“You look exhausted,” Maria tells me as I take a seat at the counter of the kiosk. “I hope you’re nearly finished with this broadcast thing. I’m really looking forward to watching it.”

“Not another one. Honestly, I’m beginning to think I should have said no to the whole thing and let the AIs do it. They could probably build a much better fake me than the I’ll ever manage as the real one.”

“Sorry, Darren. Are you finished, though?” Maria asks with genuine concern.

“We are. It looks really good, if I’m honest. Let’s hope it has the desired effect.”

“Is Rob joining you for some food?”

“I think so. He did say ‘See you later’ a couple of minutes ago. I’m in no hurry, though. Can I get a drink and just chill for a while?”

“Of course you can. Alcohol or not?”

“Oh, very much yes. Just a beer for now, though.”

“You’re having to spend a lot of time with Rob. He seems like a really nice guy. You could do much worse.”

“Wait a minute. Just slow yourself down. I don’t even know if he’s into guys, or even if he’s single and…”

“And what? And you’re not even a little interested in finding out?”

“I didn’t exactly say that. Look, I’m still not sure what happened between Jack and me. There’s every possibility that I’m the one who fucked up. I’m really not thinking about relationships right now. I’ve enough on my plate as it is.”

“Speak of the devil,” Maria says as she looks up the road over my shoulder. It takes all my will power to keep looking straight at her, but I can’t control the slight flush that heats my cheeks.

“Not another word!” I hiss with a grimace that only receives a wink in response.

“Beer?” Rob asks as he joins me. “Relaxing now you don’t have any real work for tomorrow?”

“Basically. That was a really hard day. I’m not cut out for this communications stuff. I much prefer to work in the background.”

“You’re screwed then. Judging by how good the recording looks, you’ll end up being the main spokesperson for the whole expedition now. Anyway, isn’t it some sort of family tradition? Being in the media spotlight?”

“It is, but none of us have ever liked it,” I point out as I take another long swallow of my beer. “We just seem to find ourselves at the sharp end no matter what we try to do to avoid it.”

“I know the recording is not being shared before the official time of transmission, but enough people have seen it internally,” Rob tells me. “You should be proud – and that’s not just my opinion. You’ve probably given us our best chance of success with your work today. I know it’s a team effort, but you’re the one holding it all together and you actually do have a feel for being a presenter or whatever we’re calling what you now do. I believe they were called ‘anchors’ and that seems to fit.”

“I’m not sure this was what I had in mind when I signed up for communications,” I tell him ruefully. “Meeting alien races, maybe. Walking into the middle of a global conflict – probably not. Besides, my recent performances on the personal side of the communications front might be severely lacking.”

“You’re talking about your ex?”

“Yeah. No. Oh fuck, I don’t know.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Rob asks after a short silence during which Maria tries to get us to tell her what we want to eat.

“There’s not much to say. We were together for about three years. He just couldn’t ever seem to accept that, sometimes, I had to work for more than eight hours a day. I’m trying to convince myself that I did enough to explain my situation right from the start. Not really working so far.”

“Did he know what you did? From the very beginning of getting serious, I mean?” Rob asks.

“Yes, of course. He was the one who wanted to come and live here on the campus.”

“I don’t see how it can be your fault then. Perhaps he didn’t understand the nuances of a non-standard occupation. It’s odd, however, considering how many jobs don’t have fixed hours. Still, I don’t believe that you would have done anything to deceive.”

“No, never. I’m just not sure that I explained every time I was late home. Sometimes I was just too tired.”

“Well, that might be true, but I’d normally say it’s better to be quiet when you’re tired, rather than saying something you’ll regret.”

“I thought so. I’m over-thinking the whole thing. Nothing wrong with being single, particularly when there’s a major mission on the agenda.”

The main lecture/conference centre is opened up for the broadcast. There’s not a party atmosphere, but most of the staff seem fairly relaxed as they take to their seats. A large screen has been positioned above the stage, allowing everyone to see the highest possible quality. Both Rob and myself are on the stage, behind a long desk, being considered important enough to maybe need to answer questions from the audience as events unfold.

Many of them – probably most of them really – will be seeing the production for the first time and I’m quite keen to see their reaction, as we’re sure to have to wait for any reaction from the Thermians on the ground.

Several changes have had to be made to the antenna systems on Manannan and this has involved sending materials through the gateway onto the ship and then people actually putting on spacesuits and going outside to work on the equipment out on the hull. Now, however, it has all been hooked-in and tested and we’re ready to go.

Nexi is in charge of the actual broadcast and, to do so, she has shut off the deceleration thrusters and turned the ship into a different orientation to maximise the antenna positions. Part of our broadcast will include a data-burst with contact frequencies and protocols that they will each understand.

<Ready to broadcast in ten seconds,> she tells us over the link from space. <Five. Four. Three. Two. One…>

The screen clears to a view of the planet Thermia as we approach. Using CGI the external viewpoint rotates until it can show the approach of Manannan. As the view continues to move, lines appear to show our recent trajectory and, backing out and away rapidly, the path the ship has taken from Earth. Darren’s voice begins a voiceover as subtitles follow his words.

“Our species began to explore the nearest stars to our own system several hundred of your years ago. The first worlds we encountered harboured life, but simple plant and animal life without sentience. Some of these worlds we left to their own development and some we used to establish colonies.”

“We call our home world Earth and speak of ourselves as Humans. We are a bipedal, live-bearing species with lateral symmetry like yourselves.”

