After three long hours, the space bus finally lands in The Ark's landing bay, and the passengers stretch their legs as they disembark. They walk through the narrow corridors and finally reach the bustling main hallways of the ship. Jax catches sight of Rojo, and before he knows it, Rojo is rushing over to him. "Hey, Jax! How was your time off?!"
"It was pretty fun. Navar and Miri were trainin' their asses off while I hit the books and studied Academy strategies."
"Sounds like you guys had a hell of a vacation."
"Wow, I'm surprised, Nozomi, Rojo, and I came here before you guys did," Seiju's gaze shifts to Astran and Miri, his eyes filled with desire. "I see you two got hotter since the last time I saw you."
"Be quiet, Seiju," says Astran and Miri.
"Seiju, do you know what type of mission we have today?" asks Juyon.
"To be honest, all I know is, I'm going with my sister to a distress call. Outside of that, I don't know," A brief, peaceful silence strikes the conversation until it's shattered by a beep from their pagers, a message from 499 appearing on their screens. "Guess this will answer our questions."
As they step into 499's office door, 499 gestures for a secretary to shut it. He stands, hands clasped behind his back, and shifts his focus to his subordinates. "We have received two distress calls. One call is a beast outbreak in the OSS 3 Labor World Pyzan 5. The team that will get sent out will be Juyon, Nozomi, Shinjiro, Rojo, and Denkei. Juyon, Nozomi, and Rojo, you may go on your mission now."
"Yes, sir!" Juyon Nozomi and Rojo make their way to the exit.
499 turns his attention to the rest of the entries. "Mei will accompany the rest of you to respond to a distress call on Malan. "You all are dismissed," says 499.
As Mei guides them toward the docking bay, Seiju expresses his frustration with a whine and an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry you guys have to get stuck with Mei. She's always annoying as hell."
Mei twists and turns, putting him in a headlock and flailing his arms around while she laughs. What did you say? Little Bro?"
"Hey, hey, let go of me!"
Chitose folds her arms in disappointment as laughter erupts from the group. "Roughhousing is so immature for a warrior like yourself."
Mei furrows her brow and scratches her head. "Umm, just who are you?"
"I am the accompanying mage on this mission, and unlike that arrogant jerk Denkei, I'll keep you all in check!"
"Was all that really necessary? There's nothing wrong with goofing off every once and a while."
"Of course there is! If it happens again, I'll tell 499."
Seiju groans, his frustration evident in the sound. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. We got a snitch on the team!"
"I'm not a snitch, you handsome jerk. I go by the books!"
"I would acknowledge your compliment if I thought you were cute. But, I'll stick take it any-" Chitose's mage stick connects with Seiju's cheek with a resounding smack, causing his skin to turn red. "Ow!"
"I am cute! I don't know who you think you are, you Red-headed freak!"
Astran pounds the handle of her sword into the earth, and the sudden noise catches the attention of everyone around her. "Can we stop arguing and just go on our mission?"
"Whoops, sorry. Ok, guys, let's keep going," says Mei,
The spaceship's ramp lowers, and the entries and Mei climb aboard. "Everybody strap in. We're getting ready for liftoff!" The transport spaceship ascends into the sky, leaving behind a trail of smoke and fire.
As the spaceship flies, Mei heads to the middle of the aisle to gather everyone's attention. "Listen up, guys, this is a different distress call than the last one you and Shinjiro went on. This one is in a residential area on a farming labor world. That means we must prevent as many casualties as possible and try not to harm civilians. There are two rules you must abide by. First, you are not to attack someone unless they attack you first. Or, if you see an innocent civilian being attacked, you must protect them at all costs. Al-"
"I don't know about anyone here, but I've been on so many distress calls, so if Mei goes out of commission, I'll take the lead," says Chitose,
Mei chuckles, her eyes crinkling with amusement. "I appreciate that, Chitose, but can I finish my statement?"
"Oh, sorry. You may continue."
