Chapter 1

Jed surveyed the area, a Grey hangar with several tiny robots scurrying along the floor. Lots of yellow and black stripes and lots of red warnings. Someone should be arriving any second now...A small door opened at the far end of the hangar. 2 figures walked through it. A Wolf Minatashan And a Frennan. The Minatashan avoided all eye contact with the Blue one.

"Ah, Senka and Geranno." he said to himself. The figures advanced, and were soon standing at attention in front of him. At least, One of them was.

Senka, the Minashtan wolf, watched the two through quizzical eyes, her long, white tail waving through the air gracefully. Her ears twitched as she tried to pick up various sounds from the ship and familiarize herself with the alien vessel.

She began to notice Jed studying her, as if trying to figure out everything he could about her. Once she was certain they would be alright, she said with slight aggression, "I am Warlord Senka Blackscales, sent by my king to aid you in your journey."

She held her hand over her heart, then slid it sideways through the air towards the captain, a friendly gesture among her kind, although she continued to stare at the two harshly through her storm-blue eyes.

"Captain Jed Rennel, IPK Force Beta-6, Currently owns a medium-sized ship called the starskipper, has no known family save for an uncle..." Geranno Started tapping things on his holopad, which was quickly confiscated by the captain.

"You pulled up my IPK file?" Said Jed. "How? They are guarded by several passwords, locks, and other security measures."

"Yes, I'll admit it took me fifteen minutes to hack." Said Geranno.

"It took you what?" Said jed, looking up from the holopad.

"Generally it would only take five. " continued the Frennan.

The door opened behind them as jed handed the holopad back. 2 Humans Walked in. One with red hair, and another Wearing a black Coat and boots, as well as a pair of sunglasses.

"Eclipse and the Mercenary." Said Jed to himself, causing the other two to turn around to see the approachers. 

Eclipse looked at the wolf right next to him that was at least two feet taller than the average human and moved to the side. He looked back at the captain and bowed.

"You have no idea how much it means to me to be on your ship, serving you, sir. I have spent much of my life reading as much as I possibly can about the various planets' terrain. It is such an honor to help you and the rest of your crew survive in the event we get lost somewhere."

He looked at the wolf to see her roll her eyes and lash her tail at his previous words. He also noticed she took a particular interest in the hired hand he walked in with. He looked back at the captain to see his pleasure at his words.

"Eclipse, Our survival expert." Said jed. "Pleased to meet you."

"And this is..?" Said jed, turning to the man in the black trenchcoat.

"Mr. Merc." Said The man, in a gruff voice.

Geranno snickered. "Cute name, for a mercenary."

In less than a second, Merc Was behind Geranno, bending his arm backwards.

"Oww! Agh! Stop! Uncle!" Mr. Merc Let up and Grinned. "Watch what you say, Blue boy."

"Not fair!" Said Geranno, Pouting. He looked about to say something when the noise of the door interrupted him. 

A Green Slime-like creature entered. He wore a Chef hat on his head. He was half a foot shorter than most of the humans. "Gluss the cook, at your service." he said in a sort of liquid voice. he seemed very cheerful.

Sierra, a beautiful white-haired woman, very cautiously followed behind the green sludge. She looked to the side to hide her face and walked over to a corner of the hangar that was a little more unnoticeable. She looked down so that her hair concealed her features from view. She looked up slightly to see a white tiger Minashtan walk through the doors with his tail held high in pride.

Dewblade stepped in and smiled. He quickly realized there was another Minashtan aboard. He studied her briefly before deciding she must have been royalty, of sorts, though she didn't have the kind-natured personality of the king or many other Minashtans.

He stepped up to the wolf and used the Minashtan greeting before saying, "I am Dewblade, and I'm assuming you're the warlord, Senka?"

Upon seeing her tail flick in approval he bowed before adding, "I have never seen Minashta, but I am proud to have such bloodlines."

He turned to the captain and bowed before introducing himself. He smiled and said to the others, "I sincerely hope I can become your dear friend, and have a peaceful voyage with all of you."

