Chapter 1: Beginnings

xxxx

My vision began to come back with consciousness. I winced as I looked down my legs. They... they looked fine. They didn't feel that way, though. Nothing did. But I was alive – and sat up against a snowbank. Somehow… what the hell had happened? I remembered my sled exploding out from under me, then the merc about to shoot me… and then he got shot? That was right. I tried to put the pieces back together best I could. But it still didn't make sense. There had to be someone else here. With that in mind, I looked up from the ground ahead – just in time to find myself face-to-face with another alien.

After the initial jump, I took a deep breath. This one was definitely Asari – the blue skin and red pattern painted across from forehead to cheek gave that away pretty easily. That is, if I'm not just dreaming this up still. Surely I am. Her mouth moved, but I heard no words at first. She wasn't going to kill me – yet – either, so that was encouraging. Finally sound came along with the animation, but it made no sense. I shook my head and looked her in the eyes. If ever there was a worse time to judge someone's eye color, it was now. Grey. Pretty. I thought to myself before realizing that my head was definitely not working right. Survival should be foremost, not looking at the pretty colors.

That kicked in and I pushed myself forward, rolling onto my hip then knee before coming to a shaky stand. Someone grabbed my shoulders as I swayed and fought off the sudden head rush. But I was standing, and my balance came back quickly. I looked back up, focusing on the two fingers she held between our faces. What the… I guess… I tracked them, unsure if it was a test or not. She nodded, obviously somewhat pleased with the result. She said another phrase, but it made about as much sense as the last.

"I don't…" I started hopelessly before her eyes snapped into black pools. Oh no…

It felt like a wave hit me – crushing into my mind, suffocating my thoughts with an overflow of memories, images, sounds, speech. A subconscious part of my mind told me what she was doing here, but instinct and every other sense told me to fight it. The walls were closing in, crushing new information in at an astounding rate. And I was drowning. I tried to grasp, get out of the riptide… but only went further under.

And finally, it stopped. Air returned to the lungs of my mind as I collapsed to the ground, physically gasping.

The sensation of a hand on my back seemed to register. "I'm sorry… That was probably too soon."

Holy… damn. Alright. That wasn't English, but I understood it equally as well now. I moved to speak, suddenly confused and choking over a plethora of new words. "You… what happened?"

"I was hoping to know the same. As for what I just did, it's called melding. It is a simple transfer of knowledge and memories. This way, you are able to speak the same language – galactic standard – without the learning curve… although you weren't well prepared for it." She paused, then quickly added, "But that's it. I promise."

"So… you're the one who shot that merc?" I questioned, trying to stand up once more, yet the Asari felt the need to keep a hand on my shoulder. It was then I finally took note of the archetypal leather uniform. So I was dealing with a commando.

"Not me personally," she explained, standing up as well. "One of my squad did, though. Why were they after you?"

A look over her shoulder revealed two more Asari, both commandos; one fiddling with an omni-tool, the other leaning back against the red military corvette with a cold, irritated look. But both stood by what was presumably their vehicle. With a shake of my head, the answer didn't come clearly. "I don't know. I was just working on shoveling snow when they landed. They didn't even talk to me before pulling their guns. I did the only thing I could think to do… and I almost made it, too."

"'Almost' wasn't quite enough. Are you alright?"

I looked down, shook both legs then my arms just to be sure. "Relatively speaking, yeah. Thank you…"

She nodded, turning slightly to the side and looking ahead. "We just happened to be in orbit when we spotted their ship – and shuttle. They knew what they were after."

"But... how…" I started, trying to prioritize my questions. "You just happened to be in orbit? How the hell…?"

"It's not as bad as you might think. We have been studying this world for some time now. We weren't going to interfere until we saw those mercs striking in." Her explanation was natural, unforced, and confident.

"Some time?" My eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Only two years. There was a curiosity in finding a new species, but it was our intention to allow progression towards space faring capabilities to remain natural. Plus, judging by the information we were able to extract from your 'internet,' our welcome would not have been the warmest. You don't seem very disturbed by our presence, though."

"Yeah, well… You saved my life. Alien or not, I can appreciate that."

"Commander." One of the other commandos spoke up, lifting her omni-tool as she stepped forward. "You may be interested in hearing this - I was able to intercept some of their communications."

