I was bereft with sorrow at the loss of my family, my home, and my friends when the Earthlings landed. The Sarceastians were swift and cruel with their assault, having nothing resembling compassion or love in their hearts. They were like phantoms that only lived to conquer and destroy others for their collective benefit. The seventh day after the onslaught, only a few others of my kind had survived. We had split up to look for others and gather what we could to nourish our famished bodies. I felt so weak, I wasn’t sure if I could transform if needed be, for that is one of the gifts that we Karkastians possessed. Once I heard the Earthlings land, I remained hidden in the bunker of my family's former dwelling place. I was the only Jollanot to have survived. We lived amongst the rocks as all the lesser off Karkastians did, unlike our overlords that lived in the hover dwellings above our heads. Now nothing remained of our social structure, something that I wasn't going to miss. I had no idea what the Earthlings wanted, but it couldn't be anything good. We had learned to be distrustful of them once our relationship with their government broke down. After the actions of a few distraught Karkastians, we were all labeled as dangerous and untrustworthy.

One night as I was looking through the last meager kerfol that I had gathered, (kerfol was what Earthlings called a ‘plant' that we Karkastians depended on as our main food source) I heard someone coming down the hatch into my bunker. I immediately hid as best as I could, peering out into the gloom to see who had invaded my home. I had no weapons to defend myself, so I tried my best to turn into a vapor. However, vaporization took strength and nourishment; and I hadn't had enough of either one to transform. Soon, I saw a female Earthling in some sort of protective suit coming towards me and there was little I could do as she was armed with a laser cannon.

Please don’t harm me I said using telepathy. From what I'd heard, Earthlings did not commonly communicate this way; but I was told that some of them were responsive to it. The female Earthling stopped and looked at me curiously. She turned around as if she were checking to see if anyone else was coming.

Don’t worry. I have no such desire she answered, much to my surprise. I emerged from my hiding place and revealed myself. It was a moment of mutual admiration. I had heard that humans were ugly and strange- that their skin was a strange peach tone, sometimes darker. When I saw this human, I felt something that I had not felt since my partner, Hellanot disappeared. This female human was beautiful. Her eyes were large, big and gorgeous and her lips were full and kind. I could tell by the way that she was looking at me that she was experiencing a similar of what Earthlings refer to as ‘emotion’.

Who are you I asked? Why are you here?

My name is Jessie. We are part of an expedition team that has been sent here to see if there are any survivors in the wake of the Sarceastian invasion, she said.

My name is Yahn.

I knew that there was something different about this Earthling than what I had always been told. I grew up hearing that Earthlings were cruel, hideous and selfish creatures, only slightly less heinous than the Sarceastians who were the scum of the universe. This creature did not fit the description one bit.

What do they want with the survivors? I asked, probing for more information.

They want us to take them prisoner so that they can’t pose a threat to the Earth.

I thought she could sense the anger in me when I heard this by her next statement.

Believe me, I know it’s ridiculous. I know that your kind is nothing like what I have heard.

What have you heard?

I’ve heard that all of you are terrorists that wish nothing but death and destruction for our kind.

That’s what Karkastians believe about you Earthlings.

Isn't it funny?

What is funny? I asked, not being familiar with this.

It’s hard to explain- it’s strange that we both have heard these things about the other and now that we have met one another, our impressions are quite the opposite from what I can tell.

Yes, you are not at all what I expected. You don’t seem cruel and you certainly aren’t hideous, I wondered if she minded how I looked at her with admiration and what her kind would call ‘lust’ or ‘attraction’, what we referred to as ‘musth’.

Neither do you. The creature laughed, which was a new thing to me at the time. She could tell by my reaction. Do you know what laughter is?

No... Is it when you expel gas?

She laughed again. The joy in her voice caused me to do the same as she, like I had released something that had been bottled up. I laughed for the first time ever. It felt good.

There you go. Laughter is something you do when you feel joy or happiness or when something seems funny.

Funny? This was another concept I was uncertain about.

It’s hard to explain. Anyway, what is your story? Are there more of you alive?

At this point, I didn't know how much I should say to the Earthling. Although she seemed kind and trustworthy, I was hesitant. She could sense it.

Don’t worry, I won’t tell the others that I saw you. I didn’t even want to come on this stupid mission. I’m only here so that I can pay for my college.

College?

It’s where you go to learn what you need to know to get a job.

