"This is the Martian vessel Kalpavriksha." I open my eyes. There is a large ship between us and Ra. It must have appeared just in time to intercept the weapon blast. "I am commander Nari, son of Loki." Loki groans and looks like he wants to bang his head on something, but he is too busy transferring energy to try. "You are firing upon an unarmed vessel in our space. Declare yourself!"

The ship looks organic as if it was grown. Is it made of wood?

The speaker crackles and in the window over Loki's shoulder, I see more ships arrive. They appear almost all at once surrounding the planet and refreshing the shield that just fell.

"I was under the impression you did not have a fleet," Ra responds to Nari.

"Apologies for our tardiness. We were under the impression you respected the lives of your kin. Seems we were both mistaken." Loki chuckles at his son's boldness and shakes his head. "May I escort you out of the Sol system?"

A hatch seems to open on the Kalpavriksha and it drifts slowly towards us. In mere moments, we are safely in what appears to be a shuttle bay, though the shuttles look nothing like I would have imagined. Made of wood, each shuttle appears different, though most are shaped like seeds or pinecones.

"I am here to pick up my mother. I will not leave without her."

"Then, perhaps you should wait in orbit around Mars. We will meet you there momentarily."

A knock sounds on the door, and Lou stumbles over Belenus to reach the hatch and open it. Uniformed people enter, though I can't tell what species they are. Many have traits indicative of multiple species. Several, who appear to be doctors, rush to help those of us who are unconscious. The rest of us are ushered out of the pod.

"I am Selwyn," he gives a short bow, "Nari's second in command. I'm here to bring you to the bridge so you can complete your first contact mission."

"Loki," he bows the same way Selwyn did, "we appreciate the assistance," he offers before introducing us. Selwin turns to lead us out of the hangar.

Isis lingers behind, "Is there a way to get me to Ra's ship?"

We all turn. "Do you need to go to Ra's ship?" Selwyn asks.

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"Yes." The answer is simple. Surprising from someone who usually uses ten words when one will do.

"I can take her to Ra's ship," one of the pilots preparing their crafts volunteers.

"Thank you," She turns to follow the piolet, then turns back and looks straight at me, "Remus chose well when he turned you." Then she looks over my shoulder to Loki, "You were right, we needed new blood. You will be a great Elder."

"I doubt Remus or I will be considered Elders any longer, but I thank you for your faith in us," Loki responds. Did he know she was leaving? Everyone else seems surprised. "You will be missed."

Remus steps forward, "I will see you to Ra's ship. I doubt any of us would tolerate you coming to harm."

"He won't hurt me," she crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him.

"Let me be the judge of that." Remus pushes past her and gets on the small fighter? Pod? Ship?

Selwin sighs, "Should we?" he asks, motioning toward the door.

"We shall," Loki replies, grabbing my arm and dragging me in the direction of the rest of the group. "Do you know what we should respond?" He whispers in my ear.

I nod, "we will have to be prepared with a message if they saw that fight."

Lou starts signing at my response. Loki translates, "there was a lot of illusion magic flying around. Let's assume they didn't see anything until we can confirm otherwise."

I nod at her "Good idea."

We walk in silence for a while, and I take the moment to study the ship. It is amazing! The walls are definitely wood, with rings and wood grain surrounding us. The walls are bumpy, but smooth, like a finished live edge table. There is a constant breeze flowing through the corridor, but there are no fans in sight. There are balls of enchanted sunlight every few meters to keep the space bright, and surrounding those balls is foliage growing out of the walls. We are walking fast so it takes me a while to realize that all the plants growing out of the wall supply food. Tomatoes, berries, peppers, and beans, plus more fruits I don't recognize at all.

The ship is larger than I thought it would be, it takes us almost ten minutes to navigate through the maze of corridors and arrive at the bridge, which is just as foreign as the rest of the ship. While there are clearly people operating at stations, I could not tell you what any console did or how it operated.

Someone, maybe the captain, gets up and greets the others. Introductions happen and they start talking determinately about something I should probably be paying attention to, but I am far too enamored by the front view screen. I don't even realize I've left the group until the front window is close enough to touch. It is smooth and slimy like a hardened mucus… or sap? My fingers leave a small impression, that almost immediately fills in.

"Alyssa, they need you over at communications," Remus says quietly behind me. I didn't even notice he was there before he spoke, but he has softened enough around the edges that it isn't startling. I turn to look at him, and he has loosened his stance, always ready for a fight, but no longer expecting one. I follow him to comms and point out one of the many carefully crafted responses to send back. It confirms the meeting location and proposes a time. The response is in English, as that is the language they sent us.

Somehow we survived, and tomorrow we start peacefully introducing humanity to the rest of the galaxy.