Three Days Later…

"Engines are ready." Feras voice called through the radio.

"Okay." Ginsrag said, leaning back into a seat he had bolted down behind the pilots platform. "Computer room?"

"Everything seems normal." A mans voice replied. 

"Loading bay?" Ginsrag continued. 

"Doors are closed, everything is locked and sealed, sir." Another male voice replied. 

"Good, good." Ginsrag released the com button, "Devon, ready to push off?" 

Devon turned towards the mountainous Marlek and nodded, "Yes sir." 

Ginsrag straightened his posture, taking a deep breath as he prepared to embark once again, "Okay then. Call the docking station and get us in line." 

"Rachel, you want to call this?" Devon said to the petite, dark haired girl sitting next to him. She was his copilot, a young girl barely eighteen years old. 

She bit her lip, "Um, what do I say again?"

"Never mind." Devon said, not harshly, but perhaps a little impatient and unwilling to let his first take off go anything but smoothly. He hit the call button for the docking station, "This is the Ronsar, requesting permission for take off from pad six." 

There was a slight pause before a feminine voice replied, "Ronsar this is docking bay, the air is clear. Good luck on your journey." 

"Thanks docking station!" Rachel quickly called in, giggling to herself as she met Devons gaze.

"Okay then, keep an eye on my hands right?" Devon said, running his finger tips along the console. A familiar rumble trembled the ground slightly, the engines roar reaching their ears in a muffled hum. Devon carefully lifted the ship off of the ground, "You want to give it a bit before going vertical." 

"Right." Rachel replied. 

"Get some speed, especially with a ship like this." Devon said, pulling the controls down steadily. The last sliver of land slipped from view as they accelerated faster and faster, rising steeply into the upper atmosphere. They watched silently for a few moments as blue sky slowly darkened, the world now many miles beneath them. "And it's easy as that…welcome to space." 

"As if I have never been before." Rachel scoffed jokingly. "So, when do I get to do takeoff?"

Devon shrugged as he set the ship to its course, "Everything coming through down there?" He asked as he held his finger down on the com link between himself and the main computer room. 

"Yup. We should be on course." A voice replied. 

"Good." Ginsrag said rising to his feet. He glanced around the star scape for a few moments before leaning towards Devon and Rachel, "Remember, dinner is mandatory tonight." 

"Yes captain." Rachel said with a nod, swiveling side to side in her chair, a bright and cheerful grin plastered to her lips as it usually was. She watched as Ginsrag exited the room through a sliding, metal door before turning to Devon, "So?"

"So what?" Devon said getting to his feet, double checking the display to make sure everything was in order.

"When do I get to take the sticks?" She persisted. 

"I don't know." He said with a shrug, "How long are you on this vessel?" 

"I need a year of experience as a copilot before I can get my license. Doesn't have to be all on one ship." 

"Ah, right right. Now I remember." He said with a sigh, "Been a while since school." He looked over towards her, she was of asian origins back on earth, though she was not born there. Her long, black hair was kept as smooth as could be, her pale skin contrasting with the red lipstick she wore. She wasn't exactly the image of what Devon thought when he thought of a female pilot…generally something more like Feras came to mind. Rachel, by contrast, had a very cheery demeanor, a very feminine and beautiful appearance and had very little to no ego. "I will have to look at the schedule." 

"Oh, alright." She said with a bright smile.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Ginsrag sighed as he entered his personal quarters. A slim bed sat tucked away in the far corner, tempting him to take a nap after a long day of preparation and training some of the newer crew members. But he resisted temptation and sank down into his desk chair, like all chairs inside of the ship it was bolted to the floor. He brushed his fingers over his key pad, a display of letters, numbers and symbols illuminating beneath his fingertips. A translucent screen soon turned white briefly before the computers operating system came into view. 

He quickly brought up his ships control panel, tabbing through until he found his transmission program. He panted lightly as he selected the name of an old friend and sent for a live transmission. 

"My, my!" A familiar, masculine voice said, soon a face appeared on the screen before Ginsrag. He was a Neko in his late forties, who had decided to let his hair grow gray at the tips. In todays world hair color, skin texture, were all something of a choice. You could let your body age if you wished, but most people spend the small fee to keep their hair its youthful color and their skin taunt. Not this Neko, however, he took pride in his years. "A ship to ship Transmission from Ginsrag, this must mean you have already purchased yourself a new one!" 

"That's right." Ginsrag said with a chuckle, "Still flying my Luninesta?" 

"Of course." The Neko replied, his name was Terorl. Many years ago, on the first ship that Ginsrag captained, Terorl was his pilot. On good terms Terorl eventually left to command his own ship. They remained good friends, and eventually Ginsrag would even sell him one of his old ships, the Luninesta. 

"So how is she holding up?"

"Perfect. These ships hardly break down anymore let me tell you." 

"That's good. This new one flies really smooth."

