GALACTIC FEDERATION - PEOPLE FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE

Teli overlaid the latest scan results on the old records. The differences between the two images were marked on the screen. The positions of the stars, the orbits of the planets, and the distribution of matter in the surrounding area were within expected values.

After checking the comparison once more, Teli closed the completed region.

“There’s no significant change in this system either,” Teli said.

Seated at the command station, Hatu looked at the mission schedule. Most of the areas to be examined had been completed. If the remaining scans produced the same results, they would not need to leave their assigned route.

“Add the results to the records,” Hatu said. “Let’s move on to the next region.”

The Federation research ship was traveling through a region of the galaxy surveyed long ago. The first research teams had mapped its star systems and determined the structure of its planets. The information had been checked on later missions, and all the results had been entered into Federation records.

No new discovery was expected this time either. Their task was to test the old data again and identify any changes that had occurred in the meantime.

As Teli started the next scan, Hatu checked the course. The ship maintained the speed required for the measurements. The positions of nearby stars appeared on the forward screen in the control center. Smaller screens displayed the scanning areas and comparison results.

Zipal, who was responsible for communications systems, was examining incoming signals. The system recognized most known sources, presenting only data that needed to be checked.

Just as Zipal was about to close a record, a new line appeared on the list.

Zipal stopped and opened the signal with no source information. A short time later, the same signal was received again.

“Hatu, there’s an unidentified transmission,” Zipal said.

Hatu turned toward Zipal.

“Which system is it coming from?” Hatu asked.

Zipal plotted the signal’s direction on the star chart. Nearby systems were marked one by one. The source did not coincide with any of them.

“It doesn’t appear to belong to any of the systems we’re examining,” Zipal said.

Hatu closed the mission schedule.

“Check the records of nearby craft,” Hatu said.

Zipal began the search. Federation ships sent regular signals reporting their positions during missions. A research craft working at a distance might have entered their scanning area. Zipal checked that possibility first.

The central records showed no flight that could account for the signal they had received.

Zipal did not report the result immediately. After waiting for the signal to repeat, Zipal compared its structure with examples of Federation communications. The transmission had a pattern. But it was not one the ship’s systems recognized.

“It doesn’t match our communications systems,” Zipal said. “It repeats at set intervals. We can’t decode the information inside it yet.”

“Can we determine its position?” Hatu asked.

“We know the direction. We need a scan to establish the distance,” Zipal said.

Teli saved the results of the comparison in progress and directed the scanning system toward the area the signal was coming from. Nothing distinct appeared in the first image. Teli narrowed the measurement area and increased the detail.

A small mass was marked on the screen.

“There’s an object,” Teli said.

Hatu transferred the image from Teli’s screen to the forward screen. The marker was slowly changing position among the stars.

“Is that the source of the signal?” Hatu asked.

Zipal compared the two sets of data.

“They’re in the same direction,” Zipal said. “Their movements match too.”

Teli linked the object’s successive positions. The source was not stationary. It was traveling through space, and the signal was moving with it.

Hatu rose from the seat and came over to the scanning console.

“How much can we sharpen the image?” Hatu asked.

“There’s a limit at this distance,” Teli said. “I’ll still try to distinguish its shape.”

Teli reprocessed the measurements. First an indistinct surface appeared, then connected sections began to emerge. Parts of the image were still missing. Teli did not display them as though they were complete. Only verified outlines remained on the screen.

Hatu studied those outlines for a while.

“Could it be a natural object?” Hatu asked.

“The surface arrangement doesn’t fit,” Teli said.

When the next scan was complete, the structure became a little clearer. Teli rotated the image. The measurable sections fitted together as parts of a single whole.

The structure moving through space had the form of a craft.

Zipal resumed monitoring the signal. The computer continued its analysis, but no intelligible information appeared on the screen.

“It could be a call,” Zipal said. “It could also be a position broadcast. I can’t distinguish between them yet.”

“Keep the part we can’t decode exactly as it is,” Hatu said. “We’ll examine it again later.”

Teli sent the craft’s measurable dimensions to the recording system. Its speed and surface properties were added to the comparison. The screen listed the classes of ships used by Federation worlds.

The first comparison yielded no result.

Teli widened the search. Instead of looking at a single feature, Teli tested the available data separately. Some craft had similar dimensions; others showed similarities in their external structure. But there was no record that matched all the data together.

“It isn’t one of the known ship classes,” Teli said.

Hatu read the results beside the image.

“Let’s check again for an unregistered flight,” Hatu said.

Zipal opened the regional records in the central system and searched the routes of research craft and transport ships. Then Zipal expanded the search to include the surrounding area.

“There’s no Federation craft that should be at this position,” Zipal said.

The central system tracked all flights. Research and transport routes were reported in advance. Even a ship passing through the region should have had a traceable record.

Hatu returned to the image of the foreign craft.

“Is the comparison with reptilian ships complete?” Hatu asked.

“It is,” Teli said. “Neither the energy characteristics nor the material measurements match.”

Reptilian craft could be identified by those properties. There was no evidence that would place the ship before them in that category either.

Teli left the results side by side. No one could yet say where the craft had come from.

Hatu opened the region’s earlier surveys. The records included follow-up checks conducted after the initial scans. No planet capable of supporting an unknown civilization had been found nearby. Nor had any structure indicating use by another civilization been detected.

“Is there any trace of this craft in the old scans?” Hatu asked.

Teli compared the records with the current measurements.

“I can’t find one,” Teli said.

Hatu checked the dates of the scans. The region had not been characterized from a single observation. Teams passing through at different times had confirmed one another’s results.

Yet a spacecraft absent from every record was traveling through a known region of the galaxy.

A new signal appeared on Zipal’s screen.

“The transmission is continuing,” Zipal said. “At the same intervals.”

Hatu returned to the command station and turned the course line on the forward screen toward the foreign craft. Hatu sent new positions to Teli’s screen for the scans to be performed during the approach.

“We’re changing course,” Hatu said. “Keep taking measurements without interruption.”

Teli adjusted the scanning area. Zipal began collecting the incoming signals in a separate record.

Engine power was increased. The stars on the forward screen slowly shifted as the ship turned onto its new heading. The foreign craft settled in the center of the image.

As the distance decreased, more data reached the scanning systems. Teli added the new results beside the earlier measurements. Previously indistinct sections of the craft’s surface began to emerge.

“The image is improving,” Teli said.

Hatu asked for the display to be enlarged. The unfamiliar ship was no longer just an indistinct marker. They still needed to get closer to understand its structure.

The research ship continued approaching the unknown craft.