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.
"Hello, Lieutenant. Captain, I hear the two of you are going to a rather dangerous planet?"
Vega nodded. "We are… A planet apparently inhabited by humans."
The manager tensed a moment. "Goodness! Is that what the Council called you for?" They asked, and Vega nodded once more. He looked over as the ship worker waved to them, and he patted Beta's arm. "Let's go."
Their eyes refocused, as they were jolted back to reality by the station manager's touch. "Oh! Yes, yes, of course," they grabbed their stuff and walked over to the ship.
The worker gave Vega a rundown of how the ship was functioning, and Vega thanked them. The ship's door slid open to reveal a small set of steps, which he climbed up, then he loaded his things into a compartment in the back.
Beta did the same, and sat down in the co-pilot's seat in the front. Giving a small sigh, they glanced down at the controls, getting a feel for how they worked. Different ships had different controls… they'd seen these ones before, they'd have no problem getting used to them.
Taking his place in the pilot seat, Vega took a deep breath. He reached out for the controls and double checked with the ship worker that everything was proper before the ship door closed, then he started up the main engines and nodded to himself as he sat back and looked over at Beta. "Are we ready?"
Beta took in a shuddering breath before responding, "Y-yeah, I guess so…"
Without another word, the Perion-1 was lifting up and out of the station; they were steadily zooming through space towards the human planet within moments. Vega input the coordinates from before and let the ship's autopilot take over so that he could check the information that had been sent to them.
Planet Designation: MW-3-Sector 5 - Terra, "Earth"
Primary species: Terran, "Human"
Habitat: Varies
Humans are ultimately dangerous in nearly every way. Intelligent and typically unpredictable, with a vast array of weapons at their disposal. Lacking protective exoskeleton, they are soft-skinned and seemingly vulnerable, but humans have been recorded to last days on their own with injuries that could be fatal to most other species. Their young are small, soft, and defenseless, and an adult may resort to killing to keep them safe. Some humans may act violently or in an otherwise strange manner without reason.
DO NOT engage a human without proper analysis.
Vega made an low, uncomfortable noise in his throat as he slid the information over to Beta's screen.
Beta's throat seemed to close up at the info being slid over to them. "I… I know…"
–Timeskip–
Back on Earth, Stephanie Landon was lying on the ground in the park staring at the sky. Suddenly she sat up, having seen something strange. There was an object flying through the sky, and as she watched, it shot over her head, heading over to the fields of grace. She immediately jumped in her car and followed it the best she could.
Emanuel hummed to himself, the Zelda theme playing in his Bluetooth as he walked down the street towards his brother's apartment. The song ended just as a bird chirped nearby, so he took a glance up as something - definitely not a bird - crossed through the clouds. His calm expression changed to one of surprise, and then confusion. Taking his earbuds out, he headed in the direction it went, wondering what in the world that could've been.
Vega scanned the ground as he slowed the ship. "Lots of grass and trees…at least this place has some things in common with Tillion." He muttered to himself. There was a break in the trees, and he checked that there were no humans or other Terran creatures around before taking the ship down and landing in the large clearing.
Stephanie stopped in front of the park and jumped out of the car, running towards where she assumed the object had landed. Pushing some bushes, her jaw dropped. "Woah. This is amazing!" she exclaimed.
After they landed, Beta lowered the boarding dock and walked down but stopped short. Humans! "Vega, I request assistance here," they said in a clipped tone, not his usual voice.
"Holy smoky cheese…" Emanuel stared wide-eyed at the sci-fi-looking vehicle. He hid partially behind a thick tree and spotted a girl through the foliage a few meters from him. "Hey! You see that too, right?" He whisper-yelled.
Vega stuck his head outside the ship, but backed up once he saw the issue. "Oh dear…" He grabbed Beta and pulled them back inside, then closed the dock and turned on the ship's cloak; the humans already knew they were there, but he figured if he could get back in the sky without any problem, he could find somewhere else to land. "T-they don't look like too much trouble…they're smaller than what our info says an adult should be…adolescents, perhaps?"
"You mean that spaceship thing? Of course!" Stephanie replied. She marched up to the where the boarding dock used to be. "Hello?" she yelled. "Anyone there?"
"P-perhaps? What do we do?" they asked, worried. Hearing Stephanie's voice, they got even more worried, turning to stare at where the boarding dock lowers.
Emanuel followed her over, brushing a hand through his hair. He reached forward and padded at the air before his hand hit something. "Whoa. Okay, what is this thing and…who do you think could be in there?"
"I don't know!" Vega hissed, his tail stiff. He watched through the glass at the front of the ship as the pink-haired human touched it. "…What if we fire the ship's laser? As a warning?"
"But what about the other humans? What if others come? We have to keep a low profile!" they hissed back, and recoiled as a small hand reached up to sit next to the other one.
"Huh, maybe aliens?" Stephanie reached a hand up to where his hand was. "Wow! It's like it's invisible!"
"It's like…it feels warm and cold at the same time." Emanuel moved around the vehicle, keeping his hands wherever it was solid. "You think aliens are real?" He looked over at Stephanie.
"We can make the blast small; I have no idea how these two found us, but I don't think we'll attract any more of them." Without waiting for a response, Vega took the co-pilot seat and activated the ship's defense. The Perion-1 wasn't meant for intense battle, so it should be easy to make a contained blast. He looked over at Beta and stated, "If you have a better idea, Lieutenant, I'm listening." His ears perked up for emphasis.
