《Contact First》


 1 - Prologue

    In the year 2039 a narrow beam energy signal appeared aimed squarely at earth from the TRAPPIST system. Several decades earlier it was discovered to have several planets in the system''s habitable zone. The communication consisted of a layered set of repeating data over several thousand wavelengths. Over the next few months scientists discovered that the lower wavelengths carried an encoded numerical language which could then be used to interpret the more complicated messages carried on the higher wavelengths. After half a year of painstaking work the signal was fully decoded. It described a small satellite launched along a precise trajectory towards the fourth planet of our solar system. The satellite was accelerated to relativistic speeds using focused lasers transmitted from within the Trappist system and would arrive several centuries later. Included was a package of advanced research that humanity would need to have ready in order to receive the satellite and decelerate it safely.


    By the time the champagne corks were flying to celebrate the turn of the 22nd century humanity had exploded out into space. The alien data provided the kick that humanity needed to turn from petty squabbling and unite to explore the final frontier. Major government and corporate leaders worked together to create the framework for the United Federation of Sol. UFS spaceports went from scaffolding to daily launches in every major city around the globe. Ships floated like dandelion seeds, spreading on solar wind to grow into colonies. Luna, venus, soon every major planetary body was abuzz. Mars remained a deserted planet except for military and research purposes. Only the most important of officials and scientists knew that the amazing fortune that had befallen earth could have disastrous consequences should the satellite impact Mars.


    Time flew by. Colonies grew into cities. Children looked up to see the gaseous atmosphere of jupiter or the rings of saturn through the glow of a biosphere on their way to school. Advances in automation and robotics created a surplus of food and basic supplies. Pilots, mechanics, and technicians became the working class of a society moving into the stars. Inspired construction projects on scales never before possible became the day to day. From the continental greenhouses of venus to the subterranean caverns of Titan. Asteroids were pulled from their orbits and broken down to feed the hunger of a society on a technological warpath. The UFS remained vigilant, however, sitting on the knowledge that we are not alone in the universe.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    We were lucky beyond belief that someone out there in the dark took pity on us. It would have been just as easy for them to give no warning, and instead send that satellite to earth to devastating effect. Murphy''s law and common sense dictates that where one exists, there are likely to be others. Military training became a part of the life cycle of the citizens of the federation. The four year stint was seen as a rite of passage before starting your life as a part of society. Although most people were unaware of the finer details, it was apparent to anyone looking at the larger picture that we were preparing for something. Society started to plant deeper roots, making these foreign worlds into homes and communities.


    <hr>


    2397 - Mars orbit, Egeria Station


    The command center was a hive of activity as checks were conducted and systems initialized. Scientists flitted by like mayflies as communicators beeped and holoscreens spat out green tinted readouts. Nervous energy was thick in the air as everyone anticipated the culmination of over three hundred years of work. Massive fusion reactors under the planet''s surface thrummed with barely restrained power as energy fed into a gleaming metallic maze criss crossing the planet. Metal fingers reached up, overshadowing the mighty olympus mons and trying to grab the stars. All over the solar system, people quickly turned to look as gigantic energy lances shot from the dusty fourth planet.


    Two years later. The same people that clapped loudly at the successful activation of project Hermes now wait with baited breath. A silver capsule trailing bright photonic sails is captured by a net of grav beams and guided with care bordering on reverence into the station. Holoscreens across the headquarters project an image of the sleek craft settling in the bay. Data connections are established and the holoscreens blink to white. Slowly an image forms on the screen. Across the headquarters people stare in wonder as a wholly alien face stares back.


    "Contact established. Welcome to the universe."

 2 - Leo Rising

    Acoustic notes drifted through the small cafe. Patrons sipped their coffee and browsed the holonet to the cheerful tunes. Leo''s low baritone voice formed a pleasant counterpoint to the light song, creating a peaceful atmosphere amidst the coffee stained venusian skywood furniture. He finished up his last song for the morning just as the artificial sunlight coming off the biodome reached its crisp noonday peak. He waved to the owner of the small cafe as he carefully packed his guitar into its padded carry case. The barista gave him a wave as he headed for the door, registering the beep of his comm chip as the credits for the morning were transferred.


    Striding out into the crisp air, he took a second to enjoy the view of Jupiter in it''s tidally locked orbit overhead before heading towards a nearby sandwich shop. With a thought he placed his order and sent a message to his friend Paul to let him know he was on his way. He had met Paul during his four years of military service and had served alongside him as a member of the UFS 61st fighter wing. He had enjoyed his time in the military immensely, despite the strict order and tight living conditions. The sheer joy and adrenalin rush of flying was enough to make up for almost any treatment and he quickly rose to become the team leader for their Flight of twenty light fighters.


