Fiction:Naakjian Confederation/Contact with the Cooperative

The Naakjian Confederation had enjoyed a time of relative isolation, but was beginning to become aware of the presence of expansive political universe beyond their doors, and had already reached for contact. By coincidence, the Aemonkians intercepted several astronomical anomalies several light years from their territory. The local star was fluctuating in luminosity, and this was congruent with gravitational waves and the appearance of gamma-ray 'sparks' being emitted from the entire system, all of this carried on the same information cone. The Aemonkian scientists rightly proposed that the only likely origin of this activity was from some intelligent agent. The source of all this energy was quite frankly, ominous, and it promoted the government to consider dispatching an investigation outside their territory, rare on non-diplomatic means. A light scanning vessel and frigate was sent, soon reaching the system as faster than light speeds, to discover what was at their doorstep...

The crew discovered that all the activity was centred around the star itself. Material was being lifted from the star, and star light itself was reflected into alien structures, from within, a sphere of contorted starlight, bent and redshifted. The captain signified, "Looks like we have ourselves a black hole?" But the shattered images of bend stars flexed, into thin red line around a shadow, from within showered exotic radiation and intense light. Scientists on-board the scanning ship noted that the peppering of intense gamma-ray flashes were coming from the lifted plasma, some of it heated to quark deconfinment temperatures. Luckily, the shields held thanks to them being raised in close proximity to the star.

There was a moment of unease, and then suddenly, unknown Aemonkians began appearing inside the the two ships. Emergency alert systems were raised.