"We're landing in approximately f-five minutes," Sageleap meowed, dipping his head as he buckled himself into the chair in front of the control panel. It was smaller than the typical panel because they weren't traveling too far away from Earth.

Fallowstripe raised his tail. 

"Uh, yes?" Sageleap asked.

"Is there somewhere I could put my succulent? I forgot to put it with the rest of my plants, and this is my favorite one... I even named it. Norman, if you were interested. Norman likes classical music, and its favorite book is Little House on the Prarie,"  Fallowstripe meowed in the flattest, unmoving voice the rest of the crew had ever heard.

They could only wonder what would await them on the rest of the mission.

Cedarflame got up from his seat and took the succulent from Fallowstripe's paws. The gray tabby blinked emotionlessly. He marched to the back of the room and set the succulent inside of one of the cupboards. A little click sounded when he closed it, and a robotic voice said, "Object detected. Fragile mode is now in place."

Relief washed over Sageleap once he realized he wouldn't need to decide what to do. "Thank you, Cedarflame," he told Cedarflame as the black tom sat back down.

Cedarflame gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

The ship emitted a soft beep; Sageleap jumped up a little.

"Uh, three more minutes," the brown-and-white tom announced. "Feathershine, for the love of StarClan, please sit down." The she-cat rolled her eyes but obeyed, sliding into the chair next to Fernfrost. "Greenface, do you have that baggie Fernfrost found?" The white tom nodded, pulling it over his muzzle. "And... I think we're ready to land."

He sucked in a deep breath, then turned back toward the panel. 

Cedarflame stared down at the seat in front of him, wondering if Fallowstripe even cared that he had helped. The black tabby wasn't prone to assisting others, but there was something about Fallowstripe that made Cedarflame feel comfortable.

The black tom cleared his throat quietly, sitting up straight and staring at the various monitors that decorated the wall above the control panel. One showed a 3D-model of the ship, one showed a news feed from Earth, one showed a picture of some ancient cat called Grumpy Cat, and the last showed a view in front of the ship.

"Two more minutes," Sageleap announced from the front of the room.

Fernfrost fiddled with her seatbelt, a little butterfly of nervousness fluttering in her stomach. The lanch had gone well, but she had never been in a landing before. They had simulated it several times before the mission began, but the simulators for leaving Earth hardly compared to the actual experience. 

She turned to Greenface, who was seated on her left. "Are you ready?" she asked, forcing a smile into her wide green eyes.

The tom shrugged. "I guess?" His voice was muffled by the baggie. 

"Yeah! This is going to be great." Internally, Fernfrost groaned at the sound of her own voice. She had always been the happy one, the one who made everything better, but she hated that role. Greenface seemed to cringe as well, but he didn't comment on it.

"O-one minute, thirty seconds," meowed Sageleap.

Fallowstripe felt empty without his paw against some plant, but he didn't want his precious succulent to be damaged in the flight. He cast a longing glance over his shoulder, at the cabinet where his plant was stored.

"One minute."

Sageleap gulped nervously. He wasn't even piloting the ship - some cat over on Earth was going to do it - but still, the fear of the unknown still lingered. 

"Thirty seconds."

Fernfrost adjusted her seatbelt, digging her unsheathed claws into the fabric of the seat.

"Ten seconds."

Greenface pressed the baggie closer to his mouth.

"Nine."

Pebblepounce, back home on Earth, snored as he slept.

"Eight."

Shadepelt purred anxiously, staring at the TV with her ears folded flat against her skull.

"Seven."

Astro bit into his bagel.

"Six."

Rio got tired of writing these sentences and decided to end the chapter.

"Zero," meowed Sageleap, and the ship jolted downwards.

by your favorite admin ;P