Star Fields

Chapter No. 57 Improbable

Chapter No. 57 Improbable

Some things should not be believed.

"You have to be kidding!" Molly said as she peered through a telescopic eyepiece. "This planet already has people living on it."

"I'm not surprised," I said. "It is conducive to life."

"Yes, but these people look like humans."

Both of my eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yes, really!"

I turned to Judy. "Send the probes down."

"Yes, Jason."

"How could humans have gotten this far down the Orion arm?" Alexa asked.

"Good question," I replied. "So far, all the humans we've found were descendents of people the reptilians abducted, but I don't think that the reptilians have ventured this far away from their home world."

"Maybe they were taken here by the Scath," Molly suggested.

I shrugged. "That's a possibility."

The video feed from insect probes began to stream back. What we say was astonishing. The people on the habitable moon were humans and they appeared to have been here for quite some time. They had built permanent structures and infrastructure.

"Well, I guess we don't have to be concerned about making sure that humans survive in the universe after our sun dies," I said.

"I wonder if they even know about Earth," Margaret said.

"I suppose we'll have to go down and find out," I said. I turned to Judy. "We'll go down in a fighter with six armed androids and two battle-bots."

"They will be ready, Jason."

"Expecting trouble?" Molly asked, her brow wrinkled with concern.

"Just being cautious. You never know what we'll run into, especially when they're humans involved. Actually, a fighter can hold more passengers, something we need now that there are five of us."

The ride down was uneventful as expected. We landed on an open field near a large city complex. Strangely enough, no one ventured out to us, at least not at first. After ten minutes or so, a small group of humans walked over to where we had landed.

We waited for ten more minutes before opening up the main hatch and lowering the ramp. Molly and I stepped out first, followed by Marie, Margaret and Alexa. Alice and Ellen came up behind us with their BFG's at ready. We decided to hold back the other androids and battle-bots to avoid looking too menacing.

The scene was eerie. A muted reddish cast was overwhelming as a dim red star cast subdued light onto a strange landscape of large black-leaved trees and dark purple grass. A few crimson clouds floated above in a dark sky. It was hard to get our eyes adjusted, but since we were androids, the visual compensation was quick.

"Greetings," I said. "We're from a star system a ways up the Orion arm of this galaxy. We're searching for a new habitable planet and saw that this one already has humans. How long have you been living on this moon?"

At first, no one replied. I though at first that they didn't understand me, but then an older female stepped forward. She was dressed in a black jumper-like dress. Her facial lines indicated that she was aged.

"Our ancestors told stories about people like you that come in strange vessels from the sky. Are you here to take us away?"

I held a hand up. "No. We're just curious as to how you arrived here. Human beings originated on a planet called Earth in a star system quite some distance from here. Have other creatures come here to abduct you?"