Projection

Alien

I remember nothing more than the shaking of the pod.
Nothing more than the smoke and the fire.
Nothing more than thinking my own death was so, so close.

I never expected them to catch me, to be honest. I was always... very sly. My projections kept it that way. Until now. My projection failed, flickering just enough that they noticed I wasn't really there. Then they managed to find me in the Observatory, putting the telescope to better use.
In pieces.
It was supposed to be an easy mission, in and out with no hitches. I had to make sure that my projection looked solid, and that it looked real. But when that failed, my money went down the drain and so did my life. They sent me to another galaxy, where no one had gone before. Where they had never been able to send anyone else before.

The Milky Way.
To Earth.

I had read about humans, and their way of living. Selfishly and infuriatingly. I would have to learn so much to be able to survive on that planet. My people knew that. I was the last of the Hologram race. My name came from my ability. I can create Holograms, otherwise known as projections. I was so young and stupid, and I would do anything for a nice sum of money. I had to pick up on sound waves coming from Earth to learn the English language. It was apparently the most widely known. I learnt some Latin and something called American Sign Language, dubbed ASL, and I was very confused as to how the humans can speak with only their hands.

My pod would rattle, and I could see metal peeling off of the edges.
I wasn't ready to die, but if that was how it had to be...
Earth certainly looked magnificent. When the fire curling off of the pod managed to die down slightly, I was left with a brilliant view of water. But then I saw nothing but trees, and wild animals, and then trees again. Branches snapped around me, trees collapsing under the weight of the pod. I watched the dirt rising up against the pod and I laughed.
Hysterical, victorious laughter. I jumped from the pod, and I gave a scream of triumph.

I was the first on planet Earth.