So in part one, a privately-funded venture to colonize another planet was minding their own business when they made first contact with a mysterious fleet of alien vessels.

Teenage prose notwithstanding, here are a few things that jumped out at me as I scanned through the prologue and first chapter:

1) I had forgotten it, but the prologue is basically a copy-paste of a later chapter in the book with the names changed. Lay that foreshadowing on like peanut butter, baby.

2) I envisioned we’d have near-light speed communication, interstellar travel, and privately-funded spacecraft by 2021. Two-and-half strikes; Elon Musk comes pretty close, and if anybody in private industry is going to colonize the galaxy, it’s probably him.

3) On the bright side, I made mention of someone reading a newspaper on a tablet-like device, but heck, Star Trek: The Next Generation had that. No credit.

Onto part two. What happens when the folks back home get word about the event?