July 8th

As Scarlett oversaw construction of a road to the oil rig prefab, I was sitting in a meeting room with officials from the original colony. I leaned forward as I explained, “The influenza pandemic is becoming an extinction level event for the native aliens. I hope the alien I provided you with has given you valuable research.”

“He has, but we’re still far from testing our vaccine,” the chief surgeon, Dr. Li, said. He looked at his notes and added, “We now know that the aliens produce different antibodies from humans and have a drastically different immune system to any found on Earth. In short, we’re exploring uncharted territory. We’re pulling veterinarians off the acclimatization program to help us.”

“To be honest, the flu having a mortality rate equivalent to the Great Dying in the Americas is a worst-case scenario. It’s eighty to ninety percent fatal and spreads rapidly. If we don’t find the cure quickly, we can kiss the aliens goodbye,” another doctor said as she looked through her notes. “I do believe we have a potential treatment option for the avians. By using the respirators and modifying them, perhaps we can ease the suffering and give them long enough for antibodies to build up and fight off the infection.”

I thought about it for a while when I realized something. “Remember those cryostasis pods we came here in? What if we stuck the avian aliens into them until we could immunize them. Sure, we’ll only save up to one hundred thousand, but it’s something.”

“That sounds like a valid plan,” Dr. Li replied as he wrote it down in his notes. “So now all we have to do is place any aliens we capture into the stasis tubes until we develop the vaccine. So, are we all in agreement?”

Most of the people in the room raised their hands, but I didn’t. Everyone looked at me confused, so I explained, “I don’t agree with this plan. I meant sticking infected aliens into the stasis tubes, not healthy ones. Putting healthy ones into stasis will harm our credibility.”

Dr. Li sighed. “Quentin, you’re intelligent, but sometimes you need to learn to bend the rules of morality. Sticking to your principles will lead to more deaths than if we stick the aliens into stasis. Yes, it’s not right, but it’s preferable that more live through a minor wrong than less live while keeping ourselves guiltfree.”

Another leader, Captain Zachary Sanders, stood up and announced, “It’s settled then. Our teams of soldiers will scout the area in search of surviving aliens to transport to the cryostasis chambers. Once we’ve cleared a great area, we can start developing areas of interest.” He stood up and started shaking the hands of the other people.

When he reached me, I hesitantly shook his hand. “You know your plan will kill thousands?” I asked as I looked him in the eyes.

Captain Sanders shook his head. “Mr. Smith, there are some regretful things you must do to survive. And in the end, we’re looking to save human lives, not alien lives.” He got up and walked out the door.

As I walked out of the meeting, I was greeted by the bright sunlight and the sight of log cabins being built. Already, the Campbell Estates signs out front of the cabins had a Sold sign over it. Scarlett’s business was booming as several prospective homeowners were taking out mortgages on the houses so they could finally move out of the dorms. I even took out a mortgage to buy one of the log cabins.

As I approached my cabin, I could see several more being built with Scarlett directing the builders. Several looked at her funny, but I supposed I couldn’t blame them when their client looked like a fox. Scarlett looked at me and waved before blowing a kiss. I blew a kiss back and jogged over to her.

“Quentin, honey, look at my work,” Scarlett said as she pointed to the houses being built. “With all the sales that I’ve made, I could give my client a fair pay while stocking up credits in the bank. Once we switch back to dollars, I should have enough to pay back my loan and still start more projects.”

“That’s great, Foxy Lady!” I praised before hugging her. “Perhaps we can gain a comfortable lifestyle once this adventure is over. And more importantly, we could probably start a family somewhere down the line.”

“Family,” Scarlett repeated as she twirled her fur and hair. A smile crept on her snout as she looked at the sky. “To think that after all the Qarri did to me, I can have a normal life. I have a loving husband, a bright future, and have the potential to have children. The only thing that can be better is having my entire family here.”

We stood together in silence, taking each other in. The world was in perfect stillness as everything felt right. It seemed like our happy ending had arrived. Perhaps not a happy ending for the rest of humanity considering what happened to Earth, but a personal one for us. There were issues to deal with, but we could solve them together.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

That thought was shattered when Scarlett’s ears twitched. She turned to face the west and whispered, “I hear something.” She ran off in the direction. I followed her.

When we reached the source of the disturbance, Scarlett’s ears drooped. I followed her eyes to find a dying soldier crawl towards us. Without needing to speak, we went to work to stop the bleeding. I fashioned a makeshift tourniquet. Though its use often leads to loss of limbs, it was preferable to the soldier dying.

Once we were done stopping the bleeding, we carried the dying soldier back to the settlement. Placing him in the medical ward, Scarlett and I stood outside, hoping the soldier would make it.

Seconds turned to minutes which turned to hours. Medics rushed into the ward and left in that timeframe. Even the star this planet orbited was setting, casting a faint blue glow over everything. Each tick of the clock made me more nervous.

