Chapter 105. Letter from Cindy
Admiral Peng had to take a deep breath before he could say a word. He was out of breath. He excitedly raised the data stick and handed it to his boss. "We just got a message," he said in a low voice, still breathless. "It could change everything."
Isaac twirled the data stick in his hand and looked at Admiral Peng in surprise. "Who sent the message?" Normally, he was not called upon for every message received. The amount of information received is simply too great. Relevant departments also know what to do with this information.
"Starship Base 34 received this message. It is from the Sindi," Admiral Peng reported.
"Cindy?" Isaac repeated in surprise, his eyebrows raised. "What an accident." Especially since the Republic had a brief contact half a year ago, there has never been any contact with the Sindi people. Either this strange race didn't hear from the Federation, or they just chose to ignore it. So it's very surprising that the Sindi are reaching out now.
"Have you read the message?" Isaac wondered.
"No, sir. The message reached us just a few minutes ago. The commander of Starfleet Base has seen and analyzed the message and said it was extremely urgent. So I brought it to you immediately." This is honesty answer instead of trying to hint to Isaac how important he was. Because flattering is no longer necessary for General Peng. He has reached a satisfactory position and hopes to live as peacefully as possible in the years leading up to retirement. Adjusting the position now is obviously not one of his goals.
"Well, let's see what they have to say." Isaac took the data stick and inserted it into the computer's interface. The screen immediately lights up, showing a menu for the user to choose the next step. Although Isaac is Supreme Commander of Starfleet, he prefers to operate computers manually. He found voice control impractical. Of course, voice control has its advantages, but first of all, he would be faster if he could enter data through a keyboard, rather than having to organize language first. Secondly, when he sits in his office and talks to the computer, he feels something strange. He always felt like the secretary in the next office was hearing every word he said to the computer. Not that he didn't trust her, but every visitor would see there and potentially gain inside information that had nothing to do with Starfleet.
He asked the computer to play the message. The display on the screen switched. A humanoid Sindi head appears on the screen. He has a round face, a typical Sindi forehead and bulges that extend to both sides of his cheeks. Some wrinkles around the eyes and around the mouth give him a friendly appearance.
"To the representatives of the United Federation of Planets," he began in a deep baritone. "My name is Naporu. I have been assigned by the Sindi Alliance to carry out an honorable mission, which is to establish diplomatic relations between the Sindi and the Federation. In the past individual contacts, our two countries have unfortunately not established a deeper relationship. relations. In our opinion, this is a flaw, because agreements and exchanges in science, diplomacy and economics are priceless for both our peoples. We can learn a lot from each other. And we met for the first time It's very similar back then. The Federation is an alliance of different creatures that coexist peacefully and cooperate with each other. Although we are just one nation, we are made up of five distinct races. We also live together peacefully. The way we got along in the past is very important to us. Long enough for us. But we realize that in an increasingly connected universe we can no longer live in isolation. Our borders are getting closer and closer. We must engage with our neighbors. To better each other Understand. And also to cope with the future together."
"We hope you share this sentiment. Due to the vast distances between our respective government planets and even warp messages taking hours to travel, we propose a common meeting to discuss directly all possible consequences Measures. This way we will surely make progress faster. We cordially invite you to be our guest. We have a colony near your borders with facilities ideal for such a meeting. Let us build the future together. One with peace For the future of the main theme, this is important for both the Federation and the descendants of the Sindi. Please get back to us as soon as possible. We will make all preparations for your arrival. My best wishes to all the peoples of the United Federation of Planets Greetings."
The message ended and the last scene of the video stopped there. Napoleon's eyes were fixed on the screen, as if wanting to see what would happen next.
"This news just came from the starship base?" Isaac turned to Admiral Peng. His eyes were calm and emotionless. It was an odd performance for such an explicit gesture of peace. At least that's what Admiral Peng thinks. Because he was so excited.
"Yes, arrived just a few minutes ago," Admiral Peng confirmed. The news exceeded all his expectations. Finally a chance to build a lasting relationship with a Sindy. This is the most mysterious race the Federation has ever encountered. for there is no information whatsoever concerning this race except Captain Archer's records. And the captain's data is a hundred years old. There was no further contact after that. Nothing like this has happened yet. With the exception of the Romulans, humans have thus far interacted repeatedly with every race they have encountered and know what they look like. Be it Vulcan, Klingon, Andorian or any other race. Even the Romulans would frequently appear in their sights, engaging in repeated battles with them, and even a brief war, although until nearly thirty years ago, they had no idea what the Romulans looked like.
