As Phog brought the scout fighter vessel through Earth’s atmosphere, Celeste glanced at the atmospheric readings. She was shocked to discover that Earth’s atmosphere was intact. The readings indicated a breathable atmosphere, which would make sense since all the industrial activities would have ceased with the end of humanity. The sun was also shining as it had when she had been here a long time ago. She vaguely remembered her father and the other adults debating whether the invaders would destroy their sun. That would have been the fastest way to destroy life on the planet. However, the Grekk appeared to have left the sun alone. She was thankful the Grekk had made that wise decision.
Tara stared at the blue skies. “It is so beautiful.”
The ship settled onto the surface gently. Celeste looked out the viewport. There was a rolling grassland in front of them. A short distance away the tall trees of a forest beckoned them.
“On the other side of that forest is the spaceport and the base of the species,” Phog highlighted.
“Are you certain there is nothing else around here?” Celeste asked.
“Sensors didn’t detect anything,” Phog reported, as he stood up.
“Sephim, I want you to stay with the ship and keep the sensors sweeping the area,” Celeste said. “If you detect anything, alert us immediately. The rest of us will try to find out what is actually going on here.”
The young man smiled and nodded without any questions. She was glad Sephim was becoming more mature in his thinking. She had also given him the job of checking the datanet for any references to Earth in the Grekk news archives. A certain amount of time would be needed for him to go through the news archives, but it might prove useful for them.
“Tara, you could also stay with …” Celeste began.
“I have never been to Earth,” Tara grumbled. “There is no chance you are confining me to the ship.”
Celeste smiled. “I thought that would be your response.”
A little while later they were standing in front of their ship. The weather was perfect; it wasn’t too hot nor too cold. Celeste was amazed at what she was witnessing. The years after the Enigma War ended had somehow allowed the planet to heal itself. She knelt down and touched the grass. She felt as if she was in a dream. If someone had told her she would be standing on Earth in the future, she would have scoffed at them. The feeling of the grass felt so natural on her fingers.
Tara looked at her in alarm. “What are you doing?”
“She is smelling the grass,” Phog said.
“What for?” Tara asked, in shock. “You aren’t going to eat the grass, right?”
The look on Tara’s face was priceless. Celeste grinned. Tara must have thought she had lost her mind. As smell wasn’t a natural part of Grekk living, it would be hard to explain to Tara.
“It is a very human experience,” Celeste said. “And no, the human race doesn't eat grass. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Celeste wanted to just lay down on the grass and shout out for joy, but knew that was risky. They still had no idea of the dangers lurking on the planet. She glanced at Phog who was a few steps in front of them. She really didn’t understand him. How was he able to stay so calm knowing he was back on Earth? They were back home. The very place where they had been born. But to Phog, Earth seemed like another planet in the galaxy. Sometimes, Phog really drove her crazy.
Phog pointed ahead. “We need to go this way.”
Celeste felt sad as she stood up and followed him and Tara. The tall trees they had spotted earlier began to get larger and larger as they approached the forest. Once they had reached the edge of the forest, Phog raised his hand. Celeste’s body stiffened. Had he detected something or someone? He looked up and then to the left and right. Something was obviously bothering him.
Celeste inched closer to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Can you hear them?” Phog whispered.
“Hear what?” Tara asked, in confusion.
“The birds,” Phog murmured, in fascination. “The birds in the forest.”
Celeste strained her ears and, then, heard them too. The birds were chirping like they owned the planet. She understood what had spooked Phog. It was shocking to hear birds on a planet that had suffered a lot of destruction during the Enigma War. She smiled to herself knowing Phog was finally letting himself go, at least a bit, on Earth.
Tara didn’t get it. “What’s so special about that? They are just strange sounds.”
“It looks like the bird life had found a way to survive after the attack on the planet destroyed humanity,” Celeste remarked.
If the bird life survived, it also meant there was a high chance that the animal life, to some extent, may have also been able to continue to thrive on the planet. It was ironic that while the human race had been destroyed, the bird and animal life had been able to resuscitate themselves. Such was the mystery of life.
Celeste listened a while longer without making any movement. It had been so long since she had heard such sounds. It was beautiful and nostalgic all at once.
Phog turned to her. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”
Celeste nodded. It was a relief to see Phog slowly immersing himself into the surroundings.
Tara folded her arms and looked at the sky. “Can we get moving? I think nightfall is coming soon.”
“Yes,” Celeste agreed.
As Phog led them through the forest, many more sounds emerged from every direction. Tara put her hands to her ears in frustration. The Grekk home world didn’t have such forests. And, the Grekk didn’t seem to mind. While they had arboretums in some of their government facilities, those consisted of plants created and nurtured by the Grekk scientists in the lab. There weren't any natural plants that grew on the Grekk home world. At least, none that Celeste had ever seen or heard of. The trees they passed by brandished a bold response to the life that had been stolen during the Enigma War. These trees spoke volumes to an environmental resistance that had emerged in the aftermath.
Tara kept looking upwards. “I cannot even see the tops of these plants.”
Celeste smiled. “They are called trees.”
Tara’s curiosity was rampant. “Why do you let them grow so tall?”
“We don’t let them do anything,” Celeste said. “They grow as they are meant to be. Some of them grow very tall and some don’t.”
Phog stopped and gestured for them to be silent. Celeste crept up to him. Phog used his device to scan the path ahead.
“What is it?” Celeste whispered.
“Sensors detected some movement to the right,” Phog said.
They all knelt down near a tall tree. Celeste looked ahead. Then, a young deer jumped out from behind another tree on their right and raced away.
Tara recoiled backwards. “What was that?”
“Just a deer,” Celeste replied. “They are a harmless animal on Earth. We humans hunt them for food.”
“Are you sure they are harmless?” Tara inquired. “That one didn’t look at all harmless.”
She seemed genuinely nervous.
“Absolutely,” Phog said. “Come on. We need to keep moving.”
After a while longer, Phog again raised his hand and they knelt down.
“It must be another one of your Earth animals,” Tara remarked.
This time Phog motioned for her to be quiet and showed them the device readings. It indicated two humanoid figures standing further ahead of them.