Eventually, a nurse entered the waiting room and walked up to us. I prodded Scarlett, waking her up from her nap. The nurse smiled as she said, “The soldier is going to be fine. He will need some blood transfusions, but otherwise he’s on the road to recovery.” Scarlett’s tail started wagging and I leaned forward, intent on hearing more. The nurse sighed. “I’m afraid it’ll be a while before he wakes up. Until then, you’ll have to listen to the radio recordings.”

“Radio recordings? He recorded what happened?” I asked. No response came as the nurse went back into the room with the soldier.

“Quentin, let’s go listen to that recording,” Scarlett said as she stood up. She popped her back and did some stretches before leaving through the front door.

I followed her to the barracks. Opening the door to the storage room, we entered and saw the injured soldier’s equipment. After rummaging through it, I found the soldier’s personal radio. I set it on a nearby table and played the recording.

“This is Bravo Squad, reporting that there’s nothing to see other than a large lake,” a mid-range male voice said. “No sights on any aliens, but we’ll keep searching. However, at this point I’d say the planet has no native peoples. With all due respect, we request permission to return to base. Ronald here says he needs some rest.”

“Ronald needs to man up! He’s in the military, not the Boy Scouts!” a baritone voice shouted on the recording, which I assumed belonged to their superior.

After a few seconds of static, the soldier replied, “Roger that!”

The recording had a large skip forward. The sound of gunfire could be heard along with panting. “Bravo Squad in need of backup!” the soldier screamed before more gunshots rang out. “We’re surrounded on all sides by aggressive natives! We’re killing about ten each, but two of us are already down!”

“Retreat! This is a recon mission, not a combat one!” the baritone voice shouted with panic evident in it.

“We’re trying but… Dammit! Some ******* ******* traitor is with the aliens! I repeat, there’s a traitor with the aliens!” the soldier shouted as more gunshots fired out. The soldier’s voice was tipped with betrayal, and he seemed to be furious and confused at what happened.

Scarlett’s ears twitched when she heard the next voice. “Get off of this planet, imperialists! You ruined Earth and now you’ve come to ruin another planet because you can’t behave!” the familiar voice shouted. I knew I heard it before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Arthur! You’re a traitor!” Scarlett shouted at the recording incredulously. Her eyes darted around the room as she started hyperventilating. Her pupils shrunk as she started pacing the room. “I always thought it’d be Amanda that betrays humanity, not you!”

“Scarlett!” I shouted. She kept pacing, seemingly lost in worry. “Scarlett!” I shouted again, yet her daze wasn’t broken. I walked in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. “Scarlett!”

She finally looked up and into my eyes. She froze up, giving me the opportunity to kiss her. “Scarlett, I can’t imagine how betrayed you feel,” I said with a soothing voice as I started to pet her back.

Scarlett’s breathing slowed down to normal speed as she broke out of her daze. Tears came to her eyes as she said, “I knew Arthur was a bit crazy, but he isn’t murderous like Amanda. Deep down, he’s a good person.”

I thought for a while of a way to comfort her. This wasn’t an experience I would deal with. Carl and Sam were calm brothers. They weren’t likely to betray humanity or attempt murder. Honestly, I was more afraid they’d get caught in the crossfires of a war. Yet it was war we’d have to deal with. The soldier managed to limp over here, meaning Arthur was nearby with his alien army.

“Scarlett, sometimes good intentions can lead someone down a dark path. While looking out for the aliens is noble, betraying humanity for them is the wrong decision. Right now, we must affirm what we believe. If it comes down to humanity or the aliens, which would you choose?” I replied as I leaned against the wall.

“Humanity, no doubt in my mind!” Scarlett shouted back with a scowl. “Why do you ask?”

“Why do you support humanity?” I asked as I tapped my chin. “Humans fight wars, tear up the planet, are arrogant, cruel, greedy, and overall unpleasant.”

Scarlett placed her hands on her hips and replied, “Because I am human even if I don’t look the part!”

“Does being human alone determine worth? Arthur felt no such loyalty to humanity and he is a completely normal human being.”

“Well excuse me, Mr. Misanthropist, but I see the good in mankind! Humans are explorers, innovators, pioneers, moral, hardworking, and determined! We have our flaws, but we ultimately have the best in mind!” she shouted back with a smirk. “I’ve never met a human as awful as the Qarri, except for perhaps Amanda, and Harry before we redeemed him.”

I smiled and clapped my hands. “That was what I was looking for. It takes more than group identity to support something. You must earnestly believe it’s the greatest choice there is to make. Loyalties can fail, so putting all your eggs in the loyalty basket can make you susceptible to corruption. I wanted to do this exercise to prevent Arthur from messing with your mind.”

Scarlett nodded. “I see. I was wondering why you were disparaging humanity.” She sighed and looked back at the recording. “I just hope there’s a way of snapping Arthur out of this. I don’t want him to die fighting us.”

I grabbed her hands and smiled. “I hope so too, Scarlett. I hope so.”