Haven - First Contact

 (This is the first installment of the back story to the universe in which my game will take place in. It's been a long, long time since I have attempted to write any fiction, so please, be gentle.)

The residents of Haven lived an insignificant existence. A small spec of a planet located somewhere in the endless void of the galaxy, little has changed on the world in the last 300 years. Its people know little of their origins. Bits and pieces of history have survived since the first settlement was founded, but even what remains is cryptic at best. It is almost as though their forefathers were hiding something from future generations. Then again, there was little reason for the people of Haven to uncover those secrets. The technology passed down from the original settlers of the planet made life comfortable for the Havenites. There have been no major wars since the Unification Treaty was signed centuries before. Life on the planet offered its inhabitants what every human sought after: stability.

 It is not as if the Havenites thought of themselves as alone in the galaxy. The technology they possess rivals that of some space faring civilizations. Astronomers have mapped the stars, satellites crowd the planet's orbit, and astronauts have set foot on two of Haven's three moons. But, the desire to expand their frontier ended there. It is very difficult to motivate a population to explore when there is no necessity to do so. The human population of Haven is a miniscule 107 million spread across eight continents. The largest city is just under two million, making pollution a non-issue for all but the most densely settled areas. This does not all come without a price. For over a century, technological advancement has been at a standstill. With no wars to fight, no pollution to clean, and no mouths to feed, what is there to strive for? As long as the populace could earn a living and provide for their families, what is there to change? What the Havenites needed was a question to answer, a problem to solve. Something that would allow their civilization to once again begin moving forward.

On a blustery spring day, a house-sized object streaked across the sky on the southernmost continent. Although monitoring stations had been tracking it since it hit the stratosphere, it still took the first responders over four hours to arrive. The object had come to rest in a field, far from any major city, leaving a half mile trench behind it. Those at scene that had surmised it was some sort of spacecraft were proved right when the body of the unconscious pilot was pulled from the wreckage. The news outlets had reported a defense satellite had malfunction and fell from the sky. In reality, it was Haven's first known contact with an alien race.

Over the next forty seven hours, Haven's best doctor's did their best to keep the pilot alive while Haven's best linguists did their best to communicate with the alien. All that could be deciphered was the following:

"Followed. Arrive soon. No one knows. Reject brothers. You still have choice."

Although the greatest minds on the planet converged to decipher the meaning, their efforts proved fruitless. It would take another event, second contact, to shed light on those eleven simple words.