"Wow, " Joe enthuses, eyes glued to the men seated in the back. "That's nifty! Wonder where I can get one?"

Tori turns about in her seat, eyes landing upon a rather advanced looking holographic display floating in the air above the diner's well-worn table. She's not concerned with Joe's blasé assessment. People around here are used to seeing odd and unusual things at this point, thanks, in no small, part to MIT.

But she works there, and even she has never seen anything like it before.

The base itself seems to be a burnished, palm sized, metal disk. Projected from the center is a flattened, ovular globe made from a fine mesh-like grid of glowing lines. A series of characters float about the edges of the display that flicker in and out, but she isn't sure what language it is, because she's never seen letters like that before. Mesmerized, she watches as one of them pulls at the display with his fingers, zooming in on one section in particular.

To her amazement, it looks like some sort of map or star chart. Tiny pinpricks of light represent hundreds of unknown planets, each flickering softly within the holographic sphere. And as the map zooms in even closer, her sharp eyes manage to spot what she is sure must be Jupiter and Mars. Then, too, she spots Venus and Mercury, and realizes that it is indeed a map.

The dark-haired male locks eyes with Tori, displeasure washing over his features as he slams his elbow into the redhead harshly. The injured party winces, and whines loudly in complaint.

She watches as the taller, more severe-looking male mutters furiously. To her disappointment, the red-haired male then fluidly shuts off the display, and shoves it back into his pockets. He whines noisily as his companions rise, speech a jumble of words that she can barely hear, and does not recognize. The one with the blue hair looks close to tears, and the lanky, dark-haired man is obviously irritated as they pass her seat at the counter.

When they walk out the door, she tosses a wad of cash onto the counter and slides from her stool.

She's intrigued, unhealthily so, and chases after them with every intention of asking about that device.

"Hey!" She calls out, chasing after them and waving her hands in the air. "Hey stop! I want to ask you something!"

But they seemingly ignore her, and continue walking away.

"Jooheon, I think that female is following us." The man with the blue and white hair murmurs suspiciously. "I'm pretty sure she's shouting to get our attention."

The redhead, Jooheon, visibly pales.

"It's unlikely she'd even understand our speech, and I can't understand a word she's screeching either, " the tallest male interjects. "So what would be the point of speaking to her?"

"Hyungwon's right, " the first sighs. "Why'd you have to drag that thing out anyway? I'm hungry!"

"Well excuse me, " Jooheon argues defensively, "how was I supposed to know it would grab anyone's attention?"

He looks to Hyungwon, who raises a single, elegant brow in response.

"Don't look at me, I'm with Wonho. It should have been obvious the second you stepped out of the ship that this planet is grossly behind technologically. Hell, if you'd actually been listening to Minhyuk during the briefing, you'd have known that before we ever even entered this distasteful planet's atmosphere."

"Can't we just go back and eat?" Jooheon whines, his companion's words completely flying into one ear, and out the other. "I'm so hungry!"

"And who's fault is that?" the tallest snaps.

"Minhyuk is obviously to blame, " the redhead retorts.

The technopath hadn't been entirely upfront about his reasons for joining their little expedition, hadn't deigned to inform them of the fact that he was a wanted man. As a result, they hadn't even gotten to finish packing supplies before take off. They'd had to flee their own system in a hurry. And of course, foodstuffs are always the last thing you stock up on, for obvious reasons.

Thank the Prime that Hyungwon had already made himself comfortable on the ship. Kihyun too. Because of it, there'd at least been enough food in the galley's fridge to keep the crew alive.

It's no wonder that Jooheon is starving and whiny. Even Hyungwon is irritable due to hunger. Granted, that's not a particularly abnormal state of being for the Denali's resident medic. He's never been a particularly sunny kind of guy, but even still. The lack of food certainly hasn't helped.

And honestly, no one's even sure how the hell Wonho is still alive.

The mechanic eats upwards of six meals a day, or at least, he used to back on Luminae. They're all fairly certain it has something to do with the man's size, as he's built like an actual boulder. And he's normally so full of energy that even the youngest amongst them, Changkyun, often has trouble keeping up.

Half a tuber a day with a thin slice of questionably processed meat had to have been murder for the guy.

"She's still following us..."

Wonho sounds worried, and Hyungwon looks it too as he realizes that the mechanic is correct. Honestly, he hadn't expected her to follow them for so long. The surly xenobiologist had assumed that she'd get tired, or bored, and give up once she realized that they had no intention of acknowledging her. But no. The lady is clearly stubborn,

So here he is, dragging two grown and ravenous men with whiny temperaments back to the ship, even though he'd like nothing more than to put some food in his own hungry belly. Everything would have been fine had Jooheon shown a little tact, but Hyungwon can't even say that he's surprised. The boy's always been impulsive.

