In the mission control center, Hannah Shepard held her breath. Her heart pounded and pounded, flooding her veins with adrenaline, as Dr. Carlyle patched the alien signal through.

She exhaled. This is it. Yes, she was about to hear the first words ever spoken to humanity from another intelligent race.

She gulped. Then finally, the alien message played.

“Humans of this world,” said a deep, synthesized voice with an odd accent. “Do not be afraid. We are not your enemy. We mean you no harm and come in goodwill, seeking only mutual cooperation between our peoples.” The voice paused. “So soon, leader of this settlement, Khanah’Shepard…” Her pulse spiked. Her eyes went wide, and she looked at the ground, her mouth agape. How do they know my name? “...mark a place of meeting and let us parley in person to create a glorious new future.”

The alien signal cut, and a long, dreadful silence filled the room. During it, neither she nor anyone moved.

She gulped, looking at the ground. How do they know my name? Had they been spying on this colony? And if so, for how long?

Her pulse climbed, and she took a deep breath. If they were the protheans, then why were they contacting humanity here and not in the Sol System? Why–

She gritted her teeth. NO. Stop it. Stop it! Yes, now was not the time to panic, not to waste time dwelling on hypotheticals. No matter the truth of the situation, now was the time to fulfill her duty as Governor.

And take action!

She faced the slew of other people still frozen at their stations. “Alright everybody,” she said, and then everyone looked at her. “I know we just heard and witnessed something…extraordinary. I know that many of you are scared and confused. But now’s the time to snap out of it. We have first contact to prepare for, and every man, woman, and child in this colony is going to need you at your best. Got it?”

As the shock of the situation wore off and everyone resumed working, she faced her husband, along with Dr. Carlyle. “I’m calling an emergency council meeting in the Forum Building. We need a plan to handle this ASAP.”

Mark nodded. “Agreed.”

Dr. Carlyle nodded. “I’ll make the necessary preparations, then meet you there.”

“Let’s go,” she told Mark. “The sooner we get through this, the sooner things will go back to normal.”

Mark smiled. “I’m right behind you.”

On the bridge of the Endaara , Captain Rael’Zorah stood before the forward viewscreen, studying an array of live video feeds countless microdrones below were recording. In many of them, humans were staring up at his ship through the colony’s protective dome, watching it loom over their home like some ominous, dark cloud. Briefly, he looked into the eyes of many of the humans in the video feeds.

And were they scared? Awed? Or both?

He exhaled. If possible, he would have sent his message to them from high orbit, where they couldn’t see his ship. But after months of studying their history and cultures, he had no choice but do this. For whilst the humans were civilized now, having known nothing but peace and prosperity for the past two centuries, the dark side of their nature was truly terrible to behold.

Yes, just like the Krogan, humans were capable of unspeakable violence and cruelty upon their own kind. Several times, they had nearly destroyed themselves with nuclear weapons. And their three world wars were more brutal and horrific than any conflict in quarian history before the Long Exile.

So yes, without explicit threats, he had to show them that violence would only lead their doom, and that negotiating was their best option.

“What are we going to tell the public?”

He looked towards one video feed showing a meeting between Khanah’Shepard, her mate, Mark, and the other members of the colony council.

“They’re getting scared, Governor. It’s only a matter of time before they’ll start demanding answers.”

Khanah sighed. “Agreed. As soon as possible, I’ll deliver a public address, but in the meantime, I need the docking bay prepared for who or whatever wants to meet me. Without a doubt, this will be perhaps the most significant meeting in history, so let’s do everything possible to ensure we make a fantastic first impression.”

A good first impression? He smiled. Yes, this was good. They wanted peace. Perhaps–

Just then, a notification popped on his omni-tool, and it was a request from Shala and Han for an urgent meeting using the fleet’s quantum communications network.

Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth and huffed through his nose. Keelah, at this time? Right before first contact with the humans? Ancestors, what issues could Shala and Han possibly be facing?

“Kharo?”

“Yes, Captain?”

“It seems an urgent matter requires my attention,” he said. “So until I return, the bridge is yours.”

