Mass Effect is the property of Bioware, Alien is owned by 20th Century Fox

I had the afternoon off and decided to do some writing. Thanks for all the encouragement.

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USCSS Calypso

"V'Rini! Donal!"

There was no answer. Shiana took a deep breath to calm herself, then she activated the communicator again.

"Lucinus?"

"Yes, captain?" She could hear the tension in the Turian's voice. "You heard what just happened?"

"Yes, captain. Shall I investigate?"

"No! Stay with the shuttle. We are coming back your way and will look for V'Rini and Donal. Whatever you do, do not leave the shuttle. If anyone or anything approaches that isn't us: you return to the Light of Dawn."

"Captain-"

"That is an order! Whatever is on board, it must not get near the shuttle. Do you understand?"

"Yes captain. I understand your orders and shall obey them."

For the second time that they, Shiana congratulated herself on her choice of pilot. Blind obedience to orders was not much use when it came to scientific exploration, but in situations such as this it could be a blessing. She turned towards her team.

"Listen carefully. I don't know what we've walked into, but I will not have us all fall into the same trap. We go back to the cargo bay. Once we're there, you two, Solus and T'Soni, will return to the shuttle. No, no arguments. You will return to the shuttle. You are not trained for this. Moryala and I will try to find out what happened. If we find the others, we take them back with us. If not, you will take the shuttle back to the Light of Dawn. It can come back with a security team in full combat gear, if, and only IF, I say so. Otherwise, Levarn must contact the council for instructions. I want everybody to be absolutely clear about this. These are my orders and they are NOT up for debate. Is that absolutely clear?"

Noone spoke

"Good. We're leaving now. Back to that goddess-forsaken corridor. Moryala, as soon as we're inside that corridor, you take the lead and scout ahead. Everybody, draw your weapons. If you see anything remotely threatening, shoot it!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Without further delay the group of four made their way back through the crew compartments and re-entered the narrow passage.

USM Anzio

In the combat operations centre of the Anzio the tension was rising steadily. They were now within weapon range of the alien vessel. Of course there was no telling what sort of weapons the aliens had, but the old saying If the enemy is in range, so are you, was going through everybody's mind.

"Have we matched orbits?"

"Yes captain. One thousand kilometers from the alien vessel and holding steady."

"Good. Now, let's introduce ourselves to the neighbours. Begin the first broadcast."

Council survey vessel Light of Dawn

"Mr Levarn! We're receiving a sort of signal from the new vessel."

"What do you mean, a 'sort of signal'?" Levarn's temper had not improved from the hours spent waiting. The news from the captain and her team was extremely worrying and he had to hold himself back not to lash out at someone, anyone, to vent his frustration.

"It doesn't seem to be actual information. Just a carrier wave over a broad spectral interval."

"Could it be a targeting system?"

"I don't think so, sir. The beam is too wide and the signal is not particularly strong. Wait, something is changing. The signal strength is falling. Now rising again. Falling again."

"I'm seeing the same thing here!" Another crewmember had been studying the approaching vessel through a hull mounted telescope. Levarn had looked briefly himself, but quickly grown bored with it. The ship's design was unknown and, at least to his eyes, very ugly. Like the vessel that they had originally found in this system it mainly resembled a collection of boxes, stacked together in an elongated shape, with lots of things sticking out in all directions. For a while the crew of the Light of Dawn had played a guessing game, trying to guess the function of all these objects, but without much success. the only things that were clearly identifiable were the four massive engine pods, sticking out at the rear of the ship and a number of tubes that looked suspiciously like railguns, mounted on the sides. The latter had not helped Levarn's nerves at all. Whoever had built that ship, they had not designed it for peaceful exploration. Now his attention was drawn back to the telescope.

"What precisely do you see?"

"They have lights mounted along the hull, sir. They are blinking."

"Very well, it seems that they are trying to communicate. We may survive this day after all."

There were a few sniggers among the crew, though that may have been due to relief, more than humor.

"Mr Levarn, The pattern is repeating itself: two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen. Then they start over."

