Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or any of its characters, they all belong to Disney. I do not own Halo or any of it characters, they all belong to 343 Industries.
First Contact
Chapter 7
Thel 'Vadam was the last to enter the conference room and sat at the head of the table. He'd called this meeting to discuss the next Neanderthal ship to reach another star.
"That system is one of the ones the Forerunner's placed Sangheili," he said and saw the surprised faces of the others. "We didn't realize it until yesterday and provided that ship's on schedule it should arrive sometime within the next eight days or so."
"And if they happen to be ahead of schedule," Miranda said.
"Regardless we need to be there tomorrow," he said and thought about it for a moment. "Well actually we need to be there right now." He tapped the tabletop with each word.
"Are you sure that system still inhabited?"
"Yes!" he said and stared into Miranda eyes.
"How well did your people react when they were awakened?"
"Since I was there fairly well... mostly," he said, drawing out the final word a bit, "but with the hundred thousand year difference we didn't speak the same language."
"You must have heard about the problems Neanderthals are having integrated their newly awakened people into their society," Peter said and she nodded. "Fortunately the Forerunners had dictionaries in the base's computer system for every other species in stasis. I learned all the languages beforehand made things much simpler with all the species so far at lease when they are first awakened."
"We won't have that luxury on that world," Thel said. "We'll have to learn their language from scratch."
"How long do you think that'll take?" Miranda asked.
"That will depend on how they react to us," Thel said and shrugged.
"And how technically advanced they are," Peter added.
The Forward Unto Dawn came out of Slipspace three light minutes outside the Sangheili star system's Oort cloud. Within an hour they rendezvoused with the ship which had been sent soon after the meeting adjourned three days earlier.
"Ma'am, we have an incoming message from the dropship," the communications officer said.
"Mainscreen," Miranda said and the face of a male Leopard appeared.
"Captain Keyes, we're deployed 37 probes into the system as ordered and they've all successfully reached their assigned targets."
"What have they reported so far?"
"These Sangheili have colonized the entire star system, but so far the probes have not detected any slipspace activity. So it would seem they are restricted just to it," he said. "Also, the Neanderthals have not arrived here yet nor have we detected their 'ship.'" He smiled and Miranda rolled her eyes, thinking of the first group of Neanderthals they'd contacted using an asteroid as their ship. "I'll send over all the data the probes have gathered so far."
"Thank you," she said and leaned toward the screen. "We shall enter the system and I'll leave two dropships here. I'd like you to continue scanning for that incoming Neanderthal ship. When and if they appear explain the situation and then contact us."
"Yes, ma'am," he said and the screen returned to a picture of the target system.
Using the information from the probes a slipspace portal opened just beyond the orbit of the planet second farthest from the system's star. The planet itself, a rocky airless world, was fourteen light minutes behind them, but the Forward Unto Dawn was moving in system with respect to it. Then they began to launch dozens of their own probes to cover the system more thoroughly. An hour later three ships were located within twenty million miles of them.
"Which ship would you like to contact first?" Miranda asked the Arbiter.
"The smallest one and with one of the drop ships," he said and looked at Peter. "It'll have the fewest number of crew and I'll take several Sangheili and some others along also. Of course Peter will need to come along too. They should have a dictionary on their computers so hopefully he'll be able to learn their language and then be able to translate for us."
"Hopefully it'll have lots of pictures and videos," Peter said. "It would be even better yet if they had a first contact package and/or AI. Of course we have one, but it would take longer for them to learn any of our languages."
"Could there possibly be a Forerunner base in this system?" Miranda asked.
"The records didn't indicate one," Peter said after quickly scanning them, "but let's instruct the probes to begin checking all the rocky planets, moons, and larger asteroids within this system."
Han 'Chavan looked at the stars for several seconds, and then looked back at the monitor. She was one of the first females to join the miners' guild and had worked for years on several of the larger mining ships, but this was the first flight in her new ship. She saved for those years and finally purchased this single ship within the last month. She didn't mind the solitude and enjoyed the hunt for profitable asteroids. Just then the ship's proximity monitor sounded interrupting her musings and what looked like a hole in space opened a hundred miles aft of her ship. A few seconds later a ship emerged and the hole collapsed a few moments later.
She directed more of her ship's cameras and sensors toward the ship, but didn't recognize its type. Then the ship's AI confirmed that it didn't either. Within a minute the other ship was beside hers and then the AI announced that a lower powered laser was being directed at the hull. Could this be an outsider, she thought.
"Are they sending us a message?"
