Aliens!

The USS Discovery sailed on through the cosmos, alone in the night. She stood off to the side of the bridge, watching her station; there weren’t any new readings to worry about while they were at warp, but there were plenty of things she was working on helping analyse.

With priority cases she was helping with, she was wanted on the bridge to let Pike know as soon as she reached any conclusions.

An alert flashed up; curiously she tapped it, opening something new on the screen. That was…

Sometimes the computer flagged something more important than whatever she was currently doing. It never happened on this station though, especially at warp; it would mean the Discovery had taken in new data, but what could they have run into? Let alone anything-

The ship jerked suddenly. The screen ahead of them flashed, and real space returned into view, pinpricks of starlight against the black. Tilly glanced up, bewildered.

Wait, they’d dropped out of warp? Why-

“Report,” Pike said, sitting up.

Lieutenant Keyla Detmer frowned, glancing at the screen in front of her too.

“Not sure, Captain,” she said. “Something’s interfering with our systems.”

Tilly glanced around the bridge; by the look of it, almost everyone getting some kind of input was bewildered. Not just hers; she scanned through the data the ship was detecting.

Wait, that was a pattern…

“C-cap-” Tilly began, and swallowed.

Ok, public speaking had never been her thing. She took a breath; what was the cliché? Imagine whoever she was talking to was naked, there was no reason to be nervous then.

Tilly inhaled and tried again.

“Captain,” Tilly said. “I’m getting something through here too. It’s regular; can’t be natural.”

“So what, it’s alive?” Pike said. “Is there anything out there?”

“Nothing-” Keyla began, then did a double take at her screen. “Something’s just appeared captain.”

“On screen. Can we hail them?”

An image appeared on the display; it was some kind of tetrahedron, smooth bronze surfaces on each side. There seemed to be no doors, no windows, no features of any kind.

Maybe it was a ship, but it didn’t seem like anything recognisable.

Tilly’s screen flickered again; she looked down, frowning. Wait, that couldn’t be right…

She swallowed. Public speaking again, the worst part of Starfleet. At least she had tricks to deal with it.

“Captain, the power emanating from it, it’s off the scale,” Tilly said. “It-”

She faltered as the lights flickered. Something thrummed, the bridge shuddering; a voice sounded from no clear source. It seemed to sneak out from each and every crack, each wall. Deep, thrumming.

“First contact. We welcome you. We have scanned your databanks and we do not wish anything more from you.”

Pike stood up in his chair; he glanced down at Detmer. She shrugged.

“No channel’s open, Captain,” she said. “They’re just… speaking.”

“Right, nigh-omnipotent aliens,” Pike said. He sighed. “Used to run into these every other week on the Enterprise.” He cleared his throat. “What do we call you?”

“Irrelevant,” the same all-pervading, deep voice said.

“We are on a mission of-”

“We know who you are. We do not wish any contact with your species at this time,” it paused. “Justice is our primary motivator. Your race is flawed. Without a suitable system, any form of relationship is ill-advised.”

Pike hesitated; he glanced around the bridge, silently asking for ideas. Tilly swallowed.

“Are they open to future contact?” Tilly tried, doing her best to keep her courage up. “So we can take something back to Starfleet.”

Pike nodded at the thought, and turned his attention back.

“You say you do not want contact at this time,” Pike said. “Is there any way for us to contact you in future, or to know when we are ready-”

“When one’s actions and desires are met in kind, when all receive a just reward,” the voice intoned, perhaps quoting. “You are not yet ready.”

Pike paused again. Even if he was more used to encountering strange races like this, it was never easy to respond.

“How can you be so sure we are not ready?” Pike said.

“We have seen all you are,” the voice intoned. “If you will not believe us, we will be willing to demonstrate to you. We are able to enforce justice upon other locations.”

“Enforce…” Pike said. His voice trailed off. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“What one would enact, one experiences,” the voice said. “If you believe your actions are justified then no harm will come to you, but when focus is unmerited it will be repaid in kind.”

There was a pause. The bridge crew looked at each other, confused.