The apparent commander of this squad turned to face her. I craned my neck to listen over her shoulder as the playback began. It was my understanding that they were referring to the hostiles.

"I repeat, the target is presumably down from explosion. They got Karik before he confirmed the -"

Silence. So we could only hear one side of the conversation.

"I don't know where they came from! They started gunning us down – we didn't have time to confirm! … What? Yes, I know we don't get the bounty unless the job is done. But if we try going back down, they'll shred us! I've already lost three of my men in a retreat. … Fine, I'll take a new squad back. This better be worth it. Wait, can't we just go target another one? Does it have to be – ok, alright! I understand. We'll take care of him."

That really didn't sound good. The lead Asari turned back to me. "Are you sure you don't know why they're after you?"

I shook my head vigorously. "No. I have no idea. I've never pissed anyone off that bad here on earth, let alone someone from light years away. You might have been spying on us, but it hasn't been the other way around!"

"He has a point, Commander. There is no way he could have invoked the attack from here. They must have had ulterior motives." The friendlier of the other two spoke, dropping her omni-tool for a moment and regarding me. I couldn't help but exchange the curious look. It was one thing to look at a pixilated concept, but the real deal was entirely different. Dark blue paintings accented against lighter skin, creating an artistic pattern vaguely taking the shape of a bandit's mask. I caught myself staring a little too long and snapped out of it. So much for the status quo, huh…

"Regardless, I really doubt you could have done anything that affected them." The commander spoke again, turning to look me over before scoffing a little. She seemed to be mulling something over, plotting if you will.

"Are we done here or what?" The third finally yelled from the short distance away. She seemed…just disgruntled. Like the cold was making the uniform rub in all the wrong places. For what it was worth, she didn't seem to have any distinctive markings on her face.

The leader glanced over her shoulder at the other two. "We can't just leave him now. I won't intentionally let innocents die."

"No! Absolutely not. That thing is not coming with us." She pushed off the shuttle and glared at everything in her way.

"It's not your call, Delina. I get where you're coming from, but if we do leave him… he's just a sitting pyjac now."

This Delina character huffed, but didn't protest much more as she dismissed us with a wave and stepped into the corvette. "Fine. Let's quit fucking around and leave, then."

The head commando looked at me with a weary expression, finally speaking in a quiet voice. "Sorry about that. She'll be fine. Are you ready?"

I glanced around. The black and charred chassis of my snowmobile lay a few feet off of the trail, an indication that this was not a severe hallucination. The sun was hitting the edge of the tall ridge across the basin. Judging by that, it was about four in the afternoon. Finally I ventured the question, "ready for what?"

"To get your bags, say your goodbyes, and get out of here before they come back after you."

"Shit…" I muttered, the realization dawning on me. "Yeah, ok. Let's go. Wait, I don't think I caught your name…"

"Of course. Kaira T'Suni of the 517th commando unit. And you are…?"

"Forrest Jackson." No fancy title. Just… simple like that. I stood there awkwardly, unsure of any proper greeting gesture.

"Right then, Forrest. This is Rana T'Lan… and that's Delina T'Kasan over there." She motioned to the one with the omni-tool, and then the one waiting in the corvette respectively.

With a brief acknowledgement, we crammed into the confined space with all too much awkwardness and dissonance going around. This was going to a long ride…

xxxx

I jumped out of the shuttle immediately after landing back at my home camp. With a brief explanation of what to I had to do before leaving, I turned to get to work. Kaira nodded once. "Take your time."

"Yeah, it's not like we have anywhere better to be." Delina snarled sarcastically from her corner of the transport with folded arms.

Wincing slightly at their sudden fit of bickering, I took off in a trot. First over to the hayshed to throw out rations and a half for the six horses. They would need it, especially considering how quick the temperature had dropped without sunlight. Then it was over to the chicken coop, to close them in for the night. I didn't bother checking for eggs like I normally did. As I jogged the 100 meters of snowpack trail back to the cabin, I kept trying to go over every scenario – every little thing I had done that might have pissed off other inhabitants of the galaxy. But everything came up blank.

