The flight from Amaranthia Prime to Discovery was short and didn’t give Octavia much to reflect on - it had been several weeks of mindless puttering on a Federation cruiser that left her grateful for the opportunity to head ground side. While she had done her best to put herself to use, it was a Federation cruiser, and Octavia was not a member of the Federation Navy. As much as she had tried to help, she more often than not was left to her own devices either within her room or within the public areas of the ship. Needless to say, it had been a dull journey.

However, as the Longsword rattled dangerously as it transitioned from space to atmosphere, Octavia couldn’t help but wish she were back in her boring room aboard the cruiser as several loose parts began clattering around within the ship’s hull. An insistent creaking along the roof of the crew bay made Octavia grip the edge of her crash seat so tightly that her knuckles turned white beneath her sandy fur, her jaw tensed and eyes wide behind the visor of her helmet as she glanced around the rickety ship. She wouldn’t be surprised if the entire ship fell apart through turbulence alone, but somehow it held out long enough for the transition to level out into a smoother flight within the atmosphere proper.

Allowing her grip to relax, Octavia let out a breath she had been holding since the turbulence began and decompressed, her muscles visibly relaxing as her posture slumped into one of relief.

“That get your blood pumping or what?” Jace barked with an uproar of laughter, pointing at Octavia with an ear-to-ear grin from the comfort of his turret seat, “Look! Foxy looks like she’s gonna puke!”

“Not a fox,” Octavia corrected automatically, one of her ears flicking in irritation within the confines of her helmet, “And I’m fine - just pretty sure those sounds aren’t normal,” she pointed out, gesturing to the ceiling where the ominous creaking was still emanating from.

“Oh, don’t mind Ricky, he’s just been through the wringer a few times!” Alex reassured with a dismissive wave of her hand, “Eight times, actually! Scrapped and rebuilt near-on from the ground up!”

“You’ve recycled this thing eight times?” Octavia asked in shock, her voice jumping an octave as the anxiety gnawing at her gut suddenly doubled, “Why the hell are you still flying it?”

“Federation doesn’t have the luxury of ‘new ships’ - pretty well every ship in service has been repaired and refitted at least once. I suppose the only exceptions’d be the Manifest Destiny and the Valiant; flagship and her escort,” Alex explained, rotating her turret seat so she could reach the wall where she placed her metal hand with an adoring expression, “Besides! I wouldn’t trade ol’ Ricky here for any of the newfangled ships anyways! He’s an ol’ softy but he kicks like a mule when it matters.”

“Is she even saying words right now?” Vita asked with a dumbfounded tone.

“Words, yes. Do they mean anything? Debatable,” Octavia muttered, her voice muted within the confines of her helmet. Vita gave a short bark of laughter at the remark before Octavia spoke up to be heard through her helmet once again, “So I’m guessing you’re the mechanic of this ship?”

“Was it the engine grease that gave it away?” Alex asked with a short bark of laughter before giving an energetic nod, “Yeah, that’s me alright! Signed up for the Minutemen when the Omni took Verity-IV, did basic at the Bastion, showed off my skills with a wrench, then got slapped with ol’ Ricky here after crash number five. Took a lot of blood, sweat, and elbow grease to get him flying again after that one, lemme tell you!”

“And what about you?” Octavia prompted, turning her helmeted head towards Jace, “What do you do? Where are you from?”

“Oh no, I ain’t giving you my life story, foxy,” Jace remarked, pointing a finger at her with a sickly grin, “All you gotta know is I got here at the same time as ironhand over there, and I know my way around things that explode,” he remarked as he lowered his hand and reclined in his turret seat, crossing one leg over the opposite knee as he did.

“Amaranthians are not foxes,” Octavia corrected with an annoyed edge to her voice, her tail flicking in frustration for a moment before she let out a sigh, mentally punching herself for giving Jace the satisfaction. She turned her head towards the center of the crew bay where Zuur was curled up like an oversized feline, apparently already asleep despite the short ride from the Scales of Justice to the colony below, “And what about him?”

“It,” Alex corrected with a shake of her head, “Xaxar don’t recognize gender,” she explained as an aside before giving a shrug as her tone shifted, “And I honestly don’t rightly know. Xaxar homeworld got crushed by the Omni before anyone in the Federation even saw one of those murder bots. They’ve got more of a reason to hate the Omni than any of us - and Zuur here isn’t one for conversation.”

