Strangers in the Night by Chipka

2D • Science Fiction • posted on Oct 22, 2007

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Description

Q: What happens when you meet a Nemaean in the dark? A: Nothing. On the rare occasions that Core System vessels are allowed to breech the virtually impermeable membrane of the Nemaean Frontier, we are often confronted with odd tableaus set against an interstellar or interplanetary backdrop. I witnessed such a tableau on the way to a diplomatic meeting well within Nemaean territory. En route to Biyla (the ninth, icy moon of Bransk,) our shuttles came into range of a flotilla of Nemaean heavy cruisers sharing co-orbital formation with four Rüskoy frigates. As custom dictates, we hailed the vessels and offered salutes to each of the vessel captains, and according to established convention, the Rüskoy vessels responded in kind. Of the Nemaeans, nothing. We did notice, however, that all six member vessels of the Nemaean flotilla seemed inordinately interested in probing the dense cloud decks of Bransk itself. As to why the Nemaeans should take such profound interest in a fairly run-of-the-mill superjovian planet is beyond me. The Rüskoy maintain that such interest is of purely planetological significance…but I have some trouble believing this, even as I read (and re-read) the terse reports filed (on open record) with the Rüskoy Ministry of Planetological Survey. --Florian Grandt/Personal Logs (unpublished)