A single rocket flew through the night sky, breaking past the limits of the atmosphere and into space.

The war was over.

Every cheer from the city and scattered towns below was heard up on the hill by the mother and her son. She smiled at him, cradling the baby in her arms.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. It’s over.” She laughed when her infant child grabbed one of her fingers and giggled in her lap. They could move on at last. “We’re finally safe…you’re finally safe.”

          He tugged her finger tighter, yet the child soon became distracted by a strange little spark of light that whizzed through the dew-scented air. It flitted around in front of a monitor that was floating beside them. His eyes wide with curiosity, he crawled out of her lap while she watched over him. He flapped his little wings, though he could not yet fly, and he made his way to the screen.

The little boy reached up to it and watched as live footage showed a man speaking triumphantly, if a little worn out. A young girl stood beside the man, her clothes tattered and her eyes faded, but she almost seemed to look up at the screen with a glimmer of hope. It was like she knew there was something out there.

          The baby stared back, and he opened his mouth. “S…save…” He tried to utter his mom’s last word.

          The mother gasped. “Oh…Oh Alex!” It was the first thing he had ever spoken. She slid herself over to him and couldn’t express how great this night felt as she scooped up her child and squeezed him tight.

He giggled and repeated the word, wanting to get the joyful reaction from his mom again and again. “Save! Save!”

          They both smiled and laughed, sitting alone on the hilltop while celebrating with everyone across the star system, as the night sky glimmered with stars.

***

One glimmer appeared suddenly in space. It was a sudden, brief flash, and then, as if out of nowhere, a dark robotic mechanism with a glowing green eye flashed into existence. The device was about the size of a humanoid’s torso. It held suspended in the vacuum for a few moments, taking in the glow of the world below before the eye blazed sharper and it drifted down and entered the atmosphere.

Somehow, this floating robot went undetected by everyone and everything.

Down beneath the hunting robot sat a man in his house, his head in his arms as he slouched at his dinner table. His long silver hair messed, the black suit loosened, his body feeling alien to him…

It was too much.

He looked up. His own plate and 2 others were still there. The children were probably asleep by now…but it was hard to look any higher to the empty spot on the other end.

The man shuddered out a breath and stood up.

As he went to the refrigerator, a glow appeared from outside the house. He didn’t really notice it yet. Then the green light was behind him. Confused at the glimmering reflection on the walls, he turned around.

Nothing.

Yet surely something had been there. He walked back towards the table, wondering what could have caused that hue. Back at his chair, he pondered. The kids wouldn’t have brought home anything new. They just came back from the—Bang!

Suddenly, a white light enveloped him, catching the man off guard as he jumped and looked around frantically. What was happening!?! The light was blinding, too hard to see. He shielded his eyes as his breath stole away.

Then a powerful shiver ran across his body.

“You poor soul…”

His eyes widened for a moment as he adjusted to the brightness. He looked around again, but he still saw nothing.

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“You won’t see me.” The voice was a horrifying mix of commanding yet gentle. Brimming with power. It made the man twitch, his nerves on end. “But I am here to give you an offer…words are all that are needed.”

A force gently landed on his shoulder. It felt like a hand, but this caused his body to feel even more tense than the voice alone did. “Sit down…there is no need to be afraid.” The force pushed a little more to guide him. “All we need is a little help in return.”

Unwilling to push his luck, even if this was just a hallucination of some sort, the man obeyed and sat. Yet his body was on edge, his shoulders hunched up. He opened his mouth to respond—

“Listen.”

His eyebrows furrowed. He tried again—

“Listen.”

Apparently, this was to be a one-sided discussion.

Another force, perhaps the other hand, rested on his other shoulder. “You have been held back…forced to go through horrible things. All of you…”

All of us? What did that mean, the rest of humanoid kind? Was this a foreign, alien creature?

“You want what everyone else wants, don’t you? To get a chance…to break from all these limits. It’s a dream that seems to elude so many…no matter how hard you fight.”

