<SNIP>

There initially wasn’t a response to the hail. Then the ship started sending out beeps. Beep pause Beep Beep, pause, Beep Beep Beep, pause, Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep, pause, Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep, pause, Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep, pause, Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep.

GM

Markus frowned as the beeps came in, but then quickly tapped a few buttons on his console, running them through what he knew of codes. It wasn’t morse code. It wasn’t a prison speed code, at least based off of English. It wasn’t binary. Analyzing the beeps as dots, he nodded to himself feeling fairly certain as to what it was. “If I’m right, and I usually am,” Markus said. “The beeps are meant to indicate prime numbers in Base Ten mathematics. One, two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen. i believe the vessel is waiting for a response back, completing the next part of the sequence.” He felt he was on the right track, but it was still just a best guess. All science really is, is making your best guess. However, testing that guess, making guesses based on a lot of information that makes it very very likely is all part of exploring the unknown.

More over, this was one way to recognize another intelligent species, as covered in a lot of Starfleet’s first contact protocols. There were others, of course, but this was a pretty simple one. Others were ways to indicate one’s understanding of Pi, and the Pythagorean Theorem, indicating an understanding of matter and physics, and so on. So far this was a good start, if the vessel was trying to establish a First Contact, or establish intelligence. At least in his mind.

Lt Woods, CSO

Michelle had been mostly silent, watching her crew and seeing what they would do. She turned to look at the CSO. “Send a response as you see fit. Let’s make sure sensors are running constant scans, I want as much information as possible. Tactical, any analysis?” She asked.

-Captain Michelle Allen

“Aye,” Markus replied, then sent back the next three prime numbers in the sequence, seventeen, nineteen, and twenty-three, in beeps while monitoring with their sensor resolution turned all the way up. “Come on, we’re talkin’ back now. Let’s have a lil conversation,” murmured the Lieutenant, ostensibly talking to the vessel nearby.

Lt Woods, CSO

Peter frowned at the answer to the hail, it wasn’t the norm these days to answer a hail with math. With no obvious life signs, it could mean that the onboard computer was simply trying to communicate, still, first contact was not his specialty and neither was mathematics. He trusted the Science Chief to know what he was doing.

CIO

The sequence of beeps stopped and the ship shifted course slightly using manevering thrusters coming to bear more directly at the Viking.

A deep uneasiness began to make itself home in Watley’s mind. What was this thing and why was it communicating in the manner that it was? He had a gut feeling that whatever this thing was, it was trouble of some sort. “Captain” he said in a hushed tone, “I think going to yellow alert as a precautionary may be a good idea at this time, we have no idea what this vessel is or what whoever is talking to us wants.”

Lt. Cmdr. Maxwell Watley- XO

A few moments passed and the active scans could see that the ship seemed to start primary power up. As any Star-Fleet engineer would know getting a ship from off to on isn’t an instantaneous process. The ship started sending a series of images and verbal terms that seemingly matched the picture. The speed started slowly until it was a blur that only the computer would be able to comprehend. However because of the speed there was no way the biologicals could prevent a message that the didn’t want to go through. Of course the computer had automatic defenses so logic suggests it would be safe.

GM

Maeve was watching the whole situation from her security console behind the captain and first officer. “Captain, the ship is powering its primary systems.” Maeve then watched the sensors to determine if any weapon systems were powering up along with the ship’s primary core.

Lt.Cmdr Maeve Harlow - COS