    Paul was like him, a fellow adrenalin junkie, and they had both moved out to the Europan capital of Minos following their departure from the military. Although they were given the option to renew their military service contract and continue working for the UFS, they had both chosen to find their fortune elsewhere. Rounding the corner, he pushed open the door to the sandwich shop. He waved at Paul, already sitting at a table, before grabbing his sandwich from the counter.


    Tearing the wrapping off his sandwich, he grabbed half of it and gestured towards Paul, "How''s the search for work going? Any flying gigs yet?"


    "Cargo and passenger runs. Nothing good." he rasped. Paul had been the victim of an unfortunate accident when a micrometeorite had slipped through the scanners and impacted his fighter during a training exercise. The impact cracked his helmet and exposed him to vacuum for several seconds before the automated sealant kicked in. He came away with a good story and a voice reminiscent of someone who smoked a pack a day for ten years, his sinister voice seeming totally at odds with his friendly demeanor.


    "Hopefully something interesting comes up soon. Can''t be getting rusty a month out of the Wing. Be glad you have that guitar to pass the time and earn a few credits."


    Leo smirked through a mouthful of sandwich before giving his guitar case an affectionate pat. "What else has been going on? Don''t tell me you''ve just been sitting on your ass all day waiting for an opportunity. You''re definitely cooking something up that I''m probably going to regret helping you with."


    A beep sounded from his comm chip as a file popped up. He pulled up the file to see a page advertising high speed tours of Europa''s canyon wildlands, advertising expert aerobatics with low inertial dampening as a must-try tourist experience.


    "I''m looking for a ship right now. I have enough saved from the UFS for the downpayment on something small and fast. I''m just waiting for something to show up that can handle the pace and the passengers. What about you?" Paul asked Leo, popping a chip in his mouth.


    Leo snorted, "I expected as much. Let me know when you find a ship. Breaking into the music industry is great, but if I don''t set foot in a cockpit soon I may have to turn to piracy just to get some use out of all this adrenaline that''s going to waste."Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Paul laughed at Leo''s faux sad expression, "Have you checked out any of the virtual reality sims yet? There''s a big title coming out tomorrow. Some massive companies behind it apparently."


    "No, but if they''re good enough to tempt you I might just have to. What''s the one you''re talking about?"


    "A new world simulator called Contact. It uses the new quantum linked communication arrays. A big open universe with aliens and opportunities. They''re claiming total realism, and I''m suspending my disbelief for now. They''ve got a giant AI core under the ice on Titan running the thing that makes the academy simulators from our flight school days look like some amateur''s science project."


    "That good? Sounds like a great way to pass some time. Find me once it goes online. It might just keep me from tearing the rest of my hair out." Leo replied sarcastically, standing as he tossed the crumpled wrapper into the recycling unit in the corner. Waving goodbye to Paul, he grabbed his guitar case and headed in the direction of his apartment.


    A simple one bedroom flat with the essential furniture he had acquired over the last month living there. Setting down his guitar case next to the rack holding his two other guitars, he let out a long breath. He sat down at his desk and opened up the holonet interface, placing an order for a Contact VR pod. He then navigated to his contacts list and placed a call to his father. His parents, Ray and Victoria Weise, were chronic workaholics. They met during their time in the military science academy. His mother was a practicing psychologist for the UFS troops while his father worked in quantum physics, trying to make theory into reality while bouncing from one classified science facility to another. After Leo left for flight school, his father had been transferred to a facility on Mars. The screen flashed green as the call connected and linked to his comm chip, showing an image of a man in his early fifties with broad shoulders and a silver grey goatee.


    Leo grinned at the display, "How''s the weather on mars this time of year?"


    An answering smile came from Ray as he replied, "Not bad, though they''re still getting some of the issues with it ironed out."


    Leo rolled his eyes and swore he could hear the sound of cymbals in the background.


    "What about you? Any leads for work on Europa yet?"


    "Music for the moment. Plenty of places to play and keep the credits rolling in. Paul is working on acquiring a ship for a tourist trap he''s working on. If it works out then I''ll have options as a pilot."


    "Great, sounds like you have everything planned out." An odd look flashed across his face for a second before he added, "Oh, and you should check out Contact when you get the chance. It''s a new virtual reality game set to hit the market soon."


    "Paul mentioned it to me earlier. I put in an order for a pod right before I called you. What''s so special about it?"


    His father turned serious for a second, staring into the camera. "I can''t say much, but it''s related my work here."


    This caused Leo to pause for a second. Everyone knew that mars was special. The crazy construction projects and military quarantine had conspiracy theorists frothing at the mouth for a few decades before everything settled down. It remained a topic of speculation for centuries until seven years ago, when it lit up brighter than the noonday sun over mercury and stayed that way for two years before shutting off again. If this game was somehow related to Mars, then whatever it was would certainly be interesting.


    He shot his father a quizzical look, "Alright, thanks for the tip." He nodded goodbye, "Let''s talk again soon."


    "Sounds good!"


    The connection cut out and the holoscreen faded out.

