First Contact is the event in which a one-species society first discovers another sentient species. This is considered a major point in the development of a society. As a specific term, First Contact refers to Humanityprime's first contact with the Thranx.
This event is considered the second-most major point in the history and development of the Confederacy, and eventually the ICR. However, it is often overshadowed by or lumped in with the Energetic, considered the major point in the history of the Confederacy.
First Contact occured in 1 PRE, during the height of the Energetic Period. A major Thranx Colony, Rhee'clickt, was swept up by the Rift from an still-unidentified planet in a universe very near to 00ν (Nu) (the universe in which the Thranx were later recontacted.)