I had just entered the wardroom when my personal communicator implant sounded in my thoughts. "Commander Dufour, Please report to the bridge. This is code 2." Code 2, I mused… well, at least the ship was not in immediate jeopardy. Still, my First Officer Mekos would not classify a code 2 without serious consideration. My Sagan 74 outworld waterfowl dinner would have to wait… god, my gastronomic juices were in an uproar; a Sagan waterfowl was one of sweetest birds in its charted sector.

     The First Dominion Exploration and Survey Starship Admiral Volstovich was one of the newest Superior Class ships recently commissioned at the Co-Dominion Mobile Shipyard currently based on Lexion Six, a huge astroid in the Lexion Belt. Lexion Six actually sustained 2.4 PSI gravity, which was ideal for starship construction. The elapsed time from the wardroom to the bridge was less than three minutes via the pneumatic personnel chute linked directly to the bridge for use of senior officers. There were other such chutes that joined the integrated sections of the starship, and more important, to the Cybernetic Control Center where humans fused with the Artificial Intelligence of the ship's hybrid computer brains, sensors and armament.

     As I was rushed along within the safe confines of the chute, I thought again of the honor and trust that had been bestowed upon me by First Dominion Starbase Command. The road to the Admiral Volstovich had been tough and arduous… years of minor commands in scout and guardian ships; then an Echo Class Battle Cruiser. Now, the Admiral was mine… one of the five largest and most powerful ships in the First Dominion Fleet. The starship was technically not a warship, but was capable of going up against ten battle cruisers without the chance of one penetrating her defenses, and had the further capability of total destruction of any known hostile ship of war.

     The chute came to a gentle halt - I stepped onto the Command Platform overlooking the three tiers of the Admiral's Bridge. Mekos was instantly by my side - he was uncharacteristically intent. He handed me a holograph slate as he spoke. "It's a contact, Commander. A moving contact on the extreme of our sensors. We would never have seen it except for what seemed like complex fission emissions from its propulsion engines. I ordered a course change to remove us from the chance of their own contact of us, but within moments it was apparent that they had already seen us when they reappeared on our screens. We must assume they are either belligerent or unwittingly curious. Point is, they had their chance to go their own way and avoid any eventual ultimatum, but this is no longer possible in my opinion."

     "Excellent Mekos and thank you. I think it is time for me to review possible alien contact protocol. We must assume that this is an alien contact considering we are in unknown and uncharted space. The Admiral Volstovich is the only Co-Dominion Starship authorized in this spatial quadrant to be outside of our own charted boundaries. The next question is, do we have a estimate on size and mass?"

     Mekos spoke evenly. "As you know Commander Dufour, the contact is on the extreme limit of our sensors, which accounts for some distortions. However, we have calculated that the vessel is near or perhaps as large as we are. There is considerable discourse in CCC that this is even possible. In the over two thousand years of the existence of the Co-Dominion, there has never been even the slightest hint of an alien presence within our known galaxy. Even the contact protocols have been firmly consistent for the past eight centuries, but decidedly forgotten except for gaming at the academy."

     Mekos was a steady and valuable second in command and I was glad to have his support. There was no question that I was feeling uneasy. "Very well, let's bring the protocol up on our holograph slates and work through it together."

     We spent the next hour poring over the contact protocol. The discipline was well thought out considering how many centuries ago the documents had been formulated by the best political, analytical and philosophical minds of that time. One thing that the protocol made very clear… there would be no on site command deviation. For the present there seemed very little to do but maintain our watch on this incredible first alien contact in the history of our civilization. The protocol required that no attempt to communicate should be initiated for 72 hours. I would have liked to challenge this principle, but knew it was pointless. The Event Records computer recorded my very act of breathing for complete scrutiny if required. Cybernetic Control Center was in high gear now, running program after program, considering all the moves on this galactic chessboard. I had once again ordered the Admiral to retire from the limits of the sensors, but the contact followed, as I knew it would and maintained its own surveillance position. What was going on here I conjectured - would I have followed had the contact been the one to attempt to remove himself from sensor limits? Yes, I concluded, I would have indeed. Fortunately, the protocol, although very explicit, did leave some room for command decisions.

     The prerequisite 72-hour period ended. I had spent the time conferring with my senior staff officers and spending long hours working through my options in my personal quarters. I had appreciated all of the input, but I knew that within the framework of the protocol, I would ultimately be the one making the final decision. I had decided on a move that I felt would create a response that would help me in my evaluation of the mental aspect that governed the alien commander. Nothing more than the movement of a pawn meant to draw out some new reaction, test the strength of his will perhaps. Arriving on the Bridge Command Platform, I ordered the Admiral Volstovich to close the alien contact by a distance of ten thousand kilometers and take up a holding position. I had advised the Cybernetics Control Center of this, so that they could prepare for more intense sensor scan information.

     We arrived at our new position in exactly eleven standard minutes. It took the alien nine standard minutes to close his own ten thousand kilometers to remain at a stationary point. The game was definitely on!.

