Colonization Protocols

First Contacts

Looking to me like an excited child he added, " Its like a step back in time such a primitive people ...."

Durante walked in chewing on a toothpick while calmly jotting down notes on a pad and nodding silently at Jason. As he turned to me I saw his eyes roll back giving me a glazed over look just before turning back to Barkley and the jungle scene outside. I had secretly asked if he could discretely babysit Barkley over the next few days since technically he was Barkley's immediate supervisor. He said he'd try.

I began walking down the hall and touching the narrow walls on either side to keep my balance in the ever shifting angles of the moving vehicle's floor. Portsby followed closely behind.

"This could get complicated. I wonder how many of these aliens there are out there?"
I asked Portsby.

"Well Andros technically, since this is Tau Ceti , I think we would be the 'aliens' and they would be the 'people' in their view. As for their numbers it's anybody's guess."

"I suppose that's true. You know maybe we should come up with a name. We can't just call them 'aliens' or 'locals' they deserve a name."

"Like what?"

"I'll give it some thought."

"How does Tau Cetians sound?"

"No, too obvious and a 2 word name will probably just be shortened for convenience. Who knows what it'd be bastardized into. Besides they don't call their planet Tau Ceti only we do."

"I can see your point."

"You know, it could be a pretty impressive legacy if you named them Androsians! I'd say Zikonian but then it sounds too much like the cheap diamonds." Portsby said with a shrug.

"Androsians? That does have a nice ring to it actually." I said.

"I think the Redlands Council would have our heads if that name caught on."

I nodded knowing how the politics of things got in the way of good ideas.

Shortly after as we were safely away I called Paul via radio to see if anything was going on back on the Exelon.

Instead it was Marcel who answered the Comm.
"Hello?"

"Marcel what's the status of the ship? Has there been any activity outside?"

From the visual I could see Marcel was sitting back in my office stirring a glass with a few ice cubes swirling in the bottom.

"No Sir it's been quiet since you left except that they are still chanting in the distance again. But our cameras show no more hostile actions on their part. I think they're scared of the ship now."

"Good. Well let Paul know he has full authority to do whatever's necessary to protect the Exelon. I left the armory unlocked for you guys  also but only if you need it. I doubt they'll be much of a threat as long as you stay inside."

Raising his cup Marcel replied," I'll pass it on Sir."

"Oh and Marcel ?"

"Yes?"

"Don't touch anything else in my liquor cabinet. It's running pretty low already."

"Oh certainly Sir." he answered as he lowered his glass slowly.

Looking for a good camping spot for the night
we made a stop on a hill where we could oversee the surrounding area. It was dinner time and I needed to let Jesse our cook of the week get the meals ready. We circled the vehicles and began to disembark to stretch our cramped legs.