Mark “Coop” Cooper

Location: CWS Abraham Lincoln, New Lancashire, United Commonwealth of Colonies

“Could you say that again please?” RADM Nelson’s eyes were fixed on Bob the alien.

Coop had to hand it to the old admiral. The guy must be a hell of a poker player. Just about everyone else on the flight deck had some sort of emotional reaction to the ET’s last words, but the RADM didn’t betray anything.

“Did my translator unit malfunction?” The only physical reaction that Coop could see on the alien was the brown cilia quiver on its backside, but he wasn’t even sure of that with the slight warping effect going on around the creature.

“No.” The RADM made a placating gesture with his hands. “I just need some clarification about what you said.”

“Certainly, Rear Admiral.”

Coop pulled up a text box on his HUD and dictated what he’d seen. Something told him they’d want to know everything they could about the alien the moment it stepped off Abe.

“The Compact of the Hegemony of Peace and Tranquility of Sapient Beings is a binding agreement between eight prime races and thirteen subprime races. It governs our interactions with each other and other sapient species throughout the known cosmos.” Everyone seemed to be leaning toward Bob as it spoke. “Clause D of the Compact outlines how we approach newly discovered species. A period of several cycles is established to study the new species. During this time period, data is collected and a baseline knowledge of the species is built. That foundation of knowledge is then auctioned to a member of my species for initial contact.”

“Why do the Twig Men get first crack at us?” Coop asked Mike.

“Twig Men…I do not understand the reference?” To Coop’s horror, and embarrassment, the ET rotated slightly until it was facing him. The black spheres flanking the ET repositioned as well.

Just about every other head in the room followed the ET’s turn. All Coop could do was gulp.

“Cooper, you stupid fuck…” the MSG in charge of their detail whispered threateningly over TACCOM, but then stopped when the RADM raised his hand.

“My soldier is assigning you a nickname based on what your appearance closely approximates.” The RADM tried to save the negotiation and Coop’s ass.

“I understand. My species closely resembles some fauna that we’ve studied on a few of your settled worlds. Twigs are a slender woody shoot growing from that fauna, and since you are assigning men, the plural of man, to my identification it constitutes recognition of my sapience.” The black worms inside the things bark-skin seemed to wiggle a little more energetically. Coop was just glad the thing didn’t understand what a diss was.

It went totally unnoticed by Coop, who was more worried about the ass chewing coming his way, that he’d just given the two hundred plus men and women present a pet name for the newly arrived species: Twig-Men or Twigs for short. Those men and women would quickly spread the word. Inside the day, every Commonwealth spacer and soldier in New Lancashire would be using the term, and as the news of the alien contact spread, so would the nickname.

All because Coop couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.

“My soldier does pose a good question,” the RADM continued Coop’s line of questioning to avoid any embarrassment on the part of the Commonwealth. “Why does your species get to make first contact with newly discovered species?”

“Twig-Men,” the alien’s wormy insides wiggled again like he enjoyed the nickname. “We are members of a merchant race. We travel between stars offering products for whatever a species desires. We bid on, and are awarded a contract, for newly discovered species so we can present them with cargo unique to their societal needs.” During his spiel, Bob rotated back to face the RADM. “We have found through time that the best way to greet a new species and welcome them into the Hegemony of Peace and Tranquility of Sapient Beings is with productive commerce.”

This time, Coop kept his thoughts to himself.

“Thank you for the information.” The RADM inclined his head in a respectful bow to the alien. “If we can return to the original statement you made. Why can you not speak for the other member races when you state you mean us no harm?”

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“To put it succinctly, I cannot make promises for other member races.” Bob stated more bluntly then it had anything else. “Clause D gives member races the ability to decide for themselves how to interact with other species. I mean you no harm, and it is unlikely any other Twig-Men you encounter will wish violence on you. It is not our species way, but that is not the way of all species in the Hegemony of Peace and Tranquility of Sapient Beings.”

Coop was sure of it. Coop really wanted to ask, but the ET was already moving on.

