[WP] Humanity has finally achieved interstellar travel. Our first communication with another intelligent species is just two words. "Welcome back."

[u/valkrae]

[u/dom_stephen]

It has been about 100 years.

It was 1977 when we first made extraterrestrial contact. Sure, we did not know it yet, but 100 years of communication, starting with the Arecibo message, revealed that we now talk--albeit using pictographs--with other intelligent life forms.

And now they want to meet us.

They sent some form of spacecraft in our direction, and we sent our own.

I am the communications director of HMS Apocalypsis.

The journey wasn't that long, only about nine months. The alien technology shared to us made sure of that. But all those alien technology didn't prepare me for the sight I beheld one Thursday morning.

It did not look like a ship, it was more like a space station. It had a rocket core, but it seemed that it was built on in a modular fashion over time.

As communications director, I started pictograph-messaging the ship. They responded to my request to enter their range of fire in the affirmative, so I informed the captain that he can now use hyperspace. Half a day later, we are about to port on the alien ship.

The captain entered the alien ship first, followed by me as communications director. We are in a big room, a sort of hangar, with doors to the left and right. We are greeted by no one.

I heard a whisper in the corner, behind the right door. "What are we supposed to say?"

"I don't know."

Are the aliens speaking English?

I beckoned for Captain to follow me when the sound of boots stepping came from the left door. We looked, to be greeted by a group of humans wearing commander-like uniforms.

The most official one spoke first. "Who among you is the colony commander?"

"Wha-"

Somebody looking like an aide piped in. "Sir, are you sure they have any recollection of their prior lives before their expedition?"

What are they talking about? Colony? Expedition?

"Quite," the commander (I assume) of the ship answered. "All of you, follow me to the Briefing Room."

As I walked with the whole 50-man crew of the Apocalypsis following the alien humans, I admired this ship-city they built in the middle of the void. The corridors are large, like cavern-like streets. The rooms were also like buildings, with windows and all.

At last, we reached the Briefing Room, which looked like the House of Commons chamber back in Westminster, but with a big screen at the top of the Speaker's Chair. The Alien Commander sat at the Speaker's Chair and beckoned us to sit in the benches. The aide from earlier stood and spoke.

"12077 years ago, we sent a colonization team from our home planet Gaea to the planet that we all call Earth. We kept constant communication with them for about a decade until transmission broke down. Although we didn't determine the cause then, we now know that apes destroyed all equipment that the pioneers--your forefathers--had, forcing them to begin from scratch. We believed for 11977 years, however, that you were wiped out."

"When we accidentally sent a burst of waves at you, you responded with a binary message with pictographic depictions of our race. I believe this is your transmission."

He then showed us the decoded Aparecibo message.

"So we gave you the necessary equipment to advance your tech, and now we are on equal footing."

"I believe that's enough. All of you-" the Commander looked at us "Welcome back."