First Contact

"I want whatever...WHATEVER you got on this space rock! I ain't about to send down any of my men without knowing whatever the hell type of, well, whatever we'll be facing down there!."

Rob gripped the com-unit in his left hand, rapidly pushing the keys to the armory keypad with his right. With a "bloorp" it shuddered open. He pushed his way inside, and began tapping buttons on the old terminal within.

"No, I do not know what that type of restriction....Whaddya mean I can't know! A need to know basis? I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO NEEDS TO KNOW." Rob snapped the com off, and stared at it. Sliding it back open, his other hand still tapping on the computer keys, he dialed for the captains personal line.

Mu Anderson

Mu's revere was cut off as his combadge went off. He touched the device and answered.

"Yes, this is Captain Anderson here. What is it?"

Mary

Mary continued to work at her station aboard the bridge, not making any attempts at small talk like some of the other officers were. After finishing her previous task, Mary decided to access the rather limited records the Eden had so far of the alien planet below. Plant life...eerily similar to that of earth. Terrain, while deverse in many ways, also shared many similarities with that of Earth. Humanoid life....different in pigment coloration, but essentially also the same with that of humans. Very curious. If she ever went down to the surface, she would have to learn more about these 'Zentarians'.

Keisuke entered the bridge, having been in his room. He spotted Mary working and walked over to her. He grinned at the andriod, though he knew that she would probably ignore him. Or tell him to get to work or something. She was not the friendlish member on the ship. But Keisuke wasn't in the mood for searching for someone else.

"Hey Mary what's up?"

Mary

"Nothing is 'up', aside from the ceiling, Crewman Keisuke el'Even. I am simply doing my job." Mary replied. After she finished reading what information they had on the Zentarians, she moved on to her next assignment. She began to type rapidly at the console before her, her fingers moving faster than any normal human could ever hope to achieve.

"Not what I meant," Keisuke said, frowning at her use of his full name. He watched her work for a few minutes, before talking again. "I meant how are you?"

Charlie entered the room and gave Keisuke a look.

"It's no use in flirting with her el'Even," she told him. Keisuke frowned.

"I am not flirting with her. We were just talking."

"Uh-huh."

"It is strange how a human male becomes infatuated with the most exotic woman nearby; a remnant from our days of instinctively searching for mates to bring newer, stronger genes to the next generation," Joshua noted as he walked into the room with a grin, pressing his glasses against his upper nose out of habit.

"I wouldn't be surprised if some of the crew tried to mate with the natives. Such an interaction would warrant study as well as the half-human hybrid should the mating be successful."

"I'm sure you'll gladly volunteer for that Joshua," Charlie said, winking at him with a laughed.

Keisuke kept on frowning. He was not flirting with Mary. "Yeah I can't wait to see how well that will go."

Mary

"I am fine, Crewman el'Even." Mary replied, continuing her speed typing. "All my systems are functionaling within normal limits."

She finished up her assignment before looking over at Charlie.

"Hello, Chief Engineer Charlie Cross."

Turning to the doctor, she said: "Mating with any one of the natives would be highly dangerous. We do not yet know how their biology works, what diseases they may have that we don't, or how their society works."

Joshua flushed lightly before chuckling himself and shaking his head. He spoke, "I prefer observing single-celled reproduction back in the lab. No mood music and a lot less messy."

He cocked an eyebrow at Keisuke, "I would advise scanning Mary before you try to splice your genes together, should you ever develop a relationship with her. It would help in avoiding... complications."

"Hello to you Commander Mary," Charlie said, nodding at the andriod. Some of her friends would say she should have liked Mary the most since she was the only other female (technically) on the ship. But Charlie didn't mind being around a bunch of guys. She chuckled at Joshua. "Good to know."

"Good. It would suck if one of us got hurt or something," Keisuke muttered, thinking about retreating back to his room. When he heard Joshua's comment his face turned red. "W-what?!"

Mary

Mary nodded at Charlie before turning back over to Doctor T'Soni. Her blank expression remained the same as ever.

"An interesting way to phrase it, Doctor Joshua T'Soni. However, my designers made sure to make me as human as they could. Every part of my exterior looks and feels human even though I am a mechanical being." she stated more matter-of-factly than anything else.

((I'm pretty sure there are more females Toko, just as NPCs and in less important positions.))

