Science Fiction
Peace - ...ein kleiner, englischer Workout

"Okay… Seems like an earthlike planet", said the Colonel, who was standing behind the windshield of the top deck of the Earth's spaceship 'Peace' where the bridge was located. The ship was safely lying in orbit.
"Oh well… you have an incredible ability to point out the obvious", said Captain Cap ironically, looking down on the blue planet, whereas his name was in fact the only ironical thing about him.
"Thank you sir", replied the Colonel, acting gratefully.
The 'Peace' was the first spaceship built on Earth and it was sad that most of the population in the present year 2009 didn't know anything about it. It had been built secretly in the United States and of course the 'Peace' was armed to it's teeth with atomic weapons, phasers and all that stuff. That was the only ironical thing about the 'Peace'. In fact it was a quite serious one. Nevertheless it's mission was easy: It was ordered to look out for anything interesting in the neighbouring solar system that could be of any use to Earth, including other

earthlike planets, that would provide a base in the case of a total destruction of the human's home planet. Of course, this was a peaceful mission, that was the reason why the ship was called the 'Peace'. The funny thing was its armament which was not peaceful at all but insistent said to be 'necessary' and 'just meant as precaution'. But the Colonel was glad, that they hadn't discovered bad guys in this neighbouring solar system so far and that they hadn't had to fire any of those atomic things, yet.
"Are there people on that planet, doctor?", asked the Captain.
"Or anything that can be compared with 'people'…", added the Colonel and shrugged, as the Captain's strict look hit him.
A man, murmuring some incomprehensingly rubbish, appeared behind a control console of the bridge.
"Oh… I dunno", he said uncertainly, "I put it on screen…"
There was a low power hum and a graphic appeared

on the windshield. Captain Cap examined it with a serious impression on his face. Everybody was starring on the screen. Then the Colonel asked the question that was on the tip of everybody's tongue:
"Those… small blinking points… What do they want to tell us?"
He looked at the points that streched over a few square kilometres of the planet's surface.
"Those are life signs", said the doctor of science.
"Which means…?", asked the Colonel.
"…That there's somebody down there", said Captain Cap.
"Yes… Captain, I think you're pointing out the obvious right now", smiled the Colonel in a bold way, "I meant more like… are those humans?"
"I cannot tell", said the doctor.
"You cannot tell?!"
"No, I cannot tell."
"What d' y' mean?"
"I mean, I cannot tell!"
"Oh, thank you! Why are you on this mission?", asked the Colonel rhetorically, "Easy question: 

Are those humans or anyone… or …", the Colonel looked at the Captain, "…'anything' else?"
Then he swallowed but the Captain just ignored his comment.
"I cannot tell… It could be… everything. It's something breathing and living and… moving, in fact", the doctor replied inconveniently while watching a blinking point moving over the landscape of the graphic in an abhorrent fast way.
"Great…", said the Colonel, "So, what's the plan?"