[ WP ] You 're the first astronaut sent to Mars . When you 're about to land , you spot a ship exactly like yours a mile away .

Captain Peters, upon seeing the other ship, did *not* panic. Definitely not. There was absolutely no need to panic. 
 
 After he was done not panicking, he checked his instructions and found that NASA had, in fact, provided him and his crew with instructions on what to do with if they encountered an unknown, possibly-alien vessel. So, the captain had Matthew Hanson begin scanning different radio channels, sending pulses of three, then one, then four pulses before moving on to the next channel. The first few numbers of pi would grab attention, if these'aliens' were listening. 
 
 It took about an hour, with the crew beginning to set up their living space next to the now-landed ship. In the distance, on the other side of the crater chosen as the landing site, humanoid figures could be seen doing the same thing from the unknown vessel. After an hour, as Matthew Hanson waited in the ship, scanning through the radio, he picked up several squawks in a definite pattern - one, then one, then two, then three, then five. 
 
 `` The fibonachii series,'' he muttered. `` Captain! We've found a common channel!'' 
 
 Captain Peters took the microphone and spoke into it. `` This is Captain Peters of the *Artemis II. * Please identify yourself.'' He gave a helpless shrug to Matthew Hanson, unsure of what the point of speaking to possibly-aliens in English was. 
 
 `` ^^Englisch? ^^Was... Kapitän Peters, ist diese Kapitän Schultz des SH Polarstern,'' came a distinctly human voice through the radio. `` Wir sind gekommen Mars im Namen des Kaisers zu nehmen.'' 
 
 `` German?'' the captain said, surprised. He turned to Hanson, who spoke German ( the captain himself spoke both Spanish and Chinese, but not German ). `` What did he say?'' 
 
 `` He said,'Captain Peters, this is Captain Schultz of the SH Polarstern,'' Hanson translated. `` We have come to claim Mars in the name of the Kaiser.'' 
 
 Captain Peters raised the mic once more. `` Captain Schultz, that may be a problem. We've come to claim Mars for the United States of America.'' 
 
 There was a brief, confused-sounding response. `` America?'' Hanson translated. `` That ca n't be right. The United States were broken up in 1919. Is this a joke?'' 
 
 `` Imagine how I feel, Captain,'' Peters said. `` Germany has n't had a Kaiser since the Great War.'' 
 
 There was a pause, and some low conversation came through the mic, not loud enough for Hanson to hear and translate. A moment later, though, `` Captain Peters. Who won the Great War?'' 
 
 `` The Allied Powers, of course.'' 
 
 `` The Central Powers won the Great War, Captain.'' 
 
 Captain Peters and Matthew Hanson stared at each other. They had a procedure for contacting aliens. They did n't have one for contacting a parallel dimension. After a few moments, he clear his throat and spoke again to the German ship. `` I must admit, Captain Schultz, we are unprepared to contact an alternate dimension. May I suggest a brief recess while we contact our respective space agencies?'' 
 
 `` I was about to request the same thing,'' said Captain Schultz through Hanson. 
 
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