All six of them boarded the ship, A sleek tube with a point that was aimed at the sky, it had not discernable features just like the void ship. They climbed in from the top and climbed down onto their seats. Three on each side, the handlers sat on the top seats, placing their tablets on consoles that sat on top of them. With a few slides of their fingers, restraints came around them, holding them down to their chairs. There was a stillness as they all held their breath waiting for launch.
The entire craft shook quietly. They could hear as the dust on the ground under the ship blew to the sides, as quietly as an hourglass. Before long, more silenced quickly followed by the familiar pitter patter of the atmosphere. The room crackled like lightning as they sped up into the sky, it slowly faded away as they reached the void. They could feel it turn, their heads turning back as the ship slowed down it's way into the ship. A loud clank rang across, whirring and finally, the sound of the wall in front of them opening. They were back on the void cruiser. In front of them was the hallway with all their rooms and the door to the dining hall at the end.
They all got out in order, the only ones with any evident damage being Tyson and Bodhi who both quickly walked to their rooms to get changed. The rest of them immediately walked to the dining area. Cooper turned to Marco who was writing something on his tablet, "What exactly is the move now?" Darren took his gloves off and sat down on the table, slicking his hair, His hands dropped on the table as he looked up at Marco. He usually liked being the shot caller, today it would have been nice for it to be Darren's responsibility. He placed his tablet down and opened the nearby refrigerator, sticking a tuna sandwich in the microwave, he leaned on the counter and looked at the two of them.
"We need to know what Tyson wants, whether we need to appease him, and whether or not he is gonna be cool with us." He had three lifted fingers, he lowered his last one. "He's on the ship, and while he's already fucked us up pretty bad, he seems to be fine right now." Bodhi walked into the room, he had sweatpants on and a white tank top. His figure was that of a bodybuilder, big all around and muscular over. He was very hairy. He opened the refrigerator, taking out a bottle of milk and drinking from it. He leaned on the same counter as Marco who chuckled.
"I don't trust him." Said Kailey, "I don't care what he says, we don't know what he is and we probably never will." Cooper pointed at her and nodded. Marco nodded and shrugged, "That's why we need to know the first one," he lifted his finger, "we know what we are playing with at least surface level and we make decisions from there." Bodhi cleaned up his beard after gulping down the small bottle, "You talk like he's not on the ship with us."
"Finally, it doesn't smell like shit in here." The wall slid open as Tyson walked in rubbing his hands. He wore shorts and a hoodie, everyone in the room watched him silently before Kailey, Darren, and Cooper all walked past him into their rooms. The microwave beeped, Tyson took a sniff and recoiled, "Damn maybe not, who heats up a tuna sandwich?" The three of them glared at him. Bodhi reached in the refrigerator and pulled out the artificial ham, he sat on the chair opposite to where Darren was sat. The room was cold and silent, Tyson put his hands in his pocket and sat down.
"Are the cameras listening?" Marco shook his head. He wasn't lying, by default, they do, but at his choice, he disabled the audio recording feature. A breach of security? Maybe, would it be useful now? Definitely. A singular camera sat in the corner of the room, he sat in a way that made it so his mouth couldn't be seen. "So what's up guys?"
Darren shifted in his chair to get comfortable. "To start, can we agree that you won't attack us under any circumstance?" Tyson thought, Darren continued, "I assume by the fact that you couldn't just... I guess, leave? that you can't survive in the void." Tyson nodded in agreement. "Pretty spot on. Like I said, I don't wanna fight you guys, not that you all could put up much of one." They had accepted this at this point. Bodhi raised a piece of ham into the air and slowly lowered it to his mouth, savoring it. Marco asked next, "If we bring you back to earth, will you cause a void surge?"
Void surges were instances in which altered somehow someway escaped out into the other side. Marco had only ever witnessed one, they were few and far between but they were often catastrophic. "There's a lot you and I don't know, but I can assure you that if you can get me to the other side, I wont cause you any trouble." Bodhi munched on is ham and asked while turning to Tyson "Why did you chop off and reattach my arm?"
"Blunt question for sure, I had to take lead of the conversation someway somehow. Brutish? Perhaps. Do I think you would have listened to me otherwise? No." He answered with confidence. Bodhi continued, "Did you mess with it in any way? did you put some crazy worm in my arm?" Tyson looked down at his arbiter, a soft hazel glow coming from him fingertips as he clutched his fist. "Not that I'm aware of." Bodhi shrugged and continued eating his arm.
"So you're not sure of the extent of your... powers?" Marco asked quickly, he rubbed the spot where the altered's needle had stabbed through. "I know my limits, not exactly what I can and cannot do. I do get inklings on stuff though," He pointed at the spot Marco was rubbing "like that."
There was a moment of awkward silence, they had all kinds of questions, and from their perspective, the rest of their lives to ask for answers. At this point the other three walked back into the room in casual clothing. Marco clapped his hands as usual and stood straight up, he took a bite out of his sandwich and set it down. "Alright team, good job on the expedition today, make sure to fill out your reports and you can be on your way." He let out a fake smile, they all nodded and agreed, going their own separate ways. Bodhi was almost done eating as Tyson stood up, "I'll be in my room, I need nothing from anyone in here." The wall slid open as he stepped through.
Bodhi got up and placed his disposable plate in a trash compactor tucked in a corner. Him and Marco both walked to their rooms, Marco to get changed and Bodhi to lie down. "You seem awfully okay with all this, Bodhi." He stopped by his door, feeling the spot in his arm, "My 84th birthday is coming soon, I'm getting too old for this." He raised his fist into the air and shouted, "Bare minimum, I would have got to die in glorious battle." They both laughed before stepping into their rooms. Marco had some peace of mind now that he was in his chamber, he laid in bed facing the ceiling, he closed his eyes, he hadn't slept in almost two days. He quickly dozed off, falling into a dream as quick as he had placed his head down.