*All systems restored to 100% efficiency*

*Soul Link energy core active with slight fluctuations*

*AIRES (Artificial Intelligence Reconnaissance, Engagement and Security system) active*

*Neural Network activated*

*Bodily systems nominal. Emergency mode activated*

*Awakening in 10 seconds

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1*

I woke up suddenly, practically leaping out of bed with the thought of it; simultaneously, I was dealing with a barrage of questions that were forming with every waking second. Where am I? What happened? How am I alive? Where is the Sparrow? I immediately knew that the most important question to figure out was to know where I was, so to that end I carefully scanned my surroundings, making sure to take in every detail that I could. AIRES would tell me the composition of everything that I saw, so this was considerably easier than if I hadn’t had AIRES with me. It seemed that I was in a relatively primitive barn, and judging by the droppings and stray hairs everywhere, a goat’s barn. I headed for the open entrance and stepped onto a lush and verdant field of grass. It had to be early in the morning, as there were still wisps of mist visible, and the morning dew had clung to the grass, giving it a slight shimmer. I made sure to take a deep breath and savour it, because it has been months since I set foot on a planet, let alone what has clearly got to be a Human planet.

But if I was rescued, shouldn’t I be in a CSS facility? How on earth did I end up in a goddam barn? There was a sure-fire way to figure out where I was, and to be frank, I felt like a fool for not thinking of this sooner.

*I am unable to give answer either query*

*We are outside of CSS space*

*Correction, I have used the Sparrows stellar cartography facilities. Even so, I am unable to give you the coordinates; however, there is Human Biosphere life all around us. During your sleep, I have deployed a nanite network covering one kilometre in order to guard you, and using this network, I have identified multiple Human Biosphere species, along with other unidentified species. I have also taken the liberty of scanning for any radio, slipstream, hyperspace or quantum frequencies, of which there are none*

<…So, I’m on some kind of hippie commune waaay out in the sticks?>

*No, you are not in some hippie commune waaay out in the sticks. I believe that, we are in fact no longer in the same universe*

*If you would let me explain myself, you would see why I have come to that conclusion. *

<…Go on then, I’m waiting>.

*I encountered issues with the nanites when I attempted to deploy a network earlier. Now usually there are a few million nanites with issues and I can easily get around that; however, this time there were issues with all of them. As you are hopefully aware, nanites operate at the molecular scale. In order to rectify this issue, I used the Sparrows working facilities and have come across something quite interesting*.

*There is another type of elementary particle in this new universe*

*

*You could be a bit more polite about it. I’m doing all of the work, and what have you done? Exactly, absolutely nothing. Do you have anything else to say? *

<…….>

*Now stay quiet until I’m finished.

The new type of elementary particle is a free-floating particle that can be found everywhere. It seemingly cannot form structures by itself or with any other elementary particles; however, it can somehow use otherwise regular molecular structures as conduits. I have observed this to be especially common in the native flora and fauna, with nearly every species using it to enhance their biological processes. Some of the fauna I observed seemed to be unnaturally strong, fast and agile.

They seemingly do this by absorbing this particle from the air and storing it in their cells via these aforementioned conduits. From my observations it seems that some beings are better at utilising this particle, with large differences in ability being observed between members of the same species. I have yet to determine whether this is due to genetics, or some other yet to be identified factor. Are you with me?

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

*Of course, sir, I’ll give you a few minutes*

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“No Mother, you don’t understand, I had to help him; he was just… lying there! In the middle of a goddamn crater after crashing out of the sky on a falling star! What else could I have done?”

“You could have just left it there! You don’t know what it is or where the hell it came from, yet you had the compulsion to BRING IT BACK TO OUR BARN! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, MILO!”

“Were the closest settlement for miles so he would have eventually found us, and I’m just making sure that we are in his good graces. How often do you see people fall out of the heavens themselves! I honestly don’t think that he is bad news. In fact, I think that he’s a good omen. I mean look, even though you’re angry, this is the liveliest you’ve been in years. And besides, I have a pretty good eye for people and he seems pretty fine to me, so what’s the worst that could happen?”.

“A… a good omen”? She took a moment to process the audacity of that statement, for a brief moment wondering if she had gone wrong with her son. She stared at Milo; her incredulity apparent to even the most socially inept observer. “Boy, do you honestly think that we would have been the only ones to see the falling star?

Milo stood still for close to a minute, with every single neuron in his skull working overtime to find an answer that his mother would find even remotely acceptable. Alas, he found none. “…I didn’t think about anybody from town seeing it”.

