Caeyin itched to stand and stretch his legs.

He wasn’t sure how long he and the other Scouts had been sitting in the pitch black, metal box that was the cargo hold, but it had been long enough that he was growing restless. His luminescent eyes flicked across the faces of the other Lunairans in the room. Aside from their bright, violet irises, he wasn’t able to see any of them clearly in the darkness, but he could tell that they were just as agitated as he was. Faint shuffling sounds came from the other side of the hold as they shifted and fidgeted with nervous energy, every one of them eager to get out of the enclosed space. They were all footsoldiers of the Lunairan military, born and bred to fight, so none of them were used to sitting still for prolonged periods of time. To Caeyin, the flight to the Earth bordered on torturous.

He drew his legs to his chest and closed his eyes. The cargo hold wasn’t properly insulated, and he was beginning to feel a bit cool. He gauged the room to be at a temperature where water would freeze, as he could see faint traces of his breath in the darkness as it warmed the air in front of his face. There were plenty of other, better ships the Higher Powers could have let the Scouts use for the trip, but they didn’t want to “waste resources.” At least, that was their excuse for sending the Scouts on their mission in the old cargo ship. Supposedly, the military-grade crafts were currently being used to protect the Lunairan mother ship, located just beyond the planet’s atmosphere, and none could be spared for such an anecdotal assignment.

Caeyin suspected that in truth, the Higher Powers didn’t believe all the humans had been killed in the Plague, and they didn’t want to risk losing an armed ship to the Earthlings if the Scouts came under attack. Of course, they would never hint at such a possibility to the Scouts. It would cause some unwanted setbacks if anyone tried to abandon the mission for fear of encountering living humans, and they wouldn’t want the Lunairans on the mothership to worry that their potential new home was still infested with the primitive, violent beings.

Shifting uncomfortably against the wall of the cargo hold, Caeyin stretched out his legs again to prevent his muscles from growing stiff. Between the length of the flight and the low temperature of the hold, it was no simple task. He let out his breath in another puff of warm air, fighting the urge to get up yet again. There was no telling when they would hit the Earth’s atmosphere, so all of the Scouts had been instructed to remain seated for the duration of the trip. It was a difficult order to follow.

In an attempt to stave off his restlessness, he opened the bag of equipment he had been provided with before he had boarded the ship. He still couldn’t see very well in the darkness, so he used his hands to figure out what the objects inside were by touch. He reached in and picked them up one at a time, tracing his fingers carefully over each item. From what he could tell, he had been given three empty containers, a recording device, and a few packets of dehydrated food. There was another object at the bottom of the bag as well, but he couldn’t tell what it was, so he left it alone for now.

Caeyin startled slightly as the ship began to rumble and groan. It seemed they were entering the atmosphere of the plant, and he was suddenly glad that he had followed his orders and stayed seated. He looked to the eyes of the other foot soldiers in the hold, which were alight with a mixture of fear and excitement. It was the first time in many years that a Lunairan was going to set foot on the Earth, and none of them knew what to expect. Caeyin was even more enthralled by the idea of exploring the new planet than the others were. His father had been amongst the last group to travel to the Earth—he had been one of the soldiers assigned to spread the Plague—and he had told Caeyin stories about the humans and their home. Everything about the creatures had fascinated him, and now it was his turn to see this mysterious place with his own two eyes.

The ship lurched as it landed, and he could hear more shuffling as the others stood up. His heart began to race as he followed their lead, but his excitement was interrupted when the door to the hold slid open, and he was momentarily blinded by a flood of light. He squinted and shielded his eyes with one hand. Their Pilot stood in the entryway, silhouetted against the sunlight. After taking a moment to adjust to the brightness, the Scouts moved to stand in a line before him with the rehearsed efficiency from their military training.

Caeyin fell into the end of the line, slightly more distant from the rest of the Scouts. He wasn’t well liked by any of them due to a physical discrepancy that set him apart from what was considered “normal” in their society. For that reason, he often hovered away from the masses whenever they were called into formation. He had found that whenever he did this, they casted him less dirty looks, and he was able to get by without drawing as much attention to himself.

Once all of the soldiers were standing at attention, the Pilot began to address them.

“As you already know,” his violet eyes swept over them. “We will only linger here long enough to verify the extinction of the humans before we return to the base. You have each been provided with enough food for two days, containers to collect physical samples if you find anything worth noting, a recorder for visual and audio samples, and finally,” the Pilot’s expression turned cold. “In the rare event that you encounter any living humans, you have been provided a Silencer to exterminate them on site.”

Caeyin adjusted the bag that he’d slung over his shoulder. So, that was what the unknown object had been. He had never wielded a Silencer before. From what he knew, they were about the same size and shape as a ray gun—small enough to fit comfortably in one’s hand—but they used high-voltage electroshock projectiles that were powerful enough to knock a Lunairan unconscious... or stop a human’s fragile heart.

“You will all be working separately to cover more ground,” the Pilot continued. “Record any significant findings with your devices and collect samples along the way. Stay close enough to report back to the ship every other day to replenish your food supplies. You will repeat this process until I receive orders to fly us back to the base. Are there any questions?” His eyes landed on one of the Scouts whom had raised his hand, and he nodded to give him permission to speak.

“What if the humans overpower us?” the Scout, who Caeyin recognized to be his peer, Griirax, asked in a tone laced with nervousness. “We’re at a disadvantage if we travel by ourselves.”

“Overpower you?” the Pilot echoed with a slight chuckle. “If a disease-ridden, physically and intellectually inferior being overpowers you, then you deserve to die. However,” he gestures at a small electronic device on his own belt. “There is a system in place in the event that this does happen. If you ever find yourself in danger, just press this button. The rest of us will be alerted to your position, so we can come to your aid. Are there any other questions?” No one moved. “Very well then. I will be in the ship. You may begin scouting.” He stepped aside to let them file out of the hold and went back to the cockpit, closing the door to the hatch once they had all stepped out.

Caeyin didn’t waste a moment. With no reason to linger around a group of Lunairans who all hated him, he took off as soon as the Pilot had finished speaking, heading for the nearest cluster of buildings in the distance. To him, this planet was a fresh start, and he couldn’t wait to see for himself the world his people would soon be inhabiting.