The space shuttle roared across the endless black sea know as space. "It's locked on. Lets begin our approach." said the shuttle commander. Two more shuttles roared by, their jet engines blazing. The planet was getting bigger now.

They were getting closer. A voice crackled over the intercom; "You've entered the atmosphere. Cut down to cruising speed." One of the shuttle's pilots adjusted some controls and the shutttle slowed a little.

The spacemen inside watched excitedly as the planet got closer. "Turn on the heat sensors." said the shuttle commander. Another pilot turned a knob and flipped a switch. He studied a viewscreen in front of him closely.

"Life!" he whooped. "Humanoid life! I can't believe it!" he clapped his hands with joy. Another spaceman walked over. He look at the monitor. "He's right! That's human life, and lots of it!" he yelled.

Everybody crowded the monitor, celebrating loudly. The shuttle landed in an open field full of grass. The spacemen hopped out and took off their helmets. They breathed in fresh air. "Ah, it's good." said the commander.

The spacemen patted each other on the back. On the horizon were tall city buildings. The field swayed in the gentle breeze. And then it all went wrong.

The last thing the commander saw was a missile hurtling towards him. It scored a hit on the space shuttle, just as the other two were landing. The explosion blew them in different directions.

The spacemen were engulfed in a fireball. One of the other two shuttles disappeared behind a hill. A few seconds later, there was faint explosion. The other shuttle fell to the ground and burst into flames.

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Only one spaceman remained. He coughed blood and got to his feet. A man holding a bazooka came out from a nearby canopy of trees. He was wearing what looked like a military uniform. He was followed by a few others. The had guns raised at the spaceman. 

The bazooka had smoke coming out the barrel. It had just been fired. The bazooka man had a different helmet, and a badge that said GENERAL on it.

"Alien, I presume?" he asked the spaceman. "Your disguises don't trick us." he continued. The spaceman looked confused. "I'm not alien, I'm a human. Promise." he replied.

The General shook his head. "Shut up. First, you copy our spaceships," he said, gesturing at the burning shuttles. "Then, you try hide your real looks with costumes." he said. The spaceman knew he meant his skin.

"It's my real body. I'm no alien, I'm from Earth and I'm the same species as you. We were very exited to find more human life." 

"Stop your cap." sneered the General. "Fire." The soldiers fired and the spaceman crumpled to the floor. At the base on Earth, all the intercoms had cut off. They had heard the conversation between the military and the spaceman.

Life. It was the only word that went through their heads as space shuttles roared into space. Life. Despite how all the spacemen on the previous mission had all died, every single space shuttle launched off.

They were mostly packed with military for protection, but they figured if they didn't attack maybe they wouldn't. One of the soldiers chatted excitedly as he boarded his rocket. "Do you think they'll be nice?" he asked his comrade. 

"I definitely hope so Grant, I don't wanna blow up." the other man replied. "I hope so too Joe, but we'll just have to wait and see." said Grant.

Joe laughed. "You sound like my mum when I was four!" Joe loved sharing jokes as much as Grant. But Grant didn't want to joke now. All he could think of was life. Life! Humans! was all he thought of.

They strapped themselves on chairs inside the shuttle. The jet engines roared to life. In less that two minutes, Earth was behind them. In front was a new planet, with humans just like Earthlings.

Life!