Lens of Time by Saxon Andrew

before we decided to do this. This could have possibly been avoided.”
    “I doubt it. I had the records Captain Roman used in my possession but have not taken the time to look them over.”
    George stared at RV not saying anything. RV waited and finally said, “You’re right. I would have had the computer look up all the information we had on this civilization. But I may not always be around, George. The basic premise of attacking an advanced civilization was good.”
    “The other civilization had participated in attacking other Majors. That’s the one we should have gone after.”
    “I know. Do I have your approval to make contact?”
    “You do.”
    “It may lead to the loss of our probe.”
    “That’s the price for not doing the right thing.”
    “I’ll keep you informed on what’s happening.” George nodded and ended the connection.
    Cyanna said, “What now?”
    “Bring Roman and Barber on board. They should at least be here when we contact the Nexu.”
    • • •
    The Operator was listening to the ships communicating about things they were seeing in their areas of responsibility. One called in, “We’re going back to port. Our replacement has arrived.”
    “Transfer your records and you’re free to leave.”
    “Do you have a moment to have a conversation?”
    The Operator heard the question and looked for the source of it. It was not coming from one of his ships. He activated every sensor in the territory and waited. After ten minutes he said, “What do you wish to discuss?”
    “Before I start, will you complete our conversation before you destroy the mechanism being used to conduct it?”
    The Operator patched in the Leader that had expressed anger over the intrusion into their territory and asked, “What should I do?”
    “Ordinarily, I’d just destroy the probe they are obviously using to contact you but I still have that lingering question.”
    “Do I have your approval to open a conversation? I’ve been able to localize the location of the transmitter being used but not well enough to find it.”
    “I’m bringing in the Directors. Give me a moment.” The Operator waited and after another ten minutes he heard, “We’re listening in. If you determine the mechanism being used is a weapon, you will destroy it immediately.”
    “If I determine it is only a communication device, I will need you to determine when I take action to remove it.”
    “We will do that.”
    The Operator pushed his panel, “I agree to listen as long as I determine it is in the best interests of those I defend.”
    “I understand your caution. We deployed a communication device when one of our ships trespassed into your domain. We expect you to find it momentarily if we continue broadcasting.”
    The Operator looked at his board and said, “We’ve located your device. According to my readings, your device is remarkable. I should go ahead and remove it but you have revealed its existence for a reason.”
    “I have.”
    “What is that?”
    “I’ve contacted you to apologize for our inappropriate intrusion into your space and want you to know we will not do it again.”
    “Why did you do it the first time?”
    “We and our allies are currently under attack by many of the Major Civilizations. We don’t know how our ships match up to those we’ll have to face and we consider that information critical to our survival. We decided to probe the most advanced Major Civilization we could find and see where we stand.”
    “So you selected us to make that determination?”
    “We did, but after the fact, we determined we made a bad choice. This contact is to offer our apology and to assure you it will not happen again.”
    “That doesn’t help the ones you killed in one of our ships or the thirteen lost in pursuit of your vessel.”
    “We realize that. We decided that we should reveal our sensor buoy to you and allow you to remove it. We do regret the ships you lost.”
    “How do we know this is your only