Snippet #1355838

"Unidentified Vessels, informally designated A, B, and C, are closing with the Ulysses." said Miranda.

Lieutenant Bonnet looked up at Flynn. "Shall we launch the interceptors?"

Flynn considered the Lieutenant's request for a moment. Using the interceptors would force the aliens, if their ships functioned in a similar manner to human ships, to break off from their pursuit, assuming they even realized they were a threat. Of course, if the interceptors failed to deter the aliens, and they realized they were weapons, they would surely kill everyone aboard the Ulysses.

"Not yet. Alright, right now, they're at 25,000 clicks...If they get within 8,000, fire a striker missile off to the side of them, we'll see if they understand what a warning shot is...For now just arm all point defense batteries and prep the missile tubes." said Flynn.

"Commander, we're picking up a radio signal..." said Navigator Decker.

"Is there anything coherent in it?" asked Flynn. Before Decker could reply, Hadley answered for her.
"Of course not, they're aliens! Are you seriously expecting them to speak a basic language?"

"Probably not, but you ever wonder if they're trying to communicate? Mary, get Miranda on the task of decoding that signal, and in the meantime, let's try to send one back. For simplicity, just give us a 97 megahertz pulse sustained for 2 milliseconds, followed by a millisecond of pause, followed by a 2 millisecond pulse. You seeing the pattern here?" said Flynn.

"Binary sir?" asked Mary.

"It's worth a try." replied Flynn.