Quentin
I walked in front of the assembled soldiers with a smile. Scarlett was by my side, though she was a bit tired. With these soldiers, I had a plan. We needed to map out the surrounding territories and find out if there were any alien tribes in the area. If we could, we should quarantine the population to prevent the flu spreading to the tribe and devastating. I wished we had more time for this journey, but it was too late. We needed to mitigate our damage to the natives.
Looking upon the soldiers, I announced, “We’re going to split you into four groups of five. Scarlett and I will be part of the lead group, but we’re not soldiers.”
“Damn dog and pony show!” one of the soldiers shouted as he looked at us. He probably assumed that we were just doing this for show since we were probably considered high-ranking civilians.
I walked up to the soldier and said, “We may not be soldiers, but our duties are important. Scarlett and I can also hold our own, so you don’t have to save us. Any questions?”
One of the soldiers raised his hand and asked, “What should we do if we come across hostile natives?”
It was a moral problem since we were so dominant that the aliens were going to be on the backfoot. However, I knew the soldiers cared far more about human lives. I handed each group a translation book and explained, “You should attempt diplomacy and show that if you aren’t a threat. If they still attack you, you have the right to shoot them. Remember, we want to peaceful absorb them, not eradicate them.”
The soldiers nodded as they entered their APCs. Scarlett and I boarded one, with Scarlett as the driver and me as the passenger. The engine started humming as the APC shook. I pulled out my scanner and listened for the beeping. There was a black dot somewhere to the southwest. We were going to need to refine some fuel on this planet, so finding oil seemed like the most intelligent move. “Fifty miles to the southwest. Once we reach there, we’ll set up a prefab for an oil well,” I said as I pointed in the direction.
“Got it!” Scarlett replied as she started driving. As the machine moved, it was clear that the terrain was untouched. No preexisting trails existed in that direction, so it was a good sign that we shouldn’t expect aliens in this direction.
The path was blocked by several trees. Scarlett’s driving skills allowed us to swerve around several of them, but some still blocked the way. She parked the APC before looking ahead. “It looks like we won’t be able to travel through here,” she said as she kicked the tree in front of the vehicle. She then looked around and smirked.
Scarlett jumped back into the driver’s seat and started the APC again. This time, she did a zigzagging maneuver. When she reached a row of weak trees, she slammed the gas and charged through them. While the vehicle took some damage, it cleared a path.
The trees spaced out again, allowing us to coast through the forest without hitting more trees. It was an odd path, but it would have to be the case until we could pave an official one. Otherwise, the bumpy terrain wasn’t too much of an issue. We weren’t in the hills, so we didn’t have to worry about that.
As we drove through the forest, there was one thought I had. For a lush landscape, there were depressingly no aliens. Wildlife abounded with curious expressions, but none of the avian aliens. In fact, we didn’t even see any large predators. The only large animal we saw was an herbivore that was about the size of a deer while being a reptile. It didn’t make sense for everything to be this empty.
As the blue sun rose, we were only a few miles from our target. I looked back at the scanner and could confirm that the oil deposit was close by. The estimated size of it was enough to fuel our vehicles for the next hundred years. Granted, this was pre-expansion and growth levels, but we presumably had enough oil to provide people with cars and fuel our industry before the nuclear fusion plants came online. Besides, with only ten million people on the planet, climate change wouldn’t be as severe as on Earth, allowing us to tame this land and then get our green energy without too much difficulty.
When the black dot was right underneath us, I shouted, “Stop the APC! We’re here!” Scarlett sighed in relief as she parked the car and jumped out. She walked to the back and announced, “Get that prefab ready! We’re going to set it up before ordering a crew to clearcut a path from here to our settlement!”
The soldiers in the back picked up the prefab and slowly carried it to the spot. As they did, Scarlett called someone on her communicator and ordered, “Alright boys, it’s time to cut a path from your position to mine! Remember, all that lumber is going to come in handy for our early housing projects and other productions!” She closed the communicator and explained, “I’ve started a real-estate business. That call was for the lumber industry. While that’s someone else’s company, I figured I’d give them a hand, mostly since this is a government service.”
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I looked at her and asked, “Is that legal?”
She shrugged. “Who knows? Honestly, I just need the lumber for the construction workers who’ll build the first houses. They’ll be simple log cabins, but it’s better than living in a dorm with someone else. People want a place to call their own, and who am I to deny it to them? They’ll take out a mortgage and I’ll get a return on my investment.”
As the soldiers set up the prefab, Scarlett sniffed the air and asked, “Do you smell something dead nearby?”
