Chapter 2: Contact

Day Two.

Nothing unexpected happened on the second day of the trip. The ship ran well. Its hydrogen fueled engines put out more than enough energy to maintain the warp coil at full power.

The engine's main byproduct was oxygen. That was one detail that the mothers had handled without involving Jim.

Seven year old Timmy asked his dad, "What if there are aliens where we are going?"

Jim replied, "Well, now, I don't think we are going to have to worry about that."

Timmy smiled and wondered if his dad was correct. After all, all the shows he had seen on TV had had aliens in them.

It was on Alpha Centauri that something was going on.

Gate Keeper duty was one of the most prestigious of all possible jobs. The people that manned and operated the jump gates were hailed as the best of the best. It was also the most boring job one could ever have.

Prefect was in charge at the monitoring station this day. The job was simple. When a jump gate was about to open, they would get 15 cycles of warning, as the waves from the energy built up. This signature energy pattern, allowed them time to send the warning around the gate, and prevent collisions in the gate opening.

Prefect was startled by the klap, klap, klap of the alarm at his console. He activated the warning system, notifying ships in the vicinity that an un-scheduled jump event was incoming.

The normal amount of time passed, and the gate did not open as expected. He thought that to be very strange. The klap, klap, klap, continued for many cycles. Still, no ship came out of the jump gate.

Prefect directed the diagnostic software, and the station's powerful AI computer system, to began to work and analyze the signal.

The report came in from the AI system that it was a modified jump signal, coming from nearly 4 light years away.

Prefect ordered a full analysis of the wave signature, and an explanation of the event now taking place.

The AI system replied moments later, saying, "An unknown event, 4 light-years away, is producing what can only be described as a jump event. Cause: unknown."

Prefect puzzled over the report for more than 10 cycles. Then the event suddenly ceased, and the alarms silenced.

The station's AI reported that the event had ended. It said that a full analysis of the event revealed that there was a shift to the wave.

Prefect asked for an explanation.

"The event was not stationary. It was moving at approximately 128 times the speed of light," the AI reported.

Prefect was shocked. Then he asked, "Could it be some sort of ship using jump technology to propel itself?"

The AI answered, "That is the most likely of possibilities. However, it is not technically possible, given our current technological level."

Prefect dispatched a report to the Centauri leaders, on the fifth planet, of what had occurred. Once that was done he returned to normal operations, and puzzled over these events for the next 20 cycles.

Klap, Klap, Klap the warning sounded again. The AI unit reported that the signal had returned, and that the AI unit was again analyzing it.

Prefect requested that the source be narrowed down.

The AI unit finally reported that analysis now showed that the event was again moving. It reported that the object was moving in the direction of Centauri. It was estimated to be approaching at 128 times the speed of light. The AI said the arrival in-system would be in about 20,000 cycles. Direction to the event was given but there was no reference to any thing in that area that could account for the anomaly. The closest planetary system was 2.2 light-years away from the event, and that system was a seedling planet, covered by the 'no contact' regulations.

They were too primitive to have come up with something like this.

Prefect's report to home world, caused an uproar such as nothing else ever had. The Centauri people became concerned when they learned they might be about to meet a new race. A ship was coming to see them, and it was using an unknown method of propulsion that was many mega-cycles in advance of their own transportation system. They had their jump technology. It was perfect for them, and provided almost instantaneous travel, to wherever they wanted to go. Well, wherever there was a gate built, anyway.

That was the limiting factor of their abilities. It was extremely difficult for them to explore new territory, as jumps required 'to and from' gates. Finding a new planetary system, was hard to do at sub-light speeds. Building the first gate, necessitated the use of materials that could not be transported via sub-light speed ships. The materials were just too bulky. This meant the Centauris had to at least partially develop a system before they could even begin to build a jump gate. This was a monumental task. Still, their federation had reached out to twenty-seven highly developed star systems and three seeded worlds. This was a true testament to their determination. Of course, only the 27 developed systems had jump gates. The seeded planets were a separate endeavor.