The airlock hissed closed behind me. I checked the sampler built into the helmet. Oxy-nitro mix was within human tolerances. Some of the proportions of the inert gases were odd but it was breatheable at least short-term. That was good. First contact, in my experience, always went better if there was as little tech as possible seperating me from the contactees. I took off the helmet and carefully placed on the floor near the airlock. I inhaled. The air tasted flat and heavy. The ship interior was deathly quiet. I had to duck to get through the doorway. The entire race then, not just the crew member I had glimpsed through the porthole, were much shorter than the human norm. Still everything was silent other than the muffled echoes of my own footsteps. A chill ran down my spine. This could be a trap. Yet, it didn't feel that way. I sensed not malice but sorrow. I reached out, probably very clumisily, with my new-found talent. There! A flutter of mind near exhaustion, but still alive, beckoned me. I moved carefuly in that direction. ************************************************* Credits: lalverson, Jim Burton, RDNA, Wyrmmaster and Ra Graphics http://www.n-link.com/~lalverson/images/exeter/exeter_mission.htm