 3 - Cosmic Delivery

    Leo woke up early and prepared for the day. Over breakfast he checked his commchip notifications. An order receipt for the pod popped up, followed by a message from Paul with a time and address. He had found a ship that had potential and was going to look at it that afternoon. After breakfast he put his plate into the sonic cleaner and headed out, acoustic guitar in hand.


    He played at Daisy''s Coffee on weekends and the morning customers enjoyed the light notes with their steaming cups of coffee. He sat down in his usual spot in the corner by the window, waving at the owner, Daisy. After giving the strings a couple of experimental plucks he launched into a classic song</a> and let his mind drift into the music. His fingers danced across the strings as beams of morning light shone off the polished wood.


    The Electritars currently available could easily be configured to play as any type of guitar, however; he had always felt that the classic acoustic guitar had a certain charisma. He had even gone as far as to learn how to build his own guitar from scratch. The guitar sitting on his lap right now was his own brainchild, created over the course of several months shortly before he entered the military. He had created it from a combination of dark Jovian Greenwood and a rosewood variant cultivated on Titan. It had followed him through his time in the military and never failed to put a smile on his face.


    After finishing up at the Cafe, he dropped his guitar off at home and grabbed a bite to eat before catching a hovertrain towards the spaceport. The Minos spaceport occupied a prominent position in the city, looming over the rest of the local biosphere as ships buzzed towards it. The spaceport formed a giant cylinder extending upwards like a grecian column, supporting the sky as it met the top of the biodome. The AI aboard the spaceport coordinated the mass of ships as they entered and exited the center of the column from outside the biosphere. The smaller cargo transport shuttles and hovertrains buzzed overhead, dispersing the freshly delivered goods within the city.


    At the spaceport he left the hovertrain and took a small transport up to the civilian sector to the address that Paul had sent him. As he stepped off the transport, he spotted Paul and another tall man having an enthusiastic discussion. He walked over and was introduced to Jinas, the owner of a converted Quaron personnell transport.


    Jinas was in the process of extolling the virtues of his ship to Paul.


    "The Quaron is a model that the UFS has been perfecting for the last forty years. It was developed as a way to get a team planetside and back again in short order. While they were all based off the same hull, my girl Felix here is top of the line. The aft cargo area has been converted to hold extra passengers. She can seat thirty and have them halfway around the planet in a blink."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    The ship did look quite formidable for a passenger vessel. Four modular, mobile engines were mounted on short struts surrounding a sleek chassis painted in an icy white. The rear engines were mounted slightly higher, allowing for the rear hatch to swing down for quick loading and unloading. Jinas gave them the ten cent tour, and they went over the ship with a fine tooth comb. After confirming that it was up to scratch, Paul haggled with Janis until they eventually agreed on an acceptable price.


    Although Leo was onboard with Paul''s business plans, he chose to fly as needed rather than partnering with paul to purchase the ship. He was still holding on for an opportunity to make a musical debut, or failing that, a more lucrative business venture. He congratulated Paul on his buy before deciding to leave him to his own devices. The ''kid in a candy shop'' look on Paul''s face was all too familiar and the metal music blasting from the closing hatch meant that Paul was about to burn atmosphere hard enough to liquefy a more sensible pilot.


    After heading home he showered and browsed the holonet for a short while before drifting off to sleep. The next morning his comm let off a chirpy two tone beep letting him know that there was someone at the door to his apartment. He opened the door to find a deliveryman with a box the size of a refrigerator on a magcart.


    "Leo Weise?"


    Leo nodded in affirmation.


    The man gestured to the large box, "This is the Contact VR Pod you ordered."


    With a mental swipe, he sent an acknowledgement of delivery to the man''s commchip and watched as the flashy pod was linked up and placed in his bedroom. He had ordered it in a matte black finish with ocean blue accent lighting and even in an age of interplanetary travel it looked futuristic. After breakfast, he booted up the pod and linked it up with his commchip. It was a monday and, free of any other obligations, he decided to dive right in. The pod was a pinnacle of biotechnology, surrounding the user in nanofluids that siphoned away sweat and kept the user clean and hydrated. He lay down in the pod, enjoying the oddly refreshing sensation of the nanofluid as the lid closed and the neural interface initiated.


    He saw only black for several seconds before the black shifted. At first he saw only the narrow, light black that occurs when a person closes their eyes. It shifted a shade darker as the lid of the pod slid shut, and the light behind his eyelids cut off. Then the black gained depth suddenly, becoming so stiflingly empty and far away that he felt he could fall in and be lost forever. He gazed out over this abyss for several seconds before a point of light formed in the distance. Suddenly it exploded out, shooting beams of light in every direction. Where the points of light hit, new lights formed that shot beams of their own. Eventually, one of the closer lights shot a beam towards Leo.


