...That's weird. Maybe they're higher-tech than they look. They haven't hailed her... She tentatively continues her survey, her quiet computerized eavesdropping.

At some point she gets close enough for a satellite to detect her ship. It directs some not-particularly-elegant scanners at her, and thirty seconds later, she is hailed. The incoming hail is audio and... Something that her computer cannot immediately decipher.

Well, can the universal translator digest it...? It's too slow and clunky for real-time communication, but they aren't aiming weapons at her or anything, so.

"I am alive," T'Mir replies, both in raw English audio and the universal translator's attempt at the hailing language, "and I can go home whenever I choose. Who are you?"

Hesitantly, Isabella offers video back. "I am Captain Isabella T'Mir of the United Federation of Planets survey vessel Prometheus."

"I have no desire to harm any of you. Are the gates like wormholes?"

"I am not certain that 'princess' means anything that my people have. The United Federation of Planets is led by President Thross."

"Hiver royalty is many times as intelligent as all others, and I and my daughters are the mothers of the entire hive. It is the natural order that we direct its efforts. Your biology is alien to us if you have no princess. I suspect that the United Federation of Planets is not similar to the political system I know. The only federation I have ever heard of is a historical alliance between rebellious princesses who took exception to the Queen, before we learned to build the gates."

"Our gene-weavers have long suspected that there is much life in the universe, waiting to be found. We have visited 343 systems, and gateships are travelling to 116 more at this moment. We would be very interested in information about your species' biology and a sample of your genetic code."

"...Among my people genetic information is considered very private. I would not like to offer you a sample of my own genome now. But I can tell you general things about the species of the Federation and the others we have met."

The princess makes an agitated noise. "How am I supposed to communicate without the subtleties provided by scent? That was intended as an offer to purchase genetic data, not me begging for it with nothing in return."

"The translations should improve in accuracy over time, but scent per se is not part of my device's capabilities. Whether my genome is available for purchase depends substantially on what you would want to do with it and how you would protect it from other things that might be done with it."

"We would study them and begin to understand the other ways life can be. I clarify that we are not interested in your genetic data in particular at this time, rather, the biology and genetics of your species and other species that you know of in general. Of course we will not share proprietary genes with all, if you wish to protect your competitive advantage."

"...I do not have any other genomes on my ship to share. My apologies for the misunderstanding. The concerns about sharing the genomes are not about competitive advantage but about privacy and the potential for cloning."

"We understand... You have technology that we do not. I hope the reverse is true so we have something to offer your hive in return."

"I've never heard of gates like the ones you use before."

"The gates are not mine to give. You would need to speak to the Queen."

"Yes, but if you have one unfamiliar technology you may have more. This is not a trading vessel, though, and I did not expect to find anyone to talk to here."

She describes several technologies, most well behind federation standards. Though apparently they released dozens of custom engineered bacteria into the planet's atmosphere to speed up terraforming.

"Your bacteria are interesting and not an avenue the Federation has investigated as deeply."

"I have neglected my duties of birth long enough. If you wish to discuss this further I would have you speak to my geneweavers."

"...All right."

"The one you will speak to is called Chief Geneticist Kutlt. I would speak to you again about whatever technology drives your vessel after you finish conversing with him."

"There are some complications in sharing that information, but I am not necessarily unwilling."

"I can certainly tell you things about my species' biology. I am not best equipped to use the information on the bacteria, but I would like to hear descriptions of what they can do."

It is necessary to disclose fairly early in this conversation that she is in fact a hybrid of two similar species.

He is extremely fascinated and asks lots of intrusive questions about reproduction in Vulcans and Humans! And will explain Hiver reproduction if she asks.

Isabella answers the intrusive questions in clinical, general terms, and yes, she's curious about the reciprocal, having gotten a few puzzling hints.

This is very interesting. Species of which Isabella was previously aware cannot do that, except insofar as it would theoretically be doable by the unethical application of particularly versatile psi powers.

He explains the results, but doesn't want to get into the details of exactly how it works. Incidentally, Hivers who are not reborn usually want their memory crystals to be consumed by someone because this imparts a bit of their skills and memory even to non-breeders. The harshest possible punishment is execution followed by deliberate destruction of one's crystal.

That makes sense.

The geneticist turns the topic back to Vulcan and Human biology, leaning into the 'technical detail' side of things now. RNA transcriptase, immune response, blood types. He asks why she was designed with hair, what purpose does it serve?

"In both humans and Vulcans, fur or hair is common to the clades they evolved from as an insulator, sun protection, and other purposes. In sapients it is mostly vestigial. We don't actually know why it can grow so long on the scalp in the first place but it's often allowed to do so as a form of ornamentation."

He accepts this explanation with mild confusion. There are a few more questions, but he recognizes that they're venturing into 'research scientist' territory, and cuts off by imploring her to get someone who knows alien biology well to visit.

