On the surface of Asistar 2
"The final frontier, huh...?" Thought what looked like a young human man as he was looking up at the stars while laying inside a crater on the moon called Asistar. His skin was a reddish orange and as was his neck length hair while his eyes were solid white with black 4 pointed stars for pupils. He wore a simple blue zip-up jumpsuit but chose to wear the top half wrapped around his waist letting a white tank top show through and a pair of white armored boots. "...This is what you wanted to see, isn't it?"
Despite the way he was dressed, this alien was perfectly fine with laying out in the void of space. Where many other lifeforms would be either grasping of breathable air or foolishly trying to hold their breath only to blow up their own lungs doing so, all while they slowly freeze to death or maybe you'd swell up like balloon a go 'pop' like the movies.
"Hmm?" Something shaking came from a small smart-phone looking device next to the relaxing alien, making him look away from the vast endless sea of stars.
"Breaks over I guess..." He mouthed before picking up the device and swiped a finger at the screen, causing a hologram to appear, but no one was on the other instead there was a set of odd-looking letters and numbers. "Hey, the holo capture card on your S.D (Star Decoder) is broken again." He pointed out to the caller after sticking a small earpiece from the S.D into his right ear that let his thoughts be put through to them then got up to stretch out his legs.
"..." Only silence was heard from the other end.
"*sigh* Lunar Watcher 24, 1st lieutenant, Solilos G. Bricks, awaiting orders," Solilos said to the hologram going 'full official' as he liked to put it.
"Lunar Watcher 25, Captain, Ziel T. Vox, requesting a confirmation on your current whereabouts." A woman's soft but firm voice finally answered, followed by the sound of some keys being pressed.
"My current whereabouts are 16 by north and 28 by west inside crater 343 on Asistar 2," Solilos answered then walked around a little with each step he sent a bit of dust floating upwards.
Some more key pressing was heard before Captain Ziel spoke again. "Confirmed. Now please explain exactly what you are doing out there?"
"Umm? Doing my patrols as tasked, captain," Solilos answered, now rocking his shoulders around while glowing lines of yellow ran through his arms seemingly his blood vessels.
"Anything to report, 1st lieutenant?" Captain Ziel asked, continuing to type away at a keyboard. "There was something on the radar around your location, 20 minutes ago, confirmation on its whereabouts requested."
"Some kids were flying around up here a while ago. I told them they were in a military zone and they turned around nothing too big...as usual..." Solilos dryly answered while bending his back a bit, seriously a moon's surface is comfier than it looks.
"If that's all then I need you to report back to the base at once..." Ziel ordered and ended the call without any more words.
"Hmm? Someone sounds ~mad~" Solilos sang out overly forced then stuffed his S.D into his jumpsuit's pants pocket. "...She said: get back there at once, right? Well, at least that gives me a reason to break my record!" He smiled as he crouched down low then jumped up high. "Now, let's fly!" Then from his hands shot two jet streams of yellow energy that let him fly around.
...But as he flew off floating up from the crater he was in were bits and pieces of a crashed spaceship with the charred bodies of two aliens tossed around...
"Wooo!" Solilos did dives, loops, twists, and zigzags as he zoomed around Asistar 2. "Haha, Zero gs, and no air resistance perfect for speed!" He laughed in his head and went faster, turning into a shooting star for anyone watching from afar as he flew over craters and mountains all the while leaving behind two trails of shining yellow light. "And we're home!" He spotted an enormous blue dome with some satellite dishes, antennas and large cannons around it.
After circling around the dome, Solilos landed near a large metal gate and walked up to a keypad while getting looked at by some cameras. "If you can see me why not open the damn door?" He thought while looking back at one of the cameras as he punched in a code letting the gate open to an airlock once inside the gate closed behind him.
"NOW PRESSURIZING AIRLOCK:6 PLEASE STAND BY..." An electronic voice stated as jets of air came from the walls around the airlock. "...PRESSURIZATION COMPETED YOU MAY NOW REMOVE YOUR SPACESUIT WHILE GRAVITY RESET IS IN PROGRESS..." The voice informed, but Solilos just shrugged looking at what he had on and waited for the airlock's door to open while tapping on his foot and felt gravity returning to him. "...GRAVITY REST COMPLETED. WELCOME TO LUNAR BASE: EYE OF ASISTAR."