    The beam of light approached him, coming closer and closer until it was all he could see. It eclipsed his field of view, bringing with it a warmth that felt at once burning and rejuvenating. A voice rumbled out from within the light that seemed to carry all of the weight of the darkness it had crossed. It filled his senses and he felt himself losing consciousness as two words reverberated within his skull.


    <strong class="s570a4-14 kYTLgH">"CONTACT ESTABLISHED"

 4 - SHAAARK!

    Leo slowly regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to a view of a room full of bunks, one of which he was laying on. He was dressed in a black nanomesh bodysuit and a pair of black boots. Not knowing where he was or how he had gotten there, he swung his legs to the floor and looked around the bland room. Forty military style bunks were arrayed neatly along the grey walls. It reminded him of his time in the military, minus the jibing bunkmates and barking CO. Deciding that the utterly bland barracks had nothing more to offer him, he made his way through the door and out into a long corridor. The corridor was long, and doors similar to the one he had just exited lined both sides. On the floor, outlined in a fluorescent glowing green were a number of arrows pointing along the corridor.


    Lacking any other ideas, he walked towards the end of the corridor and emerged into a room filled with desks and accompanying holoscreens. He sat down at the closest desk and watched as the holoscreen flashed the Contact logo for a couple seconds before a warm voice was projected to his comm chip. On the screen appeared a feminine face with silver skin sporting a friendly smile.


    "Welcome to the Sol GateHub Leo. The Gate network is a constantly expanding web of travel portals that allows for instantaneous travel between linked Gates. Each Gate is accompanied by a GateHub that serves as a population center, trade hub, and security checkpoint when traveling between systems. Earth is the most recent system to receive a Gate and you are currently located on the Sol GateHub. I am the Artificial Intelligence core responsible for the management of this GateHub and will answer any questions you may have."


    He pondered for a second before realizing that it had spoken to him through his commchip. He mentally called up his commchip menu and was greeted with two options:


    DataLink:


    UFS HoloNet


    GATE WebLink


    He selected the second option and was greeted with an introductory message. He quickly skimmed it and realized that many of the commchip functions carried over within Contact. First and foremost he needed a ship and an idea of his options for earning some quick money. Closing out the menu he turned back to the AI.


    "What trade services does this station offer? I would like to purchase a ship and some necessities."


    "This station is equipped with a trading zone for physical transactions in addition to a WebLink tradehub and auction house. All transactions are carried out using Gate Credits. You may also pay for the use of a NanoFab to design items that require customization. As a new member of the gate network, 750GC has been deposited into your account."


    Out of curiosity, he asked "How many systems does the Gate network cover?"


    "157,382 Systems are currently accessible via Gate transport. The Sol system is the 422nd species to join the gate network."


    At least he wouldn''t get bored, he thought.


    Shaking his head, he decided to start small. Accessing the WebLink he quickly found a map of the GateHub and located his current position. The map helpfully notified him that intrastation transport took place via a network of transport pods. How big was this station exactly? He adjusted the scale of the map and realized that the hub formed a 20 kilometer long hollow cylinder that was slowly rotating in space near the edge of the solar system. He grinned subconsciously, this game was shaping up to be quite the experience.


    Leaving the desk he headed to the nearest pod and transferred the location of the shipyard from his commchip. A small sensation of motion carried through the pod''s inertial dampeners and he watched glowing dot representing his current location travel down station towards one of the main commercial docks. Stepping out of the pod, he stopped short and gaped in wonder.


    Ships of all shapes, sizes, and makes were visible through viewports all along the promenade. Drones moved cargo and passengers stepped off freshly landed transports, heat visibly venting from cooling exhaust ports. Taking in the bustling scene, he was struck by the distinctly non-human appearances of the people entering the station. He saw fins, fur, scales, skin, and feathers all mingling within the diverse crowd. In fact, he stood out as being the only human present in the docking bay and several nearby people looked at him with interest.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    As he stood in place, experiencing a double take quickly followed by a triple take, his reverie was interrupted by a friendly sounding voice.


    "Greetings. You are a human, yes?"


    He turned to find a jovial alien looking at him. The alien stood at 1.7 meters tall and sported small blue and black mottled fins on his forearms and the back of his head. Leo found him rather reminiscent of earth''s oceanic sharks and was rather curious what he wanted.


    He nodded in the affirmative, before realizing that the gesture might not translate across cultures. Thankfully, his response appeared to have had the desired effect.


    "My name is Gelt Phinis. I am a merchant, and would like to ask you a few questions if you don''t mind."


    Leo pondered for a second. He wanted to find a ship, but he wasn''t in a rush and getting some information on species and situations he was bound to run into could be very helpful. He decided to see what Gelt had to offer.


    "Sure, I''m Leo. So long as you don''t mind answering a few of my own questions, I''d be happy to answer yours. I''m still trying to get my bearings here."


    Gelt Nodded, "In that case, why don''t we head to the lounge. I''ve only just disembarked and a drink sounds wonderful right about now."