At that last word, the fingers’ grips on his shoulders tightened a little more. He winced. Yet the fingers gradually loosened again, gentler like before. “But perhaps we can give you that chance. A gift, to build mutual trust. It would certainly help to get you from this small house into something a little grander…”

The man’s eyebrows furrowed again. He turned his head to address them—

“Don’t.”

He couldn’t look either apparently, let alone speak. Yet he was lying if he wasn’t considering what the apparition had said immediately before. Was this a…bribe? Some form of persuasion? He wasn’t a man of any power. He just worked as a small-scale mechanic. In fact, he didn’t even know anyone of influence. What could this elusive creature want with him?

“Why, we want to find allies.” The voice seemed to divine his thought process. “What we want should be acquired through peaceful means. The secrets of this star system have, let’s say, the chance to help us in our struggle, and to give you the means to help in all of yours.”

Star system. That confirmed this being’s alien nature. However, this seemed suspicious. It still didn’t answer why —

“And the reason we are picking you is that we would prefer fresh faces, those who understand how important it is to ease the means of rising up.” One hand patted his shoulder encouragingly. “It’s time that your worlds had people in charge who aren’t shy of breaking limits. Ready to do anything to protect those you care for, for example.”

The man’s eyes flittered.

“But it’s more than that. It’s the chance to ensure their survival against all things…” The voice’s cadence was ascendant with ambition. “The forces of Nature…other humanoids…everything.” The apparition seemed to lean forward, to whisper this last part in his ear. “It’s time to stop being held back. To go beyond what Nature ever intended. If you at least agree with that, then nod your head.”

He hesitated. It wasn’t like he disagreed. He felt so helpless right now that it hurt. The ability to protect his children was all that he wanted right now. He couldn’t let—

The thought started, but he couldn’t finish it. He didn’t want to even think about that.

He wasn’t sure if he should trust this thing, though. It wasn’t clear that it was even real. Perhaps his feelings had gotten the better of him and he was having a strange dream. But if this apparition truly existed, and if what it was saying was true…

By peaceful means. That’s what it said, but the subtext was clear. This could lead to something dangerous ahead.

He was about to lie and shake his head. However, his kid’s faces appeared in his mind.

Always protect them…

Despite his concerns, he slowly nodded in agreement.

“Good.” The voice smiled through its tone at him. “And don’t worry, you have time to make your decision. We aren’t without appreciation for your predicament. As a token of our trust, you should have a chance to witness the technology we have. To analyze and understand it…and to make of it what you will.”

A thunderclap of sound hit the man’s ears, causing him to convulse and cover them as he let out a loud grunt. “GAHH!”

The words hit his mind yet again.

“We will seek you out when you make your final decision. Feel free to make yourself a man that you can admire until then. These worlds are full of opportunity…” The voice sneered as it pulled its hands back, and the light began to fade. “In a place like this, no one should be so disadvantaged.”

The man panted and looked around as his dining room came into view again. “W-wha…”

“Farewell, and may we find ourselves with a mutual understanding.”

One more clap and the light was snuffed out.

There was nothing but black once again.

He glanced back and forth, trying to get accustomed to the darkness once more. This was all so strange…Yet even when he could see, he found nothing in his room.

He searched around the kitchen, looked under the table, but still nothing. What exactly was this parting gift that the voice had mentioned? He didn’t see anything. Maybe it really was a dream after all.

“Dad?” His son’s sleepy voice came from upstairs. “W-what’s going on?”

“Oh…nothing…” His boy had heard him scream from earlier. “I just bumped my head, I think.”

“Okay…Is there someone outside?”

Confused, he looked out the window. “Outside—?”

And there it was. The glowing green light…flashing through the glass barrier.

His daughter started crying in her cradle.

“…Go check on your little sister.” The man rushed to the front door, grabbing his handgun, and ran out as fast as he could. “And stay inside!”

He leaped through the frame, slammed the door behind him and chased after the glow. It zigged and zagged away, he ran faster, it turned a corner, he almost skidded on his feet. Whatever this thing was, he had to catch it.

But then he stopped. His eyes widened in shock.

He could only marvel at what laid before him…