“The Lords forces will probably be here in less than a week. What do you think will happen when they see you aided this creature? We’re already on less than ideal terms with the Lord, so whatever will happen to us cannot be good. The only way I can see us coming out of this unscathed is by going to town as soon as possible to alert the lord about this creature, and hope that he will show mercy”.

Mothers despair was nearly overwhelming Milo, the true gravity of the situation finally hitting him, so he took several deep breaths and steeled himself for what he would have to do.

“OK then, I guess I will have to make my trip into town earlier than I expected. I’ll have to sell the crops while I’m there, so it’ll take a bit to pack. I will be able to leave by tomorrow morning and with the Goddesses blessing, I will be able to make it there in five days at top speed”. At that moment Milo got up, ready to go and raring to make preparations for the upcoming journey. He would make sure to sell all of the Emerald Apples while he was in town, as well as inform the Lord about the creature, which would certainly earn him some recognition, however small that may be.

He stepped outside and immediately stopped.

Standing in front of the barn and looking at him directly, was the sky man.

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*Sir, I need your attention. *

*Sir, you’re staring intensely at a boy who happens to be staring back, and I don’t think that he’s too happy to see you. *

*He is the one who dragged you from the Sparrow and into the barn, Sir. *

*Six point three kilometres away, Sir. Since he came into contact with you, I took the liberty of analysing his body with nanites. It seems that even though his weight is around 45 kilograms, he managed to drag your 500-kilogram body by channelling the free-floating particles in order to enhance his strength. *

*I have yet to identify whether his level of strength is usual in this new location; however, I do have another person to compare him to. *

*It seems that this boy lives with his mother alone, as I have been unable to identify any other humans or sapient lifeforms nearby. *

*She is definitely weaker than him. Hell, she's weaker than most. Unfortunately for her, she has thyroid cancer, along with light lead poisoning, most likely from ingesting it via her water source. *

*I did that last night, Sir. I suggest that you address your helper because it has been four seconds since he began staring at you, and if this goes on any longer he may think you’re weird, Sir. *

*Goodnight, Sir. *

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I stood there for a couple more seconds, weighing out the options. I thought that I ought to greet him, seeing that you could never go wrong with introduction. I took a step forward, intent on thanking him for helping me out; yet, not much to my surprise, he flinched when I did so. To be fair, he was literally half my height, so I don’t blame him. I then decided that it would be best to call out to him instead, so that he would be comfortable with my presence.

“Hey there, thanks for helping me out. I really appreciate that!”, yelled the sky man. I took a moment to size him up, his full size hitting me for the first time. I decided that it would be best to play it nice, at least for now, in case things went awry.

“Um… you’re welcome, I guess”? Even though I tried to steel my voice, the trembles clearly gave my fear away. I just hoped that he wouldn’t have taken it as a cue to do whatever he liked.

He took some more steps towards me, his posture relaxed and a with a slight smile on his face. “Its fine little dude, I’m not gonna hurt you. I mean, you helped me out, so why would I hurt you?” he proclaimed, continuing to walk until he was right in front of me. “What’s your name?” he asked, kneeling down on one knee so that he wouldn’t totally dwarf me, which was an appreciated attempt at seeming more approachable.

“My name is Milo, what’s yours?”, I replied, for the first time taking in how strange this stranger really looked. He was definitely over seven feet tall, his body being evenly proportioned and well-muscled. His skin was the colour of bark yet is was smooth and blemish free, which was something I had only ever seen in the Lords family. He had deep brown eyes along with a warm smile and the whitest teeth I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing, which greatly helped to offset his intimidating stature. His clothes, which had been tattered and burnt when I found him yesterday had somehow been repaired, which had to be some sort of sorcery.

The clothes themselves were unlike anything I had ever encountered, with not a seam or stitch in sight. The shirt and trousers he wore were form fitting, seemingly being made of a smooth and comfortable material, the rich navy-blue dye contrasting with the white patterns embroidered onto them. The jacket he wore on top contrasted with the shirt and trousers colour scheme, being majority white with blue cuffs and stripes along the sleeve all the way to the neck. On his left breast pocket, a strange symbol was emblazoned, along with the symbols C.S.S.

“My name is Hannibal, but you can call me Han for short. OK, now that introductions are over, imma need to you to answer some questions of mine. Do you mind?”.

“No, of course not. What do you need to know, Hannibal?"

“Where the hell am I”?