In truth, he's really blaming himself right now.

He should have known better than to let the red-haired, ex-Prism soldier come along. The man has an uncanny ability to cause trouble wherever he goes, and often with the least amount of effort on his part. Really, Hyungwon isn't sure if the guy is intentional with it, or if it's just pure idiocy on the redhead's part.

Whatever the case, the end result is always the same.

And now he has to contend with a legitimate stalker. As far as days go, this one probably won't make it into his list of favorites. What does one even do in this kind of situation? If they take off running, it'll seem suspicious, he thinks. But he's also certain that simply letting her follow them all the way back to the ship isn't a wise idea. Unfortunately, without Changkyun they can't even communicate with the lady, so turning around and asking her to leave them alone isn't an option either.

He drags his crew-mates along past dingy buildings as he marvels at just how dull this planet is. Where is all the color? The life? This place is so unnaturally dismal and dark to him, what with it's muted colors and it's dreary weather. It's such a stark contrast to the plentiful color and glowing fauna of his home planet. And the fact that he can't even see the stars in the night sky makes him feel incredibly uneasy.

He tries his best to ignore the pattering of the woman's smaller feet behind him, and the way that she continues to shout unintelligibly. Surely she'll eventually give up, especially considering just how much shorter her legs are than his. She must be nearly speed-walking just to keep up with him, so really it should be only a matter of time before she gets too exhausted to follow them any longer.

The closer that they get to the ship, the more anxious the threesome becomes. Arguing quietly amongst themselves, the trio comes to a near stop.

"What should we do?" Wonho frets, almond eyes creasing with concern.

The woman from the restaurant is still doggedly following them, and the three men are each extremely perplexed. Neither Hyungwon nor Jooheon seem to have an answer for the mechanic. They bicker amidst themselves, leaving Wonho to watch in horror as the woman finally catches up to them and grabs Hyungwon by the arm.

She utters an unintelligible stream of angry words as the man freezes, clearly laying into the three of them as she gestures wildly about. Against his better judgement, Hyungwon rips his arm from her grasp, and waves his hands at her as if she is no more than a stray cat that he is trying to shoo.

To his dismay, she just stands there and looks at him dumbfounded. The woman's face turns a deep shade of red, and she begins shouting in earnest.

"What's going on here?"

Kihyun's voice grabs everyone's attention.

Hyungwon looks relieved, possibly even more so than the others. Earlier, Kihyun had taken off to grab foodstuffs, taking their young translator with him. The kid, Changkyun, is gifted with an ear for languages in a way that defies all real logic. At first, the austere xenobiologist had thought it unwise to take a linguistics student with them. It might have meant they had to push back departure, but finding a solid linguist had seemed like the wiser choice.

The boy has repeatedly proven himself, however, and Hyungwon is not the type of man not to give credit where credit is due. Of course, it helps that the boy is also a telepath. The ability to read minds is a rare, and incredibly useful skill. Not only is the kid able to read, and therefore process whatever is on another being's mind, he can also exert some small levels of his own will in tandem with the power of suggestion. Which is likely why Kihyun took Changkyun with him.

"Jooheon made a scene with the map, I think that's why she followed us all the way here." Wonho speaks up. "It seemed like she really wanted to look at it."

Several sets of eyes fall upon her hand, and she drops the arm in her grasp almost immediately. Tori hadn't been thinking straight, hadn't intended to come across the way she knows she likely has. Of course, she can't understand the words coming out of their mouths, but if the lines of their faces are any indication, she's probably offended them.

The newest arrivals, a slight, pink-haired man with a stern expression and a blonde-haired man with a thin and delicate face, fix the brunette with an incredulous look. They are carrying bags upon bags of groceries, arms laden and heavy. She blushes under the scrutiny of the blonde-haired male as his icy eyes dig holes into her.

The corner of his obscenely pink pout lifts into an amused half-tilt, and Tori's heart skips a beat in her chest. He's unfairly beautiful, she thinks. There is something ethereal, something special about each of the males before her. But none of them compare to this man with honeyed hair and pale blue eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that as a cosmologist she doesn't believe in religion, she might even think she is looking at an angel.