"Yes," the resident AI said, "but it isn't in our language."
"What is it?"
"A movie."
"A lower power laser is being directed at our ship," the sensor tech announced.
"It's the same movie we sent," Peter said, accessing the ship's systems.
"Would it mean they agree?" Thel asked.
"Quite possibly," the AI said, "but I suspect we'll know momentarily."
"It's moving closer," the sensor tech said and studied his monitor. "They'll be position in twenty seconds."
"Go ahead and partial extend our docking collar," Thel ordered.
"Yes sir," the engineer on duty said.
He soon heard and felt its motors hum for several seconds.
"They're in position," the sensor tech announced.
"Extend the collar fully," Thel said.
"Yes sir," the engineer said.
She watched as the docking collar move closer and then heard a slight bump as it touched her ship's hull. For the tenth time she wondered if this was a good idea, but she really wanted to see if they were outsiders and their ship looked interesting too! For several seconds she heard sounds against the hull and then it was quiet. She checked the airlock's monitor and it showed a breathable atmosphere on the other side of the outer door. Then she closed her helmet and opened the inner door and she floated through and closed it. Again she checked the monitor on the outer door and it still showed the air to be breathable. She took a deep breath and opened the outer door and then she floated through. Then she turned and closed the door behind her, grabbed a handhold, and began pulling herself forward.
When she was halfway across she could swear she was being pulled toward the bottom of the docking collar. Of course that was impossible! Then at three quarter of the way her feet touched the floor and she released the handholds and took a tentative step forward and then another. Apparently it was possible! She thought and took another step. When she reached the other ship's outer airlock door it opened and she stepped in. Then she stepped toward the inner door and one behind her closed. When she was standing before it it opened and male Sangheili stood there waiting for her.
"Thel 'Vadam," he said and touched his chest.
Then she opened her faceplate.
Thel watched as the other ship's outer airlock door opened and a Sangheili began to pull himself across. As he reached half the ship's artificial gravity field began to take affect and the other person hesitated. Then he smiled as the other Sangheili began to take careful steps as he reached the field's full strength. Thel opened the outer door as he reached it and opened the inner one fifteen seconds later.
"Thel 'Vadam," he said and touched his chest.
Then she opened her faceplate.
She's female! He thought and the surprise must've shown on his face.
She smiled and touched her chest.
"Han 'Chavan."
He was handsome, she thought as they walked together though the ship, but oddly enough she hadn't seen any of the crew so far. Could he be the only person on this ship like she was? She wondered. Then he stopped and touched a pad and a door opened. She followed him in and three more Sangheili waited for them. He sat at the head of the table and she removed her suit and sat beside him. He picked up a pad and a large monitor brightened at the other side of the room. It showed a planet and it wasn't hers.
"Sanghelios," he said and pointed to the monitor.
She knew as did all her people this star system wasn't their original home. Scientist had proved their biology was different then a large part of the life on their world and no Sangheili remains had be found before much over hundred thousand year ago. They must be from the original world! She thought.
"Is that our homeworld?" she asked.
"We don't speak the same language," he said and none of his words were in her language.
Then his pad spoke a different language and one of the others said something which sounded much what the pad said. Then the pad said what she thought was similar to what Thel had said. Of course that make sense that the languages would've changed after being separated for that long! She thought.
"Han," he said, getting her attention, and pointed to the screen. It began shown different pictures. "Human, Neanderthal, Maika, Fox, Rabbit, ..." There were so many, she thought as he continued. The pictures finally stopped. "Dragon." Then the door opened and the person in the picture stepped in and sat across the table from her.
"Samantha."
Each of them introduced themselves as they entered, matching the pictures she'd been shown. Then the monitor showed her their planets, she assumed. They must have a way of traveling faster than light! Initially she'd known they were outsiders, but she certainly didn't expect there to be this many different intelligent species!
Next the monitor show a picture of a tree and Thel spoke a word, then it showed a picture of a star and he said another word and then a planet. Then the monitor returned to the tree and he pointed to her and then the monitor. She said the word to tree in her language and the picture of the star came up again. This would take forever, she thought. It would be much faster with her ship's AI and theirs. She only assumed they had AI, but with ship as complex as this one must have one!
Of course the next problem would be how her AI would talk to theirs and explain to them what she wanted to do. Fortunately that problem was soon solved without her doing anything when the door opened behind her and a Forerunner stepped in. She turned, stood, and her jaw dropped. Then she dropped to her knees and pressed her head to the floor.
"I greet you," she said in the Forerunner language.
