On June 1, 2440, less than 24 hours after the Calnareth’s unplanned Missouri landing, Freeholder Matt Marmaduke answers direct questions about first contact, rapid response, and the challenges of welcoming 100,000 alien refugees into the Freehold.
Matt pushes for a limited media tour of the V’ren ship to build public trust, navigating cultural protocol, security concerns, and a moment of unexpected personal rapport with T’mari. Cameras roll as Missouri’s first steps toward the stars take shape—measured, cautious, and just irreverent enough to stay human.
In the shadow of the landed V’ren ship, Matt Marmaduke meets the alien delegation on scorched Missouri ground. What begins as formal posturing shifts to mutual trust, ending in a decisive agreement—refuge for the V’ren under his charter, and a direct line of truth between him and their chosen ambassador.
When the V’ren ship settles across Matt Marmaduke’s northern fields, it flattens nearly two hundred acres of prime crop. The ramp lowers, and Missouri’s first alien visitor walks into the sunlight. In measured words, Matt greets her—balancing local pride, corporate authority, and a farmer’s blunt pragmatism.
An alien ship settles into Matt Marmaduke’s front field, cradled down by mysterious Beacon beams. With a bet paid and a motley crew ready to work, Matt keeps his calm—and his claim—while General Leonard Wood watches through drone feeds from hundreds of miles away. Missouri’s First Contact is in local hands.
Summoned to Amazon’s highest chamber, General Leonard Octavius Wood briefs the corporate elite on eight alien ships and the sudden awakening of the Beacon Network. Rival megacorps circle like sharks, narrative control becomes paramount, and the first hours of humanity’s contact with another species are already slipping from containment.
When eight alien ships drop into the solar system, the long-silent Beacon Network roars to life. General Leonard Octavius Wood takes the first call—and learns a crippled colonial transport the size of a city is falling toward Earth. No one knows who built the Beacons, or why they’re answering now.