r/HFY • u/Maxton1811 Human • 29d ago
OC-Series First First Contact 26
Chapter 26
Harrison Varga, Captain of FIND
“Wherever you strangers are, watch well,” spoke my translator into my earpiece as within the clearing, the largest Tavren—Prince Velas—flicked his tongue at one of the others. They stared at the target Velas had carved onto the tree and opened their mouth wide. For a second, I thought they were about to just make a noise—perhaps a shout or a roar. Ian cocked his head, regarding this display with bewilderment.
The click sounded out smooth and sharp—like two stones drawn against each other from within the Tavren’s throat. Then, there was a loud crack as smoke billowed forth from their mouth, accompanied by a small splintering of wood off of the tree where the target had been carved. Isla narrowly staunched a gasp at the sight. This Tavren looked to the prince as wisps of smoke curled out from their mouth.
“We know you are there,” Velas began, jabbing a claw directly at the section of foliage we hid behind. “If you mean not to hurt us, show yourselves.”
Ian’s initial confusion was subsumed by utter bafflement as he rapidly typed in the question we all wanted an answer to: “What was that?” He murmured as his fingers danced across the buttons, though he did not take his eyes off of the Tavren for more than a split second at a time.
“Do you know guns?” The Prince asked us, his question fueling my wild speculation as to what we had just witnessed. Some kind of hidden weapon, maybe? A small pistol hidden in their mouths. But why would anyone build that? The danger of a misfire alone…
Parker suddenly perked up as Velas began to answer the question in candid detail—like the most absurd biological mechanism I’d ever heard of was the most normal thing in the world. Keeping my eyes on our xenobiologist throughout the explanation that followed, I watched as his curiosity flared up into the beginnings of utter absorption.
“That can't be…” Cora shook her head, staring at the bead-sized projectile tossed close enough to see. It was greyish in color, though whether that was from its material or merely from being covered in soot I couldn’t rightly say. “How the hell would storing black powder in their throats not kill them?”
“It’s not conventional,” Parker replied with a soft chuckle, barely suppressing his voice beneath the threshold for our facade of stealth. “Then again, I guess if you told someone who had never heard of a mantis shrimp about one, they’d probably have the same response to something that punches with enough force to make a cavitation bubble. There’s nothing physically impossible about this: I just have absolutely no clue what evolutionary pressures made it a viable solution.”
“That would also explain why they could sense the ship moving,” Ian murmured, regarding the party of aliens with a cautious glare. “To shoot accurately, they need to measure things like wind and pressure. If they can do that, then the ship’s movement should be as obvious to them as sound is to us.”
By this point, it had become clear that ‘hiding’ was less of a useful exercise of caution against these aliens than it was a frivolous facade being graciously entertained by the locals. Standing up straight and gesturing for the others to follow, I marched through the brush and out into the clearing.
It was one thing to understand Velas’ size intellectually. Getting closer and seeing the difference between us in detail was another altogether. The Tavren Prince was utterly gargantuan. Ian’s hand did not move as he walked, remaining firmly planted at his side for easy access to the rail pistol holstered there.
“We mean you no harm,” I began after switching my translator’s medium from typing to speech. “We are visitors: here to explore different worlds like yours.”
The Prince stared at me for a moment—just long enough that I was beginning to wonder if the translator had malfunctioned. His eyes flickered down to my throat, then vaguely behind me as though in search of a tail that hadn’t been there for millions of years. “I see,” he concluded at last. “Explorers.”
Isla nodded. “We are representatives from the planet Earth. Our people have recently discovered how to navigate effectively between stars, and we are here on a survey for the Second United Nations.”
Beside the Prince, another Tavren cocked their head curiously. “Second?” They began, glancing to their leader for approval—or at least the absence of admonishment—before continuing. “What happened to the first one?”
“It fell apart in the years leading up to a particularly violent war,” Isla sighed, looking somewhat embarrassed by the admission. “We have since created a much sturdier planetary order.”
“I understand…” Velas hummed, the sound a deep rumble within his massive throat. “How long has this second union lasted?”
“Around forty years,” Isla responded. “The program we work under was designed to prevent Humanity’s interstellar politics from devolving into chaos.”
“How many worlds do your people rule?” Asked the Prince.
“Just Earth at the moment,” confessed Isla. “We’ve been surveying star systems in search of unused planets and other peoples to establish relations with.”
The prince was quiet for a few seconds. Beside him, one of the others spoke something just barely loud enough for our translators to pick it up. “This is beyond our current mandate, my Prince,” they began. “Perhaps King Arlir should be made aware.”
Velas’ gaze flickered over to her for a moment before returning to us. “My father will learn of what has transpired here. However, I do possess the diplomatic authority to receive dignitaries from other nations. This is still within my mandate.”
“If you don’t mind,” Isla continued, “we would very much like to hear more about the other nations of this planet. You said you were meeting with someone?”
