Greetings. My name is Gothar. I’m an anthropologist and a lieutenant in the Alliance Reserve Army. Sounds pretty fancy, I know, but my post is on a world far from the Falgaran war, so life can be boring. And I’m okay with boring. I’m far more of an academic than a soldier.
Volponine 10, my home planet is far from my current post, but there is a native, non-sentient species on this planet, Terra, that resembles us enough for me to blend in. Fortunately my people are very comfortable in our bare fur since the native beavers don’t wear clothing.
The highest level inhabitants are unaware that they are not the only sentient species in the universe, which makes them fascinating subjects. They have no idea how many aliens they share their world with. I just hope they never meet the Falgarans.
Anyway, I made my research bunker in a lovely stream not too far from a large population of humans. There is often a crowd walking along trails, and they seem to get a real thrill out of catching a glimpse of me. They have provided me with enough data for at least three grants beyond the major funding I currently have.
My instructors at University tried to tell me that studying a species on the verge of making First Contact would be a poor choice. The time frame for study would be so short I would have a hard time getting my project renewed. But that has not been the case. It helps that Terra is a favorite vacation home of one of the Alliance Field Agents, who is also the daughter of the leader of the Alliance. I hope to meet her one day. She has aided my career in ways she’ll never know.
The Alliance tends to keep a closer eye on this sector of space, so the chances of a First Encounter (an official one anyway, there have been several inadvertent contacts that get dismissed by the authorities) are lower than normal, so my funding should be secure for quite some time. Plus, I always add a few years of data analysis in the budget, and I am quite certain I will have no trouble getting on the speaker circuit where I can bring in the big credits. The people of this planet are fascinating.
This week I plan to study how the humans interact with a migrating waterfowl that has temporarily shifted their travel path. The locals are excited to see a species most will never see. I am quite excited to observe their observations.
Then the com chimed. As soon as I saw the Alliance emblem on the screen I wanted to run and pretend that I was already out in the field. But I had sworn an oath as a reservist. Mainly because it was the only way to get this cushy job.
Then I realized calling me for help meant that someone was desperate. I was not trained in soldiery things, other than writing reports. I excelled at that so much during my basic training that I did little else. They did make sure that I could safely handle a weapon, but I think that was more to keep me from accidentally shooting someone.
Besides, there’s an unofficial Alliance embassy in the center of the northern continent. If they needed my help, things were dire.
With great reluctance I answered the call. I was not ready for the end of the world.
“Gother here.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful young Osanu on the screen. I hadn’t expected to see someone from home. She had the most beautiful brown fur, perfectly formed ears, and large, yellow teeth I had ever seen. Her military cap sat on her head at just the right angle. My mind wandered into visions of building a dam and raising a bunch of kits with her.
Those ideas were far more pleasant to consider than the thought of war.
“Lt. Gothar, can you hear me?”
Her raised voice pulled me back to the present. I shook my fur out, feeling oddly naked without my uniform. Then I pretended to twiddle a couple of knobs and sighed.
“Now you’re there. Must have been a sunspot or something, but you’re clear now.”
The twitching of her whiskers let me know that she didn’t believe me, but she was a professional and carried on.
“Admiral Jaraicocer wants to speak with you. Please hold while I patch him through.”
“Wait!” My brain twirled in circles. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Admirals didn’t speak directly to peons like me. Not unless something was very wrong. But she didn’t seem very concerned. It was all so puzzling.
“Let me get dressed before I talk to him, please.”
I cringed at how stupid that sounded, but I didn’t want to face a superior of a different species while masquerading as a non-sentient. She waited while I dashed to the wardrobe and donned my uniform. Putting on my hat settled my nerves. It had been a long time since I’d worn clothing. Maybe I needed to return to civilization for a vacation.
I took a deep breath and nodded for her to make the connection. Just as the screen faded I mentally kicked myself for failing to get her name. My dream of home and kids with her would never happen if I couldn’t find her again.