The letter

The letter was somewhat… emotional from what Dustin knew of the Velca ambassador. Normally, as a species they came across as cold - not just because of the showing emotion via their ears thing, but also because of a tendency to hyper-focus on whatever research project currently appealed to them the most. On the paper in front of him however Re’x had written with a slightly stilted hand - one perhaps not that accustomed to using a pen for Earth characters - regarding the chief science officer role. “Dustin, as you know the post of science officer on your ship is an important one. However, due to the rather… intense nature of humans in our studies so far you may find that the Research Council will recommend an officer who will be little more than a babysitter for you. This is obviously the logically correct decision - however I am personally unconvinced that it would be the best one for either you or for the officer in question.”

The letter continued, laying out a range of arguments Re’x made against letting his own government have their way, before adding “…meanwhile, some elements of Velca society are somewhat disruptive in their approach. They bring shame on their families for their outlandish attitudes to research; unfortunately my own family has been inflicted with one such individual in the form of my niece. She is the same age as yourself, but barely listens to council and seems intent on only one thing - furthering her understanding of humans and human society. I believe that an individual such as her might be a better fit for this mission - it would allow you more freedom, while also removing an element of disruption from the homeworld in a positive way.”

Dustin sighed at that and let the paper drop. There was more there about how to ensure the ambassador’s niece, one - and here he picked the paper up again to check - Meli’a would be a viable candidate and how then to ensure she was selected. “All this just for a little nepotism” he sighed to himself, shaking his head before running a hand over his face. “Still, nepotism isn’t really a Velcan trait from everything they taught us in school. Maybe Re’x isn’t that far from being a disruptive element himself, no matter what he might believe.” That just left the matter of what to do about the letter to be decided. Which meant making a decision - the first real decision he’d have to make on his own regarding the whole “humanity’s ambassador to the stars” thing since winning that lottery months before.

Pulling himself up out of the chair he began to pace back and forward across the room. “Ok, what are my options here. Some regular Velca, a known quantity - a suit that’s working for the Research Council, will do everything by the book and will in theory help humanity get the license to go explore properly. That’s the sensible option right? They did sponsor us after all. Mind you - Re’x has a pretty good idea of humans from his time on Earth and thinks this Meli’a might be a better fit. Would he do that just for a niece? Not really a Velcan thing to put family over research and logic. And someone more unconventional might be good in some respects.” At this, he glanced back at the envelope on the table. “Yea. Star command have a fair few things up their sleeves they’re not telling the Velca. Getting a wild card who isn’t going to phone home to the council the instant we don’t follow protocol on something would certainly be a useful asset. But then, will they get in the way more? Ugh. I don’t know what to think.”

The pacing and the rambling continued for quite some time, and probably would have gone on still longer if the comm unit by the door didn’t chime. “Attention Captain, you are required on the bridge for our first jump out of system. We are five minutes out from the jump point as requested.” Sola’s voice broke Dustin out of his revere, and pausing only to store the folder and letter securely in his bedroom he headed through to the main deck once more. Once there, the vastness of space filled the view-screens. “Sola, can we switch to wrap-around on the screen please?” He murmured, before slowly turning to look at the black nothingness lit by distant stars that surrounded him. “Highlight Earth and open a one-way comm channel to Star Command, voice only.” A tiny dot suddenly glowed with a bright blue highlight against the vast nothing, one dot hanging in space off to one side between him and the sun. “Channel open, Captain.” Sola’s voice was soft, the AI sensing the gravity of the moment perhaps.

Dustin scratched his head. He’d planned this call for the past month - but now it was here he didn’t know what to say. He was just an average guy after all - just one a little luckier than most to land this role. But he had wanted to say something at least to all the people back home before the ship left the system. With a shake of his head, he settled himself into the captain’s chair. “Planet Earth, Sol system, homeworld of humanity and my birthplace. Humans have done a lot of exploring over the length of our species’ existence. As the ambassador to the stars, a human picked by chance not as the best of us but just one of the crowd, I have not done much with my life to date. But now, I step forward not as the only human to explore beyond our system, but merely as the first of a new generation of explorers following the call that has carried us across continents and oceans, seen us travel to the moon and beyond on simple fireworks and always look forward to a new horizon. Stay safe, humanity - and I’ll be waiting for you to join me real soon. Ambassador Dustin, Captain of the Solar Ascent signing off.”

As he finished speaking, he reached down and tapped the panel on his chair to end the call. “Right, Sola. That’s everything taken care of in this system. Prepare to jump to Velca space following preplanned course.” The screens flickered off as he said that, and the AI’s voice spoke much more clearly now - Dustin could feel the vibrations as he guessed she was speaking across the entire ship despite his being the only person aboard. “All hands, prepare for weave-jump. Destination Velca Prime. Please stand by” And now the air suddenly seemed very still. Dustin knew this was just his mind playing tricks on him - he’d read the information, been grilled on it by the general actually, regarding how weave-jumps worked. Shifting into the alternate space of the weave was undetectable within the hull of a weave-flight capable ship. The external hull would be charged by the translight engine, and then the shift would occur without any noise at all. The only notice would be… and here Sola’s voice cut in right on cue. “Weave transition successful. Flightpath locked. Following thread.”

The weave travel was bumpy to say the least. Dustin knew the inertial dampeners were running, but even so he found himself bouncing around as if he was riding one of the knackered old busses you sometimes got in the outer areas of Contact city - some of those were even converted from old petrol vehicles, if the individual running them was doing so as a hobby (something that happened strangely often - a by-product of the alien-watching hippies that had settled the city in it’s early days). It wasn’t a massively rough ride by any account - but compared to the millpond smoothness of the journey through normal space, it was unpleasant. Fortunately, it also wasn’t very long a trip; he had been reviewing his notes on Velcan customs for only a little over twenty minutes when Sola announced their return to normal space. “Attention all hands. Prepare for weave-disconnect. Destination reached: Velca Prime.”