Somewhere in space...
The tiny blue object drifted through space. To an uninformed observer, it would look completely innocuous, but the blue insect was not as benign as appearances presumed...
Scarab is in position. Scanning Sector 2814 for worlds with compatible life to implement infiltration protocol
If the scarab had a mouth, or was capable of emotion, it would have felt pleasure at the results of its scan. Thousands of worlds, all teeming with sentient life, perfect for the Reach to subjugate. The scarab locked in a course to the nearest world, a world the inhabitants called Earth...
Sixty seven years and six months later, in El Paso, Texas.
Jaime Reyes tore down the street, giggling as he chased his friend Paco. The seven year olds were taking advantage of a Texan summer by engaging in a water fight. As the two kids raced around the street, a blue flash shot through the sky, one that changed direction, a change that went unnoticed by the two happy children as they played in the streets.
"Hey, Paco, I think we need to go home now. Mom will have baked cookies."
The other boy grinned, and the two headed home. After Paco went home, Jaime climbed onto his roof and watched the stars. After he stargazed for about an hour, he went inside and went to bed. Little did he know, his peaceful life was about to fracture and change...forever.
El Paso, Texas, 10:00 AM, UTC
Zzzzzt...rebooting...error! Error! Datafile corruption! Must acquire nearest organic host and complete mission!
The scarab sprung to life, scanning the area for compatible lifeforms. The house (though the scarab didn't know the word) that it beheld after it burrowed to the surface held three organic lifeforms, two male and one female. The adult male and the adult female weren't close enough for the scarab to reach with its depleted power levels, leaving only the humanoid child.
Jaime saw the scarab literally seconds before it struck, not really comprehending what he saw, since, (obviously) he was seven. The scarab leaped onto his arm, and scuttled up his sleeve, reaching the base of his neck in seconds. The scarab sunk its mandibles into Jaime's neck, its legs digging into his spine. Jaime screamed, but the scarab actually didn't hurt him when it bonded.
"Aaagh! What is this thing?! Get it off! Mami! Papi! Ayuadame! Ayuadame!"
Error! Error! Unable to access mission parameters!
The scarab was panicking as much as Jaime was, since, for some reason, the scarab couldn't access its memory database from before rebooting and attaching to Jaime. In its damaged state, the scarab started scanning Jaime's memories for something, anything, that could replace the missing data. Meanwhile, Jaime's parents came rushing out to help him, only to find Jaime passed out on the ground...
A/N Sorry for the crappy first chapter, I promise it's totally gonna get better.
