USF Progenitor & Crew: Adventures in Cosmos 01

AoT1P: [#56] Nothin' But Some Space Gangstas

"Are we all here, now?" Ka'eo asked the group of men, swiping the pockets of his space suit and checking his vest for all of his equipment.
Mana replied slowly, "Yeeeaah."
"What's the issue?" Ka'eo asked. Everyone fell silent for a moment, wondering what Ka'eo was on about.
Mana answered, "No, nothing. I'm... f$cking... tired... and hungry."
"I thought you were sleeping and eating properly. All of you are supposed to be rested up! What's going on? Status check, guys!" Ka'eo exclaimed passionately.
"Woah, no, yeah, we're all good," Max stated.
Peter reassured, "Yeah, man, we're all good. Mana, what's the problem with you?"
Mana hated receiving the spotlight for his issues, but he felt he was secure enough to tell them. "I've been having some nightmares about all this. Like. Are we sure we are ready to land on another planet? Space station is one thing..." Mana explained in low energy.
"Mana, we're--" Peter began.
"We're going to be fine," Max interjected. "As long as we all know what we're doing. We are going to be just fine."
"Yeah. I would say something like that, but I had some nightmares, too," Stavros admitted stoically.
"Anyone else?" Ka'eo asked the group.
"No, I haven't," Alec stated.
Kanoa said, "I haven't been having nightmares, but I've been having weird visions about... veering off course into some weird place because someone suggests splitting up, and then half of the group goes missing."
"Wow, Kanoa," Alec declared, discouraged by the idea.
"Well, no, we're not going to split up," Peter rasped with a chuckle.
"Yeah, we wouldn't do thaaat. That's a stupid idea," Stavros said.
"When are we meeting up with the other crew?" Peter asked Ka'eo, refocusing everyone on the tasks at hand.
"Yeah, that's what I want to know. Is Veno already there?" Alec inquired steadily.
"And Caleb?" Peter added, scoffing slightly with a light laugh.
Ka'eo paused to think. He wasn't sure why they didn't go through the briefing process with him, so he figured they could all go up to the bridge together and listen to the command order. Ka'eo assumed they would trust in the process, with him at the helm of the mission, though he realized they would feel more comfortable knowing the details of the mission from command higher up.
Ka'eo told the group, "Okay, here's what we're going to do--"
"We're going to listen to Kay'ayo and everything he has to say," Alec stated with a fun cadence, like he normally would.
Peter added jokingly, "Ha ha. Yeah, we're going to listen, and then we're going to kill ourselves." He cackled loudly and looked toward Mana. Mana, Kanoa, and Max joined in the laughter.
"Kay'ayo, how does command know to pair all of us up?" Alec asked, lighting himself up a cigarette.
Peter winced at Alec's actions, hating the smell of cigarette smoke. Not wanting to be in the pathway of second hand smoke, he moved away from the group. Stavros followed suit, also hating the scent of tobacco products.
"Why do you have to light up a cigarette?" Stavros asked. Alec chuckled at Stavros and Peter. He thought of them as being too square for his style, not caring all that much.
Alec said, "Well, d$mn, guys! If you're gonna be like that!" Then he took in a good drag from the cigarette, blowing the smoke away from everyone.
Kanoa was chuckling, his eyes looking back and forth between everyone's faces, noticing the subtle nuances. It reminded him of an old TV show called The Office.
"Yeah, and now look! The whole room is gonna be filled with smoke!" Peter yelled, truly displeased. Mana laughed at Peter's complaining.
Max mocked in jest, "The whole room is gonna be filled with smoke!" He then bocked out a good laugh.

Ka'eo was still considering whether or not there would be a payoff from diverting their attention towards the command bridge. Instead of playing Captain Borges's detailed synopsis, he gave them a full briefing in the commons area in his own words.

Ka'eo gathered their attention then told them, "Alright, guys, so... Captain Borges gave me the rundown on the planet, the mission, equipment, the plans, routes, and all the personnel involved on the roster. We're going to be headed to that ice planet, named McKalla T-Rover Ice Station-."
Ka'eo waited to see their reactions. He noted that the silence and the look of surprise and complete displeasure from the original crew that went to MacKalla asteroid was priceless. He told them, "Guys, I'm joking. We're nowhere near there."