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On the night of July 4, 2104 (Houston time), a small flash of light illuminated the sky over most of Haklo and Osomi on the planet Alo. The flash lasted a fraction of a second, and went unnoticed by most of the planet, but two days later a larger more persistent light emerged in the night sky. As the light grew in intensity, in the halls of power in New Glava, Tilio'Ramna, and Capital Island the leaders of the three great superblocs met with scientific advisors and called their counterparts, paying lip service to the NHSO and CCMS with calls later in the night. The 31st Fleet out of Oya'ramna and the 19th Fleet out of Dyna'ramna were both given direct orders to maintain present posture, and do not engage.

Ground based telescopes tracked the light as it grew larger, and the heads of state and chief science advisors for the five blocs were in near constant contact. Among the public, curiosity quickly shifted into speculation and panic, and by July 13, when the mysterious light had become the brightest object in the night sky, with a long tail unlike any comet previously observed, panic had evolved into awe and terror. Most were simply captivated by the incredible sight that now dominated the night, while others fell into the worst instincts of any society confronted with the unknown. The government attempted to calm the public before eventually the head of the Osomi CoDominium Astronomical Agency (OCAA) made a public address confirming what unaffiliated scientists and the public at large had speculated for the last few days: the light in the night sky is not a natural phenomenon so far as the scientific community can determine. What was intended to calm the public with a simple statement of facts only fueled speculation, protests, and riots until on July 15 the light simply vanished. OCAA and its companion agencies in the other four blocs all tracked the object's trajectory to the L4 Lagrange point. This convinced most of the planet's astronomers that the light source was most likely an alien spacecraft.

For the next 9 months the public's panic largely subsided, with the exception of the planet's fringe groups, which began holding rituals lifting the light up as some kind of divine communication. As the status of the light transitioned from scientific inquiry to social debate, instances of mass suicide and violent clashes between demonstrators and the government became more frequent. Despite the behavior of the planet's more reactionary elements, most Argommi agreed with the assessment that it was an alien spacecraft or at least some kind of celestial phenomena. Life seemed to return to some version of normal before being upended once again on August 29, 2104. The growing community of amateur astronomers who had been gathering in the uninhabited places of Alo since the first light appeared reported a strange streak of light in the sky above the Arslav Desert. While the government dismissed it as a meteorite at first, nuclear early warning tracking stations and civilian observatories identified 7 more such objects in unique orbits over the following weeks. As another wave of panic gripped the planet, the public demanded that the Argommi governments take action. What sort of action was entirely up for debate. A series of summits were called where the leading members of the scientific community debated what the lights were, and how best to respond. There was no single event in which the attendees of the summits publicly stated that the lights were of alien origin, or had any connection to the previous two lights that dominated the sky so many months ago. It simply became the foundation of the debate without anyone saying so. The Argommi now believed they were not alone in the universe, and someone was watching them from above their planet.

After six months of seeing faint lights occasionally streak across the sky, and only a notion at the last possible location the mothership could have gone, many in the scientific community had settled on the idea that they had been visited by an uncrewed interstellar probe similar to an old proposal from their world, and were now being observed for purely scientific reasons. No consensus was reached about how to respond, though the Kuvo Republic, the leading power of the Osomi CoDominium, elected to coordinate an effort within the OC and the neighboring CCMS to attempt radio contact with these probes via its civilian space program. This prompted condemnation from the Tilio'ramna Pact and neglect from the Canavin Union. The TP believed that the OC, much less one of its member states unilaterally attempting to speak for the entire planet was arrogant and dangerous. The CU proceeded with their own attempt at radio contact in secret.

After repeated attempts to get a signal through on April 1, 2105 a relatively small OCAA radio observatory in the Great Basin picked up a series of repeating high frequency tones that could only be artificial. With the satellite only a few minutes from setting over the horizon, the station's chief radio astronomer responded with a simple salutation in Ioldan. Within the few minutes in which the researcher was being chided for unilaterally attempting First Contact, every tracking station on the planet received the same message simultaneously from the 8 sources the Argommi had been aware of, and a 35 they didn't even know existed in higher orbits. The message was a number in every local language on the planet, representing the frequency they should tune to for further communication. Further responses were coordinated by the major astronomy agencies of the five blocs, and were met with a series of tests.

It quickly became apparent that the tests weren't to determine if the Argommi were intelligent, those observing them KNEW that, and clearly a great deal more about their species. These tests were designed to allow the Argommi to determine the origin of their observers on their own, and uncover a means of communication. They quickly determined what constellation the spacecraft came from, but also confirmed they had no way of observing the specific star with their level of technology, as it was located some 2,920 lightyears away. They gained insight into just what they'd been seeing in the night sky. The flash on July 4, 2104 was the release of a Bubble Trap, a phenomena the Argommi didn't even have a theory for. The Bubble Trap was released by a spacecraft that compressed and expanded spacetime to travel faster than light while not actually moving. The smaller, more persistent light was a matter-antimatter reaction that propelled the spacecraft in-system. It became apparent after a few weeks, that their visitors could not move a great deal of mass between the stars, constrained by physics that hadn't even gotten on the napkin drawing phase for most of their scientific community. Still, the message was clear: We are explorers, it has taken a great deal of time, energy, and resources for us to send a robotic ambassador here, and we couldn't conquer you if we wanted to.