     "Mekos," I called out. "Order the Communications Officer to load the Binary Communiqué. Let's try getting through to our alien contact out there. I would also like the new statistics on the alien ship as soon as possible." I was looking at the sensor display screen. I had a funny feeling that we were now two predators sitting on the edge of a very large clearing… each regarding the other suspiciously across the neutral ground.

     I waited 24-hours for an acknowledgement of our communiqué, which was transmitted on a spectrum of wavelengths for ten hours. The alien remained mute. I felt my inner tension tighten its grip. The data on the alien ship revealed its estimated mass and translated standard Earth gravity tonnage at six percent greater the Admiral Volstovich. Our adversary was formidable. I decided to close the gap by another ten thousand kilometers, fully anticipating our alien friend to do the same. This would bring us to the point the sensor filters and visual graphics software could begin to assess a physical projection of how the ship might appear visually. As a precaution, I also ordered the weapons officer to upgrade of the Admiral's defensive readiness status.

     I was not prepared for the reaction of the alien. In less than one standard minute of my change of position order, the alien ship was also on the move… straight toward us. He had been waiting for us. And of course I had maintained my movement along the shortest distance line, allowing the alien to anticipate my new projected location. I instantly had the impulse to countermand the order, but decided that it would only show hesitation and weakness in my command ability. As I felt my cardiovascular system step up its pace… I decided to take a mild tranquilizer.

     Even before we finished our transit, Mekos was at my side urging me to evaluate the latest sensor findings which were now being upgraded constantly. I was trying desperately to remain calm and reassuring to the Command Platform personnel… but the latest information was not good. Cybernetics Control had now detected a very sophisticated weapons array emission from the alien spacecraft. The emissions also indicated that the weapons systems were activated. I felt compelled to confer with Mekos as to his opinion on our own status.

     "Commander Dufour," said Mekos grimly, "I must suggest that we upgrade our status to full offensive and defensive readiness. May I give the order, sir?"

     Mekos was right, of course. "Give the order, Mekos, and thank you for your counsel." Moments later the demeanor of the Command Platform shifted and the faces of my staff became even more serious, if that were possible. Then there was a slight alteration of visual color hues as the Electron Energy based defense screens came on line, drawing enormous sums of power from the ship's massive cores.

     Two standard minutes after the Admiral Volstovich took up her new position; it was immediately known that the alien ship was continuing on a collision course. With our defensive and offensive systems on line, we could now only wait. The protocol absolutely forbade a pre-emptive attack. I was beginning to doubt the wisdom of following instructions that had been concluded so very long ago, but then I ceded my skepticism to realize that the situation would be no different had a contact been made centuries past.

     We all waited apprehensively as the alien finally took up its own observation point, having doubled the ten thousand-kilometer relocation to twenty. My psychic team commented that the alien was very assertive, defiant and emphatically bellicose. He had put us on notice. They also gave me a new consideration to evaluate… this uncharted region might very well belong to the alien. How would we react had we been within our own charted and arrogantly claimed space and an unknown alien entered unannounced?

     The next three days deteriorated to a standoff while we gathered and re-gathered all the physical information allowed. I continued to broadcast the Binary Communiqué periodically on a complete array of frequencies. There was no acknowledgement from the alien Commander. Maintaining the defense screen forced me to triage the Admiral's power, which had also forced me to shut down forty percent of the absolutely unnecessary sections of the ship. To add insult to this injury was that there was no evidence of a similar defense mechanism in place around the alien ship. The tension among the crew was mounting. I had been over the protocol until I had it memorized. The failure of the protocol was that it assumed the alien contact would either acknowledge our communiqué or act hostilely by attacking us, which would only then allow us to engage and destroy.

     The distance between our ships was still too great to bring up a real-time visual image. I had been considering an extreme move in this now very serious game. I had proposed to Mekos and my senior staff officers to close the gap to allow the real-time image of the alien to be made available. Additionally, the closure would then bring the two ships within mutual destruction range from the use of either ship's weaponry; considering the impact and devastation resulting from such an explosion. The protocol did allow for one other option. I could cut and run, but there was a single factor that would negate this strategy. If the alien followed our course, and it became apparent that we would lead him to our home bases including the possible revealment of any of the Co-Dominion's home worlds, I would be forced to break off the retreat and take a stand. Evaluating the behavior of the alien Commander, I quickly discarded any attempt to break off this ever-solidifying stalemate.

     We were all in agreement… we would make the final jump to bring the Admiral Volstovich within real-time visual range of the alien ship. My greatest fear at this moment was that the alien would reason that this was a desperate aggressive move and act accordingly. Still, I would feel much relieved regarding the security of my ship and crew once we were within the mutual destruction range.

     As if he had anticipated my next move, the alien remained motionless as we closed the final breech. As the imagery of the alien ship filled my personal holograph slate, I was surprised to see that the physical characteristics of the ship were not beyond my imagination. The ship was not too unlike the Admiral Volstovich in basic concept and design… yes, there were subtle and not so subtle differences, but not as alien as I had expected. I now more than ever tried to conjure an image of the entities within. Were they so very different from ourselves? Were they feeling the same fears and apprehensions that we felt? Somehow I had my private reservations.