"ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS ON BOARD THE DJANGO, AS YOU CAN SEE TO OUR LEFT WE ARE COMING UP TO RION. PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS WHEN PROCEEDING AROUND THE SHIP AS WE APPROACH DESCENT."

"You love that intercom don't you," Hongjoong said with a chuckle as he spread out in his chair.

"It's fun," Mingi said with a giggle, directing the ship into Rion's atmosphere, flicking the shields on to protect from the heat.

"Make sure you land in one of the back docks," Hongjoong said.

"Will do, I know the routine," Mingi said with a nod. The door to the control room opened and Seonghwa walked in.

"Have you got a minute Hongjoong," Seonghwa asked.

"You all good with this," Hongjoong asked Mingi.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've done this like hundreds of times," Mingi said with a chuckle. Hongjoong quickly got up and followed Seonghwa to the side of the control room, sitting down in the chairs.

"Everything ok," Hongjoong asked.

"Yeah, I'm just double checking on what the plan is today," Seonghwa said.

"Today there isn't much of a plan. I'm going to head out with San and meet up with the suppliers to figure out how to proceed tomorrow. We'll load everything up then," Hongjoong explained.

"Are you sure it will be ok with just you and San? We don't know these people so it might be better if I come as well," Seonghwa said.

"No, I don't want too many people there. San and I can handle it, I just need you to keep an eye on the others. Having too many people there might cause issues," Hongjoong said.

"Fair enough. I'll try to keep the others out of trouble," Seonghwa said.

"Is Jongho going out? We all know how excited he's always been to explore here," Seonghwa said.

"Yeah, he's no doubt going to be out and looking around as soon as we hit the ground," Hongjoong said with a chuckle. Seonghwa nodded at that, knowing just how much their little scientist loved doing what he does.

"We're landing on dock 12," Mingi said, giving Hongjoong the heads up.

"Alright. Seonghwa, can you go make sure the others aren't doing things they shouldn't do," Hongjoong asked. Seonghwa chuckled at that but nodded before leaving. He went down the halls, taking the elevator to the middle deck and going over to the gaming room where he found San, Wooyoung and Yeosang. San and Yeosang were sitting on the couches playing Xbox while Wooyoung was curled up in Yeosang's lap. Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out how that was working but noticed that Yeosang just had his arms wrapped around Wooyoung's waist while he held the controller. Wooyoung poked his head up over Yeosang's shoulder and grinned.

"Hi Seonghwa," he said.

"Hey. Hongjoong wanted me to let you know we're landing soon. Yeosang and Wooyoung, you two are fine but San will need to pause the game and go out with Hongjoong," Seonghwa said.

"That's fine. Youngie said he was pretty tired so he can just nap and I'll play by myself," Yeosang said with a shrug. San sighed and paused the game before logging off and standing up.

"Let's go then," he said.

"Hongjoong's in the control room. I'm just going to go check on Yunho and Jongho," Seonghwa said.

"They're be in the lab. Jongho asked for help organising some vials so he can collect samples when we land and Jongho agreed to help him," San said.

"Alright, I'll just go double check how they're going. Also we're landing like really soon so be prepared for a little roughness," Seonghwa said.

"Thanks," Yeosang said. Seonghwa nodded and left with San, both going up to the top deck however San went left to the control room while Seonghwa went right to the lab where sure enough, he found Yunho and Jongho.

"We're landing soon, like in the next few minutes," he told them. Jongho straightened up quickly, his face lighting up.

"That's great. That means I'll get to start gathering some samples," Jongho said happily.

"Yeah, you can have your fun," Seonghwa said with a chuckle. There was a sudden clunk and the ship rocked for a few seconds before settling down.

"We've landed. Can I go out now," Jongho asked quickly.

"No. Wait until San and Hongjoong have left and then you can go out. Is anyone going to go out with you," Seonghwa asked. Jongho generally goes out alone but sometimes he brings one of the boys with him.

"Uh, Mingi is coming out with me," Jongho said, remembering his talk with Mingi the night before.

"Ok good. I feel better knowing you have someone else with you here. Hongjoong wasn't lying when he said this planet is shady," Seonghwa said. Jongho smiled weakly at that, knowing that the feeling of relief was misplaced as not only would Mingi not be with him but Mingi would be all alone and snooping around in the shady places. The three of them left the room, Jongho with his kit and they made their way to the ships hangar that was at the back of the ship on the middle deck. There they met Hongjoong, San and Mingi.

"San and I are going to head off. We'll keep comms on and call you if there's any issues. Jongho are you heading out," Hongjoong asked.

"Yeah, I'm dragging Mingi with me as well so we'll probably be out for a few hours," Jongho said. Mingi glanced at him and held back a smile, grateful that he was helping him even though he knows it's against the rules they have set.