"Shit." Solilos cussed after seeing who was there waiting for the door to open as well.
"Wellcome back, 1st Lieutenant Bricks." They were an 8 feet tall cross between a woman and a velociraptor with smooth metallic silver skin. Her lower half was made up by two large reptilian legs with four claw toed feet, three of her toes pointed forward while the last one acted as a high-heel and a long thick tail swiped behind her. Her upper half looked fairly humanoid except for some key differences; firstly, she didn't have a nose; instead, she had two slits were her nose would be. Next were her thick green tendrils of hair tied in an up-pony tail, while her eyes were a solid ruby red color, as for ears she had two small holes on either side of her head with long pointy horns behind each of them.
This raptor woman was dressed in the same uniform as Solilos, fit for her biology of course and she wore it zipped up which showed a star map of the Milky Way on the back with U.G.F.F under it. On the left breast of her jumpsuit, was a white 25. She had her sleeves rolled up to show a pair of tattoos written in an alien language on her forearms.
"Yo, Ziel! Nice of you to come and greet me like this, haha!" Solilos greeted Ziel with a light laugh and a wave.
"..." Neither of which got reactions out of Ziel making Solilos sweat like someone in front of a firing squad.
"Welp...? If you need me for anything, I'll be at my station, kay!" Solilos gave her some finger guns then walked right passed her. "Ugh!" Until a long silver tail wrapped around his neck.
"My station now," Ziel commanded, turning around to Solilos while forcing him to turn with her tail so that she could look down at him.
"Oh? Well...uhm...I'll be right there after I get something to eat...?" Solilos thought up an excuse to get out this, but Ziel didn't listen to him as she lifted him off his feet and started walking. "Hey! I'm pretty sure you're breaking protocol or something here!"
"I could say the same thing to you, Sol..." Ziel informed Solilos not even listening to his complaints and kept up a brisk pace as they made their way through the halls of their base. They passed by some cameras and scanners until they finally came to a door with Ziel's name on it and after swiping a keycard over the lock, it opened to an office with the floor covered in a purple carpet that looked and felt like grass. "Sit here," Ziel brought Solilos to a large white desk in the center of her station which only had one chair.
"Uhm, what's all this?" Solilos waved his hands over a foot tall stack of papers in front of him as he sat down.
"That's five months worth of untouched paperwork," Ziel answered and got a pen from one of her pockets. "Get on it." She coldly ordered, dropping the pen in front of Solilos.
"Ugh..." Solilos reluctantly picked it up and stared at the mass of papers. "...sure thing...uhh...oh? Wait!! I don't have my glasses! Yea! I left them back at my station I'll go pic-!"
To that, Ziel pulled out a pair of black thick-framed glasses from another pocket and put them over Solilos' eyes. "Better?"
"Yea, thanks..." Solilos thanked Ziel and fixed his glasses a little. "...I need to get my lock changed...again...." He muttered under his breath then turned back to the papers with a low hanging frown and got down to work.
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1 hour later
"Someone kill me..." Solilos groaned, laying on the desk with his arms outstretched and his glasses pushed up over his eyebrows but it wasn't because he was finished with the paperwork, in fact, he wasn't even halfway to halfway yet. "Huh?" Then placed in front of his face was a red can, looking up he saw Ziel standing over him with another can in her hand and a white box. "Thanks, I needed some alcohol."
"If so, then drink up and get back to work." Zeil walked to the other side of the table and bent her ankles and knees to sit. "Also, didn't you say you wanted to get something to eat?" She asked after opening her can and sat down the box on the table.
"..." Solilos took a long sip of his drink while shifting his eyes around. "...I might have lied about that to get out of any punishment..." He admitted in a quiet voice keeping his eyes low to the floor. "But thanks, anyhow!" Solilos grabbed hold of the lunch box and pushed a button it.