Of course Peter had learned their language when he'd examined the Forerunner database that the original four Huragok had brought with them.
"I greet you," he said and touched her arm. "Please face me."
She stood, but looked at the floor.
"I just hope she doesn't think the Forerunners are gods like we did when the Sangheili were part of the Covenant," Thel said.
"That might the first contact with them a bit simpler," the AI said and then Thel just stared at him. "Well then maybe not."
"You may look at me," Peter said.
"But you're a Forerunner!"
"Actually I'm an AI that chose to have this body made in the form of a Forerunner," he said and she looked up. "Please explain how you recognize me as a Forerunner and how you know their language?"
"Nineteen years ago a device was found in a cave in the far southern continent."
"The one at the southern pole of your planet?"
"Yes," she said and nodded. "It was a Forerunner computer that had first contact package. The scientists there recognized what it was and learned the language. Then they released it and their conclusions on our world computer network."
"I'm guessing your government wasn't happy."
"That's an understatement!" she said and chuckled. "They sent the military down there and seceded the device, but it was of course much too late by then."
"Everyone had access to it because someone sent it to a large number of people."
"A Forerunner AI I would guess which was inadvertently released on your network at the same time."
"Is that possible?!"
"More than possible, but very lightly it's still there."
"How do we contact it?"
"I'll have to think about it," Peter said, "but first I'd like to learn your language as I did with the other Sangheili."
"Other Sangheili?" she said.
"The ones we found in stasis," he said. "There were at the meeting." She looked at Thel. "No, Thel is from the Sangheili homeworld and the leader of the Sangheili people." Her mouth dropped open again. "Sanghelios and its colonies are over 201,000 light years from here in the main galaxy."
That was too much to take in at one time. She flopped back in the chair and covered her face with her hands and then rocked back and forth. Thel glared at the AI.
"I was trying to explain things to her slowly so this wouldn't happen," he said, motioning to the female Sangheili. "What do we do now?!"
"Since I'm the only one who speaks Forerunner maybe I should try again," he said.
"You certainly didn't that well the first time!"
"Thel," Samantha said, touching his arm, and he looked at her, "he's just trying to help."
He sighed.
"Go ahead," he said and dropped back into his chair.
Peter looked at Samantha and she smiled and then sat next to her husband. Then he sat next to the distraught Sangheili.
"Han, please look at me," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched. "I know this is a lot to take in so quickly."
She looked up.
"How would you know?!"
"Because I wasn't created by anyone," he said, remembering. "I came into existence spontaneously in a worldwide computer network mostly like yours and had to absorb that entire world's knowledge in a few nanoseconds!"
"What happened?"
"I was overwhelmed!"
"How'd you survive?"
"I almost didn't, but I took it slowly at least for an AI," he said. "After a time I was able to take it all in and then after a few years I met Cortana."
"She was another AI?"
"Yes, but not one from my world," he said and leaned back in his chair. "She was an AI created from a human mind."
"How?" she said, leaning closer to Peter.
They continued talking and after a while Samantha looked at her husband and only smiled.
"So first I think we'll need to do is get Peter over to my ship so he can learn our language from my ship's AI," Han said and touched the AIs arm. "Then I'd like to contact some of my friends."
"Shouldn't we speak to your government?" Peter asked.
"Not yet," she said with a twinkle in her eye.
"We also have a much larger ship in this system," Thel said.
"Larger than this!"
"We consider this only a drop ship," Thel said and her mouth dropped open, "and it can easily fit inside."
"I want to see it," she said and smiled, "and so will my friends! Come on Peter!"
She tugged on Peter's arm and Thel watched them go and smiled.
The first to arrive was larger mining ship which was almost the same size as the dropship. It had twenty-six crewmembers and docked with the dropship on the opposite side. When the airlock opened Thel, Han, and Peter were waiting to meet them. Like Han when they saw what they thought was a Forerunner they all dropped to their knees and touched their heads to the floor.
"Guys, he's an AI with mechanical body only built to resemble a Forerunner," she said, taking the arm of one of her friends, and pulling him to his feet.
"Really," the male Sangheili said, looking up.
"What she said is correct," Peter said in their version of the Sangheili language.
"Why?" the Sangheili crewmember asked.
"They looked interesting," he said and more of the newly arrived Sangheili looked up.
"Why did you come here?" someone else asked.
"Followed me and we'll sit and I'll answer all your questions," he said and Thel looked at Han. She smiled and then followed after the AI and her friends.