The video switches to show Darren and Melina sitting behind a desk, both looking directly into the camera and smiling lightly. Darren now speaks to the camera.

“Our primary mission is one of exploration, but we must make it clear that we sometimes take the opportunity to expand our sphere of influence when we can.”

“Some years ago, we found a world where the life was not simple. We found sentient beings there, the Valatan. Their world had suffered a cataclysmic asteroid impact and had regressed somewhat, but they welcomed us as visitors. I will ask one of them to speak to you now.”

Camera switches to Tianok, standing on the quayside in Atuan, close to the gateway terminal. The view of the harbour, a ship departing with sails unfurled behind him. He speaks as he walks towards the gateway building, the camera turning and tracking him as he goes.

“I was a boy when the Humans came to my world. They did not know we were here until their ship landed. They brought with them technology that we saw as if it were magic, but it soon became clear that they were simply more advanced than us and that they did not wish us harm.”

“They asked us, as a whole world, if we would allow them to stay on our planet and study our unique culture and diverse flora and fauna. When we agreed, by popular vote, they started to deploy some of their technology. This has been to the benefit of themselves and to us all.”

At this point, Tianok steps through the gateway, coming out in the terminal at Settlement and walking outside.

“We now have instantaneous travel between our towns and villages, instant communications and the freedom to visit all the worlds of the Humans. We consider ourselves part of a federation with them, as equals.”

The camera switches back to Darren, allowing him to continue his monologue.

“Our technological ability is far beyond your own, but we must emphasise that we come here in peace. We did not know that this world of yours was inhabited until we picked up your broadcasts. We have broken your codes and studied these broadcasts with the desire to learn how to speak with you all.”

“We must, however, recognise that yours is a world in conflict. We must also accept that our arrival may not be welcome. We must therefore ask for permission to slow down into orbit. If either of the two sides on your world deny us this permission, then we will redirect this ship to a new target star and leave you to your wars.”

“We look forward to the possibility of finding out more about your cultures. Thank you.”

The footage ends with a montage of views from Earth, Sevrin, Verus, Terranix and some of the other worlds we have visited or colonised before finally settling back to look at Thermia before cutting out.

<Message reception confirmed,> Nexi tells us after just a few moments. <Broadcast channels on both sides are rebroadcasting and relaying. We’ll monitor the main news feeds and put them onscreen here if they start to talk about us. Monitoring all suggested channels for incoming signals.>

Nobody in the room looks like they are going to go anywhere. There’s that undercurrent of murmured conversations between small groups that’s inevitable in such situations, but most people are content to wait a few minutes – or even a few hours if needed – and see what happens.

“At least we climbed the first hurdle successfully,” Rob whispers to me. “The broadcast actually appears to have got to its required destination.”

“I bet the fact that we smashed through their security codes is really chafing right now. I’m sure both sides would have preferred that the public didn’t get this straight away.”

“It’s probably even worse than that. If they try to supress the broadcast – they do probably have considerable power over their respective media organisations – our sending in plain has probably allowed it to be picked up by third parties. It’ll spread no matter what they do now.”

“It feels a little like we’re forcing their hand,” I confess with a degree of doubt now creeping in. “I know they can still choose to ignore us – or one side can tell us to fuck off – but it’ll be difficult to justify on either side.”

“I suppose that the bigger questions still remain,” Rob tells me. “Do either side actually want peace and do we want to be the mediators. I’m pretty sure Earth will not want to end up in some sort of peace-keeping role.”

“Mediation I think we might be quite good at, but you’re right about actual boots on the ground. That’s a long way from what we’re mandated to do here,” I agree.

Our conversation is interrupted once more by Nexi. <News channels on both sides are reporting now, all normal programming appears to have been suspended. They are both reacting in a remarkably similar way. Very interesting.>

The main screen behind our heads now lights up in two large sections, showing simultaneous live newscasts, one from the north and one from the south. Few of the people in the room have had either language implanted yet, but I’ve managed to get both of them already and practiced by listening to some broadcasts from either side. Luckily, I don’t need to do a translation as our AI friends are able to offer simultaneous subtitles on both sides.

I’m inclined to concentrate my attention on the northern faction. Not only am I more familiar with them by about 24 hours, but they seem to be a little more balanced in their approach. The larger, more entrenched southern nation are somewhat more militaristic and reserved. Still, from these first moments, it is apparent that both sides are equally non-plussed. There’s lots of high-sounding talk about leadership and discussions ‘at the highest level’ that all really just mean that they’re scrambling and nobody has any answers yet.

There are also multiple calls for the populace to remain calm and wait for official instructions and confirmations. I’ve no problem with this. The last thing we want is anyone acting rashly. I’m now more interested in seeing which of the two sides are the first to try and make official contact.

“You will need to be on standby,” Melina tells me when I get bored of looking at myself on the screens. “If they want to talk to us directly, then that will have to be you. I understand that Minerva thinks we can get widespread language lesson implants out tonight. If we get any contact today, we’ll have to do live translation both ways.”

“Can I get them both as well?” Rob asks, surprising me slightly and Melina even more.

“I don’t see any reason to say no,” Melina eventually agrees. “I’ll let Minerva know and she’ll get in touch with you about it later. I know you learned Valatan through your implant without issue, so there should be no problems with adding another one or two.”

“Wanting to get more involved?” I ask Rob as we head off towards my office.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to know these languages sooner or later and it might as well be sooner. The more of us ready to speak with these people right from the start, the better.”