"Ok good. Just make sure you stay out of trouble and keep your comms on in case anything happens," Hongjoong said.

"We will, I promise," Jongho said with a nod and a grin, glancing at Mingi who nodded quickly as well.

"Alright, we'll see you guys later," Hongjoong said, handing a pistol to San. San grabbed it and quickly tucked it into his belt before he nodded to the others and he and Hongjoong left.

"I guess we'll see you guys later as well," Jongho said, grabbing Mingi's hand and tugging him down the ramp and onto the ground. He dragged the older boy off down a path to the side that lead into a what seemed to be some sort of garden though it was hard to tell given this was a new planet. They walked for a little bit until the Django was out of sight when they finally stopped walking.

"Keep in touch so we can make sure we get back at the same time and don't get yourself killed ok. Because if anything happens to you, I'm going to feel really guilty because I encouraged it," Jongho said.

"To be fair you're just keeping me safer because at least I'm staying in touch with you. Usually I just end up sneaking out during the night to do some investigating," Mingi said with a shrug.

"I don't know how Hongjoong hasn't caught you yet, it's pretty obvious to me," Jongho said.

"I think you're the only one that has noticed. You're a lot more perceptive of what happens with everyone. The rest of us don't notice the little things," Mingi said softly.

"That may be true," Jongho said with a nod.

"I've got to get going so I'll see you tonight," Mingi said.

"Oh, wait, I got this for you," Jongho said. He put down his kit and opened it out before slipping out a laser pistol and holding it out for Mingi. Mingi chuckled and grabbed it, slipping it into his belt.

"Thank you," he said.

"Just stay safe please," Jongho said, hugging him softly.

"I will," Mingi replied, hugging him back.

"Your watch has a map of the area just in case you get lost," Jongho said.

"I know Jjong. I've used these watches many times before," Mingi said with a chuckle.

"You don't need to be nervous Jongho, I'm going to be fine. I've done this almost every time we've stopped at a planet for long enough," Mingi said.

"Ok, just stay safe and don't get hurt," Jongho said.

"Will do," Mingi said with a nod. With that, Mingi walked off, taking a different path that led back into town. Mingi had a cloak that he quickly tugged around himself, slipping his hood over his head. It was about a fifteen-minute walk to get into town and Mingi made sure to keep a low profile. The streets were pretty busy with many different species from what Mingi could tell as he glanced around. He scanned the area as he walked, trying to figure out the best place for him to search for answers. Most places seemed pretty legit, normal for a planet like this but he kept looking. As he was walking, he noticed Hongjoong and San up ahead and he panicked. He quickly slipped down an alley way to make sure he wouldn't get caught. If Hongjoong caught him out snooping around on a planet like Rion when he was specifically told not to, then he would get into so much trouble. Hongjoong is generally pretty relax with them but there are certain rules that you can't break. Mingi cared too much about this though, has been working on trying to stop child trafficking and abuse though it would still take many years to come. The best he could do was to document what he knows now. He continued walking down the alley, turning into a back street that was nowhere near as buy as the previous one and also seemed a bit more rundown.

That's why it stood out to him. Why his eyes were immediately drawn to one shop. The shop was larger than any others in the street and was a lot nicer, less run down. He glanced at the name of the shop and saw it was a brickmaking factory. He rose an eyebrow at that before nodding slightly. This was the place. No brickmaking factory looked that fancy and put together, nor would it be this quiet in the middle of the day. He glanced around before quickly crossing the street and pausing near the front of the building. He couldn't see much inside and he definitely didn't want to go inside so he continued walking, slipping into the alley beside the factory. He ducked down beside a window to make sure he wouldn't be caught before peaking over it slightly. He scanned inside, noticing it opened up to a large room. He couldn't see much however as the windows were pretty dirty and there was quite a lot of junk inside. He continued down the alley, coming up to a fenced off area. He glanced around once again to make sure he was still alone before climbing the fence and dropping down to the other side. He glanced around the yard, noticing some movement so he quickly ducked behind some crates.

"We've got three more shipments coming in this week."

"How many in each shipment."

"5 I think. So we need to make sure the cages are cleared out or the boss is going to freak."

"We've got about 4 left so we can figure something out."

"Oi, you, get over here." Mingi glanced around the crate to see two, things standing together. They had fur over their arms but scales over their legs and he had no idea what species they were. His eyes widen as he saw someone walk over to the two creatures. It was a boy, a human boy and he looked to be younger than Jongho.

