The Silent Planet

[annabel]

Mei was sitting nervously on a bench in the spaceport, right in front of the ship she would soon be piloting. Her legs fidgeted nervously as she waited for the rest of her crew members. It was her very first mission for the Galactic Peace Federation and it had surprised her to have been assigned as the leader of any crew so quickly.


On the one hand, she knew she was more than qualified, having embarked on countless missions with the Space Defense Unit, many of which she had led. She had experience fighting alien species and an excellent mastery of spaceship piloting. Yet, Mei couldn't help but be nervous. She knew very little about this mission, much of her briefing having been suspiciously vague and incomplete in its information. Something felt off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.


She wanted to prove herself to the GPF, but at the same time, Mei didn't completely trust her employers. Never had she embarked on a mission with so little information. How was she supposed to succeed when so much was clearly being kept secret from her?


She heard footsteps coming from her left and saw a man approach, carrying a cat in his arms. She waved and smiled at him. Her first crew member had arrived. She stood, waiting to greet him.


"Hi, are you joining me in the Tega-484 mission?" she asked.

 

[Kasime]

"Where are you going, big brother?" A small, curious voice asked Neerav. The voice came from a nine-year old boy. Not just any boy, but Neerav's baby brother, Coallo. He had raised the boy since birth after their mother died during the process. Their father had gone to live on another planet after the death of his wife, never keeping in touch with his sons, abandoning them. "I am going on another mission to a planet far from here. It is in the Tega System." The doctor called from inside the closed bathroom. "Woah! That far out? What is it like in space?" The boy asked, stepping out of the way when Neerav opened the hatch and moved to grab his bag. He paused and stood in front of it, eyes down. "It... it is really beautiful. The stars and different worlds are just wonderful." Neerav said in no more than a whisper.


"Is something upsetting you, Avi?" Coallo asked, using his brother's nickname and walking over to stand next to him. Neerav looked down at him, smiling despite the tears in his eyes. "There is not a thing in the galaxy that could upset me when I am with you, Lo." He replied, kneeling down to pull his little brother into a tight hug. Coallo was confused at first, but hugged him back. "But why are you crying?" The boy asked. Neerav laughed weakly, hugging the child tighter. "Because I love my little brother so much. Have you seen him? Tisk! Where is Coallo?" The black cat glanced over at them from his position of laying across the bed and simply meowed in questioning.


Coallo pulled back from the hug and giggled. "I am right here, big brother!" The doctor stood and waved his hand dismissively. "Impossible! My brother is far more older than you. You are but an 8-year old child." The boy crossed his arms and glared up at Neerav until the older of the two raised his hands in defeat and pulled something out of his pocket to hand it to Coallo. The younger of them looked at it inquisitively before gazing up at Neerav, "This is Tisk's collar with one of your dog-tags on it." The doctor nodded, shouldering his bag and picking up the black cat to hold in his arms.


"Happy birthday, Coallo." He said and began to walk towards the room's main-hatch, opening it. Neerav steps back when three 'guards' push past him into the room, keeping his head down as he took a step out of the door. "Wait!" A slightly nervous voice cried out. The doctor hesitated, one foot out of the room. "You are coming back, right, Avi?" There was silence. "Coallo, if you will, please come with us." One of the 'guards' spoke. "Why? Big brother, who are these people?" Neerav closed his eyes tightly for a moment before looking back to meet the uneasy eyes of his little brother. "They are here to ensure your safety." He lied, lifting his eyes to meet the gazes of the guards, a small light of hatred in his eyes as he looked at them. "I believe the ship that you are to board for the Tega mission is in docking now, Doctor." One spoke. Neerav turned away without a response, he couldn't be more bitter about this situation. Tisk put his paws up on the doctor's chest and meowed. Neerav nodded to him. "Right. Lo, go on. Make your wish." He called back to his brother. The boy squeezed his gift in his hands tightly. "I wish for you to stay! Do not leave me, big brother, I love you!" Coallo hesitated. "At least... come back in that ship alive, Avi..." He pleaded, distressed. The boy could tell that his brother seemed off and that this mission, whatever it is, is probably dangerous. Neerav lowered his eyes to the ground and hugged Tisk to his chest. "As you wish, so it shall be. I love you, baby brother." He replied softly before finally stepping through the hatch and heading off to the spaceport.