"Search the Codex for numerical patterns: element weights, spectra, mathematical, anything at all. And hurry, if we wait to long to respond, they may think we're refusing to communicate."

"I've think I've found it, mr. Levarn," one of the other salarian crew members said after a few minutes. "It's part of a mathematical sequence that includes only those numbers that can not be divided by any other number, other than one, or themselves."

"I see." Levarn looked at the other salarian. "Wait, shouldn't one be on that list as well?"

"Actually, there seems to be some sort of controversy about that."

"I see." Levarn thought for a moment. "No, actually I don't see it at all. Why would they send us that sequence? What is it supposed to tell us?"

"I don't know, mr Levarn. According to the Codex, this sequence is primarily a mathematical curiosity. It doesn't seem to have any practical applications."

"So, what are they saying? That they are a race of mathematicians? That they only want to talk to mathematicians? That they need help with a math problem?"

"I don't know, mr. Levarn. However ..." the salarian's eyes moved rapidly over his display. "Perhaps they don't know what else to send. This sequence is unique. It does not depend on a numerical system. I suppose, if they have never made first contact, they might try to send something that is always recognizable. They may use it as a way of telling us that they want to communicate."

"So, how do you suggest we respond? Can we complete the sequence?"

"That seems problematic, mr. Levarn. Apparently, this sequence cannot be completed. According to the Codex, mathematicians are still finding higher numbers in that sequence. There is an ongoing argument as to whether there even can be a highest number."

"Perhaps these aliens can answer that. Still, that doesn't help us right now. What do we tell them?"

"Well, we could just copy their sequence."

Levarn considered it for a moment. "Perhaps, but that might tell them, that we don't understand what they're doing. Which is true I suppose, but it doesn't get us anywhere."

There was a moment of silence on the bridge.

"Mr. Levarn?" This time it was an Asari who spoke up.

"Yes?"

"Perhaps we should list the numbers they didn't send. Show them, that we're willing to do our part, if they do theirs."

"Hmmm, perhaps. I suppose it's the best idea so far."

USM Anzio

"Captain Ramirez, we're getting a signal from the alien ship. They seem to be doing the same as us, sir. Just blinking the carrier wave.

"Well, what are they sending."

"It's also a sequence of numbers, sir. Wait, they are starting again. One, four, six, eight, nine, ten, twelve, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen."

"What the ... Is that any kind of known sequence?"

"No, sir, I don't- Wait! I see it now. They've filled the spots between the prime numbers."

"Why would they do that?"

"I don't know, sir. Still, at least they are responding."

"And seem to be telling us, that they are our complete opposite! Though what could possibly make them think that..." Ramirez shook his head. "No, if they wanted a fight, we'd be shooting at each other by now. Let's think positive. They may be just as confused as we are. What is next on the list?"

"Powers of two, sir. To show them we use binary for our computers."

Ramirez snorted. "Really? And do you believe they will actually make that leap in logic? No, don't answer that, just do it. And somebody check on lieutenant Anderson's status. I want him ready to deploy, now!"

Council survey vessel Light of Dawn

"Mr Levarn, the pattern is changed. Now they're signalling ... Powers of two, sir."

Levarn allowed himself to relax somewhat. Things were beginning to look up, a little.

"Suggestions, anyone?"

"Perhaps that's their numerical base?"

"Unlikely. That would be awkward. Other suggestions?"

"Perhaps it's the basis for their electronics. They may be using binary, like we do. They're trying to explain to simplify communications."

"I agree," Levarn looked with some approval at the last speaker. "Let's try something a little more complicated. First, send the same signal back. With luck, they'll understand we're accepting. Next, take the standard images of our species that we designed for first-contact and rescale them to use a binary-based size. Zero for dark and one for light, 128 by 128 pixels. Broadcast those. Let's see if they understand."

