I shivered as an airy breath left my body, appearing in a cloud of condensation before my face. I readjusted my gloves and approached the vessel. It smelled of smoke and vinegar, the first of the two rising out of the cracks in the metal panels.

“I always told ya aliens are real,” our boss Mikey said. He handed me my clipboard and pen with a paper attached. “But ya never believed ol’ Mikey.”

We’re part of a research company funded by the United States government. Mikey was in charge of running the tasks and making sure we didn’t screw anything up. My job as assistant supervisor was to make important observations and jot down our discoveries. The others were meant to search for evidence and clues as to what this item may be.

Mikey took up this job in hopes of discovering a UFO some day. As a kid, he was obsessed with aliens and extraterrestrial life. I wasn’t so naive. I knew that most likely, this structure was some failed military experiment from a different country—maybe our own.

The other researchers prodded and pulled at the panels and wires that make up the object. One of the people stumbled backward, falling on her back, appearing to have been shocked. As she did, a pathway unfolded from under the main doorway and the structure opened.

“I hope yer good with keepin’ peace between nations” Mikey commented, watching as a shadow in the shape of a tall being appeared in the opening. “‘Cuz we’re about to need a treaty between planets”

A tall, gray, two-legged being stepped out into the sunlight. My blood ran cold. For the first time in my career, I felt fear.