    The two walked in the direction of what appeared to be a food court, complete with tables of various heights and chairs that appeared to modify themselves according to the species using them.


    As they walked Leo turned to Gelt, "Forgive me if this is a rude question, but what exactly are you?"


    Gelt let off a chuckle, exposing a formidable set of pointed teeth. "I''m an Elasmo. We are an aquatic species evolved from primordial predators in the oceans of our homeworld. The datapak on your species that the AI sent out when you were added to the gate network mentioned that you have some similar, albeit less evolved, species present in the oceans of your own homeworld."


    Leo nodded, "We call them sharks. Apex predators of Earth''s oceans in one form or another for hundreds of millions of years. Not a bad thing to be associated with, all things considered."


    They reached the food court and sat down, the chairs conforming to their varying physiologies. Leo swiped through the holomenu of available options built in to the table, browsing by species until he found the Human category. He quickly navigated to the option for Coffee and spent 2GC on a cup as strong and black as the menu allowed. He had plenty of time to try the more alien options, but even virtual caffeine would help his overloaded brain to deal with all the new sensations.


    After he and Gelt had ordered their drinks, Gelt turned to Leo.


    "You may have noticed that the majority of the ships in the dock were arriving, rather than leaving. Whenever a new species is inducted into the gate network, they are provided with a GateHub in their home system. A new species often has much to offer and many in the galactic community seek these new hubs out as fresh territory on which to establish businesses and trade with the native population. The station AI provides a basic culture, history, and translation package for each species that joins, however; more detailed information has to be acquired along more traditional lines."


    A metaphorical lightbulb dinged into existence above Leo''s head as he realized what Gelt was angling for. He had seen no other humans on the station as of yet. Either they hadn''t logged in yet or were still familiarizing themselves with the system. He guessed that as the game only came out that day, he was likely one of the first to log in as his pod was delivered in the morning. Gelt was making good use of the opportunity to get ahead of the competition and figure out what humans had to offer.


    "I see. So, what would you like to know?"


    "Well, technology is one of the most lucrative sectors but unfortunately your species is rather young for your technology to be of much use on the galactic market apart from novelty value."


    Leo was slightly nonplussed at that, but supposed it made sense.


    "Before a new species is properly established on the gate network the most popular items are usually novel foods, entertainment products, and cultural items. When my own species was inducted most of our GC came from seafood, tourism, and submarine architecture."


    "Straightforward enough. For the moment I would like to see about purchasing a ship for myself, along with some other necessary items."


    He gestured to the bodysuit which, while comfortable, wasn''t exactly a fashionable clothing option.


    "You have a point. The small items can be acquired on the trade deck, or fabricated if necessary. A ship will be slightly more troublesome. The cheapest options will cost at least 2000GC. A custom job will cost around double that, but might get you a better fit options-wise. As you''re new to the gate system, you won''t have the GC for that yet."


    Leo frowned. He had hoped to acquire a ship right off the bat, now he either had to earn enough money for a proper vessel or buy passage on a passenger craft. He put that thought on hold for the moment as a small drone was making its way towards the table.


    The drone maneuvered over carefully before setting the mug of steaming black coffee in front of Leo and a glass of something blue in front of Gelt. Gelt picked up his glass and took a drink with obvious relish before sniffing quizzically at the air.


    "Leo, what is that you''re drinking?"


    "This? This is coffee."


    "What''s coffee?"

 5 - Earth Turns Slowly

    Leo spent several minutes educating Gelt on the virtues of coffee. Gelt showed interest in the drink, especially when Leo pointed out it''s popularity in human society.


    After finishing their drinks Leo asked Gelt, "So, how exactly do you propose I introduce you to human culture. I''m not exactly an expert in cultural exchange, not to mention that human culture is extremely diverse to begin with."


    "You have a few errands to run and things to buy, yes? Why don''t I accompany you. Rather than asking questions which may or may not provide useful answers, you can give me a firsthand experience."


    Leo mulled the idea over. It wasn''t a bad proposition and he could certainly use a guide. If he found something lucrative it could even earn him some GC to get moving.


    "Alright, it''s a deal."


    He stuck his hand out and waited before mentally slapping himself.


    "This is a common human custom that you''ll probably want to learn if you''re going to be trading with humans. We often shake hands as a friendly way to seal a business deal."


    "Ah."


    Gelt stuck out his four fingered hand to meet Leo''s five fingered one. Gelt got the hang of it after a second, and the deal was finalized with gusto. Leo was surprised at the texture of the skin on Gelt''s hand. While it looked smooth, in reality it was slightly rough, like that of a shark.


    The two set off towards the nearest transport pod.


    "Alright, the first order of business is clothes. If I''m going to be representing humanity out here I''ll need something better than this."