"What's her name?"

"Ronsar." Ginsrag said with a chuckle. 

"Ronsar hm? That's interesting." 

"I kind of liked the ring to it. Besides I don't want to repaint the hull." Ginsrag continued.

"As if you couldn't afford it." Terorl replied with a grin.

"You never know when money might get tight." 

"I'm sure a captain like you will have no shortages of work. When was the last mishap with any of your ships? Never?"

"Something like that." Ginsrag said with a laugh. 

"Seems like you might be about due, how is the crew?"

"Hey now don't jinx me." Ginsrag warned, "But. The crew? Mostly kids." He said, scratching beneath his lower jaw. 

"The new generation eh?" 

"That about sums it up. Not all of them mind you, but a rather large portion. And, this time my pilot is a human." 

"Oh really?" The Neko replied, "And what made you go that route?"

"Saving a bit more money." Ginsrag shrugged, "Besides, the ships these days are mostly steered through the computers. Size has little to do with your ability to turn a big bird like this." 

"Fair enough. I assume that the steering panel was already fitted for a human crew?"

"Right." 

"Well then. I guess there is a first time for everything." 

"We picked up a trainee too, nice girl." 

Terorl nodded, "So your human has some experience?"

"By the looks of it. Though even he is a pretty young one. Our main wrench too." Main wrench being a slag term for the head Engineer. 

"That's a lot of responsibility your putting on these kids." 

"Yes, both seem to be ship rats. The girl has probably spent more time in the engine room than she has anywhere else." 

"Ah yes. Age tends to be somewhat relative up here." 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Devon and Rachel made their way into the shuttle. "Need to stop by quarters for anything?" Devon asked.

"Nope." Rachel replied, her hands clasped behind her back, a large smile still spread across her lips. 

"You seem cheerful today." Devon said as he selected the circle by the mess hall.

"Well, just excited is all." She said, "You know I've been up lots of times…but this is like the whole next level." 

Devons eyes shifted as he watched the various lights zip by outside of the shuttle, "Yeah I remember my first time accompanying a ship like this."

"What did it do?"

"Oh, it was just a small transport ship. You know, taking random folks for the long journeys." 

"So you have seen a lot of planets then?"

"Hundreds." Devon continued as they stepped off the shuttle and into the mess hall. The massive room was designed similarly to a school cafeteria, except of course for the large human balcony that dropped way down into the larger species areas. The human balcony was positioned right next to the Kitchen for easy access. There was a larger table that sat right along side the balcony where one of the Neko cooks sat. "I have been through three solar systems." 

"Wow." Rachel said with a gasp, "I have only been around Teranonda and the three moons around Sellix Eight." 

"Hey Honela." Devon called to the Blonde haired Neko, who sat with her back facing the human Balcony, her elbows leaning back against the table that stood beneath the balcony. 

Her Alta ear twitched before her head turned towards the two humans, "Oh hey Devon, Rachel. You guys are a little early for dinner?" Honela was a young Neko, in her early twenties by human years. Her long, flowing blonde hair reached down gracefully behind her shoulders. Her eyes were a brilliant blue color, almost seeming to sparkle in the light of the mess hall. Her lips were full, and often painted a variety of bright colors. Today she wore a light pink. 

"Oh, we had nothing else to do." Devon said, glancing at his wrist bound computer to check the time.

"Oh. Well I don't mind the company." She said with a wide smile, her bright white teeth hardly a force to scare the humans from behind her bright and cheerful attitude. She was very similar to Rachel in that way. With these two girls in the room it was hard to imagine anything or anyone bringing the mood down.

As Devon sat himself down on one of the benches, which were connected and bolted down with the white plastic tables, a large grinding sound alerted the trio to the large doors opening. A Neko figure emerged, her green pants and white t-shirt covered in black stains. 

"Oh, hello Feras." Honela called with a wave. 

"Hi." Feras replied, her face shining with sweat where it was not covered with black grease much like the rest of her clothes. She smiled, though it was almost too obviously forced. Her tail hung limply beneath her as she approached the table, "What you eating?" She asked Honela, her almost gray eyes examining the small plastic bag in the Neko's lap. Her eyes shifted to the two humans looking towards her, "Oh, hey." Her eyes seemed to burn on Devon for a moment before shifting back to Honela. 

"Oh, um." Honela lifted the bag before her, "They are called 'ship snacks'. I found them at a gift shop, though they were cute." She watched as Feras straddled the bench next to her, her shoulder leaning against the human balcony. "You want one?" 

"Sure." Feras said, holding out her filthy hand. Honela hesitated before placing the small, relatively, gummy candy in her hand. Feras didn't seem to care. Feras examined the candy for a moment, turning the red gummy over in her fingers, "Now what is this supposed to be?"

Honela popped a green one between her lips, "Oh, the red one is a pilot. See the goggles!" She giggled. 

