"Hi, Marshal!" Svetlana piloted the robot into a salute.
"Hello. Thanks for your hard work." Xi Yan nodded at her, then hurriedly asked, "What's the situation? What did you encounter? Were you attacked?"
Svetlana took a step back and answered Xi Yan's questions one by one with a wry smile. "We discovered an alien vessel disguised as an asteroid. They spotted us too. We haven't engaged in direct armed conflict, but we've been in a standoff ever since."
Xi Yan considered this briefly. "Take me to see it."
Svetlana nodded, turned, and led Xi Yan toward the bridge.
A standard human biological Science Ship looked like a giant scorpion, with the two sensor modules extending far out in front forming its pincers.
Xi Yan stood before the bridge's enormous double-glazed floor-to-ceiling window, pressed himself against the glass, and strained to stare at the distant "asteroid."
"Marshal, there's a telescope here." Looking a little embarrassed, Svetlana beckoned him over.
"Mm." Xi Yan nodded calmly, then walked over to the console and followed the instructions to operate the telescope.
He carefully examined what was supposedly an alien vessel disguised as an asteroid.
It looked like a scorpion carved out of an asteroid.
After a look, Xi Yan raised his head and asked Svetlana expressionlessly, "Don't you think this ship looks a lot like our Science Ship?"
"Uh, I suppose it does, a little..."
"This is a Science Ship from a civilization of rock-based life-forms. Do we have a Xeno-Linguistics specialist aboard? Come on, let's prepare for first contact."
Xi Yan spoke matter-of-factly.
"An alien civilization like ours?" one scientist asked excitedly.
"Yes, and they're very likely to show hostility toward us." With his hands behind his back, Xi Yan gazed at the Rock Creatures' Science Ship through the floor-to-ceiling window.
Rock Creatures