But there is something sinister there as well. It's in the way he smiles as if he knows exactly what she's thinking, and the smug grin that he sports as he drags rakish eyes down her body. For a moment, it feels as if he is checking her out, and she can't help her body's response to the idea.

His friends chatter animatedly amidst themselves, seemingly lost in an argument. But the language is so bizarre and different. She can't understand the melodic speech, no matter how hard she strains her ears.

The dark haired male who's arm she'd just dropped gestures at her, eyes glaring daggers into the pink-haired male whose lips have all but disappeared in irritation. He's grimacing so hard, in fact, that the skin around his lips becomes white. His jade-colored irises spark with displeasure, and Tori manages to tear her eyes away from the blonde just in time to see the pinkette tear into his cherry haired friend.

The larger male looks thoroughly miserable, and after what she assumes is a jab from the dark-haired male, there is also a small spark of anger in his amber eyes. Tori realizes that he must be defending himself, because he's folded his arms across his chest and is currently yelling.

The feeling of a hand upon her shoulder startles the poor cosmologist, and she turns to face the source.

The one she'd been nearly unable to look away from, the blonde, is standing right in her face. Startled by his sudden proximity, Tori almost has a heart attack. At this range, she can see each lash, and every fleck in his bluish-grey irises. How in the world is it possible for anyone to be so stunning?

He smiles in amusement, stooping down just enough to diligently study her face.

She's kind of cute, he thinks, in an innocent kind of way. Her plainly colored hair is quite exotic to him, so used to his own race's naturally colorful appearance, and the smattering of freckles that grace the bridge of her nose stand out vividly against her porcelain hued skin.

As he digs through her mind, he finds it amusing just how flustered she is by his appearance. But it also makes trying to sense anything else almost difficult. The deeper he digs, however, the more her dogged persistence makes sense. She'd seen the map, he realizes, and just wants to look at it.

Changkyun sorts through her mind, and discovers that she is actually a cosmologist. The years she's spent studying the cosmos are all rushing against the forefront of her mind, even despite how distracting she obviously finds him. It seems that the woman is a bit of an expert on her own solar system.

"Guys, " he says, turning to his elders as he speaks, "I think she might be useful to us. She studies the stars for a living, and might be able to help me decipher the map."

Until now, he'd been doing the best he could to figure the map out, and he'd done well enough to get them here to this system. But at the end of the day, he's just a linguist. He's no navigator, so try as he might he just doesn't seem to be able to pinpoint exactly where it is they should go next.

It's somewhere in this region, that's about all he's managed to puzzle out.

"How do we know we can trust her?" Hyungwon retorts questioningly. "Or that she'll even believe us for that matter?"

Changkyun turns back to the confused female, and allows himself to concentrate upon her mind once more.

"She'll believe us, " he reveals. "And I think she's definitely the trustworthy sort."

Kihyun doesn't need anymore convincing than that.

"Drag her along then, " he commands. "We'll get her fitted with an omni-cuff, and see what she thinks."

Smiling, Changkyun releases the woman's shoulder in favor of grabbing her wrist. She's understandably surprised as he begins to drag her along, and he chuckles a bit as she stumbles along behind him.

The Denali isn't far, thank the Prime, and it isn't long before the small group comes to a stop once more. The air before them shimmers slightly, even to Tori's eyes, and she watches in wonder as the pink-haired man knocks on thin air. The hollow thump that his knuckles make tells her that not all is as it seems, and this is only further supported by the sudden shifting of what seems to be a door.

It slowly rises, revealing a clean, white interior and an effeminate looking man with snowy white hair and peach-colored eyes. He rambles about something for a moment before those beautiful eyes land on Tori, and he gasps. Motioning excitedly for the six of them to enter, he doesn't look away from her even once, causing Tori to feel a lot like an animal in the circus.

As they enter, the young cosmologist takes in her immediate surroundings. The outside world disappears as the door slides shut once more. She watches in fascination as the door's outline vanishes, leaving behind not even a trace, not one seam. The interior, she notes, is simplistic and sterile. It's all white floors and white walls, though a faintly glowing strip of light shines from the baseboards.

Tori seriously feels as if she's just stepped into a sci-fi movie.

She's snapped from her observations as a pale hand reaches forth and attaches an odd, metallic bracelet to her wrist. The device is smooth, and minimal, only about as wide as a bangle. She gasps in astonishment as a small display comes to life upon the surface, and the garbled speech surrounding her becomes clear.

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea, " the dark-haired man argues insistently. "We know next to nothing about her."

The realization that he is talking about her catches her interest, and she turns her attention away from the bracelet and onto the conversation at hand.

