Carrie Vaughn's "The Best We Can" (short story, first contact, free)

This is hard sf. If you don't have the right taste, it probably will appear very dry.

Story summary.

An object has been found in a solar orbit. Something that's not natural. And not human. Story is speculation about what it could be & the fight of discoverer with the funding agencies to go look more closely at it.

See also.

1. James E Gunn's "The Listeners": Another hard sf & realistic look at a first contact scenario.

Fact sheet.

First published: Tor.com, 17 July 2013.

Download full text from publisher's site.
Rating: A.

Added to my "best of 2013" list.

Related: Stories of Carrie Vaughn.