On June 3, 2105 the Director General of the OC held a final meeting with her security council and with the ambassadors of the other four blocs. The decision was reached to make contact and to invite the 'guests' they now knew as "humans" to travel to their world to begin formal diplomatic relations. 7 years would pass before another, far larger flash of light would illuminate the sky of their world, one so intense it turned night into day for the briefest of moments. A message was relayed inviting the explorers to land at Sansomi in the Triplet Islands. Sansomi had been used as neutral ground for diplomatic summits for decades on Alo, a consequence of it being the least inconvenient place for airships to reach for all five powers. The Great Conference of Argommi met on a bright clear day (typical of the Triplet Isles) in the terminal of the Sansomi Airport, with all five leaders of the planet's blocs in attendance, along with leading scientists, religious leaders, the former leaders who gave the invitation 7 years ago, and a massive crowd of onlookers, protestors, and pilgrims. People milled about, by now fully informed of what to expect, when someone's finger shot up with the cry of "THERE!" and a red streak in the sky was seen by all, as had been warned by the human visitors. The streak nearly crested the horizon before fading at which point a particularly thoughtful sound engineer turned the stage's speakers to play the calm methodical words between the human visitors and local air traffic controllers. The words were in modern Tiloan, and the calm, deliberative, almost boring exchange eased the crowd enough for the director of OCAA to encouraged those with telescopes and binoculars to look to the sky. Eventually the small black and white spacecraft came into view of the naked eye and the crowd was silent as the ATCs and the human crew occasionally spoke in brief confirmation of their position. As the strange looking spaceplane touched down and deployed a drag chute it gently slowed to a stop.

11,703 confirmed deaths were attributed to the arrival or disappearance of the light in the sky that the Argommi would come to know as the interstellar space probe Odysseus XI. What would come of this meeting would unite the planet more than ever before, and create the modern Aloan Cold War.

Special thanks to rajavlitra who was commissioned to draw the Argommi for this map, and all my Patreon supporters who made this map possible. All my patrons get early access to my projects before they go live. Please subscribe at: patreon.com/SeanMcKnight

Description

On the night of July 4, 2104 (Houston time), a small flash of light illuminated the sky over most of Haklo and Osomi on the planet Alo. The flash lasted a fraction of a second, and went unnoticed by most of the planet, but two days later a larger more persistent light emerged in the night sky. As the light grew in intensity, in the halls of power in New Glava, Tilio'Ramna, and Capital Island the leaders of the three great superblocs met with scientific advisors and called their counterparts, paying lip service to the NHSO and CCMS with calls later in the night. The 31st Fleet out of Oya'ramna and the 19th Fleet out of Dyna'ramna were both given direct orders to maintain present posture, and do not engage.

Ground based telescopes tracked the light as it grew larger, and the heads of state and chief science advisors for the five blocs were in near constant contact. Among the public, curiosity quickly shifted into speculation and panic, and by July 13, when the mysterious light had become the brightest object in the night sky, with a long tail unlike any comet previously observed, panic had evolved into awe and terror. Most were simply captivated by the incredible sight that now dominated the night, while others fell into the worst instincts of any society confronted with the unknown. The government attempted to calm the public before eventually the head of the Osomi CoDominium Astronomical Agency (OCAA) made a public address confirming what unaffiliated scientists and the public at large had speculated for the last few days: the light in the night sky is not a natural phenomenon so far as the scientific community can determine. What was intended to calm the public with a simple statement of facts only fueled speculation, protests, and riots until on July 15 the light simply vanished. OCAA and its companion agencies in the other four blocs all tracked the object's trajectory to the L4 Lagrange point. This convinced most of the planet's astronomers that the light source was most likely an alien spacecraft.

For the next 9 months the public's panic largely subsided, with the exception of the planet's fringe groups, which began holding rituals lifting the light up as some kind of divine communication. As the status of the light transitioned from scientific inquiry to social debate, instances of mass suicide and violent clashes between demonstrators and the government became more frequent. Despite the behavior of the planet's more reactionary elements, most Argommi agreed with the assessment that it was an alien spacecraft or at least some kind of celestial phenomena. Life seemed to return to some version of normal before being upended once again on August 29, 2104. The growing community of amateur astronomers who had been gathering in the uninhabited places of Alo since the first light appeared reported a strange streak of light in the sky above the Arslav Desert. While the government dismissed it as a meteorite at first, nuclear early warning tracking stations and civilian observatories identified 7 more such objects in unique orbits over the following weeks. As another wave of panic gripped the planet, the public demanded that the Argommi governments take action. What sort of action was entirely up for debate. A series of summits were called where the leading members of the scientific community debated what the lights were, and how best to respond. There was no single event in which the attendees of the summits publicly stated that the lights were of alien origin, or had any connection to the previous two lights that dominated the sky so many months ago. It simply became the foundation of the debate without anyone saying so. The Argommi now believed they were not alone in the universe, and someone was watching them from above their planet.

