forum **Pinterest gave me some ideas again**

Started August 23, 2019 by @saor_illust school

tune

Vega shuddered, his tail curling. "Good indeed." He got the ship through the asteroids with practiced ease, and they arrived at the station a few mecrons later (I dunno, didn't want to use Earth time units).

(Heh okay shall we establish a system of earth to alien time units then?)
When Beta got out of the ship, they greeted the station manager with an dash of "night" and a giggle. "Anything new happen?" they asked. With an emotionless face, the station manager replied, "Same old, same old."

(ye)
Vega gave a brief greeting to the station manager, his eyes trained on a hologram screen coming from a small mechanism on his arm. "What do you think a human ship was doing out there, so close to a scouting route?" He looked up between Beta and the manager.

"Perhaps they were looking for more of us to kill off," they responded bitterly, having seen far too many of their kind killed off presumably by humans.

"Hm." There wasn't much more to say on that matter, he supposed - there was a reason everyone stayed away from humans. The sound of approaching footsteps pulled him from his screen, and he flicked his tail irritably as Kornan, a large, four-legged creature, came trotting around the corner and stopped in front of them. He glared down at Vega before addressing the scouting duo. "Captain Vega, Lieutenant Beta, the Council has requested your presence." He spoke smoothly.

Beta nodded in acknowledgement, and sighed. "Well, let's go then I guess," glancing at Vega briefly.

Vega responded with a quiet grunt as Kornan turned to lead them further into the station. "May I ask what it is you found for the Council to have been so urgent with this meeting?" He requested, and Vega answered with a quick, "You may not."

"Oh?" Beta inquired. "Why would that be?"

"We're the ones who were asked for; he's the messenger, he should keep out of our business." Vega said to Beta. A low growl came from Kornan, but nothing else was said. They were taken up a lift until they reached the highest point of the station, where a large arching doorway stood ahead of them.

Beta stayed silent the whole ride. They walked through, and their gaze fell on the Council who they could see in the distance.

Kornan stood aside as Vega and Beta approached the Council, who were sitting around a large metal table. Vega put his hands behind his back and stood straight as possible. "Hello." He greeted simply.

"Greetings, scouts," the Council greeted them. "I have some news regarding your… observations."

Beta nodded in acknowledgement. "The humans, yes."

Vega's ears perked as he listened. A dark-colored member of the Council spoke up. "We have confirmed that the ship you spotted did not contain humans, but another small team on the same mission as you - scouting. However the planet you were warned not to approach was one that we did not expect to hear of again…"

"Oh? Have you heard of it before then?" Beta inquired curiously, cocking their head. "Is it dangerous? If so, that's a shame, it's beautiful!"

"Yes, Lieutenant, it is very dangerous." Another, elder member spoke up. "I am not going to complicate this; you know how everyone thought humans were rare and possibly endangered?"
Vega glanced worriedly at Beta. "Yes?"
"Well, we were all apparently very wrong, because that 'beautiful' planet is full of them!"

"Of humans?" Beta's eyes widen in shock. "How could this be?"
"We do not know; but we'd like to send out a team to scout the planet," the first member that'd spoken said.
Beta was silent for a bit, but then he gazed at them in realization. "…you want us to scout out a planet that is full of humans?" they asked incredulously.

"Indeed. Aside from that other scouting ship, you two were the first in a long time to get so close to that planet." The elder explained. "You are the second highest ranks in this station, and our first highest are currently on their own mission. We cannot risk sending anyone else…"
Vega shuddered. "But, you want us to investigate a planet full of HUMANS." He repeated. "The most dangerous species recorded to this day! I don't mean to question your choices, Council, but how can you possibly think of sending anyone at all?"

"We must find the danger of these humans. So far, the only human encounters have been in space, correct?" the elder started, and Beta nodded in understanding. "We cannot properly assess the danger of humans without first knowing their levels of danger in different settings."

"I…suppose that makes sense…" Vega muttered. He tried to think of a better argument, but ultimately came up with nothing. "H- how long will we have to be there?"

Beta closed their eyes, breathing in deeply. "Alright then, as we must." They too wanted to know the answer to the question Vega posed, but chose to stay quiet for the time being.
"As long as necessary," another elder replied solemnly.

Vega restrained from groaning out loud, but his twitching tail was indication enough for how bothered he was.
"You will take the Perion-1 - its cloaking mechanism will do well in masking your presence. Remember, though, humans are quite intelligent, and you should still take care to hide the ship. You may depart as soon as you are prepared. Any questions, Captain? Lieutenant?" The Council looked between the two of them.
Vega looked over at Beta; usually, they would have denied a mission like this, but coming straight from their station's Council, they had no choice.

Beta shook their head and bowed in respect. "Till we next meet."

Vega sighed quietly, bowing as well. The whole of the Council nodded in response, and the elder ended with a "good luck" as Vega turned to leave the room.

Beta silently followed Vega. "So, how do you want to begin this task we've been given?" they asked in what they hoped was a light tone, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I'd rather not begin it at all." Vega huffed. "But we should start packing up if we're going to be there for 'as long as necessary.'" He went back down the lift and toward their quarters - he asked a ship worker to bring out Perion-1 on their way.

All they gave in response was "Alright," before they parted ways and headed towards their own quarters. Once there, Beta quickly packed the necessities, double, even triple checking that they had everything they needed and added a couple of luxury items. If they were to embark on such a dangerous mission, they'd want to leave as soon as possible.

Vega though worriedly about the mission as he packed. He didn't know exactly how long 'necessary' was supposed to be, considering the planet they were going to, but he figured they'd be there a while. There were numerous reasons why everyone avoided humans and anything having to do with them; they were unpredictable and smarter than they seemed, and anyone who was unlucky to encounter even one human often did not return home.
Before leaving his quarters, he sent a message to his litter mates back home, informing them of his mission and that this may be the last time they hear from him.

Beta was lucky enough that one member of his family had survived the near-fatal human attack they'd had in space one time. They'd been stationed here, waiting for a new assignment. Though, they weren't sure that their grandfather would be overly happy to hear from them, and debated contact with him. In the end, they sent a quick message, This may or may not be the last time I go off on assignment. After much thought, Beta added, I love you, because they did. Even though they'd only met him once or twice, he was still family. Feeling very awkward after this, they headed out of quarters and sat down on a nearby bench near the departure station to wait for Vega.

Vega spotted Beta on a bench and went over to join them, his arms crossed. As he watch the Perion-1 slowly emerging from its dock, the station manager came over to bid them farewell.

"Hey," they greeted Vega, their voice emotionless. Beta appeared to be looking at the ship emerging from its dock. He had been, but his eyes slowly lost focus, and they now stared off somewhere in the distance.