He noticed everyone smile at least a little bit, except for the mercenary and Senka, who both seemed to have not heard him, or completely refuse his offer.

The girl in the corner had captured Geranno's attention, which meant he wasn't looking at his holopad anymore. He said nothing, but kept looking in her general direction.

"Before we leave, I will give you guys a while to get used to the ship and each other. you will be sleeping in the ship tonight. But i will first give you a tour."

He climbed aboard, quickly followed by Gluss, eager to see what was on board. The rest soon followed, mostly in single file. Geranno pulled his gaze from the corner to walk onto the ship.

Senka was the last, directly behind the mercenary. She wasn't excited to play "follow the leader" to some human that has no significance to his race whatsoever. Then again, she wasn't excited about any part of this experience. She was the second most important Minashtan in the universe and she was supposed to follow the command of a human she knew nothing about. 

She also had a hatred towards the mercenary, Mr. Merc. He seemed to think he bested her as a warrior, which she was the greatest of all Minashtans. Not to mention the Minashtans were the most developed race as far as war was concerned, thanks to their heightened senses, strength, size, etc. She wasn't prepared to let some human think of her as one of their wild wolves throughout their planet that they so eagerly hunted for pleasure.

They had entered the ship through the back, through doors that hissed as the pistons retracted.

"This is the first airlock, there are 2 on the ship." Said jed. They waited for the routine oxygen filling the chamber before moving on to the next room. "This is the mess hall. Also known as the cafeteria. Gluss will be preparing the food and serving it here. Through the left and right doors are engine rooms, that monitor the engines' status." They moved through double-doors in the center to a room filled with 6 beds, and something similar to a fishtank, with holes in the sides. "This is the sleeping quarters,with beds for all of you. Feel free to claim a bed, and put your Gear or Other items in the trunk at the foot of them."

Gluss immediately squeezed through one of the holes in the side of the fishtank. "These Seal, Right?" he said. "I Don't want to dry up."

"Yes." Said Jed. "They seal, don't worry."

Most people Claimed a Bed.

Mr. Merc pulled out and threw a knife at the one he wanted, not moving except for his hands. He then Pulled out a cigarette. "You still use those?" Asked jed. "Well i'm sorry to say, but you can't smoke on this ship." Mr. Merc continued to light the end. "Put that out or i'll put it out for you." Said Jed. Mr. Merc Grinned, Puffing a cloud of smoke in his direction. 

"Is that a threat?"

Jed's hand instinctively Went for the blaster on his hip.

Both men had guns to each other's heads in about a second.

"This is my ship and my rules." Said jed, through gritted teeth. "Obey them, or get out."

"I Choose when i want to get off your dumb little ship." Said Mr. Merc. "I'm not paid to obey any rules. I'm paid to stay here and protect this ship. you are gonna have to get used to the way i do things, buddy."

Everyone in the room had froze, but someone finally spoke up.

Everyone was shocked as the innocent, shy, seemingly non-existent medic, Sierra jumped between them.

"Stop it, both of you! We haven't even moved and you're already trying to kill each other. I'm not going to do anything with injuries resulting from the use of a cigarette!"

Mr. Merc stood still, expressionless, while the captain backed off slightly, but kept his blaster trained on the mercenary's face.

"she's right, Nanobots can only do so much, merc." Said the captain.

Mr. Merc Grunted, flicking the cigarette and stomping on it with his boot. "I'm not gonna kill someone over a stupid Leaf wrapped in paper." With that, merc walked out, leaving ash on the carpet behind him. A Small Cleaning Droid Popped out of the wall and started cleaning up the mess. "Lets keep moving." Said Jed, looking at the door. "The door merc walked through leads to the shield system. This one leads to the weapons Bay. Currently we only have a few small weapons." Said jed, leading the group inside. He then led them through another door into a small room, like a hall. A Small generator sat in the middle of it. "This is our oxygen converter." He said plainly, leading them through another door into a room with various medical supplies. "This is our medical bay. Through the door straight ahead is the cargo, and to the left is the next airlock." He led them into the airlock room, with another hiss of pistons. he led them straight through into the cockpit. "This is my base of operations. form here i can see into every room except the bathrooms, -connected to the mess hall- and i also have a place to sleep, and controls over the ship." He turned around to the group. "That's it. any questions?"

