Lt. Colonel Hadrubsthut reports: "At 1300 hours on day 172 of the voyage of the Battleship Ares, we found the transmitter on Dead World 21236. It was of alien make and was pretty primitive. Simple circuit board with CHEMICAL batteries, no less. It was a video of a green woman saying something in a language no one spoke. She showed her point of origin as EXTRA-GALACTIC! Supposedly from the 'Child Galaxy' some 75,000 light years away to the north and coreward of the Mother Galaxy. She, the alien, appeared on day 174 of the Voyage. We were told she was standing on the SIDE of the structure, looking at the Battleship. She strolled up the side of it as if under gravity and then reached the top. We were armed with particle weapons and ready for anything. We thought. She popped up on top with a cheerful smirk and said in the Common tongue of our home world, Chaldea, the following: 'Hiya, guys! Whassup? I thought this world might have some life on it, but I NEVER expected THIS! Are you guys descendants of these Balaamese colonists?' Since I was in command, I responded as per trained protocols, 'I am Lieutenant Colonel Hadrubsthut of the Space-battleship Ares from the Human Empire of Space! I demand to know what you know of the death of this world!' She looked surprised and filled with disgust at me for some reason. She responded ,'Just met and already you're making demands! Sound like an old boy-friend of mine!' One of the ratings laughed. I ignored him, and put him on report later. I continued, "We claim this dead planet of the DEATH disease. How can you live without succumbing to it's affect?' She blinked and sniffed. she said, 'Oh, the BLIGHT? I'm immune to it. I've had my shots, thank you very much! It's a disease that the Jongwe sowed on all Human planets they encountered. They're hateful machine life that hates humans. Just like the Scourge, except machines. Hey, you guys know any of the Trayodashan species around here?' 'What is a Jongwe? What are 'trayodashan?' Where are you from? HOW did you get here? We detected no ship!' I was outraged at her familiar and casual attitude, quite unlike our Imperial Ladies of the court. She tisked me and said saddly, 'Wow, you guys are completely ignorant of everything! Alrighty--Intergalactic species 101 IN SESSION! The Scourge are from Triangulum galaxy, that no longer exists any more because the human fore-bearers, the Althan Krommiums, blew it to shit and gone four million years ago. The Scourge remember and hate ALL the descendants of that species and want to wipe out ALL of us. You are a human being, so you're dead meat to them,too.' 'Trayodashans are a group of the Galactic species that DO NOT HATE humans, and will trade with them, AND NOT shoot them on sight. That last part is REALLY important. Humans have a real bad name, and finding people who DON'T shoot us on sight is important. The Jongwe are sneakier than most, so they came up with an ultimate Disease that kills all biological life, called the BLIGHT. They hit us with it, but we came up with a cure, and so we hit the lottery and have traded it to the Xantini, one of the Trayodashan species for BIG-BIG money!' 'You didn't see my ship, since I don't need a ship to fly through space. AKK! I'm sorry! Where are my manners? Hiya, I'm Martya. I'm of the Scav species. We were built as a slave species by humans of my planet, but we got better.' I was about to make a statement when a huge child-woman's voice thundered from the waters, 'MARTYA! YOU IDIOT! RETURN TO BALAAM IMMEDIATELY! The planet is under attack by the Scourge!' Martya looked shocked. She said, "Oops, crap! Gotta run! That's Neblae, goddess of water. Don't go ANYWHERE! I'll be back in a day or so (if I'm lucky!)' She then flew off some five hundred meters, then jumped to FTL space in the Atmosphere! I have the records!" The Commander of the Ares didn't look happy. --TO BE CONTINUED!--