Alone

Chapter 17: Planet Number 3

Kyle POV

We began circling the third planet a few hours ago. We're trying to obtain as much information as possible from the ships scanners before we decide to land. So far, we have been able to find small civilizations scattered all over the planet. They're not highly developed like we hoped but they are around late 20th century maybe early 21st century.

This planet is a little larger than the previous mutant dinosaur purple jungle planet. While we were on a low orbit around the third planet we were able too see everything. There are a few oceans and a couple separate continents but the majority of the life on this planet is on the largest land mass.

There seems to be one main large city in the middle of the continent and the rest of the smaller towns and villages are built all around it. Beyond that there are farms in all different sizes and the houses are miles and miles apart.

Although alot of this planet reminds me of earth in the 21st century ,the differences are huge. The first thing I noticed was the vegetation here is blue and the oceans are green and usually according to earth standards, green water would seem gross but in this place its beautiful and makes everything glow like a magical lagoon.

There alot of bird like animals flying around everywhere. Some of them are very tiny while others are enormous and look like feathered dragons. We will definitely have to be extremely careful and its probably best we stay as far away as possible from those things.

From this far away, the civilization that has developed on this planet look like tiny little ants. According to the scans, there are approximately hundreds of thousands of beings in their civilization. We haven't gotten close enough to determine if they are human or humanoid but when looking at the architecture they must be closely related to us. We will have to stay cloaked for a while when we land, just to observe this new and probably strange culture.

I've been trying to distract myself all day by going over everything about this planet. It may seem crazy but I might be falling for Alicia.

I know I am an earth hero and I should be living it up and dating alot of different women but I've never been that guy. I'm the overly romantic and will definitely make a fool of myself kind of guy. I'm trying to play it cool and act like the guy everyone expects me to be because if I'm my regular self, she will probably run for the hills.

I probably shouldn't even try, she's way too out of my league.

At least by keeping myself distracted, I was able to learn quite alot about this place. And once we land and stay cloaked it will be interesting to learn more about the culture that inhabits this planet.

I'm not sure in what ways these people may be able to help us but while we are stuck in this galaxy we might as well explore. And who knows, me and Alicia being able to spend more time together and exploring might lead to a beautiful love story.

Well back to real life...we started our descent to land on the planet. The closer we get the more impressive everything starts to look. The buildings in the large city are amazing and look modern but classic at the same time. In some places it almost looks like an adorable old Dutch village or something. It holds a simple charm.

We can't land in the city, it's way too busy looking and they would probably uncover us pretty quickly.

I can start making out the different people the closer we get. They're definitely humanoid but still strange looking. They still have the basic build of a human but their skin looks to be different shades of magenta and red. Some people are a lighter pink color while others are a dark red.

They also have silver hair that shines brilliantly in the light from the 4 different suns.

Their faces are also very different but very beautiful. They have small ridges going down the sides of their faces along their defined cheek bones.

Their features are incredibly sharp and fantastic, they resemble models from earth.

Although they're attractive, I'm still going to be careful because they can also be very dangerous. They may have hidden characteristics like the Neba culture so we are going to observe them for a while before we decide what to do next.

***

We have been sitting and observing everything we can see all day long. The suns are starting to set and the people here are packing up for the day and beginning to head to their homes.

We've been able to figure out alot about the culture and the planet so far. They speak English which is beyond amazing and shows a simple symmetry in this unpredictable universe. There is also a barter and cash system set up so in case you don't have coin you can trade something valuable for whatever you need.

I haven't been able to distinguish what kind of government they have set up but hopefully that's something we won't need to know.

Now that it's getting darker out, we're going to wait a little longer and then leave the ship to explore a little.

The temperature of this planet is amenable and feels like a fall day on earth. Even after the suns have gone down the temperature remains the same, like the atmosphere holds in as much heat built up from the day as it can. All you need is a long sleeve shirt or a sweater. The both of us agree that our stealth uniforms from the other day will work just fine and keep us hidden in case anyone is still wandering around in the night.

I'm still unsure if these people or this place has anything to offer and aide us in our mission to get home but it's worth a look. I do have an ulterior motive besides just exploring as well.

The device that I told Alicia about that we needed and was the whole reason we went back to my cave home of the past 6 months and almost got killed, well...um...it's not exactly working. I was really hoping I could fix it by making new parts on the fabricator but it still needs something to make it work and I'm at my limit of expertise.

I am very thankful that Alicia either forgot about it or is patiently waiting for me to bring it up. She knows we went back to the cave for a specific reason but she hasn't brought it up and for that I am grateful.

I don't ever want to disappoint her.

***

We make our way through the alleys between residences and the occasional shop under the cover of darkness. The village we chose to observe is on the smaller side compared to most of the others we passed but it's still pretty large. There are alot of buildings close to each other and many alley ways for our benefit.

I start to hear voices at the end of the alley we are on so I signal for Alicia to stop. She stops directly behind me and I'm immediately drawn into her intoxicating scent. She smells like jasmine and I begin to forget about whoever is talking on the street and drown out their voices.

Against my better judgment, I turn around to face Alicia and look directly in her emerald green eyes.

As soon as I'm facing her though the look on her face is one of pure shock. I'm so confused and go to question her about what's wrong or if she's hurt but then I start to hear the sound of footsteps coming up fast behind me.

I turn back around as fast as I can and try to protect Alicia and keep my vow but as fast as I spin something or someone runs right into me, knocking me and them down at the same time. Everything comes flying out of my hands and out of there's as well. I try to steady myself and get up to face my attacker and then I hear him say "Wow, who and what the hell are you people?"