Senka flicked her ears in annoyance but remained silent. Gluss began to ask a question, and she took the opportunity to study Jed, Dewblade, and Merc. The captain seemed as though he didn't want anyone to quarrel, however impossible it seemed. He fought fire with fire; pleasant behavior was responded with more pleasantness. Anger and distrust was treated in turn with discipline or more anger.

Merc avoided speaking if possible without arousing suspicion, constantly kept his emotions under control unless aroused by someone else's stronger emotions, and he wasn't afraid to use his fists. In a way, Senka admired him for being so ready for war. He was equipped with everything from steak knives to blasters. He also seemed agile and stealthy, not something a usual Minashtan would think of as a threat, but Senka never underestimated her enemies.

Dewblade was very social, seizing every opportunity to speak to one of the crew members and attempt making friends. He was very muscular, even for a tiger Minashtan, but what would one expect from a weapons expert? Senka was a little ashamed at how he seemed to enjoy wearing human clothing. She knew he had never even been to Minashta, but he knew everything about it. She would never have been caught dead acting like him to such races.

Her thinking was cut short by a loud. automated voice.

"HANGAR LOCKDOWN IN 1 MINUTE."

Jed Looked at the group. "its dinnertime, i guess. You go to the cafeteria. Socialize and do whatever. I've gotta stay here and check to make sure everything is running smoothly. Its better to check ahead than to check just before launch. You never know when you might need a part or two."

Dewblade smiled and led the way to the cafeteria, Gluss had disappeared. He let the others pass as they walked by the weapons bay. He slipped inside and looked at some of the weapons which seemed extremely old and useless.

"Like stone knives and arrowheads," he growled.

He then left and quickly made it to the cafeteria.

There were 3 tables. Merc was already sitting at one, with his chair tilted back and his feet up on the table. the chairs were almost antique, Made of Plastic, with metal legs. the tables, however, looked newer.

Gluss Popped up from behind a counter. "Not much to work with here, but i'll see what i can cook up."

Everyone sat down at the tables. Merc was still sitting by himself at the third table.

Geranno had made it a point to sit next to sierra. He was Curious about her hair.

Sierra looked up at the Frennan then quickly looked away again. She wasn't scared because of his skin color, if Dewblade, Jed, or anyone else sat next to her, she would act the same.

When she realized he was still there she forced herself to say, "H-hello."

"Hello." Said Geranno.

A moment of silence passed, neither one really knowing what to say.

"Nice, Umm... Weather?" Said Geranno, looking out the porthole at the stars beyond. He had a good view from his seat of the shield Door keeping the ship inside the hangar. "I Mean, Uh. Nice... Not Weather?"

Sierra smiled and let out a chuckle, then looked back up at him and felt a little more reassured.

"I'm Geranno," He said, holding out his blue hand.

"Sierra." 

She then saw the green sludgie, Gluss, come out of the kitchen with his chef hat and about a dozen trays. He placed three in front of Senka, who sat by herself like Merc, and two in front of Dewblade who sat at a table with Eclipse, while everyone else got one.

"What's this?" Asked Eclipse, Putting a forkful in his mouth.

"It's my own recipe." Said Gluss. "Its Dairy and Gluten free, and i can tell you it'll for sure improve your eyesight." 

"Yeah, i can see the carrots." Said Geranno, Putting an orange disk in his mouth.

Merc's Food remained untouched.

"What, Don't like the idea of a Big green slime cookin' you food?" Asked Gluss.

"No." Said Mr. Merc, his black boots shining on the table. 

Gluss tried to shake his head, But, being a ball of slime, He looked more like someone poked circular Gelatin.

Eclipse suddenly stopped eating and realized that the Minashtans got way more food, that looked slightly different. 

He turned and asked Dewblade, "Why do you get more and it looks different?"