"If you want food tonight, you can start by sorting through these boxes. And get it done quickly because we have things we need to do," one of them. The boy nodded and bowed his head, making the two grunt before walking off. Mingi studied the boy more, noticing he was wearing old clothes and seemed to be a bit skinny with bruises on his face, black hair covering his eyes. This was it, this was the right place. He usually doesn't get this close to people, doesn't get this kind of opportunity. He couldn't just let it slip by so easily. He scanned the area again, making sure it was just him and the boy who was now going through a few crates. When he knew it was safe, he moved a bit closer but remained behind another crate.

"Hey," he called out softly but the boy didn't hear.

"Hey, kid," he called out loudly. This time the boy heard and turned around, glancing around the area. Mingi poked his head out more, slipping his hood off. The boys eyes widened before he glanced around and hurried over.

"You're human," the boy said.

"Yeah, my name's Mingi. What's your name," Mingi asked, wanting the boy to not be apprehensive of him.

"You need to go. If they catch you here they'll kill you. Especially if they find you near me," the boy said.

"That's ok. I'm not from this planet, my crew is just stopping by. I'm working to try and help stop the exploitation of kids," Mingi said quickly. The boy glanced around quickly before kneeling down.

"You can't help, not here," the boy said.

"I'm doing my best. I can, I can try and get you out of here," Mingi said quickly.

"No, you can't. I've been here since I was eight but I can, I can help you try to stop other people from ending up here," the boy said sadly. Mingi felt bad as it was clear to him that the boy seemed helpless.

"I can do my best. I just need you to answer some questions," Mingi said quickly. He clicked record on his watch so he could document this with all his other findings.

"You have to be quick. If they see me not working or talking to you, it won't end well," the boy said.

"Ok I'll be quick, I don't want you hurt," Mingi said and the boy nodded.

"What were they talking about? They said something about shipments and cages," Mingi said.

"Um, the shipments bring in more people. Kids usually of all different species around the galaxy. The cages are um, they're what we're kept in," the boy said quietly.

"What? They keep you in cages," Mingi asked in shock. He's been to different planets but he's never come across one where they keep the kids in cages. That's even more barbaric than usual.

"Do they at least feed you properly," Mingi asked. The boy shrugged, glancing back at the building again.

"We don't starve if that's what you're asking. I mean, I've gotten used to the amount I eat considering I've been here for over half of my life," the boy said. As he said that, there was the sound of a door opening and the boy's eyes widened with fear.

"You need to go. You need to get out of here before they catch you," the boy said quickly.

"Wait. I wasn't lying. I can, I can get you out. My crew, we can sneak you out, you just need to come with me," Mingi said hurriedly.

"I can't. My brother, he's here as well and I can't leave without him. Plus if we leave, they'd come looking for me," the boy said. The sound was getting close, making them both glance back.

"If you change your mind, we're here for another couple of days and we're docked at one of the back ports, number 12, the Django is our ship," Mingi said. He went to rush out the way he came but the boy grabbed his arm and tugged him the other way.