Kharo nodded, and then he left the bridge. After taking the elevator up one deck, he made his way to the quantum communications center. There, he input a few commands on his omni-tool, accepting Shala and Han’s request, and then their holograms came to life with a sharp shwoom.

“Han…” he said. “Shala. I received your alert. Tell me, what is the situation?”

Shala took a deep breath. “Captain…I’m afraid we have very bad news.”

Briefly, he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. No…

Had Shala or Han been detected? He huffed through his nose. “What happened?”

“Something that could jeopardize all of our people’s efforts since vanishing from known space,” Han said. Han input a few commands on his omni-tool, and then a starmap came to life before him.

“Just hours ago,” Shala said, zooming in on a particular system, “the second division of my squadron was monitoring the human colony of Mindoir , when they detected this…” Shala input a few commands on her omni-tool, and a window appeared above the starmap, displaying a pict of a teardrop-shaped vessel with a glossy hull as black as the void of space.

Instantly, he recognized it, and he clenched his fists.

It was a deep-space exploration ship from the Silent Ones, from the greedy, xenophobic overlords of the Attican Traverse.

“Thankfully,” Shala continued, “Han’s third division arrived in time to help them destroy it.” Shala exhaled. “However…”

“However, we must assume the worst,” Han said, “that the Silent Ones are now aware of the humans – a vulnerable species centuries behind the rest of galactic civilization.”

“With no fleets to protect their colonies…” he said, looking a the deck. Yes, even the humans’ crude, primitive space fleet in the Sol System would stand no chance against even one division of Silent One battlecruisers. He shook his head, then looked at Han. “Yes, agreed. At any cost, we can not and will not allow the Silent Ones to overrun this region of space.”

Yes, if that ever happened, the quarian people would have enemies rather than allies as their neighbors.

With his omni-tool, he saved the pict Shala had sent of the Silent One scout ship. “I’m going to relay everything you’ve said to the Admiralty Board. Hopefully, they will send us support in time in case the Silent Ones try anything. But right now, I need both of you to remain hyper-vigilant for any sign of their presence.”

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“We’ll keep you updated,” Shala said. She saluted. “Keelah Sel’ai.”.

Han also saluted. “Keelah Sel’ai.”

He saluted them back. “Keelah Sel’ai.”

Han and Shala cut the signal. Without hesitation, he then opened up the center’s central terminal, and sent the Prime Admiral a recording of his last conversation, along with any relevant picts and reports. Once he finished, he took a deep breath.

Yes, with that matter finished, he could finally focus on the coming meeting with the humans . Down on the surface, he’d need Zaal and Daro beside him. So where were they?

Leaving the quantum communications center, he sent Zaal and Captain Daro a message to meet him on the bridge, and within seconds they replied, saying they were on their way. Eventually, he returned to the bridge, and he spotted them there amidst the bridge crew, watching the array of video feeds on the forward viewscreen.

“Ah, Captain,” Zaal said, spotting him. “You’re just in time.”

“For what?”

“For Khanah’s address to her people.”

His eyes widened. Oh, he definitely had to watch this. Let’s see what kind of leader are you.

He nodded, then followed Zaal to the front of the crowd ahead. And on one video feed, Khanah was standing behind a dias, atop a raised platform, overlooking a crowd of hundreds. All around her, devices were recording her, broadcasting the address all over the colony. And above the platform on which she was standing, several large, crude holo-screens were showing her up close.

“Citizens of Seti’a Prime,” she began. “Look above and see why we’re on the cusp of the greatest moment in history.” She paused, as if to allow her audience to do that. “After one hundred and fifty years of finding nothing but the bones of a dead civilization, humanity is finally going to make contact with another intelligent species.”

The crowd roared, and he couldn’t tell whether the humans were excited or furious. Keelah, hopefully, they were excited.

“Now, I know what all of you must be thinking,” Khanah continued. “Are the aliens trustworthy? Is their message the truth? Or is it a lie? I know that many of you must be scared, for nothing is more terrifying than the unknown. But for now, I say let’s use this day as an opportunity. If the aliens truly are as friendly as the claim, then let’s give them a warm welcome, an invitation to start a dialogue. But if not…” Briefly, Khanah looked at the ground. She gulped. “Then no matter the odds, we will defend ourselves. We will protect every inch of our home, and fight to the last man.”