"I told you, " the blonde retorts, hand still grasping her unadorned wrist, "she can help. I have no idea where to go next, I'm no navigator."

"If Minhyuk hadn't forced us to flee we'd probably have hired a navigator, " the redhead points out, speaking directly to the blonde, "but we didn't have a choice. You said you could read the map, so why do we even need one?"

"I can read the letters, sure. But the chart itself is a mystery to me. I studied languages, not planets. Besides, this system is unknown, and the map seems to be incomplete in some areas. If anyone could figure it out, it'd be someone who knows this solar system well. Who better than a native?"

They all turn their gaze upon her, and Tori flushes under their scrutiny.

"I just wanted to look at that device you have, " she mumbles, embarrassed.

The blonde beside her chuckles and stretches his hand out to the man she'd seen pocket the device earlier.

"I could definitely show it to you, " he tells her as his fingers curl around the metal disk. "But maybe we should sit down and chat a bit first."

Turning her face to look directly at him, she nods.

To be honest, she's a little flabbergasted by this sudden turn of events. Her brain is turning at about a hundred miles a minute, neurons firing so rapidly that she can already feel a headache coming on. But she doesn't care. Tori's always believed that there had to be more to the world. Humanity just simply couldn't be the only intelligent life-form when the universe is so vast. Other's had always found her strange for this belief, but she feels like gloating right now.

Because she's fairly certain that these men are not from earth. Just as she's almost certain that she is currently standing within their spacecraft.

It all makes logical sense, she thinks. Between their ethereal appearances and bizarre language, not to mention what appears to be advanced technology. As far as she's concerned, only one thing makes any plausible sense.

These men must be aliens.

"You're a sharp one."

The blonde has seated himself before her upon the chair adjacent to her own. Behind him, she spots the pink-haired man unpacking the contents of the massive amount of grocery bags he'd earlier procured. She watches, fascinated, as items float about in the air, seemingly directed by the man himself. They dance about and tuck themselves away in their respective spots as he observes, occasionally marking the paper held firmly by the clipboard in his hands.

Tori turns her attention back to the male before her, not even bothering to apologize for getting distracted.

"You figured it out so quickly, " he adds, "the fact that we're not from here, I mean."

Puzzled, she lifts a questioning eyebrow in response.

"How did you know that I-"

"I'm a telepath, " he answers, cutting her off, "so I know a lot of things about you."

Instinctively, she brings her hands against her chest and recoils.

"Don't worry, " he chuckles, "I didn't look at anything embarrassing. I had to understand why you were following Hyungwon and the others, nothing more."

She relaxes a bit at this, but he can still sense her wariness.

"So, " she queries, "why did you drag me on board? You mentioned needing help? With a map?"

The blonde nods.

"My companions and I are on an expedition of sorts, " he reveals. "Our captain, Shownu, got his hands on this ancient map and it vaguely mentions an epic treasure, but I'm having a hard time actually reading the thing."

"Could I see it?"

"Certainly, " he replies.

He digs into his pocket and pulls out the small disk, handing it over with a smile.

"If you can figure it out, we might be willing to hire you on as a navigator." He tells her. "If that would interest you."

"Would it ever, " she thinks to herself.

She's always wondered what mysteries the universe might be hiding, so the chance to see some of them for herself has an irresistible appeal for the young cosmologist.

She rotates the disk about, studying its flawless finish and simplistic design. It really is only about as wide as her palm, and as thick as a hockey puck. Finding the small sensor located to one side of the top, she presses her finger down, delighted when the display she'd witnessed earlier comes to life once more before her very eyes.

"Is this a complete map of the universe?" She asks, studying the grid intensely.

"I think it's supposed to be, but there are black spots and places where the map is off based on our navigational equipment. It might be because the device had no way of updating itself after the universe expanded, though Minhyuk believes it could also be data corruption in some cases."

He catches the question in her eyes as she tilts her head slightly to the side, and responds immediately.

"Our technopath, " he divulges, "he's the one who opened the door for us."

Her mouth forms a small "o" in understanding, before realizing that she still hasn't even introduced herself yet.

"I'm-"

"Tori Locklear, " he interrupts, "I know. My name is Changkyun. The guy behind me with pink hair is Kihyun, the red-headed idiot is Jooheon, the guy with dark hair and an ever-present scowl is Hyungwon, and the one who looks like a Xinastrian statue is Wonho."

"Xinastrian...statue?"

He shakes his head, for a moment he'd forgotten that she wouldn't know what that is.

