“Do they do fireworks?”

“Don’t know. We’ll have to ask the anthropologist what they’ve found so far.”

“That said, won’t be difficult for us to make some. Spatial charges, payloads for colours. Sure, we can knock something up.”

“We don’t want to look like we’re firing on them when they arrive though.”

“Universal translator?”

“We’ve sampled enough of their media by now that we’ll be understandable at least. Might not catch all fineries of technical language the first time though.”

“Atmosphere?”

“You intending to have them aboard?”

“Should be prepared just in case.”

“Nothing we can’t handle and ours shouldn’t be anything they can’t handle, but can’t be certain just yet.”

“Any more scans of us?”

“A few more. Well, quite a few more actually. Rather persistent even.”

The staff meeting had been rapid-fire questions and only a few answers at the time, but it had set the groundwork and tone for the next few hours of work. Atlantis was having visitors. Visitors who up until recently had no definitive proof of life outside their star system and were, instead of winning a race they’d just made pointless by demonstrating their new propulsive technology, rapidly approaching them.

The Qalians had in the last hour broken the lightspeed barrier and done what Atlantis herself couldn’t do right now – go to warp. There was no running away from these curious people.

Assignments had been devised and handed out, staff dismissed and within a few short minutes Tikva found herself sitting down opposite her executive officer in her ready room. Vilo and Ra had returned just in time for the staff meeting, dragging along the ship’s former beating heart with them. Ra had looked a combination of excited and exhausted, while Vilo Kendris had projected, was still projecting, an air of restraint. The giddiness of first contact that the rest of the crew were feeling, to one level or another, wasn’t something the Romulan woman was experiencing.

“Alright Kendris, what is it?” Tikva asked after a few moments and more importantly Fightmaster delivering a cup of tea for both of them before making himself scarce.

“All of this discussion about how we can accommodate these aliens when they arrive, but I noted the lack of discussion regarding defensive preparations.” There was a remarkable lack of emotion in Kendris’ voice, even in the flavour of her feelings. It wasn’t an accusation about being lax in defensive preparation, just an observation.

“Do you feel we need to be defensively minded?” Tikva asked, seeking clarification, hoping to prompt something from the other woman.

“The Republic’s first contact protocols are…vague and ill-thought-out. We are surrounded on all sides by established powers and neighbours. But my reading of Imperial procedures hinted at a…less than welcoming stance.” She hadn’t really said anything with those sentences and continued to buy herself time with attention given to her cup of tea, even a testing taste. “It seems foolhardy to assume these Qalians may not be coming here with hostile intentions. We are after all inadvertently invading their territory.”

“I’ll give you that last point.” Tikva nodded a few times, gathering her own thoughts. “But what do you expect them to do to us? At best we can tell they’ve some rather nasty fusion weapons, but nothing we detected on the Nimma.”

“They could attempt to ram us.”

“At sublight? Hell, Atlantis would dance circles around that tin-can they’re flying in.” Tikva sat back, smiling. “They aren’t a threat and until I see evidence they are, I refuse to consider them as such.”

“Is that Starfleet’s typical approach to these situations?”

“Yes.”

Kendris went quiet, staring at her tea, her head canting side to side in thought for nearly a minute. “This position of treating newcomers to the interstellar stage as equals…is certainly…un-Romulan.”

“It’s un-Vulcan as well,” Tikva shot back, which drew a raised eyebrow from Vilo. “Ever studied much history around the founding of the Federation?”

“No honestly. I had other concerns. Still do.”

“Vulcan made contact with Earth after Zefram Cochrane broke the warp barrier, but then spent decades trying to hold Earth back, cultivating a particular way of doing things. A Vulcan way of doing things.”

“They treated Earth like a colony,” Vilo summarised.

“Basically,” Tikva confirmed. “It bred a certain level of resentment, of distaste for all things Vulcan. When the Federation was founded and the rules and ways of working were being ironed out, how to handle first contact was a big deal. Vulcans liked their approach, Tellarites had their way of doing things, Andorians theirs. And Humans…well, we didn’t want to see the Federation coming to be resented by new neighbours because of some heavy-handed approach. And it all starts with first introductions.”

“Which I have been told are everything,” Kendris continued, but the sarcasm was evident in the flavour of her emotions to Tikva.

“Not everything, but certainly make a lasting impression. Be welcoming, say hello, celebrate the achievement of breaking the warp barrier, don’t rock up into orbit without an invite – all things to help the locals be at ease, or at least not feel threatened.”

“And if they are hostile from the onset?” Kendris continued.

“Fusion bombs and lasers are going to be awfully annoying, but nothing we can’t deal with. I’d have to hit the library to find an example of a first contact in the last hundred years where a species had just become warp-capable and proved to be a viable and legitimate threat to a starship. Without the ship’s captain doing something completely stupid that is.” She laughed and it drew a slight smile from Kendris, who hid it behind a ship of her tea.

“We’ll be fine. It’s a single warp prototype. We’ll let them set the stage for how to proceed. And besides, until help arrives with a new warp core, we’re not going anywhere.” Tikva waited for Kendris to nod once in understanding. “Now, did you manage to get some of that time you wanted with Ra?”

“You need to blow off some steam,” Lin commented as she sat opposite Tikva in the Captain’s Mess, devoid of all life at this particular time. No table separated the two women, the large low-backed chairs hard against the windowsill which was covered in an ornate piece of wood to make it into a side table of sorts.

“Hmm?” Tikva said a few moments later, finally acknowledging Lin and offering her a smile that conveyed quite a bit with just a simple look.

“I said you need to blow off some steam. You’re all wound up waiting for the Qalians to arrive.” Lin leaned forward, elbows on her knees.

“First contact, proper first contact. It’s what every starship captain hopes for.”

“Every?” Lin challenged.

“Well, all the good ones at least.” Tikva chuckled once. “Four hours and then I’m up on the bridge representing the Federation to a whole new species.”

“You’ve done that before.”

“Not like this!” Tikva exclaimed. “They’ve just broken the warp barrier. They’re about to learn the universe is full of life and I’m going to be the face of that.” She breathed in, then out. “Every other first contact has been with species already exploring the galaxy. Or that one time we stuffed up and got caught so we made out excuses and left to minimise the Prime Directive breach.”

“How did Command take that by the way?” Lin asked.

“A very long and mealymouthed statement of disappointment at getting caught but an acknowledgement that we didn’t technically do anything wrong at the time, just got unlucky.” Tikva shook her head. “I can do this.”

“Of course you can,” Lin agreed. “After all, first contact has to be easier than playing arbiter to Romulan politics.”

“Or getting kidnapped by conspiracy whackjobs.”

“Negotiating a reunion tour of the Federation Alliance,” Lin added.

“Don’t,” Tikva said with a wave of her hand, “don’t bring that up, please. That whole deed is tainted by the fact I was working for the Chief Spook himself.”

“But you did it,” Lin said.

“Damn right I did.”

“And you made it look good.”

Lin’s final comment brought a full laugh out of Tikva and an accusation of being a flirt that went unchallenged. But eventually the laughter died out and the waiting resumed, small talk filling the air for a few minutes before Lin stood up and held out a hand.

“Let’s get some exercise,” Lin said.

“Lin…”

“Something to help clear the mind,” the taller woman insisted. “I could do with a real opponent in the arena and you need a distraction.”

Tikva’s protest didn’t hold up in the face of Lin’s insistence for long before she let herself be dragged to her feet, taking the chance to rock up and kiss Lin briefly on the cheek. “Just mind the face, would you? We’ve got guests coming around after all.”