I was about to tell them we shouldn't respond, when my hud pinged and brought up a camera feed from outside the station, showing that a space suit had landed on the hull of my orbital station and a fair few more of them were coming down to land. A spike of worry ran up my spine, I couldn't help but think, ‘what will they do if they get in? Will they kill me?’ My eyes shifted past the video on the screen to the ship that had gone down to earth for half a day to pick up as many of my cousins that wanted to come live in space with me. Nine had agreed to do so. My eyes shifted to the eight of them that were trying to figure out if they could build housing by willing it into existence. The last one, had run like a child in a candy store straight for my only mining barge as he screamed in glee. He ran around it a few times before declaring his lifelong dream to mine in space had finally come true and took off with it, heading out to the asteroid belt so he could begin mining. As my eyes shifted back to the camera, I began to wonder how I was going to get out of this one. I had begun to turn my head to look at my three friends when they burst my hope bubble by saying.

“No, we can't get involved in this. We shouldn't even be here, and don't think about calling the carrier on the parameter for help. Their job is protecting you from those outside, not your own people. You are going to have to handle this yourself, but as a friend, I will give you a hint… an orbital station's habitat is not defenceless.”

I glanced at the camera feed and after glancing around to see if I could do anything, I realised everything to do with the station was done at the command table. I ran, I knew I had a lot of running to do, but I quickly ran into the guild tower and started banging on the elevator doors to hurry up before jumping in and being forced to wait what felt like an eternity for it to ascend. Once it finally reached the top, I rushed through my guild hall to the room with the command table. On the way, I nearly tripped over an office desk. It really hurt my knee. I looked slightly up at the 3d holographic image of the orbital station and the one-hundred and fifty red dots running across it in 3 groups. I knew there were that many because the little counter floating over them said so. It didn't take me long to realise they were three platoons of marines from the three rocket ships. I decided to respond to their hail in hopes it would at least buy me some time to figure out what kind of defences I had and how to use them.

“This is the orbital station responding to all hails, do you copy?”

I noticed all three groups of marines came to a stop on the hull, waiting, as if I didn't already know they were there and by stopping I wouldn't be able to detect them. A fourth group of fifty came into existence nearing the hull of the station as I watched them land on the hull and stop as if waiting for something. I decided to play the dumb alien that didn't know how this ancient tech worked. I quickly came up with a plan. I picked a name that sounded alien. I went with the first one I thought of and pretended to have a conversation with it.

“Hey, Zirt. This thing is so ancient, how can I be sure they hear me? …What? …yes, I am holding the button like you said. …what? What do you mean, there are funny dots running across the hull of the orbital station? …Of course, I'm still holding the button you said to hold it. …Let go? Zirt, are you sure about that? …alright fine, I'll let go but this better work, cause if it doesn't, then you are going to be cleaning out-”

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I stopped transmitting and waited to see how they would take it. Curious to see if the marines on the hull would rush forward or the ambassadors in the rockets would rush to respond to alien contact. I actually felt a little excited to see what the first response to potential alien contact would be. I had also decided to make it a little fun and had included earth in the transmission, that way politicians would be rushing to take control of the situation and with any luck create a global cluster adult relation.

*******

Mr Washington was sitting in an emergency meeting. He had acquired one of those things mortals used to relieve stress by squeezing them as he watched the video feed on his hud. His platoon of marines had stopped moving on the hull of the station and were requesting orders. The ambassador still sitting in the rocket was losing his ever loving mind at potential contact, asking what he should do, and now the damn government had recorded the transmission and was playing it in an emergency meeting that he was currently sitting in. everything had really taken a wrong turn down fubar lane.

“She sounds young.” he suddenly said out loud, it was a mistake to say it, but he decided to go with it since it was already out. “I don't think she is an alien, I think she might be one of the criminals that has hijacked the station. Let's craft a response and see how she responds, fill it with earth references that only someone from earth would understand.”

He then typed a message to the platoon and ambassador telling them to shut up and wait for further orders, the government had gotten involved, and he was attempting to include them into the order to take the station by legal means.

*******

Mr Taylor was sitting in an emergency meeting with her Majesty, listening to a recording of their own as they tried to decide what to do.

“We were late to the party, but we are on the hull like the rest, your majesty… what should we do?”

“She sounds like she is from the north… but the Americans keep telling us there are American war criminals up there and to let them handle it.”

“No doubt a lie so they can seize control, your majesty.”

“I agree, Mr Taylor, form a response and see if you can slip in a question about her being from the north, if she is from Scotland then we will move to aid her. And block the Americans, Russians and the Chinese the best we can, if she is from the Mackenzie clan then she is a friend and I don't want one of ours in the lurch when any of them descend on her.”

“Yes, your majesty!”

*******

Zeo walked into the command table room that Kenna had left the door to open. She looked at the orbital station floating above the table and frowned slightly when she saw all the red dots just standing there and no defences had been activated.

“What's going on?” she asked curiously

“I am waiting for a response, I threw a metaphorical nuclear football at the planet in the form of a broadcast that could be picked up by anyone with a radio, and now I'm waiting to see what happens.”

“What's a nuclear football?”

“Oh, of course I'm such an eejit. You have no idea what that reference is… oh, ooh, ooooh, I am so glad you are here now.”

“...why?”

“Because I need someone that doesn't understand common earth sayings that way you can tell me when stuff doesn't make sense, ya know, like a canary down a coal mine.”

Zeo couldn't shake the urge to slap Kenna, but she wasn't entirely sure why she felt that way.