“Is that explanation sufficient?” Bob’s stillness was unnerving, but Coop was more worried about the spheres at its side. He got the feeling he was being watched by those things.

“Yes, thank you.” the RADM answered.

“You are welcome.” The alien’s research had obviously included manners. “Cooper, do you have any other questions?”

It was lucky he was in armor or everyone would have seen Coop’s face pale. He guessed it made sense that the alien was addressing him. He’d made the mistake of being overheard on TACCOM. It was worrisome that the ET was able to penetrate their secure communications so easily, but that was something for the SIGINT people in S2 to worry about. Right now, Coop was being asked a direct question from a Twig whose only other human converser was the RADM. Clearly, Bob thought Coop was someone important.

Coop was silent for a heartbeat before his mind caught back up with him, and a second after his mind caught up his mouth followed.

“What is that distortion in the air around you?” The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

This time the RADM’s poker face cracked and it looked like he was chewing gravel.

Coop was just thankful they’d have to pry him out of his LACS before they killed him.

“You are very observant, Cooper.” The alien continued on without understanding the undertone of Coop’s situation. “The distortion you are detecting is my personal shield.”

That snapped the RADM’s attention back on the alien. “Personal shield? Do you feel threatened by us?”

It was a loaded question and Coop knew it. It was designed to get intelligence. If the Twigs felt threatened by human tech then this wasn’t a first contact where humanity would be the underdog. If the Twigs didn’t feel threatened, an explanation from Bob would give the people recording this whole encounter more information about the new species; namely, a way to defeat it if necessary.

“No, Rear Admiral, I do not feel threatened by you.” The alien’s statement wasn’t a haughty response from a superior species, just a statement. Or at least that’s what Coop thought. It was tough to tell when the alien had zero nonverbal cues and the tone of the translator was consistently neutral. “My personal shield protects me from your atmosphere. The environment humans live in is rather harsh.”

“Could you elaborate, so we can better understand?” The RADM was clearly grasping for whatever he could get. The alien either didn’t understand this or had no problem sharing potential weaknesses.

“Certainly,” the cilia quivered again on Bob’s back. “My species’ homeworld has lighter gravity and air containing less hostile organisms.”

Coop couldn’t help but scan the area around him, but it came back as a 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases with no signs of any bacterial or viral threats.

“My personal shield protects me from the harsh environment and allows us to interact,” Bob finished.

“Please forgive me if I am prying, but I don’t see any sort of equipment other than that piece of metal you are standing on that would allow you to maintain an atmosphere. How are you doing that?” the RADM continued his line of questioning.

“It is not prying. I appreciate any conversation that leads to a better understanding between us,” the alien replied generously. “I am able to naturally maintain my own atmosphere through my biological functions.”

“Thank you for the explanation.” The RADM nodded his head again, but his poker face was back up.

Whatever the RADM might be thinking, as an HI trooper, Coop had his own thoughts. The thought was frightening, but it would be more terrifying if the Twig looked like it was going to do them harm. Judging by the interaction so far, it clearly did not.

It made sense the more Coop studied the ET. The tree-like structure of the alien wasn’t thick or strong-looking like an Earth redwood or oak. They might be quite a bit taller than the average human, but Bob’s various branch-limbs were thin and narrow. A tree that size, but so thin, on Earth would have been crushed. The more Coop thought about it, the more it made sense the Twigs were the welcoming race into the Hegemony. They didn’t look threatening, a little tech was all they needed to sustain themselves, and they came bearing gifts.

Coop wondered, but he kept his mouth shut. He’d asked two more questions then he should have, and he was bound for extra duty at a minimum, possibly a loss of rank. He wasn’t going to open his mouth again.

“You are most welcome.” The alien continued to remain unflinchingly polite. “Now, if you are willing, we would like to show you the gifts and products we’ve brought to begin the prosperous trade between our species.”

There was only a slight hesitation in the RADM’s response. “Let’s begin.”