(August 17, 2007)

The following morning saw the sun up well before Brody and Aiden. Given that Dane's special day ended the previous evening, he expected it. Deciding to let them sleep in, he made his way to the forge. Once inside Dane stoked the fire and went about preparing his work for the day. Several small projects needed to be finished within the week. Choosing three to start with, Dane set them in the fire to begin heating.

He had just picked up his hammer when the wind began to blow outside. The shrieking tones were unlike anything he'd heard before. It sounded as if something was falling from the sky, yet while being carried by the wind. Quickly Dane pulled his half-finished projects out of the fire. His work safe, Dane ran outside.

At first glance he saw nothing but a cloudless sky. The wind continued to pick up speed. Soon the force became too much, and Dane ducked back into the barn. He was just beginning to contemplate running to the house when a heavy thud resounded in the yard. Almost instantly the wind died, and a delicate stillness grasped the property. Concerned by the unknown, Dane rushed to the window.

To his relief the house appeared to be intact. Yet as he looked there was a glint of metal just inside the window's line of sight. Worried that some of his equipment may have been tossed in the squall, Dane made for the object. What he saw left him stunned in his tracks.

A large metal encrusted object had created a crater several feet deep into the front yard. Cautiously approaching Dane took a closer look. Dirt and grass were spewed across a ten-foot radius and, though it was buried somewhat in the ground, the object reached Dane's waist. Overall it was circular in shape, but rather than being a unified circle it had six equidistant curved spikes creating the edges. Between the large spikes were much smaller triangular protrusions. The middle of the prism was thicker than the edges and had a raised flat face about the size of a dinner plate.

The metal surrounding the meteor, for lack of a better term, didn't look like anything Dane had seen before. It was a deep gray intermingled with light gray streaks. A purple sheen became visible where it caught the sun's rays, and a silver glow emanated below the surface. As Dane inspected it close up he didn't see any damage from its crash landing. No scuffs or dents marred the surface.

At that moment Brody and Aiden ran out of the house. Clad in their pjs, the loud crash had woken them in a way that no alarm clock could ever hope to manage.

"Dad what happened?" Brody's voice shook as he took in the sight.

Though accidents were few and far between, Dane had a few scares over the years with both the barn and forge equipment. A crash from the direction of the barn would easily bring out some of the boys' dormant fears, coupled with the aftermath of what looked like an explosion.

"It's okay, nothing bad happened. Something crashed from the sky into our yard."

"Like a satellite?" Aiden moved closer toward the downed object, but Dane put a hand on his shoulder keeping him back.

"I'm not sure, but it's not like any pictures of satellites that I've seen." Keeping the boys behind him Dane approached the object. When he was satisfied it was safe Dane pulled it out of the ground. He stumbled backwards, the object much lighter than its size implied. The three stared at it. "It doesn't look government, it almost looks. . . alien." Dane's voice trailed off. "I feel like I've seen something like this before, though." He frowned deep in thought.

"What do you mean Dad?" Aiden's gaze flicked back and forth from the object to Dane.

"I just feel like I've seen a picture of this before, but I can't place it."

Brody joined Dane. "So what are we going to do with it?"

"Let's take it into my shop for now. Help me lift it."

Each taking a hold, they worked to bring it inside. While it was too light to be solid metal, it still required some effort to maneuver into the barn due to its large size. Hoisting it onto a table the two boys panted while Dane took his first unmarred view. It gleaned as magnificently in the dim lighting as it had been in the sun. The internal silver glow also remained present. Nothing bright or flashy, but enough that one couldn't help but look at it.

"It's a prism of some sort." Dane mused out loud. He walked up and ran a hand along its sides. It vibrated under his touch. Startled, he drew back a pace, "It's like it's alive."

Walking back up to the prism he put his hand back on it. Gentle heat again bloomed beneath his fingers. Dane kept his hand on this time and the metal began to flake. He pulled away leaving bits of metal in his wake.

"That shouldn't be possible."

Brody cocked his head, " What shouldn't be possible?"