    Contrary to Leo''s expectations, there was no clothing store. Instead, clothes were fabricated according to the specifications of the customer in a NanoFab. Various options were available according to species and numerous base designs could be chosen and edited at will. He picked out a some T-shirts, jeans, and a couple of button up shirts for daily wear. Gelt watched the whole procedure on the holoscreen with rapt attention. After taking care of the basics, he realized that having something slightly more formal might come in handy and checked what templates were available for suits. He picked out a pair of black slacks with a matching blue sport coat and white button up. He finalized the order and looked over at Gelt, who had what Leo guessed was a thoughtful expression on his face.


    "Interesting. Human clothing has some potential. Many species have similar body structures, my own included. While not all species require clothing, many do. I''m sure there are many who would be happy to get their hands on some new designs."


    Leo wasn''t surprised. While walking through the docking bay earlier, he had seen beings of every shape and size. He had caught glimpses of ones with fur, feathers, even several with chitin like shells. Clothing and decoration was bound to be a popular commodity.


    He had a dilemma on his mind now though. He wanted to buy a ship, preferably something fast that would let him travel around with ease. He was excited to check out other parts of this extremely well fleshed out game, but credits were a problem. He realized that his dilemma was rather similar to the one he faced on Minos. He turned to Gelt.


    "I need to get some GC together for a ship. I''m a trained fighter pilot, is there any way for me to use that before I have my own ship?"


    Gelt was surprised, but that surprise quickly turned into a frown.


    "Unfortunately most reputable mercenary groups only accept applicants that already have a ship. Unless they have sufficient proof of your skill or some type of recommendation that''s not an option. The GateHubs are considered neutral ground as they appear at the same time as a gate appears in a new system. Several have been attacked by foolhardy groups in the past and none have tried since. The gatehub''s automated drones will police your home sector for the next two standard cycles, as your system is new to the gate network. While this is good news for your system, it means that you are unlikely to find a job flying security forces."


    While interesting, this information put him right back to square one. He needed a ship in order to earn money flying. Thinking back to Daisy''s Cafe, he wondered if it was possible to earn money with his music here. One way or another he wasn''t going to travel the galaxy without a guitar, so that was the next item on the list.


    They headed over to a nearby NanoFab kiosk. It seemed like most templates were widely available and could be easily ordered without the hassle of coming in person. These were mainly used for custom designs, which weren''t in particularly high demand. He linked his commchip to the UFS HoloNet and downloaded a basic acoustic guitar template, which he then uploaded to the terminal. Gelt watched over his shoulder as he made several modifications to the design. The light wooden guitar became denser and darker, turning a dark shade of racing green and the scratch plate was eliminated. He sharpened the shape of the bridge, making it slightly more aggressive while casting the fretboard in a dark matte black. He also added a piezoelectric microamplifier before saving the template to his commchip.


    He finalized the design, adding in a standard carry case and watched as the fabricator started to spool up. He was rather interested to see what the reaction would be to a bit of good old fashioned busking.


    Gelt looked away from the NanoFab which he had been watching with rapt attention.


    "Leo, what is this item you''re making?"


    "It''s called a guitar. How much do you know about music?"


    "No more than most. Elasmo celebrations often involve singing and dancing. Unfortunately it doesn''t translate above water. You''re hearing a translated version of my native language right now. While breathing water my species is capable of producing some rather beautiful vocalizations, above water though..."


    Gelt trailed off and motioned for Leo to turn disable his translator. When he next spoke Leo was taken aback as a sound like someone chewing broken glass through a mouthful of peanut butter came from the friendly looking Elasmo. Leo rubbed his ears as he reenabled his translator. Gelt looked rather rueful after that display.


    "As you can see, not the most pleasing of sounds. I''ve seen a few other species that sing for celebrations. A number of musically focused Aposor have created tunes that many species enjoy listening to, however; their achievements were rather limited."


    Leo became thoughtful. It was hit or miss whether his music would be well received, but it was worth a shot. After experiencing the effect of the translator, he realized that if he was going to be singing he would need his audience to disable their translators for the rhythm to carry across.


    "Well Gelt, I''d like to say that this will be a good experience, but I guess we''ll just have to find out. Are there any rules against me playing in the trade hub?"


    "Well, it would be a good idea to rent one of the trade stalls so you don''t get fined for using the public space. No other problems though."


    Leo walked over to one of the small sized stalls and grimaced before paying the fifty credit fee. The stall came with configurable seat, and a table which he moved out of the way before sitting down. He took out the freshly constructed guitar and started to get a feel for it. Several minutes passed as he plucked a couple strings and adjusted the tuning until he was satisfied, garnering him several odd looks from the people shopping nearby. Paying them no attention, he set his guitar case down on the table along with a small ''Donations appreciated'' sign that he had printed out as an afterthought.


    He adjusted the microamp, and played a note which carried nicely through the nearby area before launching into a song</a>.


    As light notes filled the area a number of heads turned towards the small booth in curiosity and confusion. The sound cut clearly through the white noise of the trade hub and a number of people in the area moved closer to get a better view of the strange creature coaxing sounds out of such a simple and primitive looking instrument.


