Captain's Log, Obsidia

Ms. Cinder decided a while ago that my team had to keep their own accounts of what happened. I've compiled them, so it's a fairly complete version. I'll put my comments in bold.

When we first started this recording thingy, it was right before we picked up Max and Syl.

"So, why are we here again?" Enigma asked. Don't worry, you'll get descriptions a little later.

"The same reason that I told you the last time you asked," I replied, sighing. "Secilia said there were two boys that could join our team."

"I don't see why we need new people," Enigma maintained, opening a channel to Secilia's cuff. "There, the channel will open if she accepts our call."

"Hey guys, was there a reason you called me at four in the morning?" Secilia asked, sounding a little sleepy. "I almost threw my cuff across the room."

"Then you realized it takes a little more concentration to take it off?" I asked cheekily.

"Oh haha, was there something you wanted?"

"Yeah, we're approaching Earth, how long do you have left on your sleep cycle?"

"An hour and a half," Secilia replied.

"We'll be at Earth in two, see you then?"

"Onyx'll meet you at the end of the Thermosphere in our atmosphere," Secilia replied. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep."

"Sleep tight," I said, gesturing to Enigma to cut the connection. "I'm starving. Enigma, watch the center would you?" I think you humans call it the bridge, we call it the center cause it's the center of the ship.

I hopped down from my stool, Enigma nodding in my general direction. I walked to the back of the ship, finding what we called the kitchen. It consisted entirely of a food replicator and a chemical thing that only Mirale uses. I learned later that Mirale actually is something called Chemosynthetic, she turns a compound from her homeworld into energy. She can eat our type of food, but it doesn't give her energy or anything. Just in case you wanted a biology lesson.

The ship lurched to the side, a worrying blaster noise coming from the front of the ship.

"Uh, Obsidia? We've got some Senhir on our tails." Exxon called.

I sighed. Food would have to wait. "How close? Like, burning our feathers off?" I asked, sitting down on my stool. Don't worry, my stool has a back, we just call it a stool cause it's really tall to compensate for my lack of height. It also has straps and stuff.

"Like, burning our tail off!" Enigma replied. It is in these moments, that I regret the fact our ship didn't have weapons. Secilia helped Mirale add them.

"Can we hit Earth's atmosphere if we go faster?" I asked.

"Yeah, we can hit the atmosphere, I just can't promise how good of a shape we'll be in," Enigma replied, the ship shaking again.

"Stop destroying our shields!" Mirale yelled from the engineering section on the right wing of the ship.

"Sorry," I yelled back. "Exxon, evasive maneuvers. Enigma, get Lance up here." I frowned at the viewscreen, which didn't show the ship attacking us. "Where'd it go?"

"I sped up, I think we might have outrun it," Exxon replied. "Unfortunately, we'll be at Earth an hour and a half early."

"Knowing Secilia, she probably called Onyx to watch for us soon after we called, so we may be fine," I muttered. "Just in case, if no one shows up on long-range scanners, temporarily hide near the moon and keep a lookout for Senhir."

"You got it, captain," Enigma said, tapping on her console. "Elance is sleeping, still want her up here?"

"Nah, since that ship disappeared, you can leave her to her goop time." We call it her goop time cause when she's sleeping she isn't concentrating on keeping one shape, so she looks like a blob of cherry red goop.

"You have got to drop that nickname," a severe voice scolded from behind me. I internally sighed.

"Well, we can't help calling it that if she calls it that too," I replied, hopping down from my stool. We actually had quite the debate about what to call my chair. No one wanted to just call it my captain's chair, and I wasn't about to let it be called a booster seat, so we settled with just calling it a stool.

"It is not appropriate for a young lady," Ms. Cinder continued.

"Enough with the young lady thing, we literally fight fuzzy blue raptors, we aren't exactly ladylike. Now, if you'll get out of my way, I was trying to get something to eat." I brushed past her, going back to the kitchen.

"Hey, Obsidia," Exxa said, all four legs folded beneath her as she sat at the table.

"Hey Exxa, finished in the medical wing?" I asked, pulling a bowl of soup from the replicator.

"We don't have a medical wing. It's a medical room at best," Exxa argued. I dragged a chair over to the table she was sitting at and sat down.

"Oh come on, it literally takes up an entire wing," I pointed out.

"Half of the barracks are in that wing too. The other half share the other wing with the engineering section," Exxa replied, crunching down on a green leafy plant.

I frowned, dipping my spoon in my soup. "No one actually sleeps in those bunks, we call them the quarantine section."

"We literally have a crew of six. Eight when we pick up the boys."

"Ms. Cinder doesn't count?" I asked, knowing full well that the entire crew didn't count her as one of the crew.

"She's a chaperone, she doesn't count," Exxa replied, looking suspiciously at my bowl. "That smells seriously funny, what's in it?"

"Nightberries," I replied. "And Strawberry flavored candy spiders."

"You have the strangest tastes. I don't get why you wouldn't just eat the plant."

"You're a herbivore," I retorted, waving my spoon at her. "I'm an omnivore, I eat stuff other than plants."

"Seriously, you guys are crazy, eating meat," Exxa said, grimacing at my bowl again.

"You just think that cause I eat both plants and animals and therefore am not as strange as Enigma, who is a carnivore."

"You're all strange." Exxa flicked her hand, gesturing to the ship. "So, what do these zeroes eat?"

"Omni's" I replied, using the shorthand for Omnivore. We use shorthand in speaking sometimes, mostly to describe eating habits. Omni for omnivore, and plant and meat respectively for Herbivore and carnivore.

A ding sounded, signaling that the ship-wide intercom was on. "Hey, guys? We're getting closer to Earth, and there is someone there to meet us, should we go for entering the atmosphere?"

I sighed, picking up my bowl. I'd have to eat on my stool while we entered the atmosphere. "Coming," I called into the center.

"So, what's the verdict?" Exxon asked, Exxa trotting over to join her twin at his console.

"Enter the atmosphere. Even if Secilia isn't awake, we can still get out of the ship and look around some." I decided. I hopped up into my chair, setting the bowl on my lap. "Seriously, can I not eat some food in peace?"

"You can eat when we land, Onyx will be sure to get us homemade food." Exxon half closed his eyes, probably imagining Onyx's cooking, which was excellent.

I rolled my eyes. Teenage boys, always thinking about food. "Anyway, how long till strap in?"

"Two minutes," Enigma answered. "Get Lance up now?"

"Yeah, stop her goop time," I replied, strapping myself in. "And signal Mirale."

Enigma nodded, turning back to her console, signaling a ship-wide strap-in thing. Entering an atmosphere can be rather turbulent, even when being guided in, and even for a ship as small as ours.