A grim silence ensued.

Closing his eyes, Rael took a deep breath. No, Khanah. Please…do not be foolish.

“But hopefully, things will not come to that,” Khanah continued. “Hopefully, violence will be only a last resort. Because we are not savages. Because we will not relive the horrors of the late twenty-first century, and just assume our visitors have hostile intentions. No! We are people of peace, honor, and integrity. And we will not strike first!”

Once more, the crowd roared.

Meanwhile, Rael smiled. Yes, it seemed that Khanah would be easy to work with. But others humans? Only time would tell.

“She certainly knows how to stir an audience,” Zaal said. “I’ll give her that.”

He nodded. “Indeed.”

“And to who or whatever is on the ship above,” Khanah said, “I know that you’re watching me. I know that you can understand me. So hear this. Meet me in the colony shuttle port.”

He opened up his omni-tool and brought up a holo-map of the colony’s layout. Soon, he found the location of the human shuttle port, then closed his omni-tool. “Zaal?”

“Yes?”

“Are you ready?”

“As ready as ever.”

He nodded. “And Daro?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have their gift prepared?”

“I do, Captain,” she said. “Just say the word and I will give it to them.”

“Excellent…” he said. Momentarily, his pulse climbed and he felt giddy. Yes, finally, he was going to witness the culmination of all his expedition’s efforts. He exhaled. “Now, let’s head down to the surface and make history.”

In the colony shuttle port, amidst the hustle and bustle of chattering crowds, Hannah Shepard looked past the open hangar door, at the alien ship high up in the distance. As she did so, her heart hammered in her chest. Adrenaline surged through her veins. And beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

She took a deep breath. Yes, soon, it would finally happen.

Soon, she’d get to meet an actual alien face-to-face.

But what would they look like? Briefly, she looked at the ground, and her imagination went wild, visualizing countless possibilities from tentacled monstrosities, to bio-mechanical spiders with six eyes. She gulped. Yes, in all likelihood, the aliens would look…bizarre, like nothing found on Earth. But hopefully, humans would find their appearance at least tolerable.

“Hey,” Mark said, standing right beside her.

Her husband’s voice snapped her out of her reverie, and she stirred. “Oh, Hey.”

“So the boys are at Rick and Sadie’s house,” Mark said. “For now, they’re in good hands and will definitely watch us live. But tell me, how are you feeling? All of this, I…I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now.”

She let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, where do I begin? Right now, It’s like…” She gulped. “It’s like I’m about to jump into a deep, dark hole, and…”

“And you have no idea how deep it is? Or even what’s at the bottom?”

“ Yes ,” she said. She took a deep breath. “Exactly that.”

An awkward silence ensued.

“Also,” she said, scratching her neck, “I can’t believe I forgot to ask you this, but what’s your opinion on all the craziness that’s happened today?”

“Well,” Mark said, “I can’t say I was expecting to witness a turning point in history today, but overall I think you made all the right calls. For now, I think we have no choice but to trust the aliens and play along with their agenda.”

“You don’t trust them?”

“I think they want something,” he said, “and that somehow…they need us to have it.”

Just then, an incoming comm request from the mission control center appeared on her HUD, and she answered it.

“ A shuttle has just left the alien ship. It’s time. ”

Her eyes went wide, and her pulse spiked. Once more, she looked towards the alien ship, and in the distance, she spotted a purplish-blue object zooming towards the shuttle port. Just seconds later, the nearby crowds went silent. And everyone froze, as it neared closer and closer…

But then it slowed.

Finally, it neared close enough for her to discern its shape and features. And her jaw dropped. Oh, god…

Shaped like an elongated egg with several blister-like protrusions, the craft had no visible thrusters, engines, or windows, and moved as silently as death itself. Sunlight gleamed off its purplish-blue hull, abound with glowing white engravings arranged in circuit-like patterns. And soon, it stopped midair and began to descend toward the landing pad.