USM Anzio

David Anderson cursed under his breath as Meredith Vickers walked past him toward the waiting shuttle. Their argument had not been as unpleasant as had feared, but he had lost it. Although the last thing he wanted was an armed civilian wandering around a combat zone, he could hardly fault Vickers for wanting to protect herself and she had shown an impressive list of qualifications. Whle she had never actually been in combat, there was no denying that her firearms training had been better than that of most professional soldiers. So, in the end he had allowed her to keep her shotgun.
As he walked towards the shuttle, he saw sergeant Zim, who had overseen the loading, waiting for him.

"All done, sergeant?"

"All done, sir. We're as ready as we can be."

"Good. How about the shuttles? Any complaints forom the pilots?"

Zim grinned briefly. "There are always complaints, sir. Nothing new. Although ..."

"What?"

"To be honest, sir, I wish we could use the Cheyennes for this. Call me oldfashioned, but I just feel safer in them."

Anderson looked past the two large boarding shuttles to where a pair of UD-4Y Super-Cheyennes were standing on the deck. Smaller than the Viking shuttles that they would actually be using, the Super-Cheyennes carried a much bigger weapon load and could take a lot more damage. They were the last incarnation of the dropships that had carried Colonial Marines into battle for half a century, and after taking over the United Systems Military had been quite happy to adopt them. Most veterans had a great deal of appreciation for the ugly monstrosities and would always prefer them over the newer, smoother, but ultimately more vulnerable Vikings.

"I know sergeant. I understand. I'll tell you what though. If you built me a fast-entry docking module for a Cheyenne in the next half hour, or so, I'll let you use it."

"I wish, sir."

USCSS Calypso

As quickly as they could Shiana and her team made their way through the narrow passage. As bad as the original journey had been, the return was a lot worse, hampered as they were by the need to hold on to their weapons and use their omnitools to scan ahead. As planned, Moryala was taking the lead, securing each segment of the corridor before the others entered.
Halting at the door, Shiana, Solus and T'Soni took a moment to catch their breath as they waited for Moryala's return. Soon, they could hear her footsteps, soft though they were, on the metal grating of the deck.

"Captain, all clear. We can proceed!"

"Good. Opening the door n-"

Shiana was interrupted by the sound of metal on metal. She heard Moryala scream something, a burst of gunfire, then, nothing.
Shiana flung the door wide open and stepped into the next segment of the passage, submachinegun ready to fire. However, there was nothing to shoot at. The corridor was empty. The only sign of Moryala was a large hole in the middle of the corridor, where one of the metal grates had been removed. Next to the gaping hole lay Moryala's gun. A noise behind her caused Shiana to turn around. her two remaining team mates had followed her into the corridor.

"Back! Get Back!"

Even as she shouted the order, Shiana saw the two scientists looking past her. T'Soni's eyes widened and the girl started shaking. Even Solus' eyes seemed to grow larger, if that was possible for a salarian.

Shiana turned back toward the hole in the deck and found herself staring at something that seemed to have been tailor-made to fit the depths of her worst nightmares.

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The xenomorph has arrived!

For people who want to have some visual concepts: I'm thinking of a cross between Aliens and Starship Troopers (1997).
The Anzio is basically a smaller version of the Roger Young, half warship, half troop transport. Sort of a space version of today's Littoral Combat Ship. The DR-4 Viking dropships used to land the soldiers in Starship Troopers seemed to be modular, with the cargo hold as a separate unit hanging under the shuttle. In my story the marines use the same kind of vehicle, but with a different cargo unit, which has a docking collar.
I'm name-dropping the Cheyenne dropship from Aliens (I loved that design), but it's the wrong tool for this job, which is why it's not used here. If I get around to my next story, which will involve planetary deployment, the Cheyennes will be along for the ride.
The Calypso is a lot older than the Anzio and would be similar to the Nostromo in terms of general design.

I'm sorry my characters spend so much time debating the first-contact problems, but this is a bit of a pet peeve for me. I can accept that aliens can see in the same wavelengths we do and speak at the same sound frequencies. That kind of makes sense, if you assume that they evolved on similar planets around similar stars, but using the same electronics? We tend to forget it, but using binary is just a choice, for that matter digital over analogue is just a choice. And that is just the beginning. In most Official SciFi universes, everybody seems to be magically using the same communication protocols. When you consider that it takes me an hour to connect my computer to the printer and those are actually designed to communicate... Quite often, this is handwaved by saying that a species sends a 'first contact package', which includes 'language files'. Great, but how is anybody going to open these files, when they cannot even read ASCII?

