The hail is Starfleet-standard, clean and by the book - but routed through a diplomatic relay, not a tactical one. That alone is unusual. The officer who appears is human, mid-career, uniform immaculate in the way of someone who expects to be recorded.

They acknowledge Nova’s civilian registry immediately. Emphasize that this is not an inspection and not a summons. Merely a request for clarification.

Recent sensor logs, they explain, indicate performance characteristics inconsistent with any known civilian vessel: power distribution efficiencies, reaction-time anomalies, internal system harmonics that resemble - but do not match - experimental Starfleet architectures. No accusations. Just data.

Then comes the careful part. The questions are not about weapons or engines, but decision latency, command delegation, and whether Nova employs “adaptive executive automation beyond standard heuristic limits.”

They stress that Starfleet has no intention of confiscation. No intention of recruitment, either. But they would appreciate a conversation, off the record, if preferred.

The officer waits, polite and patient, eyes flicking briefly to something just out of frame, as if aware this channel is already being listened to.

The hail arrives without preamble, routed through a civilian relay chain that technically no longer exists. The image that resolves is deliberately ordinary: Green-skinned, unadorned, seated where no flags or insignia would normally hang.

They address the ship by name, then by registry - correctly. Civilian. Independent. Privately owned. A pause, just long enough to confirm this was not a mistake.

They remark that unaffiliated vessels have been faring poorly in nearby systems: inspections that take too long, pirates who seem unusually well-informed, “misfiled” traffic advisories. None of this is said with concern. Merely observation.

Their offer is framed as optional infrastructure. Routing data, market introductions, warnings delivered early enough to matter. No loyalty requested. No ideology assumed. Just an understanding that independence attracts attention, and attention can be managed.

Before the channel closes, they add one final courtesy: Starfleet won’t intervene where jurisdiction is unclear. Others will.

The coordinates follow. The silence afterward feels deliberate.