Tisk hissed quietly as they approached the ship. "I know, Tisk. I do not want this responsibility anymore than you, but we have to. For Coallo and the crew." The doctor said, letting out a sigh and slowly smiling. He could do this. Everyone would be fine. He is the doctor, after all. When a woman near the ship stood to greet him in a friendly manner, Neerav approached her and widened the smile on his face. "Yes, indeed, Miss. I am Neerav, the doctor. This is my partner and friend, Tisk." He introduced himself politely as did the kitty who gave a cheerful meow of greeting to her. "Am I the first to arrive? May I assume that you are Captain Mei?"


@annabel (never mind, I found it)

 

[annabel]

"You guessed correctly.  I'm Mei," she said with a friendly smile.  She then turned her attention to the cat in the doctor's arms, petting its head affectionately.


"Aw, what a sweet cat," she cooed.  Mei had always loved animals and somehow, the thought of having one in the ship with them made the mission seem a little less daunting.  Something about animals always did cheer her up.


"It's a pleasure to meet you and your partner, Neerav."


She then stood up straight and sighed. "Yes, I guess you are the first to arrive.  Have you.. been briefed regarding the mission already?" she asked him, hoping that Neerav had some additional information.  Though Mei couldn't understand why they would have informed him more than her.  She was the captain, after all.  Still, the scant information that she had been given nagged at her like a pebble in her shoe.


As she asked the question, she caught sight of a group of people heading in their direction.  It must have been the rest of their crew, or so Mei hoped.  Despite her fears about the mission, she was anxious to be acquainted with everyone and get started."


(ooc: Aw the story of Neerav's brother is really touching! ;_; Sorry this post is short, but since there's more dialogue than action going on, I thought I'd make it more brief, so we can move more quickly into the mission. ^^ )

 

[Kasime]

@annabel [I apologize for having disappeared! I will try to have a post up sometime this week, but I am just unsure of when. It should not be too long, though, I have just been busy lately with college class homework and marching band practices after school. Not to worry about me abandoning this, I promise!


Also, thank you! I tried to make it an emotional moment. And your post length is great, hakuna matata! (Mine will definitely not be as long as my first one because of, like you said, main dialogue.)] 

 

[annabel]

@Kasime


Hi Kasime! Take your time, it's all good. I've been behind on school work as well, but I'm glad you're sticking around!  Me too!!

 

[Kasime]

@annabel


[I swear that I have not abandoned this! I have been working on my post sporadically throughout the day. My post should be up tonight or tomorrow afternoon, for sure. I will try to finish it right now though. I am really sorry for my having vanished.]

 

[Kasime]

Neerav's smile softened at Mei's genuine affection over Tisk. The cat purred happily as she petted him, ever eager to meet a stranger who loves animals. He nodded to her, "The pleasure is mine, Miss." He said kindly in response to her greeting. Tisk meowed back at her and swished his tail happily.


The doctor nodded to her question. His smile deflated slightly, remembering that he would have to keep what he'd been told about the mission to himself. Or else suffer the consequences. And he couldn't do that Coallo or Mei and the crew.


"Yes, I was briefed about it." Neerav started. "The GPF said we are to investigate why Tega-484 has, well, gone off the radar, correct?" He asked her, pretending to be a little unsure of the mission. 'I should only know what she knows.' He thought to himself. "What they said was somewhat confusing to me and... somehow barely detailed. Was it the same for you?" He asked, hating that he was basically lying.


Glancing behind them before she could respond, he saw the rest of what he assumed to be the crew approaching. Neerav moved to stand next to Mei as the three people stopped before them. Two females and a male. "Hey! I'm Emerald, honors navigation graduate! How are you guys doing? You're the Tega mission Captains, right? Mei and Neerav?" One of the women asked, smiling brightly. She looked young, really young. Maybe 17. 'Is she really qualified to be onboard?' Then the other woman spoke before Mei or Neerav could respond. She was young as well, perhaps Mei's age, and had a southern-like accent as she grinned at everyone. "Maintenance 'n tech for the ship's what I do. Name's Charlie, nice ta meet ya." Then the guy, who looked very shy and antisocial, offered a small wave to Neerav and Mei before pocketing his hands and avoiding eye contact with the group. "I'm Adeon. I'm a scientist of sorts; I specialize in the study of different alien species."


Neerav smiled friendlily at the three. "I am not actually a Captain, I am a Doctor. And, yes, Miss Emerald, my name is Neerav." He introduced himself politely to the rest of the crew. Tisk kneaded his paws on the doctor's shoulder and mewed, swishing his tail back and forth happily. 