    Leo felt a stirr of elation, but calmed his mind and sunk back into the music. Closing his eyes, he went with the rhythm and danced his fingers across the strings. The music flowed out, and many of those nearby found themselves nodding their heads and closing their eyes as the soft wistfulness of the tune washed over them. Gelt found himself remembering his childhood on Asul, frolicking through the clear water with his parents.


    As the last few chords faded out, the whole trade floor had slowed to a halt and fallen silent. It was peaceful, like laying on a beach as the last rays of a warm day slowly fade. Leo opened his eyes and looked around, stunned to find all eyes on him. Figuring he wasn''t going to get a better opportunity, he stood up and addressed the crowd.


    "Well, that went better than expected. My name is Leo, thank you for listening."

 6 - Music of the Moment

    Leo moved on autopilot through the kitchen, throwing together some lunch while thinking over the day''s events so far. His experiences in Contact had blown him away. He had arranged to meet Gelt again in a couple hours, struggling to get his message across over the insistent beeping of his commchip. He had received almost 150GC from the excited crowd in the aftermath of his performance, along with several messages, bringing his account balance after all of his purchases back up to 734GC. While skimming through the information on his commchip, he noticed that the ingame WebLink was accessible outside the pod and his commchip had now been linked with his ingame account.


    Leo knew that, despite the diversity of VR games available on the market, when people realized how much Contact had to offer the game was going to explode up in popularity. Unlike some of the experiences he''d had in the past, all of the interactions with Gelt had felt completely organic. In the past, many companies had placed preference on the more influential characters in a game while toning down the priority of minor characters to save on resources. From what he could tell, Contact had gone all in with human comparable intelligence levels across the board. Suddenly the rumored AI core on Titan that Paul had mentioned to him seemed far more realistic.


    What he''d seen so far had excited his curiosity and he wanted to get out of the Sol system and travel around as soon as possible. Although he didn''t have the funds for a ship yet, one of the messages he received after his hit performance had been from the owner of a merchant ship. They were interested in his music and were willing to offer a bunk in exchange for a more in depth demonstration during the trip.


    From what Leo had seen of the gate station, the novelty value of Human culture would quickly be relegated to historians and cultural savants as the number of humans on the station increased. The traders that found a market for their wares would probably inflate the prices to take advantage of the credits that all the new users joined with, while any novelties that weren''t already copyrighted could by easily reproduced in a nanofab given the requisite blueprints. Thinking it over, he realized that that the Sol GateHub really had very little to offer him.


    From what he had observed and overheard while walking around the station, the vast majority of visitors to the station were merchants, historians, and culture tourists. Musical recordings were readily available and could be shared on the HoloWeb, but it was clear that live entertainment occupied a niche that couldn''t be filled by holovids.


    Having made up his mind he sent a message to the merchant, accepting his proposition. The ship wouldn''t be leaving until the cargo was sold so he had another day before they set off. That left Leo with some time to kill. Putting the issue of a ship to the side, he thought about the other things he wanted to accomplish. Getting more GC was his first priority since it would be difficult to enjoy exploring new worlds if he couldn''t even buy a drink when he got there.


    He checked the station directory on the WebLink and found that the station had several small auditoriums available for use. Gambling on his musical ability, he reserved a small fifty seat theater for the next morning deducting another hundred GC from his account in the process. He planned to head back to one of the trade hubs to drum up another crowd and sell tickets.


    At this point, he noticed that he had finished eating. He got up to take care of his dishes with a silly grin on his face. It had been his childhood dream to be a famous musician. His grandfather had played classics for him on an old yellow guitar growing up. That same guitar had been passed to him after his grandfather died and Leo had put his mind to practicing.


    He had never had outstanding talent, persisting through sheer stubbornness. He played that old yellow guitar until he got lost in the music, moving from song to song till his fingers cussed him out and went on strike. His flight had jokingly dubbed him "Bard" while they were all drinking after a patrol one night. After he rose to Flight Lieutenant, it had become his callsign while they were out on patrol. Eventually he had dismissed stardom as a fantasy, although he still played constantly.


    Despite his popularity and the small following his recordings had accumulated, he had never gained enough popularity to really take off. The Sol system was a hive of activity and it was easy to get lost amid the sheer number of people. The rush he had gotten from his earlier performance had planted a seed in his mind. He didn''t know if it was possible to realize his childhood hopes now, but it was all virtual anyway so what did he have to lose?


    After freshening up, he lay back down in the pod and eagerly waited for the lid to shut.


