Joyce sat at his board, reading instruments and keying controls. So he
was back on the job. Mannion sat, head bent, monitoring his recorder.
The room was filled with the keening staccato of the alien transmission.
"Getting anything on video?" I asked. Joyce shook his head. "Nothing,
Captain. I've checked the whole spectrum, and this is all I get. It's
coming in on about a dozen different frequencies; no FM."
"Any progress, Mannion?" I said.
He took off his headset. "It's the same thing, repeated over and over,
just a short phrase. I'd have better luck if they'd vary it a little."
"Try sending," I said.
Joyce tuned the clatter down to a faint clicking, and switched his
transmitter on. "You're on, Captain," he said.
"This is Captain Greylorn, UNACV Galahad; kindly identify yourself." I
repeated this slowly, half a dozen times. It occurred to me that this
was the first known time in history a human being had addressed a
non-human intelligence. The last was a guess, but I couldn't interpret
our guest's purposeful maneuverings as other than intelligent.
I checked with the bridge; no change. Suddenly the clatter stopped,
leaving only the carrier hum.
"Can't you tune that whine out, Joyce?" I asked.
"No, sir," he replied. "That's a very noisy transmission. Sounds like
maybe their equipment is on the blink."
We listened to the hum, waiting. Then the clatter began again.
"This is different," Mannion said. "It's longer."
I went back to the bridge, and waited for the next move from the
stranger, or for word from Mannion. Every half hour I transmitted a call
identifying us, followed by a sample of our language. I gave them
English, Russian, and Standard Interlingua. I didn't know why, but
somehow I had a faint hope they might understand some of it.
I stayed on the bridge when the watch changed. I had some food sent up,
and slept a few hours on the OD's bunk.
Fine replaced Kramer on his watch when it rolled around. Apparently
Kramer was out of circulation. At this point I did not feel inclined to
pursue the point.
We had been at General Quarters for twenty-one hours when the wall
annunciator hummed.
"Captain, this is Mannion. I've busted it...."
"I'll be right there," I said, and left at a run.
Mannion was writing as I entered ComSection. He stopped his recorder and
offered me a sheet. "This is what I've got so far, Captain," he said.