Gwendolyn Clare's "All the Painted Stars" (short story, free)

A fighter pilot of an alien elder race has idled too long, & is itching for a fight. And finds justification for siding with humans in their fight with other unspecified aliens. Result is a first contact with humanity, & second purpose in life for the alien...

It's quite nostalgic of classic science fiction.

Fact sheet.

First published: Clarkesworld, January 2012.
Download full text from publisher's web site.
Rating: A.
Added to my "best of 2012" list.