“Nor would you be in its circumstance, Minuteman Jones,” Lieutenant B’roka remarked as his enormous form descended the stairs from the cockpit into the crew bay, one of his arms raised to grip the edge of an overhead compartment for support as he surveyed the assembled crew with his featureless visage, “We will be landing at the colony shortly. Ensure your gear is packed and ready for deployment - the colony is still active, but they’ve been on the receiving end of guerilla warfare for several weeks. The locals will be jumpy, so everyone keep your hands to yourselves and don’t cause any trouble. It would be bad for my reputation if Minuteman Kelly caused an international incident,” he remarked, the stoic edge of his voice lifting as he teased Jace with a glance in his direction.

“Oh, come on boss, you know me better than that! I won’t go around pulling any more tails, I swear I learned my lesson the first time!” Jace remarked playfully, raising his hands in mock surrender with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“You never learn your lesson, Jace,” Alex retorted with an amused scoff as she unbuckled herself from the turret seat and reached into the overhead compartment where she gripped a raggedy old field bag and slung it over her shoulder, gripping onto the strap with one hand as the ship began to slow on its descent.

“Did you actually pull someone’s tail?” Octavia asked in disbelief, following Alex as she unbuckled herself and stood up, steadying herself with a hand on the edge of the overhead compartment.

“Yes, yes I did,” Jace remarked proudly as he raised off of his seat and slung a duffel bag over his shoulder, shooting Octavia a grin as he did, “Totally worth three missing teeth!”

“Touching down, hold on!” Mackenzie suddenly called out from the raised cockpit as the ship lurched slightly, causing Octavia to grip tighter on the ledge as she stumbled briefly. The ship groaned and creaked, metal complaining against gravity as the structure bent and buckled under the changing forces. Just when Octavia thought the ship would snap in half it lurched once more and suddenly quieted as the engines entered their shutdown sequence and the ship came to a halt on its wheels.

“Another happy landing!” Alex cheered, raising her metal fist in the air with a wild grin before she circled over to the side door closest to her and keyed it open. With a metallic hiss and a faint pop from within, the door slid backwards revealing the prefabricated landing pad they had settled on.

Octavia was next off the ship, hastily slipping out onto the metal pad as she stretched on solid ground, taking a moment to look around the area. Discovery was almost entirely a forest, stretching from coast to coast with dense trees and plentiful wildlife - though Octavia had seen trees often enough in the vibrant digitecture of Amaranthia Prime, she had never seen an actual tree before, and the sight of a wall of green and brown surrounding the small city gave her pause as she took in the sight with awe. With a thought the filters of her helmet opened, allowing the fresh planetary air to flood her senses, the sudden earthy smell of trees and soil sending an energetic spike through her spine.

“Damn, I haven’t seen this much green since Atrox,” Jace commented as he stepped onto the metal platform, looking around with squinted eyes as he adjusted to the light of the twin suns overhead, “What’re the odds the clankers are hiding out in the woods, boss?”

“Very likely, Minuteman Kelly,” Lieutenant B’roka replied as he disembarked the ship, stepping out into the bright daylight, “They may also be somewhere along the waterfront, or hiding within the mountains to the north.”

“Waterfront?” Octavia asked, her ears perking straight up within the confines of her helmet. She swiftly turned around with a curious gaze, peering in the opposite direction from the city proper, and there she saw it; a vast, dark blue ocean, light from the twin suns reflecting off of the waves as they broke against rocky cliff faces and woody banks. Lost in her thoughts, Octavia rounded the Longsword with purpose, coming to a stop at the edge of the landing pad as she gazed out at the ocean in front of her with wide eyes.

“What’s she doing?” Jace asked with a scoff, shaking his head as she watched Octavia walk off.

“Guardian Tiberius?” Lieutenant B’roka called out with a curious grate in his tone.

Octavia remained silent as she stared at the ocean in awe. Even with the filters open in her helmet, she wasn’t quite satisfied - she reached up with both of her hands and pulled the helmet off, freeing her head from the metal confines as a wave of relief washed over her. The cool air rushed through her coarse fur, cooling off her skin as the earthy scent of the woods mixed with the salt off of the ocean, flooding her senses. A grin cracked across her features as she trailed her eyes across the horizon, looking at a real ocean for the first time.

“Digiculture doesn’t really compare to the real thing, does it?” Vita mused in awe.

