The Visitor

1. The Milky Way

Staring at a holographic image of Earth for hours was not what Haĝiēn intended when he agreed to travel across the galaxies. He understood the purpose was one of honor and hope for his planet, Ilum, however, never had he imagined the assignment would be more monotonous this year than the year before or the one before that.

He was wrong.

"Coordinates?" General Eukara asked matter-of-factly. The radiance emitting from her body crisp as she floated a few inches above the ship's lustrous, yttrium floorboards and paced back and forth.

A few seconds passed without a reply.

"Coordinates, Haĝiēn?"

Monocromatically Haĝiēn voiced their position. She knew what the coordinates were. Since their arrival, they hovered in the same location and for the past two months, nothing had changed. 

"Air quality?" The general asked Qûarzar, their most recent addition, and their newest shipmate. This was her first expedition to Earth.

"Poor," she replied.

General Eukara swayed her hairless head around in disapproval. The golden tone of her skin gleamed around her. "Earthlings will never learn. They have data upon data that teaches them how they exterminate themselves to the point they must evolve quicker the next time around, yet they don't."

"Why do we come back, General?" annoyed, Qûarzar asked. Her greenish skin, although dimmer, irradiated light, much like all original inhabitants of Ilum. However, considering she was a hybrid, her eyes bugged out profusely the way they did for the occupants of Draco. Her mother was Ilum but her father was an insectoid from the Draco system.

"There are vast other galaxies and planets we could choose from," she continued.

Acknowledging her question, the General further explained the reasons to all working in the spacious room, Qûarzar, Captain Makkio, and Haĝiēn.

"Yes, this is true. As you gathered from the briefing earlier, this is a red galaxy, therefore, a dying galaxy. To be able to avoid the same fate and enhance the continuity of our survival, the observation of Earth is crucial. Also, there are related biological and geological motives linked to our planet and our solar system, you see—"

Haĝiēn tuned out shortly after. The explanation the General gave his fellow traveler metamorphosed into white noise behind him because he already knew the answer. It was one of the reasons he chose to be on the mission to their constellation. His planet and Earth were both in their respective Goldilocks Zones.

Earth's solar system and their own were alike in that specific way; they were the perfect temperature to support water. Consequently, both had the possibility of life.

The possibility? Haĝiēn smiled. More so the assuredness of life.

Based on stories passed from generation upon generation on his planet, he knew humans shared similar DNA with Ilum. The ancestral inhabitants of Ilum tell the tales of travelers from their constellation to the blue planet at the beginning of time and how they helped create human life.

When he learned of the expedition, he was fascinated and could not wait to reach the Milky Way. However, at the time he wasn't aware they would not be landing nor have the authority to be in proximity to their subjects.

The crew was advised to keep their distance from earthlings. They were much too underdeveloped neurologically and not technologically advanced enough to react well to their visits. Therefore, they chose to fly above Earth and collect air and soil samples from beyond. 

His head hung in frustration.

The following year, their program allowed them to monitor different kinds of wild animals and plants. General Eukara navigated closer to the Earth's troposphere and camouflage the ship to not attract attention. But their veil proved to be faulty and human technology captured them on what they learned to be videos of unusual clouds formations or what earthlings call UFOs.