As it did so, she looked at the ground and gulped. Just how advanced are they? Yes, how was the alien craft moving like that? What bizarre materials was it even made of? And how long had it taken the aliens to even arrive in this system? Years? Months? Weeks?

She exhaled. The endless questions were enough to make her head spin.

Finally, the craft stopped, hovering just inches above the landing pad. With a hiss of hair, a rectangular panel opened on its side, then began to slide upward along the craft’s hull.

Her heart thundered in her chest. Her blood ran cold as ice, and adrenaline flooded her veins. Yes, this was it.

History was about to be made.

Finally, the craft’s side door opened all the way, and then three aliens stepped outside, onto the landing pad.

She froze. Her jaw dropped. Her eyes went wide, and she could hardly breathe. The aliens were not what she had expected. Yes, the aliens were humanoid, with nearly identical bodily proportions to humans.

Though with three-fingered hands, digitigrade legs, and either two or three-toed feet.

Must be living examples of parallel evolution in action.

The aliens also wore black environment suits, overlayed with silver or gold metallic plates, and decorated with colorful, patterned hoods and cloths. Each of their hoods and cloths matched their suit’s mirror-like visor, through which their eyes glowed.

A long, tense silence ensued, and nobody moved…until the alien with a purple visor and cloths looked her right in the eye.

“ Khanah’Shepard, ” the alien said, breaking the silence. The alien approached her, then extended its – no, his – hand for a handshake. “Greetings.”

Briefly, she looked at the ground. It’s him. Undoubtedly, the alien’s voice was the same one from the message. She gulped, and momentarily, she couldn’t move. Suddenly, it dawned on her that she’d go down in history as the first person to ever converse with another intelligent life form, and that future generations would either look back on this moment as the beginning of the end.

Or the beginning of a new age.

“Is this not how humans greet each other?” the alien asked, tilting his head, “ by shaking each other’s hands?”

“Oh…” she shook the alien’s hand, firmly, giving him strong eye contact. She let out a nervous laugh. “Apologies for the awkward introduction. I guess I’m still getting used to the fact that I’m talking to an actual alien.”

“No apologies are necessary, Khanah ,” the alien said, “this is a historic moment for your kind, and it is only natural you would feel this way.”

She smiled. So polite. “And you are?”

“My name,” the alien said, “is Rael’Zorah vas Neema, and my two associates…” Rael looked at his taller, lankier associate with a light-blue visor. “Are Zaal’Korris vas Qwib Qwib.”

“Ah,” Zaal said, extending his hand for a handshake. She shook Zaal’s hand. “ Khanah’Shepard. It is an honor to meet you. I must say, you spoke to your people with great eloquence and passion.”

She nodded, then smiled. Yes, Zaal seemed much friendlier than Rael, with a warmer, less monotone voice. “Oh, why, thank you.”

Rael looked at his other associate with a black visor, and a far more feminine frame. Unlike Rael and Zaal, her eyes did not glow through her visor. “And Daro’Xen vas Moreh.”

Crossing her arms, Daro nodded. “Greetings.”

Daro’s voice sounded so cold and robotic, far more synthesized than that of Rael and Zaal.

She gave Daro a tight-lipped smile, then extended her hand for a handshake. After a brief pause, Daro accepted it but with such a limp grip. What is your problem?

Hopefully, it was nothing serious. But she would watch Daro closely.

“Together,” Rael said, “we come to you as envoys of the quarian people, bringing many tidings, and seek only to establish the foundations of a long, fruitful partnership between our peoples.”

“Well…Rael,” she said. Many tidings? What could they possibly be?, “on the behalf of everyone here, I welcome you to our home. You must have traveled long and far, across an ocean of stars, to reach here. So shall we continue our discussion somewhere more comfortable?”

“Such as your forum building?” Rael asked. “In one of its conference rooms?”

Oh, so you were listening. She gave Rael a tight-lipped smile. “Yes. Such a place would be perfect.”

“Then lead the way,” Rael said, “and we will follow.”