"We're too late, you know," the first officer said before their command ship entered Earth's atmosphere.
The captain understood, "There was always a chance we would be, but we have to see what happened. They could have survived. Activate sensor cloak. We don't need the humans picking us up on any detection systems."
He knew their missing crew's likelihood of survival was slim after the communications with their command ship stopped. Their communication system could pick up the weakest signals on the more primitive planet. They'd been monitoring all frequencies for the code that no one on the planet could send except their missing crew of three.
The ship shook violently upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. The captain looked at his monitor, paled at what he saw, and gripped the arms of his command chair tighter. "How is that possible?" he thought.
"Captain, we have catastrophic engine failure," a voice shouted as alarms blared.
"Brace for impact. Try to glide in the best you can."
Their ship was larger than the scout vessel that disappeared days earlier and had twenty crew members on board. The captain hoped his pilot could land them safely.
"Com, send a distress signal home and warn the council the atmosphere of this planet somehow affects our engines. We can't have any of our ships crashing here looking for us."
He realized he had the answer to what happened to his scout ship and feared the worst. Their smaller ship wouldn't be able to glide as their larger ship could hopefully do.
The bridge crew knew what his last order meant, they would be stranded if they survived. The first officer looked at the captain, her husband, with a tear falling down her cheek.
"Be strong, dear one," he said.
The pilot shouted, "Impact in five, four, three, two...
*****
Seventy-five years later
John Thomas walked out his front door with his Yorkshire Terrier, Orion, scampering ahead. He looked out at the quiet cul-de-sac and smiled at the peaceful sound of birds chirping. He had moved into that house a two months before, after a long argument with his parents.
They felt he was too young and immature to leave their home and tried every argument they could to keep the independent twenty-five-year-old at home. John couldn't resist the urge to go out into the world and make his own way.
While his family, for decades, stayed within the large ranch they owned, John had a restlessness that no others in their close family had ever experienced. Because of his curious nature, his parents knew they couldn't keep him home forever, and they eventually relented and gave him their blessing to see the world.
John saw his neighbors' little girl bounce up and screech, "Hi, Orion."
The little dog yapped and allowed the five-year-old girl to lavish him with hugs and scritchin's.
"Hello, Ari," John said smiling while she ignored his greeting in favor of Orion's.
"Mister John, can I play fetch with Orion?"
"Sure, Ari. I have his ball right here."
She accepted the ball and John unhooked the small dog's leash. They lived on a private cul-de-sac where children commonly played in the street safely.
He watched and wondered who would tire first as the child and his dog chased the ball around.
Suddenly, he heard a crash and screaming come from Ari's home.
Ari looked at the house and said, "Daddy was mad his dinner was cold. Mama told him it was just cuz he was late, but he didn't understand."
John frowned. He didn't like his neighbor Dave from the first time they met. Sheryl, Ari's mom, saw John moving in and made him a pan of homemade lasagna to welcome him to the neighborhood. They were in the middle of a pleasant conversation when Dave came over drunk and berated her for not being home when he got off work.
John warned him to stop as Dave tried to drag Sheryl home. Sheryl left with a crying Ari who wanted to play with Orion longer.
Back in the moment, John looked at the house and through the front window saw Dave raise his hand to hit Sheryl. John got angry and watched Dave faint and fall to the floor. The pretty red-head looked on in fear and shock.
She looked at Dave then around the room until she caught John watching from the sidewalk.
Embarrassed, she hurried from the room into her kitchen.
"Ari, let me see the ball for a second," John asked. She handed him the small toy, and he threw it four houses away to the end of their normally peaceful cul-de-sac.
Both Ari and Orion chased after it, and John looked back to the house. Dave stood and looked around dazed. He saw John's glare and became more scared than he ever felt.
He flipped John his middle finger and left the living room.
"Mister John!" Ari shouted as she ran up. "Orion pooped."
John smiled and asked, "Would you like to pick it up?"
He held out a bag, and she squealed, "Ew!"
He laughed as she ran back to her house and opened the front door of the now quiet home.
*****
Two weeks later, John heard a scream, then a shout for help.
He burst outside and found Sheryl running toward him. As John pulled her behind his back, Dave pointed a shotgun at him.
Suddenly, the gun pointed straight up and fired, and Dave fell to the ground unconscious.
"Are you okay?" John asked as he turned and hugged the sobbing Sheryl.
"Where's Ari?" He asked when Sheryl didn't respond.
He looked around and saw the scared girl crying in another neighbor's arms across the street.
"Sheryl, it's over. Sheryl?" John begged.
She looked up with wet blue eyes, then broke the hug.
"Where is he? The gun? Oh, God!"
She started feeling his chest and stomach, looking for a bullet wound. He felt her touch change slightly as it lingered on his chest a moment longer than appropriate.
He shushed her and answered, "It's over. He's on the ground and the bullet missed us."
Another neighbor picked up the gun and examined Dave's lifeless body. He looked at John and shook his head to indicate he wasn't alive. John already knew but nodded in response.
He watched as Sheryl ran across the street to her daughter, then he looked at the neighbor walking up with the gun.
"I called the cops," he said.
John said, "Thanks, Bill," and stared at Dave's prone body.
Bill shrugged, "Damnedest thing. He just fired the gun and fell down dead. I didn't see anything to show he shot himself."
John replied, "Good riddance to bad rubbish."
"You're a lucky son-of-a bitch. He had you dead to rights in his sight."
John nodded and looked back across the street to see Sheryl and Ari walk into someone's home.
Bill smiled and said, "She's a good woman. It's a shame she was forced into that marriage. Dave was an asshole of the highest order."
John wondered what he meant, but that wasn't the time to find out.
Later, John told the police he watched Dave shoot as he tripped and fell. He told them he had no idea what Dave tripped over or how he died. All of the neighbors who witnessed the event told the same story.