After six months of seeing faint lights occasionally streak across the sky, and only a notion at the last possible location the mothership could have gone, many in the scientific community had settled on the idea that they had been visited by an uncrewed interstellar probe similar to an old proposal from their world, and were now being observed for purely scientific reasons. No consensus was reached about how to respond, though the Kuvo Republic, the leading power of the Osomi CoDominium, elected to coordinate an effort within the OC and the neighboring CCMS to attempt radio contact with these probes via its civilian space program. This prompted condemnation from the Tilio'ramna Pact and neglect from the Canavin Union. The TP believed that the OC, much less one of its member states unilaterally attempting to speak for the entire planet was arrogant and dangerous. The CU proceeded with their own attempt at radio contact in secret.

After repeated attempts to get a signal through on April 1, 2105 a relatively small OCAA radio observatory in the Great Basin picked up a series of repeating high frequency tones that could only be artificial. With the satellite only a few minutes from setting over the horizon, the station's chief radio astronomer responded with a simple salutation in Ioldan. Within the few minutes in which the researcher was being chided for unilaterally attempting First Contact, every tracking station on the planet received the same message simultaneously from the 8 sources the Argommi had been aware of, and a 35 they didn't even know existed in higher orbits. The message was a number in every local language on the planet, representing the frequency they should tune to for further communication. Further responses were coordinated by the major astronomy agencies of the five blocs, and were met with a series of tests.

It quickly became apparent that the tests weren't to determine if the Argommi were intelligent, those observing them KNEW that, and clearly a great deal more about their species. These tests were designed to allow the Argommi to determine the origin of their observers on their own, and uncover a means of communication. They quickly determined what constellation the spacecraft came from, but also confirmed they had no way of observing the specific star with their level of technology, as it was located some 2,920 lightyears away. They gained insight into just what they'd been seeing in the night sky. The flash on July 4, 2104 was the release of a Bubble Trap, a phenomena the Argommi didn't even have a theory for. The Bubble Trap was released by a spacecraft that compressed and expanded spacetime to travel faster than light while not actually moving. The smaller, more persistent light was a matter-antimatter reaction that propelled the spacecraft in-system. It became apparent after a few weeks, that their visitors could not move a great deal of mass between the stars, constrained by physics that hadn't even gotten on the napkin drawing phase for most of their scientific community. Still, the message was clear: We are explorers, it has taken a great deal of time, energy, and resources for us to send a robotic ambassador here, and we couldn't conquer you if we wanted to.

On June 3, 2105 the Director General of the OC held a final meeting with her security council and with the ambassadors of the other four blocs. The decision was reached to make contact and to invite the 'guests' they now knew as "humans" to travel to their world to begin formal diplomatic relations. 7 years would pass before another, far larger flash of light would illuminate the sky of their world, one so intense it turned night into day for the briefest of moments. A message was relayed inviting the explorers to land at Sansomi in the Triplet Islands. Sansomi had been used as neutral ground for diplomatic summits for decades on Alo, a consequence of it being the least inconvenient place for airships to reach for all five powers. The Great Conference of Argommi met on a bright clear day (typical of the Triplet Isles) in the terminal of the Sansomi Airport, with all five leaders of the planet's blocs in attendance, along with leading scientists, religious leaders, the former leaders who gave the invitation 7 years ago, and a massive crowd of onlookers, protestors, and pilgrims. People milled about, by now fully informed of what to expect, when someone's finger shot up with the cry of "THERE!" and a red streak in the sky was seen by all, as had been warned by the human visitors. The streak nearly crested the horizon before fading at which point a particularly thoughtful sound engineer turned the stage's speakers to play the calm methodical words between the human visitors and local air traffic controllers. The words were in modern Tiloan, and the calm, deliberative, almost boring exchange eased the crowd enough for the director of OCAA to encouraged those with telescopes and binoculars to look to the sky. Eventually the small black and white spacecraft came into view of the naked eye and the crowd was silent as the ATCs and the human crew occasionally spoke in brief confirmation of their position. As the strange looking spaceplane touched down and deployed a drag chute it gently slowed to a stop.

11,703 confirmed deaths were attributed to the arrival or disappearance of the light in the sky that the Argommi would come to know as the interstellar space probe Odysseus XI. What would come of this meeting would unite the planet more than ever before, and create the modern Aloan Cold War.

Special thanks to rajavlitra who was commissioned to draw the Argommi for this map, and all my Patreon supporters who made this map possible. All my patrons get early access to my projects before they go live. Please subscribe at: patreon.com/SeanMcKnight