Shattered Stars

Company

"It is in your best interest."

I wasn't so sure about that, considering he was creeping me out. I remained motionless, although it was pointless. He knew I was here and he knew my name.

The next few seconds passed in deafening silence.

"I can wait," he said in an authoritarian tone.

Getting sassy now are we?

I lifted my head out of the mound of snow I was hiding in, and shook the snow off the top of my head. I peeked over the wall I was hiding behind, letting only my forehead and eyes show.

A humanoid figure sat on a limbless tree trunk I had yet to dissect, dressed in an all-black, heavy-duty suit covering everything except for his head. His smooth crimson skin and bald head, combined with the fact he was about five feet tall, suggested he was not from this planet. His ears resembled that of a human's, but had soft points, and his nose was flatter than a human's. An orange, star-shaped logo adorned the left chest of his suit and a few gadgets hung from the utility belt.

He was young, but his eyes told a different tale. His crimson irises drilled into me, portraying a storm of emotions raging within him. He emitted an aura of experience and authority. Despite my obvious physical advantage, he intimidated me.

I got up on all fours and crept around the wall. His eyes tracked my every movement. Unsure of what else to do, I stood on two legs and looked down at him with my arms folded. "So, you're the guy who did all this, huh?"

He nodded slightly. "You may call me Neval."

Out of nowhere, anger surged within me. "Well then, Neval, looks like you've got some explaining to do. What the heck is going on here? Where's my family? And why did you to turn me into this!?" I gestured to my body.

Neval raised a six-fingered hand to silence me. "In my defense, I did what I thought was necessary. Perhaps a bit of context would suffice."

He lowered his hand, pausing to gather his thoughts. His voice was calm and decisive. "As you may have deduced by now, I am not of your world. I hail from Asturn, which was my home planet that orbited the star KIC 8462852 as known by your species."

"Hold on, 'your species'?" I asked. "Am I not a dragon now?"

"I will have you know you are still human, and your family is alive, though explanations will have to wait for another time. For now, I must tell you why I am here and what we must do to prevent disaster."

I tilted my head at that last statement. He paused again and averted his gaze. His expression didn't change, but his hands clasped his knees as if he were bracing himself for something.

"Not long ago and without warning, our home star went supernova, destroying every planet in our solar system, of which Asturn was the second closest to the center. All life on our planet perished, and only four of our ships managed to warp to safety, as the planet shielded them from most of the blast." Another pause. Neval was visibly shaken now, looking anywhere but at me. Despair was in his eyes as he forced himself to recall the painful memory.

My eyes had grown wide. "Well, shit."

He continued. "We had other colonies throughout the galaxy, but when we tried to retreat to them, we found those stars had gone supernova as well. Thus, we had no choice but to retreat to the nearest habitable planet to us. Earth. Though we have known of your existence for centuries, we had no incentive to interact with your species until this time. Now, a minuscule fraction of our population exists, with only hundreds of each of our three species left."