Pike stayed standing, watching the image on the viewscreen; with no clear indication as to where the voice was coming from it seemed the best place to look.

“You are concerned about the wellbeing of your crew,” the voice said. “it does you credit. If you choose this test, we will ensure no serious injury or pain is afflicted. The point at which it would be would mark your unsuitability for prolonged contact.”

“May I speak with my crew?” Pike said.

“Certainly,” the voice said.

Pike exhaled, looking around the bridge. Aliens like that were always a pain to deal with; they could do anything, and with that level of power came strange ways of thinking.

Starfleet’s primary goal was contacting other forms of life; each captain had the discretion to do what they willed with each new encounter. His responsibility was just to the people aboard.

“Thoughts? Opinions?” Pike said.

“If they meant us harm, it would seem they could have done so,” Saru said. “I believe we can take them at their word.”

“We’re out here to contact new civilisations,” Tilly said. Keep it together, she told herself, she knew how to talk to people.

Picture everyone naked, it was weird how that was the advice that lasted centuries.

A handful of others spoke up; no one objected. Pike nodded; he smiled to himself, evidently enjoying the prospect.

He returned to his chair, giving cursory details over the ship’s comm system. The rest of the ship should at least be aware of what was happening.

Everyone who came out here knew there were risks. He sat back.

“Ok,” Pike said. “Are you there?”

“We are,” the voice rumbled.

“We accept your terms,” Pike said. “If we pass your test, will you consent to contact with the Federation?”

“If you exceed our expectations,” the voice said. The shape on the viewscreen twitched. “It is done.”

Almost a whole second later, there was a scream. All eyes on the bridge turned to the same spot, being Tilly’s station.

The curvy redhead suddenly looked rather different. Rather than being smartly dressed in her Starfleet uniform, the uniform was gone entirely, along with whatever underwear she might have had on beneath it.

“E-ensign Tilly?” Saru said, shocked.

She screamed again. Hastily she drew one arm inwards, too late to avoid the bridge seeing her rosy nipples, crossing her forearm over each; her tits threatened to spill over her arm even so, only seeming all the bigger the tighter she clutched at herself with her arm.

They got a couple of surprised looks as it was; the uniform bound them rather tightly, concealing their now-exposed true size.

Still shrieking slightly, Tilly bent her knees, ducking under the console too hide the flare of red beneath her legs, already trying to cover it up with her other hand. Her wide, curvy hips were still utterly visible either side of her shaking hand.

Long, curly red hair fell over pale, bare shoulders, framing a suddenly wide-eyed, blushing face.

“Wh-what-” Tilly whimpered.

“Was this you?” Pike said, facing the screen.

Tilly squeaked. She glanced nervously behind her at one of the people working on a console set against the wall. She yelped, realising they could see her ass, and quickly realising there was absolutely no way for her to stand that didn’t have a lot of her left in view.

She mouthed, panicked, for them to move. Eyes wide, the crewmember at least moved away from their station, leaving Tilly with what little modesty she had, crouched with most of her hips behind a raised console and her considerable tits threatening to slip into view past her lone arm.

She shrieked again as the alien spoke. Wait, where was it, could it- they- whatever see her?!

“It is justice. It is what she imagined for others, so it comes to pass for her.”

“It…” Pike said. he turned; Tilly flushed, crouching. “You were thinking of everyone… naked?”

“It- it’s that public speaking thing!” Tilly squealed. “Not-”

Pike turned back. Tilly squirmed, shivering slightly on the bridge, hands shaking, face burning.

Her crew member passed along a spare jacket; she reached for it, only for it to vanish as soon as she touched it. Tilly yelped.

“Do you wish to end this experiment?” the voice rumbled.

Tilly squeaked. Oh god, no, they couldn’t jeopardise a first contact just because of her embarrassment!

But they’d rendered her naked in the middle of the bridge! She whimpered. Inadequate was too mild a word for what modesty her arms her arms offered, pale skin, far too visible.

She yelped as Pike turned back to face her.