"This prism survived a crash in our backyard without so much as a scratch on it, but it's coming off when I just touch it. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem like it would come off so easily."

Aiden stared thoughtfully at the prism. "Maybe, well maybe it. . . wants to come off?"

"This prism does seem to have some sentience. . ." Dane placed his hand back on the prism. "Do you want the metal taken off?" Dane felt silly talking to an object, but his inquiry was rewarded when the metal grew even warmer under his hand. "Okay, but I'm not sure if any of my usual methods will get the job done."

Rummaging through the shelves as Brody and Aiden watched, Dane found a chisel and hammer. Tools in hand Dane walked back to the prism. The underlying silver glow deepened to a fierce red.

"Well, here goes. . ."

With careful deliberate strokes Dane chiseled against the metal. The peg found resistance, but it was much less than he had anticipated. Between the heat from the prism and Dane's expertise the metal began to fall away.

Even with the help of the prism it was slow going. The odd shape made it difficult to keep a consistent strike and added more surface area to be cleared. Yet, bit by bit, the metallic crust fell away and a brilliant white crystal peeked through.

By lunchtime Dane had a spoke and a half cleared. "I think we'll call it quits for now." He stood up and stretched his tense shoulders. Brody and Aiden got up to help Dane put away his tools. They'd stayed, watching in silent fascination as Dane worked.

"After lunch I have some orders I have to work on, but the next couple days I should be free to focus on this prism."

True to his word once Dane had finished what was needed he spent every available moment on the prism. Slowly but steadily his progress showed. It took two more days to finish clearing the large and small spokes. From there Dane chipped away at the face of the prism.

Though the prism had continued "helping" the metal come off, there seemed to be an increased fervor in its efforts. Pieces fell away in larger chips and flashes of rainbow-colored light would emit after each stroke. Between the strips cleared Dane could see something black sparkle within the prism itself. Finally, on the fourth morning after the prism's arrival, every piece of metal coating had been removed. Dane stood back with the boys to admire the sight.

The prism stood upright of its own accord; another novelty that had come as its crust fell away. The crystalline surface as a whole was a fierce white, but the smaller triangles had proven to be different colors- red, blue, white, gold, pink and yellow. A small musical hum buzzed beneath the surface. Yet the object inside the prism held their attention.

A large black throwing star stared proudly back. Six miniaturized styles of throwing stars were set in a silver border that circled the large star, the same colors as the triangular spikes. Bands of gold created an inner circle with a four-pronged engraved star. In the background flames in the six colors ran horizontally along the face.

Brody was the first to break the silence. "Wow, that's amazing! What do you think it is?" Dane could only shrug his shoulders before Brody continued. "And how did it get in there? You didn't even scratch it when you scraped off the metal so was it put in when the crystal was being made? But how was the crystal made? It's super hard but someone had to have carved it into that shape. . . ?"

Brody took a breath to continue but Dane held up his hand. Aiden gave an internal sigh of relief.

"Those are all good questions, but I can't really answer them." He gave a half smile. "Obviously someone out there has better equipment than I have here."

"I wonder how far 'out there' this star came from." Aiden didn't realize he had spoken out loud until he saw both Brody and Dane look at him. He rubbed his arms to fight growing goosebumps. "I mean you said, Dad, that there was something 'alien' about it. Do you think it could really be?"

Dane gave a half shrug. "I can't say, but Earth has had some attempts to attack it by aliens before you were born."

Brody bounced on his toes, "But they were stopped by the power rangers right?"

"Right-"

At that moment the star began to glow brightly.

"Uh Dad what's it doing?!" Brody scooted further away, his voice rising an octave.

"I don't know." Dane frowned. "But so far it hasn't done anything to harm us. If anything, it's been helpful."

Then, though logic would dictate otherwise, Dane reached out his hand. Aiden and Brody watched in awe as the prism face rippled. Slowly Dane's hand passed through the surface. Grasping the star, he pulled it out. Instantly the crystal solidified again. The three of them stared at the star for a long minute.

Aiden blinked hard. "Well, that happened."