Space IS The Place

The two enormous vessels sat nose to nose a few thousand meters apart in the vacuum of space in a region where the closest stars were so far away, that the light from them had yet to seep into it. In space like this it is darker than the darkest blackness imaginable. The tiny pinpoints of the ships lights were suffocated by the all encompassing and oppressive void like it just sucked the photons right out of existence.

On the bridge of the human ship, the captain studied the contours of the craft opposite them made visible by the ship's instruments. He appreciated its lines and its size and wondered about its occupants. Were they shaped like him? Were they larger or smaller in stature? These questions among others permeated his thoughts. Chief among these thoughts was were they hostile? The captain looked to the strange, tall, thin, absurdly dressed man next to him. He was still not sure how this man had gotten aboard his ship or where, in fact, he had even come from but found himself unable to not trust him. The man was possessed of an intoxicating type of madness, curiosity and energy that the captain could just not refuse.

"Do you think they're hostile?" he said to the man.

The stranger looked at at the other ship on the bridge's huge view screen and replied in an accent the captain had never heard before but loved to imitate.

"It has been, in my experience, that cultures advanced enough to master inter-galactic space travel have also been enlightened enough to not be openly hostile or war-like, but rather just as curious and seekers of knowledge as you lot."

"So…" the captain turned back to studying the alien craft. "We're safe then." he concluded with a relaxed smile.

The tall stranger looked sideways at the captain, arching an eyebrow over an almost luminous eye.

"Well, not 'openly hostile', I said." He then added snidely, "And you guys have made it this far?" he chuckled and shook his head.

The captain let the remark slide and instead was more concerned with how they were going to communicate with the beings on the other ship.

"I hope our computers are going to be able to interpret their language." As he knew that this is a crucial and delicate factor when dealing with such matters as contact with an entirely new culture.

"I got that covered." the thin stranger said, digging into one of the pockets of his bizarrely tailored jacket. After a moment or two of searching, he came up with a small yellow fish floating in water, contained in a securely tied plastic bag. He held it up to the captain.

"Here. Just stick this fish in your ear."

The captain looked at him incredulously.

"What?" the captain said and poked the bag. The fish swam in tight, lazy circles in the small bag and examined where the finger had poked. He looked at the man again.

"How did you do that? How could you have possibly had this in your pocket?"

The man chuckled again and placed the bag containing the fish back into a different pocket, gazing up and down at the captain's form fitting, pocketless jump suit.

"Never mind the fish. Just an old joke. Anyway, these are my space pockets. They're bigger on the inside."

The captain, astonished as fish and bag disappeared, met the man's amused gaze.

"Who are you?" he said partly with wonder but mostly with irritation at this bizarre stow-away.

"I'm no one." he said. "Right now I think you should concentrate on who that is." As he said this the giant view screen at the front of the bridge suddenly revealed the image of a woman. Her features were humanoid. Her skin, a pale shade of blue. Black, glossy hair framed a narrow face with high cheek bones and dark red lips. Her features were sharp and icily beautiful. Inquisitive, lemon yellow eyes took in the scene on the captain's bridge, the astonished crew, banks of computers and finally came to rest on the captain and his improbable companion.

"Hello." she said. "It sure is dark out here, huh?"