[snip]

“Tia, my engineer, is rather interested in your engineering capabilities, some of which appear very advanced when compared to others. For instance, your seed pod stasis technology compared to your ship engines. Could you go into more detail about where you found that technology?” Glen asked.

”..Again I would be happy too, since you asked first about the Zok-Dorn I will begin there..” He said.

”..According to my school history, our meeting with the Zok-Dorn was about 100 or so local years ago here. The ship that came across this system, was a long range merchant ship from what we were told. They had a crew of about 25, but only 14 or so of those were awake at a time, the rest remained in a cryo-sleep system to preserve the cost of food and such on their long voyages. From what we learned this group represented several trade interests among their local civilian navy looking for new markets to tap into for trade and growth. Their ships from what we learned used a means of faster than light movement that involved folding space around them in a protective bubble, and then using some kind of matter-transportative beam system to accelerate the ship to faster than light travel, the ship then ‘coasted’ on this slingshot effect for a measured period of time until it neared another gravitational point of exit. I do not know the exact details of how it operated, but it seemed effective for their use.” he said with a slight shrug, “..In either case after about a month of time locally they agreed to adopt two of our seed pod candidates, in exchange we received a useful library of literary novels, historical documents from their people spanning about 400 years of their culture, as well as schematics for several energy collection arrays to improve our solar collection methods across the habitat in this system. These integrations I was told were a development of the range of antennas on the outer edge of our habitat you no doubt saw. Giving us not only higher energy collection refinements, but also the ability to view further out of our system into empty space through telescopes then we had before..” he said.

Glen simply nodded and made encouraging sounds. It seemed that this region of the Quadrant had a number of different Warp-capable systems. He wasn’t an engineer but it sounded like their drive systems limited them to more local Sector travel and that would explain why no contact had ever been made. Glen’s curiosity was because he had heard rumours through Star Fleet of a new aggressive and ominous Warp-capable humanoid species that traded on principles of free enterprise and piracy. He was relieved to hear what the Dol had to say, because it seemed unlikely now that rumours of this other species were the Zak-Dorn.

”..After the exchange they left, both parties agreed to further talks and the return of our candidates once they matured of age. About 40 local years later, another Zak-Dorn ship came to visit, this one was badly beaten and damaged. The crew were only 10 and struggling to operate their ship and low on supplies, but one of them was the second of the two candidates that had gone with the earlier explorers. Her name was Zelee, sadly the other candidate she informed us had been killed in a war that had broken out 8 years after their return to Zak-Dorn inner space. Several more non-law abiding guilds had formed a pact to take over their race, and so a civil war had broken out claiming many lives, colonies, and ships. Those who did not wish to take sides, like Zelee’s parents and Muldoo’s family who were on this ship took off into deep space for better lives elsewhere. Zelee and the other 9 refugees spent another month here, resting and repairing their ship, as well as providing some useful cultural exchanges for us that we integrated to avoid similar missteps of law practice here on the habitat. But despite the offer of all being welcome to remain here, Zelee and the other 9 Zak-Dorn felt they would be best suited to finding their own home with another convoy that was expecting them elsewhere. They did not leave any coordinates though where this was sadly due to wanting us kept innocent of any knowledge of their flight from any enemies. None of which have ever came since they left.” Dol said.

“Sadly, the threat of interplanetary war looms over many of the systems we encounter,” Glen remarked. “Admission into the United Federation of Planets is allowed on condition that the new member upholds the Federation requirements to promote democratic values and a commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes. I’m surprised that your own doctrine of search and extra-planetary exploration hasn’t brought you into contact with more aggressive and ominous races. The Alstaireans who we have both met, turned down our offer of exploring UFP membership because of a concern that it would lead to them being more visible and noticeable. However, we have a saying on Earth, that ‘no man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea…’ “

Dal nodded slightly, “..I believe I understand the principle of your words, Captain Glen. They may hold a grain of truth that my people can not ignore..” he admitted.