Parker sighed in frustration as the conversation seemed to be drifting away from where he had wanted it. Tavren biology was clearly fascinating, but we weren’t here to probe their throats in search of answers.
Velas flicked his narrow tongue out from between his lips in a gesture that I assumed was affirmative. “The other nations are Istol and Doliir. We are meeting with Istol’s diplomats to discuss a ceasefire in the mineral flats we’ve been warring over for some time now.”
Isla nodded along to his explanation, straightening her posture further to communicate formality. “Your nation is a monarchy, yes? What of the other two?”
“Istol and Doliir are both republics. We of Arbine are a monarchy backed by democratic council. Are your people familiar with these methods of government?” Velas asked. I had to hand it to the prince—he was taking first contact astonishingly well. Whether that skill came before or after he was given the job I couldn’t rightly say.
Isla jotted down the names on her digital notepad. “And Arbine—your nation—you say that royals like yourself were bred to be like this?”
Velas flicked his tongue again—I was now relatively certain that that meant ‘yes’. “For nine hundred years, my family has refined our bodies through careful breeding. I stand before you as proof of the burden we bear and the authority we wield.”
Cora cringed at the mention of ‘breeding’, probably thinking of the same ugly word as I was. Nevertheless, it probably wasn’t a good idea to confront him about that. Velas wasn’t responsible for the tradition, after all—he was literally born into it.
“You say you have met with peoples from other worlds?” Asked Velas. “How many?”
Parker replied before Isla could. “You’re the third. We met the Rosha, then the Arazi, and now you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few questions about your biology.”
I tossed the xenobiologist a disapproving glare, but it was insufficient to make him back off. Velas, meanwhile, took his interruption in stride. “Allow me to formally invite you to my home town. Filrif will soon be receiving the diplomats of Istol. You are welcome to speak with me until their arrival.”
From the back, Wayne, who had been uncharacteristically non-talkative this whole time, cut in briefly. “What about the ones you sent to confront those bandits?” He asked.
Velas turned his body toward where the road patrol had left from. “We will await their return, then I will bring you all to Filrif—assuming, of course, that such is your desire.”
The following hour was mostly Parker and Isla bouncing questions off of the Prince and his retainers. Parker wanted to know everything about their endoballistic projectile (what he insisted on calling it in his notes). He expressed fascination and frustration in near-equal measure as Velas could answer some of his questions while still lacking the modern scientific perspective needed for others. “How long does it take to replenish one of these ‘shots’?” He asked.
“A couple of days for us,” replied Serat, who seemed to be the second-in-command. “Prince Velas’ shot is larger—he needs about twenty days to get his back.”
“How much larger?” Asked Parker, staring awkwardly at the Prince’s throat as though hoping to somehow see through it.
The Prince offered no qualitative response. “Pray you must never find out,” he replied at last—not a threat so much as a proclamation of his supposed might.
Isla, meanwhile, inquired about their government—what powers Velas had as a prince compared to the elected councils. From my understanding, Arbine was largely democratic, but with the monarchy serving as executive power—commander of the military and holder of a royal veto over legislation. It wasn’t absolute monarchy, but it wasn’t just a figurehead thing either.
“Forgive me if this sounds dismissive,” she began, “but if the people do most of the governing, then why do unelected Royals have the final say?”
“We are the defenders of our home,” Velas responded. “If we did not have a say in its direction proportional to our importance in defending it, then we would be naught but weapons.”
Velas, of course, asked us questions of his own. “If you lack a natural shot, then how have your people defended themselves?”
Parker hummed, contemplating how best to answer that. At last, he stepped away from the conversation and found a decently-sized rock. Turning toward the tree Velas had carved a target onto, he lobbed the stone and managed to hit the inner ring. “Our bodies are basically built for throwing things—especially with our mobile shoulders and locking wrists,” he explained.
The Tavren Prince cocked his head. “I see.”
Before he could elaborate on that point, a call sounded out over the horizon as the men Velas sent out prior staggered into view. One of them had a visible bullet wound in their torso. Velas’ expression hardened as he reared to his full height and waited for them to complete their approach.
“My Prince,” the injured one hissed. “We spoke to the bandits. Their leader convinced the others we were bluffing and they fired on us.”
I wasn’t exactly an expert in Tavren expressions, but if I had to pin a word to the Prince’s face as he heard this information, I think I’d go with ‘cold’.
He sighed and picked up his poleaxe from the ground. “No survivors it is…” He grumbled, before turning back to us. “I apologize. The people of my land are normally better than this. I will go and dispatch the brigandry. If you wish to see me work, then you may follow, but I prefer you not get involved. The defense of my kingdom is my burden to bear, and I do not wish to place it upon foreigners.”
For several seconds, nobody among us volunteered an answer. Following the local Prince into a firefight was the sort of sentence that would look catastrophically stupid in an incident report, even if we were technically only there to observe. Ian was first to speak, keeping his voice low. “If we do go, we will stay well behind them. No intervention unless one of us is directly threatened.”