Language itself is, of course, a similar problem. I understand why Star Trek introduced the universal translator. There was no way to make the show work otherwise. Still, the reality is completely different. With enough material, a computer can recognize patterns (we can do that today for the calls of certain bird species), but that doesn't mean you actually know the meaning. In the last chapter, Liara, as an archaeologist, saw the repetitive pattern of changing symbols and recognized them for what they were: numbers. But she didn't know what they meant. (N.B. Even that only works for a system based on a floating point. She'd have had a real problem if humans had been using Roman numbers!) Then came the news that some kind of ship was on the way and Shiana made the connection. Even so, she couldn't tell the difference between time and distance, and she couldn't be sure of her conclusions. For the more complicated case of words and sentences the situation is even worse. For example: suppose a human and an alien are trying to communicate and the human asks: "Do you want war, or peace?" A legitimate question, but what does the alien hear? Given enough material for analysis, his computer will tell him, based on voice patterns and the sequence of the words that it is a question, and that he is offered a choice between two possibilities: war and peace. But without context, he has no idea what either choice means. That's fun! He has a fifty percent chance of getting it right. If he does, he has no idea what the question was, or what he answered and if he answers wrong he'll never know why he suddenly took a bullet to the face. Not to mention, that the computer may have made a small error and the human might actually have asked if he wanted a copy of Tolstoy's War and Peace.
Of course, a mind-meld type event gets around this, though I'm not sure how that would actually work, considering that people think in their own language. Once everybody is on the same ship that might actually be possible, if it works through a helmet. On the other hand, grabbing a heavily armed stranger by the head and telling him to 'embrace eternity' while your eyes change colour doesn't sound like a great idea, especially in a tense situation.
As part of this theme I threw in the prime numbers. They appear in a lot in first-contact stories, but what are they actually supposed to mean? They serve very little purpose. Humans may be fascinated by that kind of thing, but perhaps aliens just don't care.

Alright, that is enough about that, I didn't mean to rant. Most SciFi stories tend to gloss over all these problems for the sake of keeping the story going and I understand that just fine. It's very difficult to make anything happen without some basic communications. At first I thought I'd need the aliens to actually cut though the hull to get on board the Calypso, before I hit on the idea of having instructions in pictograms next to the airlock. Of course, that begs the question how they planned to use the airlock without knowing about those pictograms. I suppose they thought that they had plenty of time and were confident that they would eventually figure it out.
Normally I'm happy to suspend disbelieve in these situations, though I think Star Trek made communications a bit too easy. In fact, one thing I actually liked about the first season of Enterprise is that they occasionally ran into trouble due to bad translations. The TNG episode Darmok was another good example: the translation worked fine, but they still couldn't understand each other. Still, I thought it would be interesting to go the other way; to actually explore this and try to see if reasonable people can manage to get through all the barriers without killing each other. It may also help me in the future. I have some ideas for a story about the first contact war, which, in my universe, would actually be breaking out even as these events are unfolding. I hope to find a way to make the start of that war look like a genuine misunderstanding, rather than trigger-happy turians shooting at everything that moves.

As always, thanks for favourite/follow/reviews. I'm glad you like the story so far.

Midweekcomic13: I thought about hybernation, but it isn't necessary in this case. The ship is only moving within a solar system. That is basically what the Auriga did in Alien Resurrection and that only took a few hours. Also, in this story, the human propulsion systems are at least somewhat comparable to the ME universe. The idea in the background is that the space-jockey's ship had ME type technology and humans have been reverse engineering it, as an alternative to having a prothean library on Mars. I never understood why Weyland-Yutani was so obsessed with the xenomorph but seemed to completely ignore the highly advanced space ship that was just lying around on LV-426, so now I can fill in that plot hole as well.