He had been sailing for twenty-nine days, days of endless sea and sky, when the storm blew up. In a matter of minutes, gusting winds drove the sea into huge twenty metre waves, tossing the boat like a cherry in a cocktail shaker. Qu Pang struggled to trim the sails, reducing the surface area as much as he could, then went below, letting Sea Dragon run before the storm.

He spent a restless night, listening to the roar of the wind, feeling the swoop and fall of the waves. The storm blew for three days and for three nights, until finally he woke one morning to - silence. At first he wondered what was wrong, before he realised he could no longer hear the wind. The waves were still driving Sea Dragon forward, but the wind had died down. He checked his navigator. He was further east than he had planned. Before the storm, he had been travelling more or less due south, but the winds had blown him a long way eastward.

Soon he hoped, the sea would settle and he would be able to get back on course.

It wasn't until dawn of the following day that the sea calmed sufficiently for Qu Pang to risk going above deck. Relieved to be in the fresh air, he took deep, lung-cleansing breaths before he took a good look around.

What was that on the horizon? A brown smudge.

He blinked, wondering if he was imagining things. No - it was still there when he opened his eyes.

Land?

Eagerly he piloted Sea Dragon toward the object, his excitement growing as he got nearer, and saw that it was indeed land. Jagged cliffs, rising out of the sea.

He drew closer, bringing Sea Dragon in to about a kilometre from the coast.

Avidly, he scanned the area for signs of settlement, but could see nothing except for bare rock and low patches of green, and further inland - a huge mountain. He stared in wonder. Some trick of the light made it look white. Should he try and land Sea Dragon? Or keep going?

He decided to keep exploring. He headed south, following the coast.

~~~

Carl Steppenwolf was on the beach, struggling to land a large mackerel, when he saw the strange craft. For a brief second he thought it was a breaching whale. As soon as he realised it was artificial, he dropped his rod and fled back to Murdo, as fast as his legs would carry him.

Darting through the settlement, he burst through the front door of Center, the main building.

"Hey everyone!" he shouted. "There's a strange thing out in the water!"

Scientist Joan Whitney bustled forward, a frown marring her smooth face. "No need to shout, child! What are you talking about?"

"A thing in the water, moving fast. Long, like this-" His hands outlined the shape. "With triangles on the top."

By then older Scientist Ernest Presley had arrived, drawn by the unaccustomed noise.

"It's probably a whale," he said, dismissively.

"No, it's not!" Carl insisted, standing his ground. "I know what a whale looks like! And this is quite different."

"Well, let's go and have a look," suggested Joan, feeling a flicker of excitement. There had been that big storm a few days ago. Occasionally something foreign would wash up on the shores, but there hadn't been anything other than seaweed for months.

She led the way outside, then gestured to Carl to go ahead. "Okay, let's see this thing, shall we?"

Carl pointed out to sea. It wasn't a whale. Even Presley could see that.

"It's a boat," exclaimed Researcher Billie Clapton, who had come up behind them. "I've seen images of them in the archives."

They turned to stare at her, eyes widening with shock. Everyone knew there were no boats on Ross Island. There was nothing to make one with. Even when the settlement was operational in ancient times, boats had only visited during the summer months. When the climate changed - almost 700 years ago - the settlement was cut off, iced in for several years and by the time the ice shelf started to melt, the Armageddon Wars were already occupying the attention of the rest of the world. There were no resources to spare to go to the aid of a small outpost.

Officer Miles Domino joined the small crowd, puffing slightly in his haste to catch up. He was busy hanging his badge of office - a Colt revolver - around his neck. It hadn't worked for centuries, despite the fact that each Officer kept it oiled and locked in an airtight box, but he felt it made a point. In his right hand, he gripped a wicked-looking harpoon.

"But what is it? What's a 'boat'?" asked Carl, looking at the strange craft.

"It's a container. Like a... a cart," Billie struggled to find the right words. "A cart for the sea. They used to carry people in the old days, people, and goods, goods for trading."

"You mean there's a person in there?" Carl squeaked. "Someone from the Old World? I thought you said they were all dead." He turned to stare at the Researcher for a second before tearing his gaze back to the boat, which was slowly approaching. He felt thrilled and frightened at the same time. What would these people look like? In all his twelve years, Carl had never met anyone from outside the colony. Neither had anyone else, to his knowledge - ever .

After all these years, would they still be human?

"Let's go down and meet them," said Billie, unable to suppress her excitement. As a Researcher, she had spent a lot of time reading about the past, learning all she could from the fragments of information still accessible. What an opportunity now - to meet someone from the outside world!

She took off before anyone could come up with reasons why that might be a really bad idea. Officer Domino swallowed, took a firmer grip on his weapon and followed her down toward the cove. It was his job to protect the colony, even though that normally meant settling minor internal disputes. Joan and Carl followed too, leaving Presley to stay behind, ready to ring the alarm bell if the newcomer proved threatening.

