After an indefinite period of time, I awaken to the sound of irritated voices outside the spacecraft speaking a language that I do not understand. Not long afterward, I hear footsteps stomping on my ship's roof and the sound of metal scraping against metal as heavy objects are being moved.

"I'm not going to touch anything, idiot! I just want to find out who the asshole is that crashed this stupid oversized drone into our attic! Are the police coming yet?"

"We're smack dab in the middle of alien country. Do you know how many people they get calling about little green men all day? They probably stopped to pick up coffee and doughnuts on the way here."

Awareness sinks in all at once. 

The Tralfamadorians had come to investigate the wreckage of my ruined vessel, and they most likely weren't too happy about the destruction I had left behind.

I panic and try to move my arms and legs from underneath sheets of crumpled metal and glass, but waves of agony course over my body, each one worse than the last. Even sparring and years of conditioning hadn't prepared me for the level of pain that my form had been subjected to between coming out of stasis so fast and crashing into a building. 

"Stars, give me strength!" I hiss through my teeth and attempt to shove half of the ruined control panel off my legs, only succeeding in moving it a little before the hatch above my head slides open with a deafening groan.

Time slows when the strangest creature that I have ever encountered pokes its head over the edge of the hole in the ceiling. He had eyes that reminded me of the deathly, fire-spitting mountains of Tau, and he was quite broad, filling the hole in the ceiling with his size. A warrior, who had most likely been dispatched to inspect the wreckage.

I freeze in place when the beast finally spots my body pinned under the rubble, a familiar expression crossing his face as soon as he realizes what I am. His eyes narrow with suspicion and then shoot open as wide as they can until I'm almost certain they would roll out of their eye holes.

Mother Superior above, this alien being would rip me apart, limb from limb, then suck the marrow out of my bones as if I were a delicious Tau delicacy.

"You're not going to believe this, Kiki!" The beast screams from over his shoulder at someone, "There's someone in here! I think it's a cosplayer from Alien-Con down the road because she's purple with pink hair like an anime chick! Call an ambulance! Are you okay down there, anime chick? Hold on, I'm coming down!"

Believe me, I wanted to invoke every ounce of Tau strength inside me and send this babbling Tralfamadorian fleeing for his life. All those years of training for a moment, specifically like this one, run through my mind in seconds. Perhaps I could claw his eyes out with my nails or quickly put him into some kind of chokehold and render him senseless. There were so many creative ways I could take this creature down.

But as soon as the alien being jumps down and hits the metal, shaking the walls of the ship, my flame goes out.

"Please..." I whisper in Tau, "don't hurt me. I am not here to bring harm to you." 

I reach up slowly with a shaking hand when his large shadow falls over my trapped form, and it becomes very clear that my species had been right all along. I was not strong, fearless, or capable of ushering in the invasion of a new planet like my fellow invaders. I was a useless excuse for a warrior, and the life I had imagined living here would not come true. Tears slowly come to my eyes and slide down my cheeks as I gaze helplessly at him. 

"Easy, honey," The creature tells me gently and grabs the metal piece lying across my torso, "I'm just going to move this off you really, really carefully, okay? Jesus, you have really sparkly eyes..."

Honey.

At the time, I had no idea what any of the words meant, but the beast spoke without malice or resentment, and somehow deep within my star, I knew he wouldn't harm me. 

The Tralfamadorian lifts the rubble away from my body and begins flinging heavy pieces away one by one until the pressure on my legs lessens and I slowly become free, revealing the torn, burned pieces of raw flesh and the remains of the suit I had been wearing on my journey.

"What were you doing flying around in this thing anyway? You guys get crazier and crazier every year, don't you? I hope you got a rich dad who's going to pay for all this damage."

The alien warrior stops babbling and throwing trash when I'm uncovered completely. 

His eyes wander up and down, his fierce eyebrows lowering in confusion, before they spring up again when I begin to glow faintly under his peculiar stare. The freckles scattered on my nose and shoulders, in particular, light up the interior of the spaceship in soft pink when I blush.

"W-what the hell are you?" He breathes and takes a shakey step back.

"Alan! Quit messing around in there!" Another voice screeches from outside the ship, "The police finally got here!"