I shook my head. “No honey. Remember, your senses are better than mine.” Despite not smelling it, I decided to follow Scarlett. I knew enough about her to know that she only mentioned the scent of something if she thought it was important.
My foxy wife followed the scent, occasionally sniffing the air to catch the path. I followed close behind her as we walked through the forest. We had our guns ready in case of an attack. However, an attack wouldn’t come.
In front of us was a ghost village. Avian bodies were in front of huts as the structures were already starting to fall apart. Animals were scavenging the corpses as the scent of death finally reached my nose, making me sicker than I already was from seeing the sight. Scarlett and I put on our gas masks as we walked into the village.
The first hut I walked into had two young bodies on a single bed while the other bed had two adults. It was clear that this was an entire family who died of the disease at the same time. Tears came to my eyes as I could only imagine the horror. They were killed by an invisible enemy; an enemy they would never understand.
I walked up to the walls and saw a drawing of the family. It resembled a cave painting and made me sad. This tribe could’ve become something greater, but it was clear to me that they never got the chance. Our arrival was an unintended apocalypse.
Walking into the streets, I could see Scarlett tearing up as she exited the hut across from the one I was in. She looked back and explained, “I saw a dead mother who tried to protect an egg. I don’t know if the baby survived, but I feel like we should give it a chance.” She walked back in and returned with the egg in hand. It was large, though not as big as an ostrich egg. She turned away. “I’m taking this to the APC. We need to send this to the scientists to see if they can keep it safe.”
As Scarlett returned to the vehicle, I decided to continue exploring the dead tribe. Each hut told a similar story. Entire families were wiped out by a disease they didn’t know about. An entire culture was wiped from the face of the planet. I saw a strange rock formation and decided to investigate, at least to keep my mind from returning to the sight of dead bodies.
When I reached the formation, it was clear that it wasn’t natural. The formation consisted of two concentric circles with rocks on top of the rock columns. In a way, it resembled Stonehenge. In the middle was a raised mound. I walked up to the mound and noticed something strange. There was an avian alien on it. A living one.
“So this is the end of our era,” the alien said in a slightly robotic voice, which meant my SAD successfully translated what he said.
“What?” I asked as I moved around to get a better picture of him. He had the same blueish-black feathers and raven-like appearance as the other aliens.
He turned to look at me, his gray eyes looking worn and tired. “Furless monkey, this plague was a curse from our gods, telling us we aren’t worthy. They say it is time that an animal gained intelligence and ruled over us. I just never thought the lowly monkey would be the one to do it.”
I ignored the comment about monkeys and looked at him. He seemed resigned to his fate and the fate of his people. I shook my head and explained, “We brought a disease to this world by accident! This entire thing is our fault, humanity’s fault! We need to save your people from us!”
The alien looked at me and replied, “Mere conduits of the will of the divine. As for me, I got sick but recovered. I figure my life’s purpose is to guide the new masters of this world.”
“Don’t you want to join your people?” I asked as I didn’t want him to be with those he couldn’t talk to.
He shook his head. “Young man, my people are dead. There’s no place for me anymore other than helping someone know this land.” He extended his wings and started flying. Hovering over me, he asked, “Where’s your people?”
I started walking back to the APC as I answered, “Follow me. I’m one of the only ones who can understand you.”
When we reached the APC, I could see seven eggs placed in the back. Scarlett pointed to them and explained, “Those are all the eggs I could recover from the tribe. It isn’t much, but it’s at least some survivors we can send back to the colony.” She looked up and flinched. She pointed up and asked, “Why is there an alien following you?”
I pointed to him and explained, “He wants to come with us. He says he sees potential in humans and believes we’re going to replace his people.”
Scarlett scowled. “I don’t want to replace them. I want us to coexist on this planet.”
The avian landed on the ground and asked Scarlett, “Why do you look different from him? Is this what human sexual dimorphism is?”
“No. I’m just a freak,” Scarlett replied as she hopped into the driver’s seat. I jumped into the passenger’s seat as the avian alien perched on the roof of the APC. My foxy wife looked at me and sighed. “It’s not fair, Quentin. I wish we could’ve landed on a planet without an intelligent lifeform.”
I looked at her and held her hands. “I wish so too, Scarlett. Unfortunately, we’re stuck in this situation and need to find out how to best handle it. With any luck, we’ll be able to save the aliens and find a way to get along.”
Scarlett looked out of the windshield as she started up the APC again. “I hope you’re right. The last thing I want is a full-scale war against the aliens. That would benefit no one and would only lead to more death.”