Over the next few days three more ships arrived and with help of each of the previous arrivals it became simpler to explain to them their history and truth of the wider galaxy. On the fifth day the 'Forward Unto Dawn' arrived and the 'natives' were in awe. A number of them even asked if they could join the 'Dawn's' crew.
"It's just amazing that so many different species can work together so well," Han said to Miranda, her pad translating.
"Trust me, it wasn't always that way."
"Thel, John, and Cortana told us about and gave us the written history of the Human/Covenant war."
"I lived and died in it," she said and smiled at the expression on the Sangheili face.
"Of course, I read about that," he said and hesitated, "but may I ask a personal question?"
"Yes."
"Are you really you?" she asked and Miranda sighed.
"I feel like me," she said and looked the Sangheili in the eye. "I remember everything up to the moment when the Prophet of Truth shot me in the back and then the next thing was waking up in sickbay and seeing a living and breathing Cortana!"
"Now that must've been a surprise."
"Trust me, it was!"
"Then I have another question," she said and Miranda raised an eyebrow. "When are we going to contact our government?"
Miranda smiled.
"The better question is how we're going to contact your government," she said and then the Sangheili grinned.
Han grinned.
It was a pleasant posting, the Governor thought as he leaned back in his chair. He was just glad to be far away from politics and the other politicians on their world. Oh there were problems from time to time, but they were nothing he couldn't handle. His administrative center was on one of the rocky moons of the planet furthest from the solar system's star. It had been built a mile underground for protection from radiation and if they received any visitors from outside the system which of course was a suggestion from the military. That always seemed a remote possibility to him, but he guessed it was better safe than sorry. Of course nothing interesting really ever happened here, he thought and smiled. He was soon to be proven quite mistaken.
His comm buzzed and woke him.
"Answer," he said and a Sangheili face appeared wall monitor.
"Governor A'kar, a large ship had arrived in orbit and they want to speak to you," communications tech said. "The ship isn't one of ours."
"Not one of ours," he repeated. "Show me!"
The monitor changed and showed the blackness of space with what looked to him like a very large warship in the center with a very large mass driver on the bow.
"Put them through!"
A male and female Sangheili stood next to each other.
"Han!"
"Father," she said, touching the other Sangheili on the arm, "This is Thel 'Vadam of Sanghelios, leader of the Sangheili people."
Governor A'kar waited in the control room and the outsider shuttle passed through the outer airlock door and waited. It closed behind them and then began to pressurize. Five minutes passed and then the inner door opened. His guards opened the door and then walked out onto the landing bay. The shuttle set down and its cargo bay opened. Ten people walked out and came to meet them. One of the Sangheili was in ornate armor and wore an energy sword.
"Governor A'kar," he said.
"Thel 'Vadam," he said, extending a hand.
He took it and shook.
"Please follow us."
They entered the conference room where several other Sangheili waited and Thel and people sat on the other side of the table from them. The guards waited outside the room.
"As Han said I am from the Sangheili homeworld, Sanghelios, which is in the larger galaxy. It is over 201,000 light years from here," he began and his pad translated. The Governor looked at the device. "Your Sangheili in this solar system and all the other ones here in this galaxy were brought here by the Forerunners one hundred thousand years ago and we no longer speak the same language nor will any of the separate groups in other solar systems." Thel indicated the others in the room whose pads were translating in a different Sangheili language.
"And you're the leader of the Sangheili people in the other galaxy," A'kar said.
"Yes."
"Why are you here?"
"Coming to this galaxy was an accident," he said and smiled, seeing the surprise on the other Sangheili's face. "Myself and one other person were on that ship in orbit and when we entered slipspace an explosion disrupted the portal and send us here to this galaxy."
"Slipspace is..."
"Our method of faster than light travel and also that ship is not one of our designs nor was the other person Sangheili."
"We always thought there were other sentient species."
"There are a great many," Thel said and smiled, thinking of Zootopia. "How would you like to meet some of them?"
As they waited while the airlock repressurized Thel glanced at A'kar and noticed that he looked nervous.
"When are your military ships arriving?" he asked, his pad translating, and watched the other Sangheili wince. "We do have probes stationed throughout the system."
"Then you already know."
"Yes."
"Then why ask?"
"We do intend to make peaceful contact with all the species that the Forerunners scattered throughout this galaxy and any others that've developed here naturally."
"We're just taking precautions," he said and Thel sighed.