Dewblade stopped and looked at him with a chunk of food dangling off of his chin. He wiped it off and replied, "Minashtans eat a lot, and carnivores, like me and Senka, only eat meat of course. This contains everything your's does, it just has a meat flavor and color so we can manage to eat it."

Dewblade turned to Gluss and shouted his thanks. The slime tried to nod but just looked like jiggling jelly again.

Geranno turned to sierra again. "I'm wondering about your hair. why is it white?"

She looked at him and thought for a moment. Then she replied, "I was once in a small plane crash. Me and the pilot were alright but...lost in the middle of nowhere. After about a week we were found, but the terrifying experience turned my light brown hair white."

She looked down as she recalled the incident.

Geranno patted her on the back, trying to comfort her.

"I Had a bad experience once." He said. "I Was practicing my hacking skills when i was found out by the site's security. As it turned out, the site was run by... A mafia, if you will. Its not exact, but you will at least understand the comparison. They traced my IP And burst into my house. My dad pushed me into the closet and went for his gun, but i heard his..." Geranno stopped, and his eyes were watering.

"Well at least you didn't wake up and think you were at the beach, and wore flight gear instead of a swimsuit," Sierra joked, although she actually woke up thinking that. She failed to see that he was crying.

Geranno did his best to hide it, as, if he were to burst out into crying randomly, nobody else at the table would understand, because they weren't part of the conversation.

He did poke sierra so that she'd look at him though.

Sierra leaned forward and hugged him, which many of the beings throughout the cafeteria noticed.

Suddenly she heard Dewblade say, "Aww, friendship at its finest."

Geranno tried to wipe his tears, now that nearly everyone was focused on him.

"Thanks." he whispered.

"Sorry to break up all the love," said Senka in a bitter tone, "but I really should be going." 

"Going where?" A few were surprised that Mr. Merc had decided to speak up.

"To worship Captain Merciful if it bloody well pleases you," She replied with a sarcastic bow.

Merc let out a small laugh. "I like your tone of voice."

Her right ear twitched at the sound of his voice and she said, "Well I'm not some stupid puppy, to follow you around and do whatever you find enjoyable. Perhaps you should get that traitorous tiger to do that."

Dewblade growled so quietly that only Senka, with her amazingly sensitive ears, could hear, but she ignored him. He knew that her quarrel was with the hired mercenary.

"Hah, puppy or not, I wouldn't have let you on a ship." Said Merc, not missing a beat. "You and blue boy over there'd be out. Along with pretty much everyone else. the only good ones are the captain and Fur-ball over there." This got a scowl from everyone, which was exactly what he'd been looking for.

"Ditto," Was her only reply. 

At everyone's confusion she soon added, "I wouldn't come on this horrible excuse of a ship if I had a choice, nor would I let anyone else but Jed on. I have the decency not to force you to see this, unlike him."

"Shutting bay down." Came the automated voice. "Earth nighttime sounds loaded."

Crickets started chirping.

"Bah, Humans, rubbing themselves all over everything." Said gluss. "No offense." He added quickly.

"I guess we should sleep? Said Geranno. Most everyone was done eating.

Senka growled, but followed the group to their quarters, nevertheless.

Gluss squeezed Into his Fishtank containment. the holes in the sides closed over him.

Geranno pulled something out of his pocket, which soon expanded into a small laptop, with a holoscreen. He then sat on his bed, typing away. 

Merc relaxed on his bed with his hands behind his head, not even bothering to take his boots off. his pulled out a small idol looking figure, which he started carving with the knife above his bed.

Eclipse, Sierra, and Dewblade all settled into their beds and seemed to fall asleep. Senka looked at the bed she was assigned and snorted in disgust. She instead went to the corner of the room and curled into a ball, her long white tail resting on her muzzle and concealing her entire body from viewing from the side.Suddenly, a loud noise burst through the room, waking everyone.

the ship started to rumble, and then, It stopped.

So did the crickets.

Geranno was the first to say anything.

"I think, I think we’re moving!"