Chapter 2
~ Decisions ~
Scarlet's POV
Marie explains to me that the extra terrestrial beings on Earth 2.0 are stronger than us, because their Planet is three times bigger than ours, they also have a stronger gravitational pull. That being said, they're legs are built bulkier, and they're muscles help them withstand the gravity on the planet. So for us humans, our weight will double and we will be heavier. Marie mentioned while telling me about the planet and the beings that it has almost as much water as our planet did, 72% of it is covered in water. That must mean they have as much land mass as we once did, which would be plenty to just hide on one of the land masses uninhabited. The problem would be defenses. We would have to create weapons to protect us against the extra terrestrials in case they decide they don't want to share the planet with us.
"I recall seeing on the camera one of the extra terrestrials with dark purple eyes, and they're pupils are almost cat like. That must mean that seeing the sun is a little hard, which would explain why we hardly see them in the day time. The reason they were in the day might have been because of the probe, but they were huge! It was over ten feet tall, and its feet looked like dinosaur feet, with four claws on its feet. They're hands are kind of like ours, but longer and webbed. They're nails... the nails on their fingers are as sharp as a knife, and they're weapons in themselves. I have a feeling they live mostly in water." Marie says, and she looks out of the window of the air ship, which covers from the top of the balcony at where we are, to the bottom for where the crops are being grown. I can see the planet outside, and it looks a lot like her, but it's so much bigger. Marie is silent for a minute. I can instantly tell she's not telling me something. After a minute she continues.
"Their skin is sickly pink, almost pale. They have spots on their face, and they look like they're made mostly of muscle. They have no hair, and they have three eyes. One big eye and then two small ones below it, almost the side of our eyes. They have long flat fin like fails, and gills on the side of their necks. So far I've seen two different types: the males which have long flat tails and small round feet, the females. Now the females don't leave water, so far that I can tell. The females look almost like a mythical mermaid might: they have dark onyx green eyes, almost black with no pupils, and second layer eye lids. They're skin is rougher then the males, and they're bigger than the males too. They have sharper and longer nails then the males, and they have no feet. Only a long flat tail, almost like an Eal. They swim using a motion like a whale might, by pushing their tales up and down. They swim... so fast! It's almost like a torpedo... Every probe we've sent into the water is taken out within an hour. We can't see them for long when they do spot the probes." Marie says and she shutters. "They're so powerful... I don't even know how we could stand a chance!" Marie says. She rests her head on the table, and I hear soft sobs come from her. I hold her hand and listen to her sob. For a while I'm quiet, and I don't say anything. Marie does nothing but sob. Now that we know these things... they're so much more powerful than us. They would rule the water, and the males can walk on land. I wonder though, what is it they need from the land if the females are completely converted into fish like creatures?
"Why do they go to the land?" I ask Marie. She sits up straight and looks at me.
"They are sort of like turtles, and they birth they're young on land. The females crawl onto the land and are there for a few hours at a time. They look almost like they're going to die, and the sound the make... it's terrible! It's a high scratching sound. The males feel the females wet while they birth by bringing them water, and using their tales to splash the water on the females. I've noticed though, there's always one female that refuses to leave the water. I don't think she's mated yet, and I have a feeling she's the queen. She's bigger than the other females, and her eyes are brighter. On her head, on all the females' bald heads really, there's a birth mark sort of in different shapes. The queen's got the biggest birth mark." Marie says. I nod. We have to figure out how to get onto the planet then. There must be something we can do with these... extraterrestrials. But Marie said they screech, like dolphins or whales might. Echo location seems to be the way they might see too. How would we communicate?
"What else do you know?" I ask. Marie stands up and I follow her to a side room. Inside the room it looks like a lab, were tons of pictures are hanging up and there's a table in the middle of the room, with tons of tools all around us.
"These are pictures of them, and they're babies. The babies are all born with legs, male or female. They stay on the land for at least the first two months of their lives before they grow either fins and gills, or they're legs get stronger. These things... they grow faster than us humans do. The thing is, they only mate once a year, so there must not be many of them." Marie says, and she pauses. "We can't be too sure though. Like I said before, our probes never last long enough to study them. Were down to fifteen probes." Marie sighs. I look at all of the pictures in awe. Marie's right. The females that crawl to the sand look like they're ancient mermaids, but without hair, and they look way deadlier. They're long and slender. The males that aren't helping the females get water look like they're watching out for something. What are they worried about? That's what worries me the most. They look like they know something's going to happen, and it's likely something bad. "Marie... Have you sent any cameras to observe the land?" I ask. Marie frowns.
"No, not really. The first day we arrived here we arrived during the night, so we sent the probes to the land. Unfortunately the males come to the land at night, and the female's birth during the night once a year. We arrived during that once a year thing and it lasted for nearly a week before they stopped coming to the surface. The males go to the surface every now and then to retreat things... but I can't figure out what they're getting." Marie answers. So they've focused on the beings and not the land itself.