"Slip under there. The alley leads back to the main street," the boy said, pointing to a hole in another old fence. Mingi nodded and slipped under, turning and glancing back to see the boy had hurried over to the crates again and was unpacking it. He felt bad leaving the boy there after hearing what he had gone through but there was nothing he could do to help him right now, not by himself. He regretfully turned around and hurried off down the road, running away from the factory, clicking stop on the recorder of his watch.

~~~~~

Mingi continued searching for a few more hours to try and see if he would find anymore suspicious places but he couldn't find much, only a few illegal trading areas and other weird things. He met back up with Jongho where they organised and they headed back to the Django.

"Can someone open the hangar. Or you can just leave us stranded outside," Jongho said. A few minutes later there was a rumble and the ramp slowly came down. When it was down, Mingi and Jongho quickly climbed on board.

"Do you think San has dinner ready," Mingi asked.

"He should, it's past nightfall. How'd your little investigation go," Jongho asked.

"I'll tell you about it tonight," Mingi replied.

"That bad," Jongho asked with a frown.

"Let's just say it wasn't pretty," Mingi said with a sigh. Jongho nodded and followed Mingi to the elevator.

"Took you two long enough," Wooyoung said as he walked past when the exited the elevator on the top deck.

"Are San and Hongjoong back yet," Mingi asked.

"Yeah, they got back before you," Wooyoung replied with a nod.

"What took you two so long," he added.

"Well you know me, I love to get out and about in nature. I got so many samples. You should help me unpack and organise everything," Jongho said quickly.

"Uh, yeah, I'm going to pass on that. San said dinner will be ready in 10 minutes," Wooyoung said before hurrying into the elevator. Jongho giggled and pat Mingi's shoulder softly.

"He hates all this science stuff," Jongho said. Mingi chuckled but nodded and walked with Jongho to the lab. Mingi helped Jongho unpack all of the samples he collected until there was an announcement through the loudspeakers.

"Dinner is ready."

"Good, I am famished," Jongho said. The two quickly left the lab and went down to the middle deck, hurrying to the end to the kitchens and meal room.

"What's for dinner, cos I am starving," Yunho said as he sat down.

"We are having burritos. Build you own," San said as he, Seonghwa and Hongjoong walked out with some bowls of prepared ingredients.

"Sweet," Wooyoung said, flopping down into a seat beside Yunho.

"You know, I've been out all day with Hongjoong organising things, the least you can do is help prepare dinner," San said as he placed the last bowl down.

"That's above my paygrade. I'm here to save you guys when you do stupid things," Wooyoung said with a grin. Yeosang chuckled as he sat beside Wooyoung, patting his head softly.

"That happens like never so you're basically just a free-loader," San said as everyone started to make their burritos.

"And a very happy free-loader at that," Wooyoung said, making the others chuckle.

"So how did it go today with you two," Seonghwa asked.

"Good. We had a look at the cargo, discussed where and when drop off is needed as well as the price. I think we've got a very good deal here," Hongjoong said.

"Did you inspect the cargo? Do we know that it's what they said it is," Yeosang asked.

"We did. It's all legit. There's about 30 crates full and we should be able to load them all on board tomorrow. We'll leave the day after to get them delivered," Hongjoong informed them.

"Does that mean I can go out tomorrow as well," Jongho asked.

"Only for a couple of hours, I don't want you out there for too long," Hongjoong replied.

"Who's going out with you," Seonghwa asked.

"You are. So is San, Yeosang and Yunho. Mingi and Wooyoung will stay with the ship and Jongho will get some more samples. Jongho you'll need to be back before we get to the ship. We need all hands on deck when loading up," Hongjoong said.

"What about the smugglers hold? Do we have enough room down there," Seonghwa asked.

"I was just about to get to that.

"Yunho and Wooyoung, I need you to double check and make sure the hold has enough room. San will go with you as he has the dimensions of the crate. We don't want a repeat of the time we got stopped by the authorities and almost got caught smuggling those gems," Hongjoong said.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," San said with a wince. There's a reason they have a smugglers hold on a concealed lower deck, to hide whatever they're smuggling from the authorities that might want to do a check of their ship.

"We'll do that right after dinner," Yunho said and Wooyoung nodded.

"Once again Sannie, you've made a delightful meal for us," Mingi said with a grin as he took a bite of his prepared burrito.

"Thanks. I aim to please," San mumbled with his mouth full.

~~~~~

Later that night Mingi was joined in the control room by Jongho who closed the door behind himself and sat down next to Mingi.

"So, what happened," he asked the older boy.

"I found a factory in a back street but it wasn't a factory, it was just a front," Mingi said.

"Did you get much intel," Jongho asked.

"I met a boy. He was probably a bit younger than you. He told me had been there since he was 8 and that they get children of all species brought in. They keep them in cages until they can get rid of them," Mingi said sadly.

"What happened to the boy," Jongho asked quietly.

"I had to leave him there. He said he had a brother there and that he couldn't leave but I had to go. I told him where we were, just in case he wanted a way out," Mingi said.

"Do you think Hongjoong would allow it," Jongho asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know. I think he'd allow the kid on board and so we could get him to a safer planet. Hongjoong isn't cold-hearted, he just wants to keep us as safe as we can be when we're in this line of work," Mingi said.

"That's true. How was the kid," Jongho asked.

"He was bruised and hungry, that much I could tell," Mingi said with a sigh.

"That's not good," Jongho said quietly.

"No, it's not. I wanted to get him out of there, I should have but he wouldn't come with me. It's um, it's the first time I've actually been able to talk to one of the kids, to come that close to them. I'm doing this to eventually try to help kids but it hurts to just leave them when I could be saving some of them now," Mingi said quietly.

"You're doing a good thing Mingi. You'll be able to help them eventually, I know you will," Jongho said.

"We all will. I know for sure that everyone will be on board once I've got a proper plan," Mingi said.

"Hopefully the kid decides to come tomorrow, we'll just have to wait and see what happens," Jongho said.

"I know," Mingi said with a sigh, holding out his arm so Jongho could lean over and tuck against him.

"We should probably head to bed. Hongjoong will want us to have a good sleep before tomorrow so we're all awake and vigilant," Jongho said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Mingi said with a nod. He pushed the thoughts about the young boy he met earlier away, focusing on what would be happening the next day. 

A/N

Here is Chapter 2 everyone, I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading.

Let me know what you guys think about the dynamic between Mingi and Jongho. I've tried to focus on them a bit more, even for certain chapters here and there because I never really write much about them

Who do you think that boy is and do you think he'll show back up during the story?