Ayy mamamo

  "Are we truly alone in this galaxy", This question or something akin to it has been asked countless times throughout the course of human history. I honestly never thought I'd live long enough to see an answer to that question though; that no, we weren't the only life out there in the galaxy. They just appeared one day, though it was nothing like the movie. There were no flying saucers that landed down containing little green men bent on our destruction or looking for peace. Instead what we got was stranger, a bit more mysterious. The first reports came over the news one spring day: Space craft of unknown origin had appeared in space about our planet. While there were various space projects around the world at the time, NASA was the first to get information on what was happening. Fifteen ships of various sizes and shapes in a formation that was hypothesized as a convoy, had taken up residence above our planet. During the first days the world was a grab bag of emotions and actions; Rioting, praying, general curiosity. The first few days, scratch that, few weeks, were hectic. As the various space programs pooled their resources in an attempt to contact these alien ships people wondered why the aliens had not made contact with us first. Were they scared of us as we were of them? Were they simply observing us and gauging our reactions to their presence. About half a month into humanity first encounter with life from beyond the stars, the first of many attempts at hailing the extraterrestrials was under taken, NASA again at the front of the 'attack'. Much to their dismay, nothing happened. There was no reply, not even a blinking of running lights from what many scientists considered the lead ship.

  Soon one month passed with nothing happening, the ships holding position. Early on, after the first failed contact attempt it was theorized that the ships were derelict and had entered our planet's path by chance. This was soon, and rather quickly, dis-proven as thermal imaging showed the ships were indeed powered and at the very least crewed. As one month turned into the 2nd, more attempts at contact were made by the various bureaus and agencies. The tension the civilian population seemed to have held started to fluctuate between slackening and even more tension as the metallic ghosts haunted our planet from above. Midway through the second month another breakthrough was made. Satellite imaging discovered what appeared to be smaller craft seemingly zooming in and out of the various ships, many debated what their purpose was. Again the theories ranged from autonomous craft that serviced and shipped supplies between ships, others claimed it was simply problems with the imaging equipment. As the second month came to a close tensions seemed to all but die out, humanity as a whole pushing the ordeal aside reasoning that if there had been aliens inside they would have made contact by now. The beat of daily life seemed to return to a normal tempo.

  However, not even 3 days into the third month since their arrival a new event occurred, one on a global scale. It happened out of the blue, across all airwaves, all channels, the aliens had decided to make contact. For those who saw the video broadcasts we were given a look of our visitors, or at the very least their spokeswoman. The woman on the broadcast sat on what was later identified as the bridge of the lead ship. Her stature during the global announcement was one of extreme discipline, something you'd see from an army officer or a official giving a speech. Her skin was a chocolate colour with her hair that seemed to match her skin tone. Her emerald green eyes stared intensely back, giving the impression she was not only looking at a camera, but at the people of Earth themselves. If I had stopped there she would have seen human, but she wasn't, from her head two purplish horns jutted from her above her temples and curled back towards the back of her head. As she spoke what appeared to be two eyeless snakes bobbed and darted behind her,seemingly of their own accord, their maws filled with what looked like human teeth. I can still remember what the woman said, well more like declared, Sanko always did have a voice fit for her position. I think what surprised everyone most of all was when she spoke, she spoke English near flawlessly. "People of the planet known as Earth, For the last few of what you'd call 'months', we've been observing and have sent scouts amongst your people to gather information on the various cultures of the planet. My name is Sanko, Fleet admiral of the 3rd migration fleet from the planet Relicast. In a matter of moments we will send ships to your planet's surface for expedition and research purposes. I ask for humanity's cooperation in our endeavor, that is all."

Like that the stage was set, humanity's first encounter with life from beyond the stars, and it was no different looking than us.