"GAK!" The box opened to the disgusting sight of a nest of large white maggots with round black heads wiggling around each other in what was likely their own filth.
"..." Solilos stared at the slimy worms for a bit before picking one up. "*Sigh* Hey, Ziel, remind me why we eat these little guys again?" He asked, waving around the larva, causing some sappy white goo to land on the table.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Because Eeac Larvae are one of the few foods that all known United Galactic Federation Forces races can eat and the fact that they can be kept fresh for hundreds of years with little care," Ziel answered and took out a rag to wipe up the mess Solilos was making then took one of maggots for herself. "Make sure to take th-"
"The head off first before eating or it will regrow inside your stomach and eat its way out..." Solilos finished her warning and pulled off the larva's head. "I mean, I understand that and the fact these things are superfoods with all the needed daily nutrition, they don't taste like anything bad but not too good either, it's just...weird." He said, bringing the still wiggle maggot to his mouth and let it slip down his throat. "...Meh, at least those fed nerds got the taste of beer right!" He raised the can of beer like it was a long-lost alien artifact as a veil of light came off him.
"Well, I'm glad that you can see that...now..." Ziel ate her maggot showing two rows of jet black teeth. "...Get back to work." She finished and pushed a form towards Solilos.
"Oh come, Ziel, what's even the point? None of these are even important!" Solilos whined, slamming a hand down on the stack of papers. "Seriously! The reason I don't do these is cause they're a waste of my good time! Want to know what the good people of RIG want? 12 request for school tours, 5 for substitute teacher openings, 6 for help with food transports, and there was a request for a weather forecast in there...a fucking weather forecast, Ziel? Yea, that's right?! I spent 10 years of my life in a military academy to be a weatherman, Wooo..." He faked a cheer while spinning around in his chair and downed the last of his beer.
"What were you expecting an all-out war every week or something?" Ziel asked, stopping Solilos with her tail.
"Not a war or anything like that but at least a raid or something, we're here to keep law and order not be errand boys," Solilos answered, rolling his pen around and picked another Eeac from the nest. "I mean we're stationed on the rim of the Milky Way, the next federation base is 5 systems away, and RIG is easy pickings for anyone with enough balls and manpower behind them."
"Those who ask for a drizzle may get a flood in return," Ziel warned while doing some of Solilos' paperwork for him.
"Nice metaphor, got it off a fortune cookie or the net?" Solilos joked and got back to work when Ziel didn't answer him.
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2 and a half hours later
"And done!" Solilos threw his arms into the air, having finished the last of the forms thanks to Ziel's help a night's worth of work was done in a fraction of the time. "Man, you're a life saver, Ziel!"
"Hmm, you're useless unless you're on patrol and I need to maintain our performance at maximum," Ziel stated with three times the number of papers on her side compared to Solilos' lackluster job.
"Such a good base captain! Your commanding officer must be happy," Solilos smirked when Ziel gave him an annoyed look and reached out for the last of the larvae at the same time Ziel did. "Huh? You can have it, you know? For all the help." He offered and pushed the box towards her.
But Ziel pushed it back. "No, you have to keep your calories up. You burn through so much of them just by flying."
"No, no, I'm fine as long as I don't get into a serious fight." Solilos insisted, pushing the box back but got stopped halfway by Ziel's tail. "Are you really going to be like that right now?"
"As I said; 'I need to maintain our performance at maximum.' Anything that hinders you it might stop us from keeping a foothold on RIG." Ziel reached forward to put a hand on Solilos forehead. "And what would that mean to you if it were to come to that, Sol?"
Solilos just sighed, unable to fight her anymore. "...Fine, you win this one 'captain' I'll keep myself prepared for anything that might get in our way." He took Ziel's hand in his letting her caress his cheek a bit.
*Knock, Knock*
Until some knocking from the door followed by a light going on above, it made Zeil pull her hand away from Solilos' face. "Ahem, excuse me, this is Lunar Watcher Number: 23, 2nd lieutenant Avron C. Gigi, requesting permission to enter...?" A small voice asked from the other side.
