[ IP ] First Contact

The pictures, the rover transmissions, the footage... none of it had done any justice to this being. The creature stood over Victor, tall as a cottonwood tree and with lateroids that matched the wingspan of a biplane. It could tear Victor to shreds in a matter of seconds, he was sure of it. He weighed much less here than on Earth, but his legs quivered as if they supported a mountain. Deep breaths. 
 
 Eleven years in a space transport leaves you with a lot of time to think. So much time that Victor could've sworn he'd solved all the questions to the universe, only to forget them when he first laid eyes on the beast. It did n't seem possible. All of human history, every battle fought, every grain harvested, every disease resisted, every desire to explore, every bit of knowledge passed on, it had all made us the kings of our own world. After thousands of years of blood, sweat and tears, we finally came across another civilization, perched on a little moon called Gaio IV, that had watched over us all this time. 
 
 Victor shifted his feet in the alien sand. Judging by the studies, the creature over him now was a youth, about one fifth into the average lifespan for its kin. Victor thought of his daughter back home. She was sixteen now, a young, eager mind with the whole universe ahead of her. He let himself relax. 
 
 Carefully, slowly, the creature lowered until it rested on the joints of its mighty appendages. Its black eyes held on Victor's green eyes. Victor's fear had been nothing but an evolved reaction to the unknown, after millennia of learning to survive and thrive on the harsh world from which he came. And now, it left his mind. The child extended its arm toward him, and with the most gentle movement, rested one of its two fingers on Victor's shoulder. Victor clasped the child's arm with his right hand and nodded. After a serene, eternal moment of silent connection, the child stood and turned to walk with the kings of its world.