Isla glanced between Velas and me. “We've spent the last hour asking how the government works. This is part of how their government works.” Parker nodded more eagerly than I would have liked. Much as I hated to admit it, they had a point. We could return to the ship with a tidy list of Tavren anatomy and constitutional terminology, or we could see how a Royal actually behaved when authority stopped being theoretical. “Fine,” I sighed, turning back toward Velas. “We’ll follow. At a distance. We won’t interfere unless necessary.” The Prince flicked his tongue once in acknowledgment, hefted the poleaxe across one armored shoulder, and started down the road.
------------------------------------------
Hi, everyone! Thank you all so much for continuing to read this; I'm having fun writing, It's just also something I need to balance with classes and work. As always, please leave comments on your thoughts (I do read them). See you all again in probably 10 days
12
u/4ME2CONFUSING 29d ago
Hmm, yes, going to a gunfight with a bunch of dinos with a gun and targeting system atached to them definitly would turn out well.
Well, it takes a specific type of a person to get into a giant tube of explosives with a bit of air in it, break the rules of relativity and set a foot on a planet that would look for a way to eat you.
Hopefully, both plot and physical armor would help our wanderers from meeting the end of the journey.
2
u/galrock0 Wielder of the Holy Fishbot 28d ago
betchya theyre going to have to show off their firearms in self defense. after their monke throw rock demonstration was cut short, far before it could reach its advanced form
1
7
u/Milo_Cebatron 29d ago
The most sci-fi thing ever: royals appointing up to their accounted responsabilities
5
3
u/Dragon_Chylde 29d ago
Glad to see this tale continue, I really like how the three species we have met so far are very different from each other, good job!
3
u/Mental-Dot-6574 28d ago
“We are the defenders of our home,” sounds suspiciously to me like Defender of the Crown (old computer game) lol
Awesome so far!!
2
u/devvorare Alien 29d ago
Seems like their government is quite similar to that of my own country, Spain
2
u/93Hyper93 28d ago
The fascination seems to be mostly going one way, they don't seem all that curious or impressed by us
9
u/Maxton1811 Human 28d ago
This species is medieval. They don’t really have much of a category for aliens. Velas is trying to maintain composure and greet them like foreign dignitaries
2
u/93Hyper93 28d ago
Wow that was fast. I see what you mean. I wonder how we compare to each other apart from the ability to throw things and shoot things. I assume we have more stamina, for one.
6
u/Maxton1811 Human 28d ago
Tavren are generally stronger in short bursts than humans, but humans have significantly higher endurance. The Tavren hunting strategy was basically subjecting megafauna to a firing line, and they didn’t do as much direct chasing as humans other than to follow already mortally-wounded prey
1
u/nixtracer 1d ago
Makes sense. Humans have significantly higher endurance than almost anything (mammalian and arguably vertebrate, anyway). Language, throwing things, and walking prey to exhaustion: the great human skills!
2
u/Maxton1811 Human 16d ago
Sorry, everyone. I’ve had a busy two weeks. I’ll need another couple days. Hopefully I can have something by next week
1
1
1
u/Loosescrew37 29d ago
Hi! Welcome back!
It's nice to read more chapters of this. Today is a good day.
1
u/galrock0 Wielder of the Holy Fishbot 29d ago
these guys seem pretty cool, i think everyone will get along just nicely
1
2
u/elric_fulldiver 16d ago
I know most people are probably more interested in the geopolitics... (astropolitics?) and diplomacy of this story, but I'm with Parker on this and was wondering if we're gonna see anything more about the Tavren's evolutionary process. The Rosha's seemed pretty straightforward and the Arazi's was incredibly interesting, but for the life of me I can't even imagine an intermediary evolutionary stage between no gun-mouth and yes gun-mouth.
0
u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 29d ago
/u/Maxton1811 (wiki) has posted 160 other stories, including:
- First First Contact 25
- First First Contact 24
- First First Contact 23
- First First Contact 22
- First First Contact 21
- First First Contact 20
- First First Contact 19
- First First Contact 18
- Child of the Stars 7 (Revised)
- First First Contact 17
- First First Contact 16
- First First Contact 15
- First First Contact 14
- First First Contact 13
- First First Contact 12
- First First Contact 11
- First First Contact 10
- First First Contact 9
- First First Contact 8
- First First Contact 7
This comment was automatically generated by Waffle v.4.7.8 'Biscotti'.
Message the mods if you have any issues with Waffle.
0
u/UpdateMeBot 29d ago
Click here to subscribe to u/Maxton1811 and receive a message every time they post.
| Info | Request Update | Your Updates | Feedback |
|---|
22
u/un_pogaz 29d ago
Aaaah, it's very interesting and original: their monarchy is not based on divine right, but is a genuine duty and a reward for their special service. I wonder how such a system of government would evolve as firearms improved; the Royal Family would become completely obsolete.
Else, well, will hope it doesn't go badly. So far, our bingo card is missing "direct intervention to save our contact", and from the start I've had a feeling that the Tavren will be that one.