"Permission granted," Ziel permitted Avron to enter while Solilos was staring at her. "What it?"
"Nothing...nothing at all," Solilos muttered, eating the last Eeac maggot quietly as the door opened.
Behind it was a small yet muscular looking alien man who had bluish green skin, floppy rabbit-like ears, and white buzz-cut hair with purple human-like eyes. He had an extra set of arms coming out of his shoulders each arm having four-fingered hands. Finally, he wore his jumpsuit in a similar fashion to Solilos with the top half wrapped around his waist with a grey tank top.
"Thank you, ma'am." Avron gave a two-armed salute to Ziel then went into attention.
"At ease," Ziel ordered, waving a hand to Avron for him to loosen up then moved to stack Solilos' paperwork into a neat pile. "What reasons do you have for coming here, 2nd lieutenant Gigi?"
"Yes, I came here looking to see if you could contact the 1st lieutenant and remind him about...my...training...?" Avron trailed off after seeing Solilos sitting behind Ziel but fidgeted when Ziel gave him a glare for taking his eyes off her.
"Oh, right! I promised you that! Sorry, the captain here had me under detention." Solilos apologized, pointing a thumb at Ziel then got up from the table and walked over to Avron getting up close to him to check out Avron's body. "Hmm...? Not that you need much help from me." He commented while poking Avron in random spots and got some giggles out of him.
"1st Lieutenant Bricks..." Ziel's ice cold voice made both Solilos and Avron stand straight attention asap. "...30 minutes. That is all the time I am allowing for you then I want you back out on patrol." She ordered, looking right at Solilos then turned to Avron. "...and I hope that you will not keep this up 2nd Lieutenant Gigi? Wasting a superior officer's time is not something I take lightly, am I clear?"
"I understand! I will be sure to ask you first the next time I wish to request training from a superior officer, Ma'am!" Avron yelled in answer, keeping his eyes to the ceiling not wanting to look into Ziel's icy cold eyes.
"Wasting a superior officer's time, huh...?" Solilos asked, giving Ziel a knowing look that made her turn away. "...Well, we'll be excusing ourselves now, 'captain'..." He saluted Ziel then left her station along with Avron who followed closely behind. "...So? Av, what do you feel like today?" Solilos asked as they casually walked through the halls.
"Uhmm? Well? I was hoping for maybe some close-qua-AH!" Avron started, but Solilos suddenly threw him into a wall then slammed both his hands on either side of his head while staring down at him like a predator. "Wha! S-s-sol?!" Avron meekly shuttered, shaking in fear and embarrassment.
Solilos smirked at that reaction. "Av, what do you feel like today?" He asked again, inching closer to Avron's face. "I need to know to make sure things don't get too weird..." He looked up at the ceiling to think about that then went back into Avron's face. "...unless that's what you're after, 2nd Lieutenant Gigi?"
"Back off!" Avron pushed Solilos away with all four of his arms, steaming from their ears. "I feel girlish, OK!? I guess for today? And you're not helping that!" She yelled out, pointing at Solilos with two of her arms while the other two were crossed over her chest.
"Sheesh, calm down a little, Av, it's not my fault your race is made up by Herms that swap genders based on how they feel, can't blame a guy for being curious," Solilos muttered with his hands in the air while Avron was still having her fit. "..." Forcing him to make a small ball of yellow light on his fingertip. "Quiet." That he flicked at Avron's head, shutting her up and left a small mark. "You were getting loud."
"Sorry..." Avron went quiet and played around with her fingers while looking at the floor until Solilos poked her head. "Hmm?"
"..." Solilos didn't tell her anything and just turned to continue on their way.
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25 minutes later Training Room
"ARAGHH!" Avron was sent flying back by a yellow beam right into one of the padded walls of the training room of the base. "OW! No fair! Sol!"
"Huh? What about that was unfair?" Solilos asked with smoke coming off his hands and walked up to Avron, offering her a hand while a confused look was on his face.
"You promised no energy attacks!" Avron whined, taking the hand offered to her by Solilos.