"...My actual job is surveying uninhabited systems, or systems with less advanced life. The Federation will be surprised that I found you, and more surprised that I talked to you. They might not be glad that I talked to you."

"Tk! Politics always get in the way of scientific investigation! You will want to speak to the princess about that. I am but her loyal geneticist."

"Yes, but it sounded like she was busy. Perhaps you know enough to guess - would your people be interested in learning how to warp like my ship does and then pretend you invented it yourselves?"

"...You plan to deceive your hive? Well. We always suspected aliens would have bizarre priorities compared to our own, and now I have proof. As to the technology, free stuff is free stuff."

"My Federation is not a hive like your own. I am unusual, but it is not out of the ordinary to wish to contravene the government on smaller matters."

"I have less than zero desire to discuss politics. Shall I inform my princess that you wish to speak to her again?"

"Yes, please."

The geneticist closes the connection. A little later a non-princess Hiver hails her ship. "Princess Zztk'n will be ready to talk to you in approximately thirty minutes. Do you mind waiting?"

"No, I'm not in a hurry."

"Somewhat. The Federation doesn't approve of interacting with people who don't have that technology yet. I could be in a lot of trouble for talking to you at all, let alone telling you how warp works. If you're willing to pretend to have invented it yourselves, when you encounter other Federation members, I am happy to explain it to you."

"And you ask for nothing more than our cooperation in your deception?"

"I would also appreciate your promise not to instigate conflict with the Federation. They may or may not offer to let you join them, when they detect your warp signature, but they will almost certainly at least invite some trade, which I encourage you to consider."

"I find your priorities strange, but I imagine the reverse is just as true. I will accept your technology. I have no intentions to be the aggressor in any war though I will not promise nonviolence in response to invasions. And the hive will certainly trade where trade is profitable."

"Does this apply to your entire species?"

"I recognize that you are an outsider and only have my word for this, but my species as a whole only turns to violence when someone tries to take what we feel is ours."

"...Could you tell me something about when and how you decide things are yours?"

"We have a saying that possession is law. A planet is ours when ten million Hivers are living on it. An object is ours when it is inside our hive. A ship is ours when the only crew onboard are from our hive. If the Federation started a hive on the asteroids in this system, we would not complain unless they removed our own installations in the process."

"But do you settle planets that have been claimed or settled by others - even smaller numbers - or remove objects to your hive when someone else considers those objects their own? This might cause problems."

"We can accept that a small hive represents a claim, but a planet that is claimed and not settled would be claimed only in name. Theft between hives is not common, and the farmlands and installations above and surrounding a hive are considered just as much a part of the hive as its tunnels and throne room. We would not steal things from other hives, or seize ships that attempt to trade with us, but things abandoned here become ours."

"Often settling a planet requires a lot of planning, and claiming the planet is the first step in a long process which people would be upset to find interrupted. Or the planet is claimed for strategic reasons rather than because anyone plans to live on it."

"A planet claimed but not used for anything is a wasteful and repellent idea. But I realize we must learn that other species value different things than ourselves if we want to not be at war with the entire universe."

"I am glad that is clear."

"I want to be equally clear that we will not simply accede without negotiation to whatever other species demand of us. Hivers must be involved in matters involving Hivers."

"No one would expect that. But if you have not met any other species before you may be less accustomed than Federation negotiators in compromising between the different needs."

"We shall see. Are there devices capable of locally inhibiting warp? We would like to build them around our planet and stations."

"It's not customary to warp very close to planets and stations for other reasons, but I don't know of devices that do that."

"It would seem that a faster-than-light projectile would be an exceptionally deadly weapon. Perhaps I misunderstand how the technology works, since you have not yet told us?"

"Warp isn't used as part of weapons used by people known to the Federation. I'm not personally a scientist, I only know the basic warp equations, but I don't think it works like that."

"If you only know the basic equations it may be decades before we have an operational drive."

"That depends on what raw materials and manufacturing capability you have available."

"We are better at genetics than devices and manufacturing, but approximately twenty years past the homeworld completed its first non-research-scale thermonuclear fusion power plant. Does this give you a better guess?"

"Nuclear power is normally several decades before large-scale nuclear power. You might take a while to build warp technology as you guess. But if you don't, the Federation won't want to talk to you. Depending on the range of your gates, you could find other races and trade with them for warp. Those civilizations tend to be less friendly to unfamiliar species but might not be hostile."

"The gates have no maximum range, but must reach their destinations by sublight travel. I think we will need to wait until we develop warp."

"And you will pretend to have developed it on your own to the Federation? Or at least gotten it from some other source."

"If I order everyone who knows of your visit to secrecy - five individuals including myself, all loyal members of my hive - I can likely plausibly pretend that one of my physicists discovered the equations."

"That will do. I'll send them over." Which she does.