I probably looked like the most confused creature in the known universe.

Job? We Karkastians don’t go to college or have what you call jobs. We provide whatever talents we possess for the community and live in harmony.

Sounds like a much better system.

To answer your question, there are only a few of us left. There is only my friend Dentyan and a few others that remain alive.

I’m afraid one of our men killed one of yours just yesterday.

What did they look like?

It was a tall male. He had a pale blue color and very short hair.

That was Dentyan. I was distraught. Water began to pour from several pores in my body.

Why are you sweating?

What is sweating? I am upset can’t you see?

Oh, that must be the way your kind cries or feels sorrow.

Yes, sorrow. I do know what that is. That is what I’m feeling.

Yahn, I am so sorry for your loss. I scolded the man who killed your friend, telling him that he should have stunned him instead of killing him.

I guess I should be used to all of the loss by now.

“Private Hampton come in!” a voice said from the Earthling’s primitive radio.

“Go ahead Captain,” Jessie answered.

“Have you found anything in the eastern sector?”

“Negative captain. No survivors.”

“Hmm, in that case, come on back to base.”

"Yes, captain."

I had better get back Jessie said.

I understand. Will I see you again?

I don’t now but if I don’t, I wish you the best of luck.

What is luck?

I don’t have time to explain. I wish you happiness.

You too, I said. I was sorry to see her go. She was perhaps the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on and I wanted to see her again, as much as possible. I ate what was left of the kerfol I had, transformed into my mist form and went out to see what I could learn from the invading Earthlings.

They were gathered around a fire talking about their day.

“I'm telling you there aren't any more survivors; this is one desolate rock," one of the males said.

“There have to be more life forms, the radar keeps getting a reading for them,” Their captain said.

“James, I want you to go and explore the eastern sector tomorrow,” the captain said.

“But I already looked at the eastern sector,” Jessie said.

“Hmm, well let’s just say I want a second opinion,” The captain answered. I could tell that Jessie was upset. Her female friend patted her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"Yeah, if Jessie says there are no life forms there, there aren't any," The other female said.

"We can't afford to take any chances and leave any behind," The captain said.

"I don't' see why we have to take them prisoners. Why don't we just blast any living thing we see on this god-forsaken rock," a big, ugly male said.

“Because that’s not our orders, Private Perry,” The captain said angrily.

"Some of us actually don't want to hurt anybody or anything on this planet," Jessie said.

“That kind of soft attitude will get you killed in a place like this!” The ugly male fired back.

"Alright, that's enough. Private Perry has a point, Jessie. You had better toughen up. I guess basic training didn't harden your insides one bit," the captain said.

“Some of us can actually still maintain some humanity after military training,” the other female said. Jessie nodded in agreement with her.

“Enough of this. I need everyone to get some rest so that we can cover more ground in the morning. That’s an order!” The captain barked. The others got up from the fire and began to head back to their ship.

I waited until they were all asleep, knowing that there had to be some sort of food I could find in their camp. Once the last human left the campfire, I transformed and began to search the area. I found something that smelled like food that came in a rectangular container. It was foul compared with kerfol, but I needed nourishment. I also found a laser cannon that had been left propped up against a rock. I took that and one of the rectangles of food and headed back towards the direction of my bunker. Just as I began to leave, Jessie came out of the Earthlings' ship.

“Hey,” she said calling out to me.

I began to run away and she followed behind me. I ran until I was almost back to the bunker. I looked and she was still chasing me. I decided to stop and communicate with her some more, knowing that she wouldn't cause me any harm.

Sorry that I had to take these things but I’m starving and I have no way to defend myself.

Keep them. Look, like I said, I want to help you. I can bring you food while we’re here, at least until the expedition leaves again.

Would you do that for me?

Yes, of course. We are invaders here and we should be helping the survivors rather than taking them as prisoners.

I wondered at that point how many other Earthlings were actually compassionate and caring like this one.

That is very kind of you but I don’t want you to put yourself in danger.

Don’t worry. I will sneak the food to you while everyone is asleep. They will never know who took it.

We smiled at one another for a second until another human came walking up behind Jessie. I vanished into my mist form just in time.

“Jessie who are you talking to?” the other female asked her.

"No one, I was just thinking out loud to myself. I couldn't sleep."

“Oh, ok, you had better come on back to the ship before the captain realizes we’re missing,” the other female earth creature said.