From first contact with aliens to one side deciphering the other's language and establishing formal communications, the process would take a long time-at least a year. In reality, it would probably take a little less, depending on both sides' technological capabilities.
So I don't need to worry about these aliens in the short term, Xi Yan thought.
Since aliens had appeared in that direction, their civilization had to be somewhere nearby.
In Stellaris terms, there was only one thing to do now: grab territory!
Of course, that did not mean declaring war on them outright. It meant claiming territory first, occupying the unclaimed star systems between them and building starbases.
Especially when certain systems produced special resources or occupied advantageous positions, securing those key systems quickly was all the more important.
Xi Yan immediately made his decision: the science ship would relay the alien Stone People's communications to the Ring World, where sociologists and diplomats would handle the translation work. Science Ship Two would continue exploring!
Until it found the Stone People's borders!
The Interstellar Human Military Junta had to exercise extreme caution toward the first alien nation it had encountered on an equal footing.
Especially the Stone People.
Lithoid life-forms and Toxic Organisms had never been particularly likable alien species.
Xi Yan turned his attention back to Science Ship One, which had been wrecked by the crystalline entities.
The severely damaged science ship still had some food and supplies left. Although its oxygen generator had been destroyed, there were still several canisters filled with solid oxygen aboard.
Calculations showed that the ship's oxygen would run out first, in another fourteen days, followed by its food.
Everyone knew that unless they developed the Jump Drive right now, there was simply no time to rescue them.
Yet after calculating exactly when