“That’s not an assumption we’re willing to make right now. When we learn more, I’ll be back to tell you. As we approach the object, we’ll gather as much data as we can. However, I do need to return to my duties. Thank you.”

Dirk turned away from the screen as the various reports shouted, begging for one final question. He looked directly at the camera. “There you have it. The Space Agency has their work cut out for them today, that’s for sure.” Another set of pages was set on his desk. “I’ve just been handed some more information, this time about the Space Agency.

“Five years ago, seemingly as a sign of good faith between the countries of the world, the multinational Space Agency was formed. Taking from the top minds of NASA, Roscosmos, the CNSA and others, they set out to explore our solar system with the eventual goal of pressing beyond to other parts of the galaxy.

“They have released a number of photographs to the public as well as some videos. While many have considered them unnecessarily secretive, others have praised their advances. With the resources of the world behind them, they have found success no single organization has been able to achieve.

“I, for one, am confident that their involvement means we will get to the bottom of this event quickly. If anyone on Earth has a chance, it will be them. Now, we would like to show you what we already know and if you’re just joining us, we’ll bring you the recorded press conference of Wyman Jacks, Space Agency administrator.”

 

***

 

Doctor Alexander Meyers sat at his terminal, sweat making his shirt cling to his chest and back. He wiped his forehead with a paper towel that long since became too saturated to do much good but it was all he had. Staring down at his personal screen, he watched as the two experimental ships cruised toward the invading object.

God, I hope this is a good idea. Each craft had a crew of fifteen. They were two prototypes, essentially the same type of ship with a few modifications so they could test different defensive scenarios. They were both armed with missiles and guns but also carried decent scanning equipment, the kind Meyers hoped would garner some additional information about the invader.

As they drifted closer, he watched from multiple cameras. One sat on an orbiting satellite, providing a distant view of the situation. Others occupied the hulls of the ships themselves, granting a sort of first-person perspective of the operation. Communications remained steady, uninterrupted by static or interference.

If these were invaders, they weren’t bothering to jam their communicators.

Meyers already measured the invading vehicle, putting it at thirty-eight kilometers. Massive, but not devastatingly so. It gave him some mild amount of confidence in the Earth ships on their way to meet the thing. What should they expect? Violence? Or would it ignore them? Once it arrived near the moon, it simply stopped moving, expelling little radiation and no detectible signals.

Maybe it was on an automated course and upon arrival, the crew had to wake up. Meyers wrote several papers on traveling to other star systems, with and without the benefit of faster than light travel. Cryogenic stasis topped the list of his theories, allowing a crew to go vast distances without suffering the effects of age and time.

It stood to reason they may not have heard from their visitors for this very reason. After all, what intelligent life would travel a vast distance just to sit on someone’s doorstep and remain quiet? The very idea didn’t make any sense to him. The explorer in him found it insulting to imagine Earth’s first contact would be hostile.

He hoped an advanced race would’ve learned from past mistakes, just as he hoped humanity had from their interactions with indigenous life in the early days of European exploration. Of course, a nagging voice in his head reminded him of something many people the world over probably considered.