I barged in, scaring a cat away from the door. That reminded me to put out extra food and water for them, too. The dog… no, my folks had him. Alright. With a look over the interior of my home to go over everything I was supposed to do, it was time to get to work packing my bags. My laptop was the first to in a case… for what good it would do elsewhere, I grabbed the charger too. While I was at it, I threw my phone and iPod in the case as well. With that out of the way, I went to my room, grabbed two duffel bags, and stared at shelves of clothes. Rationing, remember? The thought crossed my mind, before piling stuff in. That way, I would have plenty of everything. While I was at it, I put on a pair of jeans instead of the charred snow gear I had been wearing.

Alright. Like that, I was ready. I didn't even bother to grab part of our personal armory. If the rest of this was real, then our current ranch firearms wouldn't do squat compared to mass accelerator weapons. With a final glance, I confirmed I had everything I needed. Time to go. I schlepped the three bags over my shoulder and headed out.

I hefted the two larger duffels into the corvette before jumping in myself. The three commandos gave the excessive gear a surprised look before the commander spoke. "Well… at least you're prepared."

"Not really. But thanks. For everything so far." I nodded in appreciation before suddenly a knot tied itself several times over in my gut. "There is just one more thing, though. I…"

"What is it?" Kaira asked, looking at me with curiosity, not irritation.

"I… well, my parents. If we have the time, it would mean a tremendous amount to say goodbye to them. Face to face."

The door closed, and T'Suni looked at the dashboard of the corvette. It was like she was going over the bid, the risks, the point of it, and a bunch more things I probably never thought. But the fact that she was even considering it sent Delina to let out an exasperated sigh.

"Ok. If that's what it takes to get you out of here… We – I can do that."

"Thank you, Commander. For not only getting me out of their sights but for doing this. It goes above and beyond any line of duty."

xxxx

When we came to a stop again, night had long since fallen. Apparently, we had given the mercs the slip for the time being. But I just felt bad about this – like it wasn't going to go according to plan. Yes, I was planning on taking one of our spare vehicles from a buddy's house into town, finding the hotel my folks were staying at, say what needed to be said, and then get the hell out of dodge. The first part of that had gone down without a hitch. The commandos held back in the stealthy corvette while I jumped out. We were several kilometers from town, on a forty acre lot next to the river… and to my relief, our buddy wasn't home right then. I was left to hook up the battery on the beige "hippie van" without any protest or fanfare. It was certainly dated, and not something I would have driven during the day for fear of being seen, but it would work for this. I swung the door open. It was out in the country; we didn't lock anything.

The engine cranked over several times, making me begin to wonder. Finally it roared – or rather, puttered – to life. I got the headlights on, and pulled out on the county road. The commset behind my ear, the same one Kaira had given me minutes before, crackled with the commander's voice.

"Jackson, we're tracking you now and will keep a look out."

"Copy that." My voice seemed dry as my hand dropped from my ear. The more I thought about it, this really wasn't a good idea: this van didn't even have any registration or insurance. Here's hoping the five-O has bigger fish to fry.

It took but a few minutes to make my way into town. I had even passed a Stater without problem, so things were going good. But not so good that I was going to slow down. Finally, I spotted the preferred hotel of my parents. I passed it by. With a loop around, I pulled into the alleyway behind the hotel. This way, the rather conspicuous van would be at least somewhat hidden.

I tugged my hood up as I stepped out and began to walk through the small archway to the front desk. As I absently asked the staff which room the Jacksons had, my mind was racing. Of all things, it was to wonder why they needed the hotel. Actually, it made sense. My dad would rather bum a free room off of his friends – a tactic I learned well – but my mom was even more of a hermit than me. The hotel was far more secluded, even for being in a small city.

I climbed the stairs up to the second level of rooms, finally finding the right one. I knocked.

After a minute, my mom answered. Her expression immediately shifted from one of nonchalance to utter panic. "Forrest – what happened, are you alright?"

With a nod, I slid through the half open door and closed it behind me. Even my dad had sat up and was paying attention as I explained, "I'm fine. Everything back home is too."

"So then what are you doing here?" She asked, still worried.

"It's a long story. To put things simply, someone wants me dead. I don't know who or why, but I'm not safe here anymore." Both were silent in shock. "Look, I came within centimeters of several rockets and a gunshot to the head. It's the real deal, alright?"

