47.

Friday December 20th and an alien visitor, seeking asylum, has not only been given his own living quarters but also a name. This name has been given to him rather than one being chosen by himself. He would become known as Dan the alien, a name spoken in non-malicious jest that also just happened to spread and stick. If you were to ask ten different sources as to the exact origin of the name as it relates to a new friend, you'd probably get ten different answers, anyhow, early on that Friday morning Dan would receive a visitor.

Jeff reluctantly approached Dan's door, he knocks and waits for a reply. The idea that this thing had its own name and living quarters as well as it being accepted so readily and easily by everyone else definitely places a knot in the pit of Jeff's stomach, but the reason Jeff had come to visit was to try to change his own opinion, well either that or prove to everyone else that it was a bad decision to freely accept such a creature.

It would be only a matter of seconds before Jeff would hear that deep echoing voice speak.

'You may enter.'

Under his breath Jeff mocks the alien 'you may enter. I am entering if he wants me to or not.'

Dan invites Jeff to take a seat and the two sit opposite each other at a small round table. The table is so small, and Dan is large that the disproportion looks completely unnatural. The room of course is darkened but the low level of lighting that does exist is enough for Jeff to see, once his eyes had adjusted to the room that is.

'It is good to see you, Jeff; I had hoped you would come. I do want to apologize to you. I never meant to harm you or anyone else.'

'Just to let you know I am not completely at ease with the situation that we find ourselves in.'

'I know and completely understand, but you would like to change that, right?'

'Sure ... I guess ... well maybe ... but it will take some time.'

'Good to hear that Jeff and I am glad that you are here. Once again I would like to apologize for our first meeting.'

'I am curious about a number of things though such as for instance, how is it that you are able to speak our language?'

'You know, I just might be able to put your mind at ease and answer a number of your questions here in one go.'

'You don't do any mental hoodoo or anything like that, I hope?'

'Not at all Jeff, I can tell you my story if you like?'

'Sure ...'

'First of all, and as far as I am aware I am the last of my race, I am a descendant from a planet for which so far I am unable to translate into your language its name, same goes for my actual name. Like your planet, I have become to understand that life on my planet or at least the ability to live on it has also come to an end. Also, just like you and the rest of your species, we searched for a new world, and I like to believe that maybe some of my race may just have found such a place but unfortunately those who inhabited that place, that world, failed to learn from what went before and have now also been forced to find a new home too.'

Jeff got the impression that Dan was trying to tell him that in more ways than one that there were similarities between them both.

'Are you saying some of your people made it to Earth?'

'I cannot know for sure, but it is very likely. I never knew the world my race hails from. It has been left behind a few thousand years ago relative to how Earth people count time. I believe that many of my ancestors found a new home, a new world in which to live, grow and evolve. My race is or was known as the Humari which is not far from the word Human ...'

Jeff is blown away by this, in fact he is blown away by this whole situation and with how at ease he appears to be in this moment, still he lets Dan continue.

'... However not all of us made it to such a new world. A lot of us were destined to live and travel in space. For me, space is my real home. In your Earth time, I am three hundred and twelve years old. Numbers on my ship declined over many years until there were only five of us left on the ship I travelled upon. We had to adapt to live on a vessel not much larger than one of your shuttles. The original ship I lived upon is or was much larger than this vessel ...'

'Interesting.'

'... Almost one hundred Earth years ago my ship mates and I crash landed upon the planet you, Maria and a couple of others visited a little while back. I am the last of the five to survive and I know of no others like me.'

'So that is how you were able to get aboard The Pathfinder?'

'Yes. That planet was so harsh I needed to get away from it and when your team arrived, I saw my opportunity to leave that world, I may be quite large though I am quite skilled at making myself appear small in order to hide, when abord this vessel however, it did take me some time to get passed your decontamination room. I had been unaware as to if you or the people here on this ship were hostile or friendly and I needed time to learn your language. So, this is why I reacted the way I did when we first encountered each other.'

'So, you just learned our language in a matter of hours?'

'Not quite that quick, I do however have a gift, all Humari have or have had an ability to adapt to our surroundings however it did take much more than just a few hours to learn your language, it was more like a number of days. I began by using the computers aboard the shuttle; you may have noticed the improvements I made. Anyway, this gift I have is partly why I have survived so long. I would so like for a trade to take place ... I would very much like to help this ship and this crew in return for becoming part of it.'

This conversation with Dan is one Jeff would never have expected to have and is definitely one Jeff could never imagine ever having. If someone could have told him prior to leaving Earth that it would just be a matter of a couple of months until he would have a calm and friendly conversation in English with a member of an alien race, he would have laughed that idea away believing it to not even be a remote possibility, if he could have believed it then certain things would have been a lot different for him.

On top of all which has been coming Jeff's way, this particular conversation also has had and is having a positive effect on him, but he still had a preference to remain even just a little bit cautious. It is a step forward, but Jeff was ready and willing to take a step backward if that would ever appear to become a necessity. Still time would be needed.

'So ... all that occurred in my quarters ...?'

'Biochemistry, I react to circumstance, sometimes this is uncontrollable. Humari do adapt, but with light ... well, we or I, I guess now, cannot adapt to light. We can affect temperature and electricity especially when we or rather I am scared.'

'Interesting ...'

There would be one more element of the conversation which would completely surprise Jeff. It would have him thinking about who else knows what he himself does. There is no way he could have known, no way anyone else other than Jeff could have known. Maybe someone else does know or at least suspects something and is already using Dan to get the information out of Jeff, or maybe there is some sort of alien hoodoo involved but all Jeff could realistically do when it is revealed is to try not to think too much into it and just go along with it.

'There is just one thing that concerns me' Dan tells Jeff. 'Do you have any plans to tell Robert, Simon or Maria about your connection with the AEEG?'

'The AEEG? How do you know about them?'

'As I told you, I have gifts Jeff, I can climb walls and ceilings, I am good with languages, and I know you were a member of this AEEG organisation.'

'How could you possibly know about them? Not that it matters for they don't exist anymore, at least not out here.'

Jeff gets up out of his seat and begins walking towards the door with a sense of disgust; he turns to look back and smiles. He is not about to admit to anything, not just yet anyway and especially not to an alien with whom he had just spoken to for the first time.

'Good afternoon, Dan, I am sure we will talk again' says Jeff choosing not to further question Dan as to if he has some kind of ability to read minds, doing so in this moment would mean admitting to being part of the AEEG.

'I know this past month or two has changed you Jeff, you are not the same guy who first boarded this ship.'

What is all this? Can Dan sense how Jeff is feeling? Whatever this is, Jeff exits Dan's quarters and keeps moving. Dan calls after him.

'Thanks for stopping by Jeff.'

'Yeah ... yeah.'