Alright let's get this show on the road," Riyla said as she leaned back a little further in her seat. "How is the ISS crew faring Lumina?"

"I talked with them about 10 minutes ago," the construct replied. "I let them know we were preparing to land." The hologram suddenly smiled from the captain's dash. "I had to guide one of the crew to the hallway lavatory not too long ago. It took quite a bit of coaxing to get her out of the airlock."

"I trust you watched your manners," the captain inquired with a grin.

"But of course. I can choose not to be an ass when I want to."

"Ok then... Kano you ready?" Riyla asked, turning her attention back to the holographic map detailing the ship's current orbital trajectory.

"Aye captain," the pilot acknowledged.

"Yana, can you please ready a spy probe? Set position for geosynchronous orbit above the Syrian hacking facility."

"Aye captain," the tactical officer replied while her hands flew about on the dash controls, programming in the correct guidance information.

"Set the probe to continue jamming their antennas. Once it is in place, switch over jamming from the ship's transmitters," Riyla added.

"Yes captain. Launching spy probe now," Yana acknowledged after a moment's pause. A new display appeared along the side bulkhead with a course outline of the small autonomous vessel as it separated from Arastos and moved into position.

"Alright let's go meet the neighbors," the captain said, grinning wickedly.

"And I forgot to bring a housewarming gift," Kano chimed in with a chuckle.

Keith had to laugh at that as he stood off to the side looking out the bridge window. For the astronaut, seeing solid ground again was very appealing after today's events.

"Helm, begin your descent," Riyla commanded as she propped her paws up on the console dash and watched her mate go to work. The ship was effectively in his command now until they landed.

"Aye captain, I have the conn," Kano responded as he reached up to grip the thruster controls. Quickly the pilot detached Arastos from the crippled ISS and began backing her away from the debris field. "Repositioning axis orientation," he added as the pilot applied careful maneuvering thrust. Slowly the view outside the bridge window changed as Earth now dominated the panoramic field of vision.

"Reposition complete," Kano continued after the rotational motion was stopped. "Now established on entry trajectory... beginning atmosphere entry procedures."

Next Kanolos began to apply the reverse thrusters positioned along the bow of the superstructure to slow the ship's orbital velocity. Arastos could enter the atmosphere at her current speed, but it was custom procedure to first slow the vessel's velocity to a much safer threshold.

After roughly a minute, the spacecraft began making contact with Earth's atmosphere. Kano took note of the ship's current position and made corrections to increase the descent glide slope. Almost at the same time the bow of the vessel was slowly enveloped by the growing heat plume associated with the energy shields contacting air and ionizing the particles. The result was quite dazzling as the view of Earth became concealed behind this intense thermal shockwave of energy while Arastos plummeted toward the surface.

The inertial dampers worked to keep the ship stable as the atmosphere pounded cruelly against the shielding, which flashed a transparent blue tinge along the hull with the applied stress. For her first descent to a planet's surface, Arastos was performing well as she handled quite nicely for Kano while he made small corrections to keep the vessel on track for Florida.

Within a few moments the spacecraft was clear of the upper atmosphere and continuing to descend at roughly Mach 8 velocity. Kano sustained reverse thrusting across the bow to reduce the ship's speed further as they passed over the Gulf of Mexico. Outside the bridge window was nothing but darkness due to it being almost midnight local time.

Soon however, lights began to materialize into existence in the distance as the west coast of Florida approached.

Thankfully, Arastos possessed an energy barrier system in the bow superstructure, that when activated disrupted the shockwave across the front of the hull and thus removed the sonic boom that would otherwise occur at supersonic speeds. This allowed for her to pass silently over the sleeping populace below without so much as a sound, except for the dull rumble of the reverse thrusters.

As the ship passed below 50,000 feet, a holographic heads-up display materialized across Kano's dash outlining the approaching runway, ship's orientation, speed, and all air traffic present in the vicinity. At the same time the pilot double checked that the outside running lights were off so as not to provide a visual reference for anyone happening to look up as they passed overhead.

At 10,000 feet, the ship passed below the sonic threshold. At this point the anti-gravity cushion began to take effect and negate the gravitational pull on the hull. Since Arastos possessed no aerodynamic lifting structure, systems were installed along the underside of the hull to allow the spacecraft to hover effortlessly on a cushion of magnetic energy much like two positive poles on a magnet repelling against one another.

Kano's HUD display clearly showed the approaching runway in the darkness. Normally at 500 feet he would engage the landing light array to illuminate the ground, but the helmsman couldn't utilize the system without giving away their position. Nevertheless, he didn't really need the light anyway.

As the ship came to an almost dead stop while hovering about 100 feet off the ground, the pilot brought up a multitude of night vision camera displays across his console showing the underside of the hull. He quickly initiated the landing gear extension while carefully lining the vessel up with the shuttle runway below.

Sections of the bottom hull retracted while the landing gear struts started extending down. Arastos possessed four landing gear supports with two forward and two aft, situated at 45 degree angles outward for a sturdy platform. As this was occurring, the bottom sub-ether engine nacelle retracted upward toward the hull to provide more room for landing.

Kano eyed his display until the four indicators flashed green showing that the landing structure was down and secured in place. Slowly, he began to lower the energy output of the magnetic cushion resulting in the ship gradually descending down toward the runway underneath.

Finally, a soft thump reverberated through the hull as the struts contacted the ground and took on the full weight of the ship. With a sigh, Kano punched a command into his console to power down the atmospheric thrusters. Meanwhile, Yana and Shyla began powering down all external systems and running checks to make sure everything was ready in case they needed to takeoff quickly. At the same instant, Taylo and Eriras brought the main plasma core down to an idle setting while switching circuits over to the auxiliary fusion reactors for ground power operations.

After a mere 15 seconds, the ship was completely shut down save for life support systems and interior lighting.

Finished with his task, Kano then closed the display windows of his console and brought the work station systems to standby to conserve power while the tactical officers did the same. In the meantime, the captain took her paws off the dash and stood to regard Keith as he looked out the bridge window intently into the darkness.

"Well... we're here," Riyla proclaimed.