But no one has encountered a Sindi again for a hundred years. No sightings of ships, no sightings of colonies, nothing. It was like they were lost in the immensity of the universe. Therefore, this contact is particularly gratifying and a real opportunity to build better relationships in the future. Because as Sindi Napolu said in his letter: As the ship speeds faster and faster, the universe seems to become smaller and smaller. In the future, various races will meet more frequently. If we don't want to end up in war, we must contact each other now.
"So, no one else knows this news yet?" Isaac concluded, pulling General Peng back from his thoughts.
"Yes. Except for us and the commander of Starship Base 34," Admiral Peng said with some confusion. Why would the Admiral ask this? All Commonwealth nations must know this news as soon as possible.
"And keep it like this for now," the Supreme Commander decided. "Tell no one." His eyes were stern.
Admiral Peng looked at him confused. At first he didn't know what to say. Ultimately, he said, "But the president has to know."
"Absolutely not. You don't tell anyone. That's an order," Isaac responded sternly. His eyes were narrowed into thin slits, with a cold light shining inside.
"But... why?" Admiral Peng was a little confused.
"We can't risk letting the Federal Council fall into a trap." Isaac took a deep breath and tried to relax. A smile briefly appeared on his face, though it was obviously false. "We have to check the authenticity of the news first and find out if the Sindi is serious. You see, this Sindi invited us. That's good, I'm happy about it. But we don't know anything about this race. They invite us to come to them, but what guarantee do we have that our delegation won't fall into an ambush? Who can guarantee that the Sindi take it seriously? Why don't they come to us if they want to talk to us? Or worse, This Sindi is probably a traitor." He pointed at the screen, which still showed Nabolu's face. "What if he doesn't represent the Cindy Alliance? What if he just invited us and then ran away with us in front of his own race? A criminal on the run from justice for his own race. No," he shook his head. "First, we must investigate the truth. If we know the Sindi are serious, we will inform the Council and the President. Then we will send diplomats. But now is not the time."
Admiral Peng nodded slowly. What Isaac said was not entirely wrong, no doubt about it. However, shouldn’t the president make this decision? This is a political issue after all. And even if he sends the military to investigate first, the president still has to give the order. After all, he was still standing on top of Starfleet. He is the only one who can issue reconnaissance missions. But will he? Or will he be so mesmerized by the joy of finally learning about the Sindi after centuries of mystery that he ignores any safety precautions?
Admiral Peng didn't know. But it wasn't his decision either. He received a direct order. In such a case, while certainly not attracting the attention of a court-martial, a dishonorable discharge is possible. Now he would never take the risk before retiring. So he gave a brief nod of his agreement.
"Order the Lexington to proceed toward Cindy territory, but not over the border. There they await new orders," Isaac ordered his men.
"Yes, sir," Admiral Peng confirmed. Then he turned and left the room. Before leaving, his eyes fell on the screen again. Nabolu's face was still there. Is Napolu playing a game with them? The excitement he felt after replaying the news had faded. Reason has once again prevailed. In fact, building a trusting relationship is a long and complex process.
Dre Ingmar struggled to suppress his sleepiness. His face contorted into a very strange and bizarre expression within seconds. But there is no choice. He never wanted to appear bored with his mission. If he was lucky, maybe no one would notice. He cast a quick glance at Depp and saw he didn't need to get his hopes up. The young man smiled at him with a smile that showed he had seen right through him. But to Ingmar's relief, he said nothing. Instead, he turned to his own data. There wasn't much for him to do, other than make the occasional minor course corrections and monitor navigation data in case anything unexpected happened. Although no one can say what those surprises will be. They follow precise routes through the area and use sensors to record every square centimeter of space. This data is then analyzed and recorded on a star map. In this way, the federation's understanding of this area will gradually expand. Every detail is carefully preserved as various investigations may be required in the future. After all, the mysteries of the universe are far from being fully explored. It seems as if some higher power in the universe prevents its inhabitants from discovering the purpose and meaning of everything.
Ingmar looked at his data again. The more he stared, the blurrier his vision became, forming a meaningless jumble of data. He never thought that such a small amount of work could be so trivial and boring, yet so hard. He used to think that there was nothing better than doing less things, passing the work time easily, and then starting the leisure time full of energy. But after a long day like this, there is almost no energy left. As if the monotony of doing nothing is more unbearable than a normal day job. This is ridiculous. However, after get off work, his mind was so tired that he could hardly focus on anything. It was like his brain shut down like a computer and could never be restarted. And this is even more true for Shu Ran.