~~~

Standing on deck, and shivering with the unaccustomed chill, Qu Pang could see a group of four people, including a child, coming down a path to the edge of the sea. All of them wore strange clothes, full length trousers and long sleeved jackets that looked like they were made of fur. Their hands and faces were pale, paler than his olive toned skin. Even more oddly, their hair was four different colours instead of the normal black, ranging from the child's pale yellow to the man's dark brown.

Were they friendly? How could he tell? Qu Pang took a deep breath, he'd come all this way... He'd never forgive himself if he didn't try to make contact.

"Hullo," he called, once he was near enough. "Can I bring my boat in here?"

The people on the shore exchanged blank looks. He tried again, perhaps they hadn't heard him clearly. But they still looked blank. Did they understand him?

He supposed it was hardly surprising that language would change over the centuries. He tried a small wave and a smile - surely those were universal?

One of the women gave a tentative wave in return. That was promising.

Qu was now only a few metres from shore but there was no dock, no wharf, to tether his boat against. At least there was a small cove and a beach. He looked down at the water, checking the depth, making sure there were no hidden rocks, and then tossed the anchor overboard. He drew out his small bamboo canoe from the hold and placed it in the water, got in, then rowed slowly to shore.

The four strangers watched every move, as if they had never seen anything like it.

He stepped out of the canoe, drew it carefully up onto the sand, and took a step nearer, leaving a couple of metres between himself and the strangers. The man held a spear and he didn't want to frighten him into using it.

"Hullo," he said again. "My name is Qu Pang."

The young woman who had waved, frowned as if she was struggling to understand. Qu Pang pointed at his chest. "Qu Pang."

A smile broke out on the woman's face. "Billie Clapton," she said, pointing to her own chest. She turned to the others and spoke briefly, too soft for Qu Pang to hear. Then she turned back to him.

"Where do you come from?" She said slowly, pausing between each word. Her accent was heavy but he realised she was speaking a form of English, his own language.

"Straylia." He said, then pointed north. "Several thousand kilometres that way."

Although Billie and the child were clearly excited by the news, the other two looked worried.

"Are there any more of you?" asked the man.

Qu shook his head. "No, just me. But of course there are many more people back where I came from," he added.

"Why are you you here?" the man continued, more suspicious than the others.

Qu stayed calm. After all, if a strange craft arrived at his home he would want to know its intentions, too. "I'm an explorer. I've been searching for new lands. New people to meet and to trade with. I mean you no harm."

The three adults exchanged quick glances.

"We must tell the Committee," said the male, addressing the two women. The older woman nodded and turned to face Qu.

"Joan Whitney. Earnest Presley." She pointed to herself and Presley, speaking slowly, as Billie had, and smiling. "Please come with us, so we can discuss this further. You can leave your boat here, it will be quite safe. Oh, and welcome to Murdo Science Station."

"Thank you," said Qu.

He followed the others up the path, hoping he wasn't making a terrible mistake.

(to be continued...)