One of Octavia’s ears twitched backward as she heard the approach of one of the crewmates, but she didn’t turn her head, far too enamored with the sight in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mackenzie come to a stop beside her with her arms crossed, looking out over the ocean with her.

“Lemme guess, kid - first time seeing an ocean in person?” Mackenzie asked with a knowing tone, a smirk edging at the corners of her lips as she looked from the ocean to Octavia.

“You guess correctly,” Octavia replied, glancing at Mackenzie with an excited expression.

“Must be weird growing up somewhere that has no bodies of water,” Mackenzie replied with a small nod, her gaze turning out towards the ocean, “Sometimes I forget that sights like these aren’t universal.”

“Hey! We’re not here to sight-see!” Jace yelled across the landing platform at the pair, “Let’s go already! We’ve got some clankers to kill!”

Octavia’s ears twitched in Jace’s direction as her expression soured into one of irritation. She was about to turn around when Mackenzie reached out and grabbed her upper arm, preventing her from leaving. Octavia blinked and looked towards Mackenzie curiously, a brow raised in surprise.

“Don’t mind him, he’s full of shit - enjoy the sights as much as you’d like,” the pilot reassured with a smirk, gesturing with her free hand towards the ocean, “The bots aren’t going anywhere. You’ve got plenty of time.”

“Thanks,” Octavia replied quietly, her cheeks slowly turning red as she faced outwards to the ocean again, “He’s right though, we probably shouldn’t take too long.”

“It’s your first time seeing an ocean, we can take as long as we want,” Mackenzie retorted, her grin widening as she barked a short laugh, “Who knows when you’ll get to see this again? Besides, our last rotation at the Bastion took way too damn long, so I’m happy to stand here and enjoy the scenery as long as we can.”

Touched by the offer, Octavia let out a small sigh as she watched the waves crash along the woody shore below, curiously observing as the townsfolk milled around the waterfront buildings. She could even see a few boats of amaranthian design drifting in the ocean, fishing for enough sustenance to keep the colony alive. At that moment she wondered what it would be like to spend a day fishing on a boat, and she couldn’t help but admire those who got the opportunity to do just that.

As her mind drifted back, she finally let out a sigh and gave a small nod, “We should go,” she decided, turning to offer Mackenzie a smile, “Thank you,” she added quietly, her tail swaying behind her in embarrassment as the colour burned at her cheeks.

“Don’t mention it, cutie,” Mackenzie replied, flashing her a wink as she let go of Octavia’s arm and turned around, strutting off towards the rest of the group to the hollars and jeers coming from Jace.

“Come on, Octy, she’s obviously into you! Say a little bit more than just ‘thank you’, jeez!” Vita exclaimed with an irritated sigh, “And connect to the network already, dammit. It’s cramped in your head.”

Rolling her eyes with a good-natured smirk, she turned around to stride after Mackenzie, slipping her helmet back onto her head as she did. With a metallic whir, the helmet sealed with the rest of the armour, locking her back inside her high-tech suit. As her heads-up display began to populate with information again, she reached through her neurolink and began searching for the local amaranthian network.

It wasn’t difficult to find, and as she caught up with the group she sent off a request to join the network, adding her name and credentials to the request. The readout steadily pinged, waiting for a response as she re-joined the group as they began to make their way down the stairs of the landing pad towards the colony below.

“Did you see enough of the water, foxy?” Jace leered, looking over at Octavia with a raised eyebrow.

“Not a fox,” Octavia snapped back, her tail flicking behind her in irritation, “And yes, I did,” she remarked shortly, keeping her gaze locked forward as they descended into the city streets.

“Don’t be a dick, Jace,” Alex chastised, shaking her head with a dramatic roll of her eyes as they exited the stairs onto the streets.

As they descended the stairs, Octavia blinked and looked around, suddenly noticing something - or, more precisely, a distinct lack of something.

“Hey, Lieutenant?” Octavia asked, “Is Zuur staying on the ship?”

Looking over his shoulder at Octavia, the Lieutenant grunted in response and nodded, “Yes, Guardian Tiberius - Zuur is not terribly comfortable with cities. It will remain on the ship until we have a specific need for it. Do not worry, it is perfectly capable of entertaining itself,” he reassured before turning forward once again, leaving Octavia to wonder about the apex predator still sleeping in the Longsword.