"They're antique statues made of crystal, usually depicting well-built and entirely nude males."

"So..." she supplies, "kind of like a Greek statue?"

Changkyun searches her mind for a moment and then concurs with a smile.

"Yeah, almost exactly like that. Different material though, for sure."

She leans to the side and peers around the blonde to look at the male he'd identified as Wonho.

"Yeah, " she concedes, "I can definitely see the resemblance."

And she really can. He looks like an honest to goodness Adonis, complete with bulging muscles and a youthfully gorgeous face.

Turning her attention back to the map before her, she concentrates. It takes her a moment of fiddling to discover how to zoom in and move the display about, but once she figures it out she marvels at how intuitive it is.

"This here is the planet we're supposed to go to, " Changkyun tells her, pointing towards a beige and orange swirled planet that she immediately recognizes as Jupiter. "Problem is, I have no idea where it is since the coordinates are off. We tried."

"You want to go to Jupiter, " she divulges. "That's easy enough. I can easily get you there, though I'll have to stop by my apartment and grab my own charts. Out of curiosity though, what is it that you expect to find there?"

Changkyun shrugs.

"To be honest, I have no idea. The map's text talks about a facility of some sort, and Shownu thought that maybe we could find a few missing pieces of the map there. Especially if Minhyuk's right and the chunks missing are due to data corruption. But, really, anything is on the table."

Tori nods, mind elsewhere as she gives his response some serious thought.

"You know, we haven't managed to thoroughly study Jupiter as of yet, " she declares introspectively, "but we have at least seen the surface, and I can't say we've ever noticed anything. Well, aside from the big red spot anyway."

"The red spot?"

The sudden addition of another voice startles Tori, who subconsciously jumps in her seat.

"This is Shownu, " Changkyun introduces, "the captain I was telling you about."

Tori turns around to face yet another well-built man with grey hair and a rather intimidating aura. There is a small frown upon his lips, and his electric, burgundy eyes are narrowed in anger.

"You brought a native onto my ship without asking me?"

Changkyun nods. "I did."

"Are you going to tell me why?"

The blonde smiles, amused by his captain's gruff demeanor. The man can pretend that he's the strong silent type all he wants to, but Changkyun knows that he's really just a big softie.

"She might be able to help us out with the map."

"And if she can't?" Shownu challenges. "What then? You brought her on board and revealed us all. What if, even if she can help, she doesn't want to? How are we supposed to deal with that?"

"Relax grandpa, " Changkyun retorts, "she definitely wants to. Don't you?"

He turns to Tori, fixing her with an inquisitive stare as he awaits her answer.

"I do, " she replies. "If my help is welcomed that is. There seem to be conflicting opinions on whether or not I should be here."

The grey-haired male fixes her with an intense kind of stare, almost as if he were attempting to figure out exactly what makes her tick.

"And you think you can do the job? Be a navigator?" He questions solemnly.

"I'm confident that I can," Tori returns softly, looking directly into his eyes as she speaks.

Her father had always told her that the key to appearing confident is to maintain eye contact, and she sincerely hopes that he was right.

"You realize that there won't be any turning back once we leave this planet, right?" Shownu presses. "I'm not going to turn around and drop you off after we visit this... Jupiter. If you sign on as the ship's navigator, it will be for the entirety of the expedition. There's no telling where it could take us either, so by the time we're done-"

"There won't really be a place for me here on my own planet anymore, " she interrupts. "I know. Though humanity hasn't invented actual lightspeed travel yet, those of us who study space recognize the potential time distortions involved with traveling the universe."

The man seems taken aback for a moment, the impassive mask upon his face melting to give way to an almost blank, surprised look.

"Well then, " he speaks, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, "welcome aboard. We leave in twenty for hours, so if there's anything you need to do beforehand, it'd be best to get it taken care of soon."

Tori's lips erupt into a full-on smile, heart racing as she allows the reality of the situation to wash upon her. She's going to get to do something that no human has ever done before, and to say that she's thrilled is a bit of an understatement.

As Shownu walks away, disappearing behind yet another door that appears from seemingly nowhere, Changkyun fixes her with a welcoming grin.

"Welcome to the team, " he says cheerfully. "I look forward to working with you."

He extends a pale hand towards her, and she grasps it firmly. They shake, each grinning widely. Then, together they stand, and as they do the sound of Jooheon's voice cuts through the air with a shrill whine.

"I'm so hungry!" He complains, coming into view from a small hallway just behind the kitchen. "When are we finally gonna eat?"