A ship cruises in silence without disturbing the eternal silence of the empty

space. It is a shameful excuse of a ship that the Earth, poor as a rotten

asteroid, can muster. Its occupants , the so called astronauts, would have
shamed a generations of proud astronauts who were earth's best and
humanity's bravest. Gone are the days when humans frequented planets,
gone are the days they set up colonies, and gone are the days they could
send thousands of brave souls into deep space in gigantic ships. Andre and
Rashmin was halfway through another Jack- the liquid bravery that
prompted them to take up this job. Pride of being the first humans to visit
the earth colony in Mars after 500 years never entered their minds. Andre
just wanted to go to the Martian colony Sigiri, report that it is doomed, take
photos and add to the human guilty of abandoning the colonists after the
world war III which was technically involved moon as well. Rashmin just
wanted to have a good time; take the remaining Martian vines, rocks, and
whatever the hell and smuggle it back to Earth. He was determined to get
the better deal of this deadly exercise.

As they passed out swearing and cursing in two dead languages of old earth
, their ship silently gazed at the massive redness of Mars.

Two man craft jumped into autopilot and programmed its course to land in
the vacant Sigiri base which was named after a rock fortress in an ancient
civilizations in old earth.

Flashes of light from the powerful torches eliminated on the wrecks of the
surface base. Winds seems to be incessantly pounding on the metal sheets
of the dome.

"No bodies eh ? " said Rashmin " Got to find them bodies " said Andre "We
are to document this mess"

Smell inside the darkened corridors were normal. Oxygen levels little low to
drop on the helmets.
Paused Andre. "Oxygens low" "duly noted" replied Rashmin " But how the
hell it isn't completely out? " "Beats me man ! lets click some and get some
bottles and get back into our shitty station" " Dude I no like this at all. Gives
me a weird feeling. Like an evil eye is watching us all" "Man, you russians
are sure hell supersticitous"

On the darkness, unnoticed to the trained eyes of the earth's envoys, staring
in amazement were two eyes belonging to a pristine woman. Her shock is
too large, her breathing made more sound that she wished, her eyes fixated
on the two creatures that move. All the myths of earth, the holy place in the
old religion, and its divine and creatures came incessantly into her mind. But
what if it is like the new religion ?

She watched them silently unable to move or shout. Her mind was raising.
New religion labeled earth and its inhabitants as devilish, wicked in their
design, causing havoc and destruction. While her thoughts battled, her eyes
never left the sight of the two astronauts who carried on collecting items and
detailing the sad end of human colony in their journals. But the colony
breathed beneath their feat, thousands of meters down the harshness of the
martian surface and they did not hear its sound.

As the two astronauts went away from the main corridor she looked at them
in the little light came from the metallic hull. They didn't look like anyone
she knew. Heads large, lights from foreheads, no sound of talking yet
seemed to be conversing.

She came from the darkness and stood in front. Her curiosity has betrayed
her. Her heart was overworking. Her breath was hard and loud. First they
did not see her even when the first lights fell on her.

They seemed engrossed with the leftovers, martian junk, and all the bottles.
Like thieves they collected them and hooked to their drone which hovering
above their heads. She gazed attentively and felt pity towards them. She
remembered the stories on the lust of the earth, the greed, and the great
wars. And she faded into the black not bothering to look at the busy gods.

Far off , the two man space ship cast a black shadow on the reddish martian
soil. It silently ascended and reached towards the distant earth. Its happy
passengers looted the entire facility and collected such junk that would see
them living happily ever after. As the ship left mars, its passengers logged
the final entry to the earth and it said.

"Colonies are dead. We are once again alone in the universe"