The colony around them was dull; a cityscape of grey made of featureless cement and steel. The architecture was typical of amaranthians; there were no windows, no decorations, no architectural flairs, and everything was constructed in perfectly ninety-degree angles in symmetrical blocks separated by wide streets. Simple colonial vehicles drove themselves around the streets, much like the buildings around them they lacked any flair or windows, resulting in a very functional aesthetic that left much to be desired.

Amaranthians of all shapes and colours walked this way and that along the sidewalks, occasionally disappearing into buildings or vehicles - but as far as Octavia could see, there were no amaranthoids present. She also found it odd that there was no one at the landing pad to greet them - they were left to their own devices as they entered the city streets with no indication of where to go. Looking around with a curious expression, she settled on looking over at the Lieutenant in hopes that he would know what to do.

The Lieutenant however was looking straight at her. Though his face had no expression, she could feel the weight of his expectation as he stood there silently, waiting for her to guide them. Octavia gulped nervously as anxiety began to crawl up her throat, filling her with the overwhelming urge to scream in frustration.

Her anxiety was interrupted as her request to connect to the network was suddenly approved, and in a flash of perception, the dull streets of the amaranthian city were suddenly flooded with colour and life. The population in the streets doubled as brightly coloured holographic amaranthians joined the crowds, their translucent bodies plodding alongside or behind their hosts as they went about their business. The dull grey was replaced with a variety of designs, from elaborate brick houses to a blockhouse made of pink marble displaying enormous banners bearing the sigil of House Tiberius, fluttering in the wind.

Immediately in front of them, a bright green amaranthian was standing with wide eyes and an overjoyed expression, his face mere inches away from Octavia’s. She jumped back in surprise and let out an exclamation, which drew strange looks from her companions as she recovered from her shock.

“You’re Octavia Tiberius!” the bright green hologram exclaimed in awe, leaning in as he looked her up and down, “By the Laws! I’ve never seen an actual Guardian before!” he enthused, his tail wagging behind him in an unfettered display of joy.

“Oh, uh, hi there,” Octavia replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head in a nervous display, “Were you waiting for us?”

“Hey, foxy, who the fuck are you talking to?” Jace asked curiously as he regarded her as if she were crazy.

“Not a fox!” the hologram responded cheerfully.

“Not a fox,” Octavia remarked dryly at the same time. She let out a sigh and gestured to the hologram in front of her, “Someone’s DI is here,” she explained with a glance in Jace’s direction before turning her attention back to the green amaranthian.

“Not just someone’s DI - I’m Arcturus Numerius! My host is Aurelia Numerius, the Duchess of this colony,” he explained with a wide grin, “I’m here to take you to her!”

“Wait, wait, what? Are you talking to ghosts?” Jace asked impatiently, crossing his arms as he faced Octavia with a suspicious expression.

“Not a ghost; DI,” Octavia explained with a faintly irritated tone, “Digital Intelligence. Every amaranthian born in the Empire has one,” she added, pointing to the side of her head where the port to her neurolink resided under her helmet, “They run the computers in our brains.”

“Okay, well why can’t I see anything?” Jace asked mockingly, looking in the direction of Arcturus and waving his hands dramatically, “Nothing here to me!”

“You don’t have a neurolink, so you can’t see amaranthian digitecture,” Octavia explained through a long, annoyed sigh, “Just trust me. His name is Arcturus, he’s the DI of this colony’s Duchess - he’s going to take us to her.”

“Your human isn’t very bright, is he?” Arcturus mused, bringing a hand to his narrow chin as he looked Jace up and down.

Vita gave a bark of laughter as she strode out from behind Octavia, stepping up next to Jace to get a better look at him, “Nope, he’s dumb as a bag of bricks,” she remarked, slinging an arm around Jace’s shoulders playfully, “And he’s about as pretty as a bag of bricks too. I’m planning on using him as a meat shield, to be honest.”

“A remarkable use for him!” Arcturus declared with an excited grin.

Octavia scoffed at the remark and shook her head, thankful that her stupid grin was hidden by her helmet. She gestured with a hand towards Arcturus as she spoke through her laughter, “Alright, let’s get going. Follow us, guys,” she remarked as she began to walk off.

“For the Empress!” Arcturus declared enthusiastically, raising his fist in the air with a bout of laughter as he turned and led the way through the vibrant streets towards the colonial administration building.