Ruby stood there on the main level of Shuttlebay One, the primary shuttlebay of the ship. The last time Ruby saw himself here, was when they had to evacuate the ship to a crystalline like planet, that later tried to destroy the ship and attack the crew. Now, he was here, at one of the shuttle elevators, the port side one, as the Type-17 Cargo Shuttle rose up from the parking bay on deck ten. The parking bay’s ceiling was the ceiling of deck nine, so it was a rather large bay that gave the shuttle staff plenty of room to move crafts around and conduct maintenance.

This time, Ruby was not here to prepare the shuttle for evacuation. But he was here to prepare a shuttle for a mission. He had to make sure the all-terrain vehicle inside the shuttle was ready, and ensure that all systems were functional. As the pilot, it was his duty, so his system checks were not whether the maintenance crew did their job or not. It was simply protocol.

“Are you excited as much as I am?” Mizu’s voice rang in his head, which drew him out of his thoughts.

Ruby turned his head to look at her, who stood there by his side. He smiled. “To actually do something that doesn’t involve us running for our lives or anything of the sort?”

Mizu laughed. “Careful what you say, Ruby. Might jinx us.”

Ruby rolled his eyes and looked back towards the shuttle as the lift completed its journey. “Today, Mizu, I do not believe in superstition right now.” He said as he stepped towards the craft’s starboard hatch, where he tapped in the release/open button.

“Either way,” Mizu continued. “You’re responsible in making sure we make it down to the ruins and bringing us back to the ship safely. Think you can do that, before the storm hits us?”

What Mizu said had Ruby think back to the mission brief that their Second in Command gave them. Riov was their team leader, and he had chosen him, Mizu, Elidia and K’Roll to be on this mission. Bazial had wished to join them but Riov was in charge and chosen not to take Bazial with them. Something to do with, not needing too many of the senior staff on a planet that could potentially put their lives at risk. This may have something to do with some crews consistently placing multiple senior staff members in harms way on away team missions. Or the fact that it was just protocol, one that a lot seem to ignore.

Ruby stepped inside the shuttle and proceeded to the pilot chair, where out of the corner of his eye, saw Mizu take the co-pilot seat. He began to follow the standard start up sequence with her and once they cleared the checklist, he could safely say that the craft was safe to fly for this mission. “Let’s go check on the all-terrain vehicle.” He said as he swiveled the chair around to stand up and proceed towards the rear.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Mizu poked.

Ruby smirked as he opened the door to the rear compartment. “I don’t think I should have to, as you already know that I intend to return us to the ship an hour before the storm hits.” It was per Riov’s plan of action for this mission. Depart from the Sovereign as soon as they enter orbit of the planet, and proceed to the surface. Mizu is to run as many scans as she can with the shuttle’s equipment before Ruby lands on the designated landing zone. Then they were to depart the shuttle, scan the ruins around them, while Riov and Elidia proceed through the temple’s entrance to look for any glyphs that could answer some questions.

They have nearly an entire earth day to do this, per Riov’s calculations. Arrival to the landing zone would take roughly fifteen to thirty minutes, and then they have roughly sixteen hours to take as many samples and scans as they can. After the sixteen hours, they must return to the shuttle and depart within a fifteen minute window, and proceed back to the ship before the storm hits. From what they could get from the probe, this storm is most violent. Even though the storm itself moved at its own pace, the gusts of winds inside were terrifying, combined with the sand that it picks up, it would surely rip the uniform and flesh off of their bones if they were caught in it. The hull of the shuttle would be safe, and the shields were extra protection in that regard but the other issue was the violent, relentless bolts of lightning that scatter all over the entirety of the storm. Probe’s sensors indicated that they were powerful enough to knock out a shuttle’s shields and cause serious damage.

Simply put: They cannot get caught inside the storm, whether outside or inside the shuttle.

“What would we be needing this vehicle again?” Mizu asked, as she climbed into the passenger seat.

Ruby climbed into the driver seat and pressed the button to start it up. “Recent scans from the probe showed that there was something else near the ruins. Riov still wants us to land at the LZ near the temple, but wants someone to go out and investigate. It’s about a kilometer from the ruins, so this vehicle would be most suitable to reach the point of interest and back to the shuttle.”

Mizu pressed a few buttons, one to open the rear hatch of the shuttle and one to release the clamps on all four wheels. “I guess me and K’Roll get that honor then, while you’re stuck taking samples near the shuttle.”

Ruby backed the vehicle out once the hatch was fully open and then began to drive it around the bay, mainly stayed near the cargo shuttle, to avoid running into or running over personnel on deck. “Vehicle seems to run just fine.” He said as he brought it back to the rear of the cargo shuttle. “I prefer to be near the shuttle anyways. If I am to be the pilot on this mission, then I don’t think it be smart for me to be a kilometer away from it if an emergency arises.”

Mizu shook her head. “There you go again, jinxing us.”

Ruby chuckled as he slowly drove the vehicle back inside the rear compartment of the shuttle, where the magnetic clamps automatically locked onto the four wheels. He then shut off the engine before he climbed out of the vehicle. “I am just being optimistic about this.” He told her as he left the cargo shuttle from the rear hatch that he had yet to close.

Mizu stepped out after him, where she then hit the button on the side that made the rear hatch begin to close. “More like pessimistic, Ruby.”

Ruby threw up his hands with a shrug of his shoulders. “What can I say? After all the crap we’ve been through, I would rather be prepared than be sorry.”

“But at least try to have fun!” Mizu exclaimed to him and playfully slugged his arm.

Ruby laughed and returned the same back to Mizu. “I am having fun! And I will! I have not been any more excited for a mission like this in a long time! Just glad that Riov saw something in the four of us.”

Mizu rolled her eyes. “We’re junior officers with experience of adventure. I think he would rather have us, than any greenhorns tripping over their own feet.”

“Or,” Ruby raised his brows at the realization. “Any well seasoned officers that might try to make too many suggestions to Riov’s plans.”

Mizu sighed as she stared at the cargo shuttle for a second then quickly smacked the back of Ruby’s shoulder. “C’mon. There’s literally four lounges on this deck, I’m starving.”

Ruby frowned as he chased after her. “Those are the enlisted lounge, Mizu! The turbolift is right here!”

“Don’t care!” Mizu said over her shoulder. “I’m not taking no turbolift to go to deck four to a lounge designated to junior officers. Besides! I got some wild stories to tell to the enlisted.” She looked over her shoulder at him with a wild grin on her face. “Now I just got to pick which one I want to crash….”

“Dammit, Mizu!” Ruby followed right behind her, where he was surely going to regret this interaction with the crew.