"I suggest sending cameras to look across all available land, and watch it for a single week. There's got to be somewhere that they don't go right?" I ask Marie. She nods, and smiles. `
"That's a splendid idea! I can't believe I didn't think of that! Alright, I'll send the order. Now, I want you to meet some more people aboard the ship and explore a little, alright? Remember: don't unfreeze anyone yet. We want to establish a little bit of civilization before we go marching in." Marie says. I nod, and she leaves. I realize she didn't answer my other questions, but it's alright. She's got a lot more on her mind. I also don't think a single week will be enough time… She said that the females only give birth once a year, how will we know where they got for that? Or if theirs other creatures aboard this planet that live on land, and only on land, away from the one's in the water. Frowning, I make my way to the white hallway. So many questions circle in my head, but little to none of them get answered. Sighing, I push the button to open the door. I jump out when I see someone outside of the door. It's…
"Marcelo?"
In front of me stands Marcelo John Ra'Javier, the co ops and surveillance captain of the Search and Explore team, which just consists of three of the captains in the bulk head of the space ship. Marcelo is the leader of that team. He's also one of the smartest people I know, next to Marie. Marcelo has a habit of… over estimating things, meaning if he has an idea he will search and search until he finds out the answer. Even something small could mean something BIG to Marcelo. Sometimes he even thinks the same thing with people. Marcelo smiles at me, and tilts his head a few degree's to the side.
"You remember me! That's great!" He answers and holds out his arms. I give him a warm hug, and squeeze him tightly in my arms. Marcelo towers over me, he's really tall, about 6, 5 ft. his eyes are dark brown, his skin olive tan, and he has dark black curly hair that has a red tint when the light hits it just right. When I'm hugging him, my arms reach all the way around him, barely, and that's only because I have long arms. My arms are a few inches longer then my legs, which makes me weird but nobody really cares, especially Marcelo. Marcelo's teeth are perfect, except one tooth that sticks out just to the side of his left front tooth. It sticks out now as Marcelo smiles at me. He's told me where he used to live; people of all nationality lived there, so people were all different. Marcelo's nationality is forty five percent Mexican, forty five percent Dutch, and ten percent American. Marcelo was born in America, but he traveled a lot during his time. He's not that old now, only about forty six but he looks a lot younger. The reason he's a part of the surveillance team is because almost nothing get's past Marcelo. He was put in charge when he was caught watching the streets near where he used to live. He was watching out for his family, making sure everyone was safe and he knew exactly when to do everything. Marcelo is a true leader, and a great man. NASA, knowing about Marcelo's history, recruited him a few weeks before departure from Earth. About half of Marcelo's family is aboard the ship, frozen. Marcelo's family is all smart, and that's why a lot of them are on the ship. The other half consists of the elderly, who children who won't be able to make the voyage. I'm glad Marcelo can at least have some of his family with him. I just hope that we can go onto this new Earth first.
"Yes, of course I remember you Marcelo! How can I not remember the best piano playing, eyes sharp as a hawk guy?" I answer, and I laugh a little. Marcelo rolls his eyes.
"Out of anything to best remember me by; of course you would remember the one time I played the Piano for you." Marcelo answers. He's recalling that the first time I met him, was when he was playing the Piano for his family in the NASA faculty. He played a great song that I couldn't quite understand, but it looked amazing. When his family all left to go eat lunch that day, I stayed to watch him play a song by himself. When he reached the end of the song, he called out to me. He knew I was there, but he hadn't said anything until then. I remember when I approached them I was blushing so red for being caught watching him. "What did you think of the song?" he asked, smiling. My face only got redder.
"It was good… But I couldn't understand it." I answered. He laughed and ruffled my hair.
"It was a Mexican song. I can sing in three languages, and play the piano in those languages too." He answered. He turned to the piano. "The Piano itself is an intense language of itself. It was so many possible rhythms and notes to be played…" he trailed off looking at his piano.
"Will you miss it?" I asked. He turned to me, and nodded. He knew what I meant. I knew he was going aboard the ship, and only certain about of stuff were allowed to come with. After that I was called away, but I won't ever forget that day that Marcelo stared at his Piano, as if it was a part of his family.
"Of course Marcelo, your Piano skills are amazing." I answer, smiling. Marcelo smiles.
"I still miss my Piano." Marcelo answers, and he sighs as if he's remembering it.
"What did you need?" I ask him, remembering that he came to my door. He blinks for a second, then nods and looks down at me, since I'm shorter than him.
"I came to ask if you wanted to see the surveillance videos of Planet 2.0." Marcelo answers. I nod. "Am I going to get to watch you survey the land too?" I ask as we walk down the hall way. Marcelo shrugs.
"Sure, why not?"