    Back on the station, he quickly marked the location of a trade deck on his communicator and sent a message off to Gelt explaining his plans. He liked the friendly Elasmo, although he had a hunch Gelt hadn''t always been the wandering entrepreneur he was now. The way Gelt carried himself suggested that sometime in the past he had been in the military. While he wasn''t curious enough yet to pry into Gelt''s past, he felt a sense of familiarity from him that reminded Leo of some of the men from his flight.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Arriving on the trade deck, guitar in tow, he walked over to the nanofab kiosk. He opened up the design program and selected a template for a small white card. He entered the time and location for his performance the next day into a small infochip embedded in the card along with a ticket number. As an afterthought, he engraved a guitar outlined in green on the front of the card before printing out a stack of fifty along with a sign advertising the show.


    He walked over to an empty stall and started setting up when he noticed Gelt walking over. He waved as he opened up his guitar case.


    "Planning on bringing another trade floor to a grinding halt?" Gelt said with amusement.


    "That''s the idea, one way or another. I''ll be needing some GC if I''m going to be traveling. Help me sell these tickets and you''ll have a front row seat tomorrow."


    "It''s a deal."


    Gelt picked up one of the white cards and flipped it over before putting it in his pocket. Leo handed Gelt the sign before sitting down and tuning his guitar. He thought for a moment on what song to choose and decided on something upbeat and joyful</a>. The first notes drifted out behind the white noise, inconspicuously lightening the chatter of people buying and selling. The sound slowly built up, drifting through the thoughts of the people in the trade hub. It flowed through the crowd like a cooling brook, rising and falling in a calm carefree manner. People started to notice the odd melody as it rose above the hubbub, and moved in the direction of his stall.


    Gelt was sitting, tapping his foot to the beat and many in the crowd found themselves doing the same. By the time the song rose into the chorus there were heads bobbing and an assortment of feet, fins, tails, paws, and wings tapping along. What background noise remained in the hub quieted as the upbeat song faded into soft, lilting chords. Tapping limbs slowed to a halt and Leo closed his eyes and leaned back as he plucked the strings from memory.


    The last refrain picked the tune up again, bringing the song to a close that seemed to restore time to its usual flow. A cheer filled the trade hub as Leo stood up. Quiet was restored as they waited to hear what Leo had to say.


    Leo looked out over the crowd, noticing dozens of species present. He even spotted a couple humans hovering near the back.


    "Thanks for listening. My name is Leo and this instrument is called a Guitar. I will be performing tomorrow on the entertainment deck, tickets are available on the table behind me. If you have any questions, I''ll be sticking around for a few minutes."


    A line formed in front of the table while two people from the audience wandered towards his side of the booth. The first to approach him was around four feet tall with large eyes and tall rounded ears protruding from the top of its head. It was covered in a short coat of grey and brown fur and was looking intently at the guitar.


    "Hello, my name is Peiga. Would you mind if I took a closer look at that wonderful instrument? It is quite fascinating."


    "Yeah, sure you can. Be careful though, it''s heavier than it looks."


    Leo removed the shoulder strap and carefully passed it to Peiga who accepted it gingerly. He wasn''t too worried as he had the template for the guitar saved, but he would prefer not to have to fabricate a new one so soon. Peiga turned the guitar over with undisguised curiosity, inspecting all of the different parts. He gave the strings an experimental pluck with a set of long dextrous looking fingers.


    "Truly a wonderful instrument, although it requires great dexterity to play. How long have you played it for?"


    "Sixteen years." Leo said, trusting that the translator would take care of any relative time confusion. "I got my first guitar at six and I''ve been playing ever since."


    "Truly wonderful." Peiga glanced over at the dwindling line. "If there are any tickets left, I''ll be there tomorrow."


    He gave a short bow and set off at a quick gait towards the line leaving Leo with what appeared to be a three meter long feathered snake with a pair of wings folded neatly behind it. The wings had a shape reminiscent of a bat''s and were covered in deep orange feathers. At the tip of each wings was a scaled hand, and despite the bulkiness of the wings it managed to move without causing any problems for the people around it. The feathers covering the wings continued along its back, fading to a set of scutes underneath. It slithered forward, extending a wing to Leo in greeting.


    "Greetings human. This is your first time meeting one of the Do''uran?"


    "Yes, and it''s a pleasant surprise. Your species look strikingly like a mythical creature from many of my world''s old stories."


    The Do''uran leaned back and let off an odd throaty rattle. After a second, Leo''s translator recognized it as laughter.


    "Truly the universe is full of coincidences. You may call me Lacus. I am the captain of the Hunter''s Respite."


    Now Leo understood. This was the captain of the ship he would be leaving on tomorrow.


    Out loud, he replied "Ah, great. You should come by the theater tomorrow" while snagging one of the remaining tickets from the table to pass to Lacus.


    Mentally he was still hung up over the fact that he was going to be flying in space with a dragon.


    Hell yes.


    He was distracted from that thought by Gelt, announcing that all the tickets had sold. His commchip beeped as he received 240GC from the ticket sales at a reasonable price of 5GC per ticket, minus the two for Lacus and Gelt.


    Things were looking up.