So it took him a little longer than usual to notice the new data on his console. He blinked a few times, trying to focus. Quickly looked at the data. He was surprised, but a positive surprise. Because this seemed to bring about some new changes, and he was in desperate need of change at the moment. He turned to the captain's position.
"Captain, we have a call. It's Starfleet Headquarters. They want to speak to you. Over a secure connection."
Captain Olly looked up at him. His gray-blue eyes stared dimly at Dre Ingmar. "Then transfer the call to my room." He stood up, looking less like a soldier and more like his bones ached from sitting for so long. "Vice Captain, you are in charge of commanding the bridge." He handed over the command to his deputy. Then he left the bridge.
Officials on the bridge secretly watched him leave. As the elevator doors closed behind him, Depp leaned toward Ingmar and whispered conspiratorially: "Maybe there will be some progress now. Maybe we will get new instructions."
Ingmar just shrugged. He didn't expect much from this. What could happen? Yes, there may be new directives. But it certainly won’t be anything exciting. If they're lucky, they might just be transporting passengers. Maybe a diplomat. But they need not have any expectations of a better mission. Starfleet missions are far from as adventurous and exciting as the Academy's cadets imagine. The truth is, most tasks are simple routines. Just like any other job.
"Listen, Ingmar, I'm sorry about last night," Depp apologized sincerely. "I'm a little impulsive. If you don't want to say it, that's your business. I don't want to pry about it."
Ingmar waved his hand. "Long forgotten," he whispered.
Depp was visibly delighted. "Then tell me. What do you think we'll encounter? Adventure, glory, and feats?"
Ingmar smiled tiredly, uneasy at his colleague's admiration. "Feat? That's what I thought when I graduated and left the academy. But the truth is, feats always come with sacrifice. There's also personal pain and suffering. No one can become a hero if they don't pay the price for the goal. This has happened in the past two years. It became too obvious to me during the year. Being a hero is not something worth pursuing. At least not at any cost."
Depp turned to his console again, dissatisfied. "You are a pessimist. I will keep hoping for a change until the captain confirms it. Or news comes to the contrary."
Ingmar just sighed. Let Depp think whatever he thinks. They continued to carry out their tasks in silence.
However, Depp is right. Just two hours later, the leadership team gathered in a conference room. The captain, of course, sat at the head of the long table. To his left was his second in command, Commander Porterson. He was a smaller man with a slightly crooked face. Neither his ears nor his eyes are perfectly symmetrical on his head. This doesn't seem obnoxious, but it undermines his authority image. It's not easy for a person to lead a group of subordinates. But Porterson makes up for it with sternness. He demanded absolute obedience and was quick to punish those who did not follow his orders. His eyes reflected the severity. There is nothing friendly about them, but hard and cold as steel. He is extremely unpopular among the crew, but everyone follows his orders. Not out of respect for him, but because of the power he held on the pecking order as number two.
Next to him sat Maianni, the Lexington's chief engineer.
Ingemar himself was seated to the right of captain Olly Lion and therefore directly in the eye of Porterson. He avoided meeting the commander's eyes. The unfriendly and stern look made him uneasy. He could rarely stand a look like that. Whenever possible, he would avoid any contact with Porterson.
Next to Ingmar sat the fleet doctor. She is a thin woman with a haggard face, and her messy black hair sticks out from her head like a wire, as if it had not been combed for a long time. Sparse gray hair interspersed among them. Combined with her downward-extending nose, she looks more like a medieval herbal witch than a doctor. She has a very strange sense of humor that only a few of the crew understand. She crossed her long, bony fingers on her knees and looked at the captain expectantly.
There's also security chief Atlan, a tall, muscular woman whom Dre Ingmar never determines whether she's a woman or a man. At least it's almost invisible physically. And her face doesn't look feminine at all. Perhaps such a person would be best suited for a security service position. There, beauty is not valued but rather strength and the ability to solve complex situations.
The last member of the group was Bartholomew, a scientific officer. Bartholomew came from the planet Denubra. Like most of his race, he is devoted to science, but prefers general science. In comparison, the doctors of Denubura are more famous. They are considered the best doctors in the Federation and operate as teachers and advisors on planets throughout the Federation. Bartholomew seemed to enjoy his status as the only alien on the ship. He enjoys observing humans and learning about their rituals and habits. To Ingmar's relief, he was more willing than Jeffrey to share his findings. Jeffrey only expressed a theory when he thought he had collected enough data. Bartholomew, on the other hand, sometimes needed to be stopped to prevent him from going on and on. However, he is a refreshing addition to this unique leadership team.