Taking another sip of his drink he set it down again, “..As for your query about other races being more hostile. We have I know faced such issues in our historical past. Again going off my own schooling of history, about 75 or so years ago we were visited by a pair of ships. Their hull tones were almost unseeable visually given they had some manner of coating which blended in with the natural surroundings. Though their means of energy operations being based on some kind of highly radioactive emissions system gave them easily away on even our scans. In either case both ships we found belonged to a race somewhere in this region of space called,” Dol seemed to pause to recall from his memory, “..Ah yes!” He said snapping a finger, “..The Gaol Corporate Exchange. From what little they shared they only held claim to a single system but one which was high in various minerals, supplies, trade goods, etc. Their choice of development in technology it seems resulted in them dumping their waste products in other systems. It seemed at the time that our system had been their next choice to dump their radioactive sludge into.” he explained.

”..My predecessor Dol explained that they could not do that here, and offered an exchange of technology we had for cleaner fuel sources and solar collections if they wished for information on an empty region of space unclaimed by any that we knew of from other trades that would be safe for such dumping, and given the local stellar organisms would actually feed on it happily and safely..” He went on.

”..Sadly both ships Captain’s felt the extra time spent in transporting their waste to this further away location was too costly to their bottom line of business, and said that they would dump here whether we liked it or not. The Dol then pointed out our hidden system defense measures, as well as our web of mining drones. The Dol implied in a lie that the mining drones we used at times were in fact combat drones armed well enough to swarm and handle both ships. Thankfully for us the bluff worked, those mining drones are armed with simple mining lasers and have only a basic shielding system for avoiding heavier impact of debris. If they had called our bluff the Dol I am sure would have ignited our system mines, and well....as I informed you we and they would not have survived. They grudgingly though backed down from their challenge and left without further notice, since then no signs of their presence has been felt or detected..” he said.

Tia would be struck by the description of this ‘wave fold’ and ‘transporter’ like operation for FTL speed. It might remind her of early Earth theories of faster than light travel, all of which came to a grounding halt when World War 3 happened. But it also was interesting on the point of the matter transportation effect tied into it, as it showed 1) Likely Dol’s people were at least in theory aware of matter transportation like the transporter, and 2) These Zak-Dorn had found a way to use a transporter to accelerate what sounded like a warp bubble much higher in speed then what a traditional drive might be capable of, in fact it mirrored some ideas from the now dropped Transwarp Drive Theory project back in the 2280s and 90s, in this point there had been hush hush talk that the theorized ‘transwarp’ drive made use of some kind of larger scale transporter field, but this had not yet been confirmed or denied by the Federation so who knew?

Tia listened with great interest to the facts about the faster than light technology. To her, it seemed the technology of long ago, and the future, had combined into something akin to transporting while in warp speed.

She continued to listen about the exchange of people and technology. It wasn’t unlike ambassadorships from Earth. People and technology were exchanged in various ways throughout the Federation.

When there was a lil in the conversation, she spoke up. “These seed pod candidates you mentioned. We came across one, obviously,” she blushed because the boy had been the reason they were here, more or less. “There were several small orbs in the pod with them. I fear it was my call not to retrieve them all when we woke the child. And for my part in their loss, I apologize. But may I ask, what were all the cylinders in the pod with the child?” She feared they would not answer, and possibly send her away, because of the loss of the items. But better to know now than drag it on further.

Turning to Tia, Dol nodded, “..Yes when we send out a Seed Pod we provide it with several of those small orbs. They contain samples of many local plants and animal life here on our habitat used as food. Their makeup is embedded both as a organic substance inside and in a readable digital format from the shell. They provide those who adopt such a candidate with many local food, plants, and such to make them comfortable. As well as can be used as a form of energy for the parents or in trade among certain peoples we have traded with whole value energy production say over other forms of monetary compensation.” He said.

”..If you could provide me any readings of the writing usually on the pod indicating their candidate class and number I could have it looked up and provide more information on the candidate that you found. The Alstarians as you call them I do recall having met one of their sleeper ships some time ago and one candidate did go with being adopted by two on the ship, before they went back into cryo sleep to return to their homeworld since they could not settle here..” he added

GM CockRoach

Glen listened carefully to the conversation between Dol and Tia. They had yet to make a final decision on what to do with the child, but they still had the seed pod, so reading the markings from its sides wouldn’t be a problem. Glen thought that it was also interesting that while the people of Habitat had been willing to exchange food, plants, and whole value energy production items with the Alstaireans, they hadn’t exchanged their superior stasis technology; something which would have made them very much safer in their flimsy spacecraft on their long journey home.

• Glen, CO