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Alpha.”
    “Who are the Alpha?” Jeffrey asked.  “Do they have a cousin named Omega to round off the Greek Alphabet?”
    “You really think the Greeks came up with that on their own,” Hastelloy challenged with a soft smile before continuing.  “My crew stumbled upon your planet completely by accident after a battle with the Alpha, so they are probably the best place to start my story.”
    The patient lifted his hands above his head and extended his fingers.  “In all, ten colony worlds were founded.”  He lowered his left hand and closed his right fist with the exception of his index finger still pointing upward. 
    “One of those early ships was commanded by Captain Diaz, and events didn’t unfold as they should have causing tragic consequences for countless worlds,” Hastelloy said as he lowered his hand to rest lazily on his lap.
    Dr. Holmes shift ed to the side in his seat but was careful to keep eye contact with the patient.  The story was going to be complete nonsense of course, but it would be interesting at least.  He made sure to take meticulous notes to use when contradictions invariably surfaced.
    **********
    “Why are they called the Alpha?” Ensign Tomen asked his commanding officer.
    “Because they were the first sentient race the Novi discovered,” Lieutenant Scoren replied in a lazy voice.  “Since then the council has alphabetically named each species discovered.
    “How long has it been since we detected the last transmission from their world?” Tomen went on.
    Fighting back a yawn Scoren replied nonchalantly, “Over 1,000 years, why do you ask?”
    “It just seems odd to me that they stopped talking to us,” Tomen continued.  “Captain Diaz and his colony ship discovered the Alpha on the world they were supposed to colonize.  They made first contact since the ship didn’t have enough supplies or fuel to make it back to Novus or any other habitable planets.”
    “Right,” Scoren confirmed, now taking an actual interest in the conversation.
    “Captain Diaz and the colonists resided on that world for fifty years before gathering enough fuel and supplies for the return trip,” Tomen continued.  “From all accounts I’ve ever read the colonists cultivated a limited, yet friendly relationship with the Alpha.  When they finally left the planet Captain Diaz vowed to maintain close communications with them. Why would they converse with us for the first 100 years and then suddenly stop talking to us all together?”
    A slightly confused look came across Tomen’s face as he went on, “I’ve read Diaz’s autobiography.  When he returned to Novus he personally took charge of all communications with the Alpha.  At that time the Captain firmly believed they were a friendly and curious people honestly interested in knowing how their stellar neighbors were doing.”
    Scoren sat upright in his chair sensing a serious discussion.  Manning a listening outpost at the outer limits of Novi space could get a bit tedious, to put it mildly.  Any break from the monotony of monitoring radio frequencies and sensor grid disruptions was a welcome change of pace.
    “I think you can piece it together from their last few transmissions,” Scoren said.  “After Captain Diaz’s ship returned to Novus, the council determined we were to limit communication with the Alpha.  Sharing of technology or any information at all about the Novi was forbidden.  I guess the council figured enough damage was done by the Captain’s original decision to land and they couldn’t risk making matters worse.
    “Over time the Alpha grew increasingly interested in our technology and learning more about the Novi.  Our reluctance to talk about ourselves no doubt turned them away.  They simply didn’t understand the moral obligation we were under.”
    Scoren paused to better formulate his response.  Tomen had only been on the listening outpost for a few days so Scoren felt a need to impress upon the