"Oh…cute." Feras said, her eyes shifting towards Devon. A rare smile spread across her lips, though it was more menacing than friendly. 

"I know right!" Honela said. 

"Say Devon." Feras continued, their relationship over the past few days was mostly built on mumbled insults and sarcastic conversations. 

"Yeah?" He asked, eyeing her suspiciously as she swung her other leg over the bench so she could face the two humans directly.

Feras's grinned widened as she set the gummy, feet down, next to their table, "This thing is bigger than you are!" She laughed, "God, I can hardly tell which one is for eating and which one is supposed to fly the ship."

"Hah." Devon laughed sarcastically. 

Feras lifted the gummy to her lips, her eyes locked on Devon as she opened her mouth and tossed the candy inside, slowly crushing her teeth into it as she bit down. No  one else seemed to be disturbed by the display as the two other girls giggled brightly, as usual. 

Devon crossed his arms, shaking his head as he glanced at the time again. "So, Honela any clue what we'll be eating tonight?" 

Honela turned to Devon with a smile, but shook her head, "I'm not sure what Freddy has planned for you guys. I know we will be having a sort of pasta dish, nice and easy." 

"Is that your style?" Feras asked, "Nice and easy?" 

Honela didn't seem to get the sexual connotations Feras was throwing towards her, "Oh, well it's nice to do something easy every once in a while. But every now and again I like something really hard and complicated." 

Feras laughed, "Don't we all." She rose back to her feet, "Well I'm going to my room." 

"Maybe wash your hands before dinner." Devon called to her as she walked away. 

Feras turned towards him, walking backwards as she proceeded to lick the tip of each finger.

"Oh Feras is so funny!" Rachel said with a giggle. Honela nodded in agreement as she turned towards them.

"Feras is fucking crazy." Devon argued. 

"Oh Devon, don't talk behind her back like that!" Honela giggled.

"Well if I said it to her face she might actually eat me." Devon grumbled. 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Ginsrag sat towards the back of the mess hall, it was the first time that the entire crew had been assembled all in one room. They had a total of twenty six members. Ten worked the cargo bay, Two Neko, both male. Three Marlek of different sorts. Then there was a single Noras male along side four human workers. Three men and a single woman. There were three working in the engine room. Feras ran the room with a Goonta and a human. Then of course there was Devon and Rachel who manned the pilots station. In the computer room there was a Neko woman and a human male. There was one Fanacta and a human female that served as the ships medical staff. There were two more that worked the kitchen, Honela and Freddy. The rest of the ships crew handled the miscellaneous chores  such as cleaning and random upkeep. 

Ginsrag chuckled lightly to himself as it seemed the groups were already forming. A large, and rather noisy group sat in the far corner furthest away from the entrance, as well as the human balcony. They were made up of the Neko and Marlek laborers for the most part. The humans, perhaps because there was not much of an option, sat together on their balcony next to Honela and the Fanacta medical worker who seemed to enjoy the company of the smaller crew members. Feras, unsurprisingly sat by herself, seemingly to be impatiently waiting for Ginsrag to get his speech over with so she could go do what ever it was she liked to keep herself entertained with. Vee, the Neko computer engineer, sat near a small cluster of the cleaning staff but was obviously not apart of the conversation. She looked nervous. 

"Alright." Ginsrag said to himself quietly as he decided the group had mostly settled down and were finishing their meals. He strolled towards the front of the room, standing tall and gazing out among the crew members who quieted down as they waited for him to speak. Luckily for him, his size out matched anyone else on board…if he ever had to he could easily lead through intimidation. 

"Hello, Everyone." He began, nodding towards the scattered responses from the crew, "And welcome to my ship." He leaned back against the wall and folded his thick arms as he continued to scan the crew, "I hope you all enjoyed your first meal, as you know we are very far from our destination and we will not be making any stops at midway stations. So if you don't like our lovely cooks food, well, tough." He paused as a small murmur of laughter spread throughout the room, "I'm sorry to do this but we need to go over some rules. Firstly, and most importantly. Respect your crew. Fights, squabbles, drama, none of this will be tolerated. My crews moral and safety is my most important job, and if drastic measures are needed to preserve these things I will not hesitate.

Secondly, all business that runs from this ship must go through me. So no private sales, trades, or anything like that. If you want to make a deal that does not divert from our route you must come to me first. Once I okay the deal it becomes the ships business." 

He scratched at his lower jaw for a moment, "Let's see, what else. Oh! Of course. We are all adults here, so beverages are of course allowed within reason. Anyone found drunk on the job will pay a fine from their paycheck. If you smoke you do it inside the docking bay. That's the rules, as you can see I don't ask you for much, but I do hold my standards. Don't fuck with me." His last statement seemed to startle the crew, who stared blankly towards him as he held a stern glare out into them. He threw his head back and laughed, "Alright. As you were."