"Anyway, does anyone have questions before we get there?"
Navar raises his hand. "How long will it be until we get there?"
Mei shifts her gaze toward the piloting quarters. "Jax, how long will it be until we are there?"
"We got around four hours until we get there."
Mei redirects her focus to the Entries. "Good. For now, everyone can do what they want, just don't do anything that'll destroy the ship," The spaceship's three-hour journey ends as it approaches Malan's orbit, and the sky is painted with stunning hues of pink and orange. "Ok, everyone, we're about to enter the atmosphere. Be ready for landing."
Everyone on board the spacecraft gathers their belongings to prepare for landing. Suddenly, the silence is shattered by the deafening roar of multiple asteroids hurtling toward the ship. "Oh, shit!" Jax presses the intercom button. "Hey everyone, we've got asteroids incomin'! Hold on tight and buckle up, or the turbulence might throw you around," The smell of fear and adrenaline fills the air as passengers scramble to secure themselves, their hands shaking as they fumble with their seatbelts. Outside, the asteroids look like fiery balls of death, hurtling towards the ship with incredible speed.
Jax navigates his ship through the dense field of asteroids, hurtling toward them. He avoids colliding with the jagged rocks, pulling off evasive maneuvers that make everyone feel the intense G-forces pressing against them. Suddenly, Jax pulls off a sharp right turn to avoid a massive asteroid, causing everyone to lurch to the side with a violent jolt. "Hey!" they say.
Jax lets out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, guys."
After navigating through the initial cluster of asteroids, Seiju's eyes widen in alarm as he sees an overwhelming swarm of space rocks hurtling towards him. The sight of them is daunting - an endless sea of jagged, grey-brown boulders, varying in size from pebbles to massive behemoths. Seiju's hands grip his seat tight, his heart pounding with fear as he braces for impact. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!"
Mei's hand connects with a loud smack against the side of Seiju's head. "Can you stop saying that all the time!"
With the dire situation, Jax examines the surrounding environment, his eyes scanning the endless expanse of space ahead. His breathing fills the cockpit as he tries to calm his racing heart, feeling the sweat on his palms as he grips the controls. "Be calm, Jax. Be calm…"
Jax examines how the asteroids fly at them, using various numbers to analyze the situation. After a good amount of time contemplating the physics and the surrounding area, Jax identifies the scope of escape. "The freest area is a perfect diagonal angle from where I'm at," He continues his train of thought, his mind racing as he calculates the trajectory they need to take to avoid the asteroids.
"Maybe if I start flyin' sideways with my left side up and my right side down at a steady speed and progressively turn right side up to a straight position, all while flyin' in that straight diagonal line, we should be clear of the debris!" Jax smirks, figuring out how to escape their predicament.
"I just have to wait for the right time," Jax finally finds the right time for escape. "Ok, you guys, hold on! It's about to get bumpy!" Jax turns his ship left side up and the right side down. With a clever and witty plan at hand, Jax flies through the asteroids, his heart racing as he dodges each one with lightning-fast reflexes.
Once they escape from the flood of asteroids, Jax cheers with excitement. "Woo-hoo!" Jax turns on the button for the P.A. "Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah. Good job, Jax! You saved us!" says Mei.
As Jax's team praises him for his heroism, his cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Thanks, guys," As he peers out of the spaceship's window, he catches the outline of the planet Malan a few miles from them. Its beige and orange sky contrasted against the dark void of space. Jax cuts on the P.A. "Get ready for landin' guys."
The spaceship descends into the planet's atmosphere, and the ship touches down on the soft grassy terrain of Malan. They walk down the spaceship ramp and onto the lush green grass, feeling the blades tickle their feet. The air is warm and humid, and a gentle breeze carries the sweet fragrance of blooming flowers from nearby. As they look around, they see towering mountains in the distance and a vast expanse of greenery stretching as far as the eye can see. "Ok, guys, let's move forward," says Mei