[Feel free to play as the crew members as you like. They are not exclusive to me, I just felt the need to introduce them. If you want, we can split them between us as side characters? They still are important to the roleplay as a whole, so we might as well choose different ones. If you want to, that is, because I can do all of them if you are more comfortable with just playing Mei?]


@annabel

 

[Kasime]

[Hello? Still alive?] @annabel

 

[annabel]

(Yes, sorry about that!  I'll reply now. )

 

[annabel]

Mei couldn't help but frown in disappointment at Neerav's answer.  "Hm. Yes, I guess so.  I just can't understand why they'd leave me, the supposed Captain, in the dark like this.  I feel completely unprepared considering the little information I've been given," she said, confiding in the Doctor.  She shrugged her shoulders.  "Well, I guess we'll have to make do.  I'm glad to have you aboard!"


When the rest of the crew arrived, Mei smiled at them.  They all seemed very friendly as well and she had the feeling that they would all get along.  Despite the scientist's shyness, Mei felt that he seemed like a good guy and not the type to make any trouble.  "Nice to meet you all! Are you guys ready to head out?" she asked.  She would usually have engaged in more conversation, as she was a rather sociable person, but the mission was worrying her and the quicker they got started, the better Mei would feel. 


Mei began walking towards the ship, gesturing for them to follow.  She walked alongside Neerav, but addressed the entire crew. "So, as you all may know, we're heading towards planet Tega-484, with which we've recently lost contact.  Our mission is to check out the planet and see that everything is okay over there," she said with a smile.  "Honestly, we don't know what we're going to find there.  So we'll have to be on our guard, though it doesn't sound like the GPF is very worried.  It's probably nothing." 


Once inside the ship, she asked the crew, "Does anyone know anything at all about Tega-484?  Adeon, do you know something about the race inhabiting the planet?" she asked the shy scientist. 


(ooc: Sorry for taking so long! ^^ I'll try to be quicker next time. )

 

[Kasime]

[Hakuna matata and nice post! I will try to have mine up this weekend as the rest of the week I am out all day due to classes and marching band. Goodnight!]

 

[Kasime]

Everyone nodded to Mei when she asked if they were ready to go. They readjusted their bags as they followed behind her and Neerav to the ship. The crew nodded as she spoke, all of them feeling different levels of mistrust and uneasiness about what they all knew their Captain was saying.


"Are you really allowed to bring the kitty on board?" Emerald asked, catching up to walk beside him once Mei had finished talking. He turned his head to smile down at her. "Yes, indeed. Tisk is my partner, I need him. Besides, I could never leave him alone." Neerav replied, forcing himself not to think back to Coallo and the fact that he'd just done that to his brother, despite knowing that he had no choice in that matter.


"Good! Because I snuck Ruby on board with me." The young lady stated, unzipping her bag and allowing a... snake?... to slither out and wrap itself around her arm. Tisk fluffed up and hissed at the red-scaled alien creature. "Tisk! Hush, be nice." The doctor scolded his friend. The black cat quieted himself before moving to perch upon his friend's opposite shoulder, away from the snake-like being.


"Please forgive him. He gets timorous around unknown species." Neerav apologized for his partner. Emerald merely smiled and stroked Ruby's head. "That's alright! A lot of others get nervous around her, she's used to it by now, especially when they find out she's venomous." She replied calmly. Her words were followed by an excited hum from Adeon. They glanced back at the scientist who was smiling in curiosity before quickly looking down at the sudden attention. He would obviously be asking the navigation graduate some questions about her friend.


Then the group turned their eyes back on Mei as she spoke up upon arriving inside the ship. Charlie and Emerald stayed quiet during the question, not really having anything to add. Neerav remained silent as anything he could add, he was forbidden from sharing with them.


Adeon looked up at her when she asked him a question directly. "O- oh, um, yes, Captain." He started, fidgeting with the straps of his bag as he spoke. "The dominant race of Tega-484 is the Tegons. They take similar form to us, but are not limited to the same skin colors that we humans are and can live on land or in their metalic-water oceans. They are a very peaceful race, living among the other species on their planet without disturbance, unlike native Earthlings who have stated their complete control and superiority to the other species on their planet Earth." Adeon replied softly. "Is there anything specific you would like to know, or is that all you needed, Captain?" He asked in a quiet voice.


@annabel