(Oh yeah....*headdesk*)

"Joshua! I am not interested in Mary. How many times do I have to say it?" Keisuke saw that he was being stared at and he calmed down.

"Jeez Keisuke. There is no reason to freak out," Charlie said, leaning against a control board.

Joshua couldn't help but chuckle at Deisuke's reactions and Mary's matter-of-fact explanation about her design.

"Thank you, Commander. I tend to phrase actions scientifically. It comes from studying genetics too long," he stated before chuckling and telling Keisuke, "But this is good news for you. There are certain muscles particular to a male that should not be exposed to extreme heat or sharp objects."

He laughed a bit and told him. "I know. I find your reactions amusing. I haven't interacted with many people outside my immediate family; thus, I've made you my control group."

Mary

Mary turned away from the others and continued to work at her post. She wasn't one for normal chatter, and she had surprised herself by talking to them for so long.

Pushing the com-piece up to his ear, Rob began to talk into it.

"Sir, I'm sure that there's some logical explanation, but whatever it is, I NEED everything HQ has on this planet." He stepped away from the keyboard as the chain-link door to the weapons cache next to him slid open.

"I'm not about to send anyone down into a goddam ambush, let alone one with a species we, I, don't know anything about." Rob reached into the cache, and pulled out his Mark IV Kawasa Small-fire pistol. Holstering it, he grabbed at the ammunition, and began to set it unto his belt.

"So, what do we have on these "unknowns" anyways, sir?"

Mu Anderson

"The truth is, Mr. Morrows, we don't know much about the aliens yet. Their homeworld is similar to our's, they look physically similar to us, and they appear to have a unified government. They haven't been hostile so far, either. That's about all we know." Mu confessed.

"Huh, guess that means they can be taken down the same way as us too." Rob sighed. Staring at a sharped edged combat knife, he slid it into a small sheath at the base of his back.

"Well, sir, I'll be up with the away team shortly." Sliding the door shut, Robert stepped out into the hallway of the ship. He clicked the little machine shut, and pocketing it, started up towards where the away team would be congregating.

Mu Anderson

"Very well." Mu answered. He activated the comm system for the ship.

"All members of the away team, please report to Docking Bay One."

((Toko and AI, your characters are apart of the away team. Just so you know.))

Keisuke sighed, but he started to make his way to Docking Bay One. Charlie followed after him. She was glad that they were finally doing something, not that she mind being bored. But there was little to do on the ship right now.

"Well, hopefully they remember to bring back something other than plant life," Joshua mused as he watched the others go. He shook his head and began to head for the rec room on the ship. Maybe he'd actually find the Holovids unoccupied.

Mary, Mu

Mary cut off Joshua before left the bridge. "The away team includes you too, doctor. The captain sent you a message to your personal computer, but I suppose you have not yet read it."

Mary walked toward the elevator then, nodding for a moment to Lt. Commander Jenkins. While she and the captain were gone, he would have control over the Eden.

Mu, meanwhile, made his way to Shuttle Bay One and waited for the others.

(Oh, sorry, Magus. Misunderstood what you said earlier.)

"Well, that's good," Joshua told her excitedly as he followed her towards the elevator, thinking of the interesting specimens he could find.

"How different is the atmosphere to Earth's?" he wondered aloud, mostly to himself.

Keisuke entered the Bay and he flashed a smile at Mu. Charlie hit him over the head and Keisuke frowned at her.

Charlie then nodded at the Captain.

Rob lightly tapped the elevator button for the Docking Bays. Scratching his head, he lightly tapped his foot as he felt the hydraulic tube launch downwards. As the doors slid open, he nodded his regards to the Bay guard on duty, before sliding into the crowd of crew-members dashing around the massive metallic cavern.

Making a beesline for the correct bay, Rob noticed the captain standing in front of a large Red one painted onto the side of the bay. Raising his hand, Rob marched over to his commander.

Mu Anderson, Mary

Once Mary, Joshua, and a few more members of the crew arrived, the captain spoke.

"Good. You're all here. Before we get down to the surface, I just want to say this: be careful. You're all authorized to carry and use weapons, but don't spook the natives. We're trying to set up a treaty with them, and it would not help us if we accidentally caused an interstellar incident. As far as we know the natives are friendly and safe, though the native animals....not so much. Still, we shouldn't have much to worry about. Everyone understood?"