"But… Why? Who?"

"I have no idea why they're after me. Never got a warning. But… this is where it gets convoluted. They were…" I took a gulp, "aliens."

Blank faces and silence. I continued. "I don't know where they came from or what they think I've done, but they're after me. They almost succeeded, too. A different bunch followed them down and dealt with the hostile group before they could put me down." I wiped the bridge of my nose. "The latter group is the equivalent of military. They're straight up."

"So you're going to have to go with the friendly bunch?" My dad asked, shutting off the TV.

"Yeah. Otherwise… there's a platoon coming down on me. They mean business." I shook my head, thinking to myself: this is madness.

"But… why? What could you have done…?"

"I don't know. All we could gather is that they're bounty hunters. After me specifically."

"Wait, you said 'we…'" My mom pointed out.

"Yeah, I did. Referring to the aliens that didn't try to kill me. They're on watch as we speak."

"Oh… Well, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No. But it beats the alternative. This way I can at least get some answers." I paused, reached into my back pocket, and pulled out a transponder Kaira had given me. The damn thing was only the size of a phone. Hard to believe it would work through a relay and over thousands of light years, but it was worth the shot. "Take this. I'm probably going to have to lay low for a while until I get some answers. I'm pretty sure I'm in good hands for now, though."

"Al-alright." My mom choked out, tears already running down her cheeks.

"It'll be just like ET. Except with higher stakes." I joked morbidly as I hugged her. "You guys should be safe. Like I said, they were after me specifically. I took care of the ranch before I left, so that'll be one less thing to worry about. Hopefully I'll be able to get back in touch with you soon… but I don't know. There's one more thing." I pulled away, grabbed a notepad and pen, then scribbled the web address down: .com. "I'm not sure how much of this is right, but at least part of it is. I can prove it with my own two eyes. For now… I need to get -"

I stopped midway through the sentence. Maybe it was paranoia, but I thought I heard a fast-paced thump in the air. It sounded like at least one helicopter. A second later, my worst suspicion was confirmed. "Jackson, get out of there now! We've got multiple human aircraft incoming!"

The sound got louder. I went into a metaphorical hyper drive. "Shit. I gotta go. I love you both. Stay safe."

I gave my dad a quick hug and fist bump, then my mom a hug and kiss. She barely whispered, "I love you, Forrest. Promise me you'll write as soon as you can."

"Promise. I love you guys." I nodded a final time, and then rushed out the door. I didn't even make it to the first set of stairs when Kaira was barking over the radio again.

"We're out of time – get on the roof and we'll pick you up!"

I looked up from the balcony. If I stayed here, I'd get shot. If I made a break for it, I might get shot. But there wasn't time to think about it anymore. The sound of a chopper was all too clear. Great. Two adversaries now. That wasn't the most pleasant thought as I jumped onto the railing, spun around, then pulled myself onto the roof. Talk about a sitting duck. But the commander was true to her word. The corvette seemed to dart out of nowhere, pulling along the edge of the roof and giving me just enough time to jump in. I got myself settled down a moment before spotlights lit up everything around us. With not a moment to spare, the corvette made the jump, quickly leaving the earth military chopper behind without a single shot fired.

A dismal glance up from the floor reminded me of everything that was going on. This… was insane. Of all the ways we could have made first contact with aliens, it had to be like this? Damn. And someone already wanted my head. What did I ever do to you? My mind screamed as I began to go through what facts I could count on for now. The Asari, Turians, Salarians, Batarians. Mass Effect fields… I could pretty much run through the list. And yet that didn't make it any better. Nothing made sense. Not even my own thoughts.

We remained in silence as I watched my own world grow smaller behind us. There was such a sense of bittersweet. On one hand, it was beautiful to finally see Earth from above. On the other it was home and I was leaving. Getting out into the galaxy was an incredible opportunity. But it was a dark thought knowing that I had a price on my head. I supposed I was alive, and that was all that mattered. But I couldn't help think of the entire big picture. If this much was real, how much more existed out there? I sank my head into my hands. I could make the most of it. I would have regrets regardless, so it was simply a matter of minimizing them. And for now… holy shit. I was heading into space.

xxxx