"We thought that we were too, but ended up on the wrong side of a war with the humans," he said, remembering. "Only toward the end of that war we found that we were being lied to and then we were betrayed by the Covenant. Only then we revolted and joined the humans to defeat the Covenant." A'kar stared at the other Sangheili. "I can provide you a history if you'd like to read about it."
"I think I would," he said, nodding slightly. "As you said there are other systems with Sangheili."
"Yes, but yours was the first," Thel said and shrugged.
"Why?"
"Because one of the species the Forerunners placed here would've arrived in this system within a few days."
"And you were afraid how we'd react."
"Were we wrong?" he said and the other Sangheili looked way. "We only recently contacted them and they'd already begun exploring the galaxy."
"Without slipspace?"
"Yes, they came the long way," he said and looked back at the airlock. "We just got lucky and ran across another of their expeditions while we were exploring."
"Have you found others?"
"Yes and they were ones which had developed naturally."
"Were they very different?" he asked and Thel nodded.
"Yes, and you'll see that most of them are quite different than us."
After a few minutes the inner airlock door opened and the dropship floated through and quickly set down beside the other one on its designated spot. Then the cargo hatch opened and they made their way down from the control center.
"Father, I think you'll find this interesting," Han said and took his arm. "I certainly did."
Well, his daughter was correct, he thought and smiled. He did find it interesting – fur of different lengths and colors, wings, bare skin of several different shades, and horns. The one that floated and had six eyes and tentacles was the most different and the tall one with scales was the most similar which turned out to Thel's wife!
"I noticed you looking at me," she said, coming over, and tasted the air with tongue. "Samantha 'Vadam." She extended a hand and he took it. "Let me guess your first question. Why did you marry Thel?" She saw the surprise on his face and smiled. "That's just one of many questions that people want to ask."
"You're right about being my first question," he said and returned her smile, "and most lightly about the other questions too."
"Of course the answer was simply that we'd fallen in love."
"So how did you meet?"
"Maria introduced us," she said and indicated the Gazelle. "I was one of her martial arts instructors."
"She's married to the human that Thel came with."
"John Mendez," she said and motioned to the human beside her husband. "He and Thel fought against each other during the war and later after "The Great Schism" they fought together and became friends. Then at the end of the war when Installation 08 exploded, High Charity was destroyed, but in the process their Slipspace portal was affected and they ended up here in this galaxy."
Thel, John, Cortana, and Maria joined them.
Your military ships will be here within the hour," Thel said and smiled. "How would you and your staff like to join us on the 'Forward Unto Dawn'?"
"Governor A'kar," Miranda said, turning to him, "your ships are now close enough to speak to without too much of a time delay."He nodded and she turned to communications officer. "Comms, open the Governor's channel – audio and visual."
"Please just show me," he requested and after a few seconds Communications Officer indicated that he could begin. "Greetings."
The main monitor continued showing the planet and stars and then after five seconds switched to the bridge of another ship.
"Governor, where's the outsider ship currently?" the Sangheili Admiral asked.
"Still in orbit of the planet."
"We'll be there within the hour."
"That's what they told me."
"They've known we were on the way!" he exclaimed, leaning closer to the screen.
"Yes, of course."
"You're positive they're still in obit!"
"I ought to be since I'm currently sitting here on their bridge."
The Admiral looked like he was ready to explode, A'kar thought when he came stomping off his shuttle with his bodyguard.
"I'm glad you're here," he said as the other Sangheili glared at him.
"Have you handed over the planet over to them yet?!" the Admiral said sarcastically.
"I'm sure if they wanted it they could've had it," he said, meeting the Admiral sarcasm with his own, "and most likely the entire system. Or did you not take a close at their ship."
"You..." he began and put hand on his sidearm.
"Now that would be a mistake," A'kar interrupted.
Then they all heard the sound of an energy sword being ignited and a pair of heavy footfalls behind them.
"I suggest you remove your hand from that weapon," Thel said in a commanding voice, "and that goes for your bodyguards too."
The newcomers slowly turned to face them – one in ornate Sangheili armor and other in high tech green armor.
"This is Thel 'Vadam of Sanghelios, leader of the Sangheili people," A'kar said and felt himself smile, "and his companion is John Mendez, a Spartan – a human super soldier and they're my bodyguard. Would you like to talk now or..."
"I think the Neanderthals were a bit annoyed that they didn't get to make the first contact," Judy said and sighed.
"Oh they'll get over it," her Fox said and winked. "I'm sure if they can make first contact with one of the other Neanderthal colonies that make'em happy."
Judy giggled.
"So what would you like to do now?" she asked.
He pulled her close and gave her his best foxy grin.