Liberty Island, New York City, Earth

Secretary General Indira Nehru sighed as she wiped her sweaty brow. Ever since the last secretary general’s departure, she had had big shoes, and even bigger promises, to fulfill. She had made some progress towards having the organization adapt to the needs of the twenty-first century. But on nights like this, she wished she was back in her native Mumbai relaxing in the cool Indian night. She had hoped that hosting a conference in front of a symbol that promised unity and hope for all mankind would help make the process so much.

“Mr. Johansen,” Nehru said as she rubbed her weary eyes, “the United Nations fully understands your concerns and needs, but we need to focus on matters that are threatening humanity as a whole now; climate change, AIDS, diminishing resources—”

The United States’ ambassador, Thomas Johansen, rolled his eyes. “Oh please. You're just trying to force your will on the world and threaten our national sovereignty.”

“Mr. Johansen, we are not discussing any one nation tonight. We are discussing the problems that face us as a whole,” the woman insisted. “That is why tonight, I propose a new piece of legislation. I have unofficially dubbed it the 'Global Unity Treaty.'” Many of those assembled on the island’s front lawn scoffed.

“Global unity?” asked Germany’s Ambassador Johann Steins. “That is all but impossible. Look how hard it has been to hold the European Union together.”

“I'm not urging everyone to hug each other. I’m not asking you to even like each other. I am only asking that everyone give this a chance. The treaty is but a set of goals and needs we must meet. For one, our need to…” The woman trailed off as she noticed the audience beginning to look up in confusion. A chorus of languages murmured as a sea of fingers pointed upwards. “What? What is the matter?” She turned to her aide. “What is everyone looking at, Jeremy?” The young man, eyes glued upwards himself, did not look away from the skies.

“Madame Secretary... I think you should look up.”

The Indian woman did so, and boggled. A bright light was illuminating the clouds above. Gradually it ate through until the entire island was illuminated. Light played off the Great Lady’s torch and face as it grew even brighter. In her native Hindi, she asked the same question her fellow dignitaries were.

The light from above, reflecting off of a one hundred fifty one foot tower of copper and gold leaf, became too bright to look at, and she turned away. Now a dull hum was starting to echo off of her hollow form, adding to the assault on her senses. It was at this time she noticed that the normally busy city around the island had ground to a stop. Traffic and police helicopters approached, locking their searchlights on the glowing patch of cloud. Through the glare Indira also saw the Staten Island Ferry slowing to a stop as the rails became choked with passengers.

Finally, the clouds yielded to the form above; a craft far too advanced to be of human origin. This realization among the ambassadors created another wave of muttered disbelief. Indira thought briefly to the news crews on the island covering the conference. She tried to picture the sea of “BREAKING NEWS” logos now flashing across televisions worldwide but realized it was too boggling to contemplate. As slowly as it had appeared, the craft touched down on the lawn in front of Lady Liberty. As those on the island, and perhaps hundreds of millions around the world watched in awe, a small hatch opened in the side of the ship, forming a ramp. Several figures slowly descended the ramp and then a final form stood at the hatch. It looked around for a moment and then slowly walked down the stairs.

The people of planet Earth watching the event, whether in person or on television, reacted in diverse ways. Some merely gaped, open jawed. Others sat or stood quietly, too stunned to do anything else. Others prayed or cursed softly to themselves in a diverse selection of languages. Others, realizing they were witnessing the most important event in their species’ history, cried softly to themselves.

“Who's in charge here?” the lead figure asked politely. It was definitely female, and definitely speaking in English.

“That would be you,” Johansen finally managed to whispered to Nehru.

“I suppose it is,” the secretary general replied. Her eyes briefly darted up to the great woman above her. Indira could imagine what she would be thinking. There are new arrivals here, aren’t there? It doesn’t matter if they’re winged. They must be greeted accordingly. The Indian took a deep breath, and slowly covered the distance between her and the waiting aliens.

As she came closer, she could make out some of the visitor’s details. The alien was somewhat small, with feathery wings and a thick coat of golden fur. She had three eyes; if she didn't know any better, the secretary general would have sworn she was looking at a huge kitten. Finally, she stood before the alien.

“Um, welcome to the planet, er, Earth,” she finally managed, her voice crackling. “I'm, er, Indira Nehru, Secretary General of the, uh, United Nations... but, I'm not the, uh, uh, leader the planet... I’m only from a region, called, uh, ‘India’…”

“Hi!” the alien chirped. “Princess Nazz'Tara of Kaijex. How are you?” she asked sweetly as she extended her hand. For a moment, Nehru hesitated, still feeling she was in some sort of dream. Finally, she slowly took the offered hand.

“I, er, lead a group of people in a building over there,” she said as she pointed towards the city behind her. “That’s, uh, New York City. My building is, er, in a part called ‘Manhattan’.” The alien giggled and put up a hand.

“It’s okay, dude. I've been here before,” Nazz'Tara replied. “Have you ever been to upstate Minnesota, incidentally? I grew up there.” The woman boggled.

“You... you grew up there?” Nehru managed.

“It’s a long story. Basically, I'm here for a more than a handshake. Don't worry, I come in peace. Trust me.”

“I expect if you didn't, we would not be talking right now,” Nehru said with a weak smile. The alien broke into a huge grin and nodded.

“I’d like to get started, though. I want to address representatives from every nation as soon as possible,” the alien continued. “I have a lot I want to discuss.”

“Of course... I'm sure that, uh, many of the ambassadors around us would be happy to, uh, oblige...” the Indian stuttered.

“Dude, relax. I’m not gonna blow up the freakin' planet. Almost all of us have family here,” she said as she pointed to those accompanying her.

“You all have… ” The secretary general looked like she was about to faint. She finally composed herself. “Er, perhaps we should start the discussions.”

“Excellent! Let’s get started then, dude!” Nazz’Tara beamed. Indira nodded and accompanied the young monarch as she approached the nervous crowd.

“Why did she risk this, Edward?” the tallest honor guard whispered to a male with an odd hat. “She could have been killed on sight.”

“It’s like she said before we landed, Katarn,” the alien replied. “Humans have always wondered if they were alone in the universe. She wanted to tell them someone was out there, and that they had good intentions. I don't think she expects to herald in a new era of peace on Earth... but she felt humans deserved an answer.”

“Very well. Perhaps we should follow Nazz,” Katarn suggested. She watched as her charge shook hands with the dignitaries, slowly warming them up.

“A good idea,” Edd nodded. “If the rest of our comrades would accompany us…” The others nodded and slowly filed in after their friend.

By this time, every news outlet from the BBC to Pravda Online was covering what was happening on the small island in the shadow of the planet’s leading city. They all agreed on thing: Whoever these people were, they had come with intent larger than a handshake. But in the days, weeks and years to come, the human race would realize that it would mean a great many things. It was a new beginning. And it was a new understanding of the universe.

And that while there were friendly beings out there, there were also less benevolent ones. A fact humanity was about to learn very painfully.