"That's not how it works on the battlefield, Avron." Solilos warned then pulled Avron up into his arms "Your enemy is willing to do anything to beat you, and I mean anything." After telling her that Solilos slammed her back into the wall and kept her there. "And if you're not dead by then they'll get as much information out of you as possible, which is why you should be ready for dirty tricks understand?"
"Right!" Avron nodded even when trying to use all of her strength Solilos was able to hold her there.
"Heh." Seeing Avron struggling Solilos smirked and let her go with Avron nearly fall over. "Still lacking in the muscle department?" He flexed little to show off even though Avron was the beefier of the two.
"Says the guy who can lift 5 times his own weight in tons." Avron crossed her lower arms while the other two went behind her head. "You Najimans have it easy."
"Correction, 4.7 times." Solilos chuckled at her a little for that. "But a few thousand years back and I'd be saying the same things about you, in fact, my race was the laughing stock of the entire galaxy for a while when we joined up, how things can change in time." He pointed out then got into a fight stance, ready to go. "Now let's get some more rounds in!"
"Uh, maybe we shouldn't?" Avron held her S.D up to show a hologram of a stopwatch about to hit the 30-minute mark. "Captain Vox is going have our heads if we disobey her even if it's just training."
"Oh my, poor confused, Av, you don't need to worry about me, Ziel is only going to get your head, so everything's fine!" Solilos joked on the matter and made Avron slowly lower her S.D. "What not funny?"
"Easy for you to say, with the number of things you do all the time I'm surprised Captain Vox hasn't chained you to her side to keep an eye on you," Avron said, remembering some of the things Solilos had done that could and should have gotten him in big trouble or at least more than a talk down from Ziel and a question popped into her head. "Uhmm, Sol? Do you think that...maybe Captain Vox has a thing for you...?" She asked uncertainly about how Solilos would take the question.
"Tsk, as if the only reason she keeps me around and doesn't do anything to me is..." Solilos was about to answer when he stopped suddenly for some reason. "...never mind, you don't need to know that much..." He dodged the question and had a pissed look on his face. "...That was bad she almost made me talk and if that happened...?" Solilos thought and eyed Avron, who was trying to understand what he meant. "Just know that we've known eachother for a while that's all."
"So childhood friends who joined the federation together I'm guessing?" Avron asked partly curious about the two's relationship.
"Ugh! No! That would make things way too weird for us right now!" Solilos yelled at her while making an 'x' with his arms, but Avron still looked like she wanted to know more, so he caved. "Look, we met at one of the academies in the inner sectors and were roommates, got along pretty well as much as two random people semi-forced to live with eachother could get...when graduation rolled around, and I don't know about how it works where you went, but ours had this thing where the top student. Ziel, of course, gets not only the rank of captain off the bat but picks one poor sap as their 1st lieutenant..." He pointed at himself once he was done explaining a bit of his and Ziel's past together.
"Huh? She must think highly of you for that to happen." Avron said after listening to Solilos. "Still doesn't explain why she lets you off so easy?"
"Haha, thinks highly of me?" Solilos chuckled at that. "If I had a say in it, I'd see our relationship is more like a master and a slave." He stated with a thoughtful look on his face while muttering some things about Ziel to himself.
"Master and slave that's good I guess?" Avron thought out loud with an overly happy smile on her face as if that was the one thing she wanted to hear from Solilos. "Uh?! I mean!?" She quickly wiped it off when Solilos gave her a look.
"Huh?" Solilos just stared at her for a bit with a raised eyebrow and was about to ask what was up with that smile.
"ALERT! ALERT! MULTIPLE NON-FEDERATION REGISTERED SPACE CRAFTS APPROACHING! ALERT! ALERT!..." The blaring voice of the base's computer rang out from the walls as the lights went from white to flashing red with a loud siren going off.
"What's that!?" Avron whipped her head around as the alert kept going.
Solilos put on a wide grin at the impending attack. "A Flood!" He answered with his and Avron's S.D going off as a call from Ziel was being put through.
hot End