A Klivarixa pilot in combat armor. Just a quick study of the alien race my gamers have been spying on via a zenith position over their home star. First contact hasn't actually been made yet.

When a slower than light Klivarixan probe was encountered about 10LY from their home planet, it first asked ID from the player's ship, then launched telemetry probes aligned itself to face its communications array back toward its homeworld, then tried to vacate the area.

Despite the players' ship being a bit slower than the probe acceleration wise, they plotted its trajectory and tried to follow, at which point it radio'd back at them something in its native tongue ... then blew up.

The players government has the next 10 years to try to figure out how to make first contact -before- the lightwave of whatever the probe sent home reaches that system.

From what the players could figure out while spooking above the Klivarixa's star, is that psychologically at least, they have a lot of parallels to humans. They have a balkanized homeworld, and active (though uncertain how extensive) international wars there. They various nations on their homeworld have colonized more than 10 bodies throughout their solar system. The probe the players encountered is at -least-50 years old, and space travel is obviously much older than that.

Evidence shows also that despite their lack of FTL, their materials, thrust, power and electronics technology may be superior to the Terran Confederation or Vilani Empire's current ability. Their computer technology of at least 50 years prior is at least as sophisticated as Earths at 2180 AD.