USF Progenitor & Crew: Adventures in Cosmos 01

AoT1P: [#60] Hitting & Missing

"F$ck it's freezing here, now. What happened to f$cking thermostat?" Alec complained then asked.
"It's going to be a lot colder now as preparation for our next mission. Good news is, we're here!" Ka'eo stated.
"And already b$tching," Peter joked, laughing.
Max grumbled jokingly, "Umm, I don't see... the f$cking... planet! All I see... is space!" He broke into a cackle. "And a black guy!"
The crew laughed at Max's jab, indirectly acknowledging Ka'eo. Ka'eo smiled wide at everyone, looking at them like they were being "so adorable."

Nina interrupted the conversation: Our ship is now boarding more passengers. Prepare warmly for their arrival. Thank you!

"F$$$ck them!" Ka'eo joked.
Peter tagged along, cackling, "Who the f$ck cares?"
"Shut that dog up!" Max quoted from an old inside joke.
The crew was laughing heartily.
Max quoted, "Mars is f$cked up place!"
"Yeah! It sure is!" Ka'eo said, knowing what happened at Mars within 10 ECY ago.
Alec played along, "We're freezing our a$$es off in this cold a$$ b$tch a$$ ship? And Nina is inviting more people aboard?"
Stavros said, "Wait, isn't that a good thing?"
"Yeah! Then we can live inside of their carcasses for warmth!" Mana joked.
Alec chuckled and said, "Now that's f$cked up."
"Do you guys want to go and see who it is?" Peter asked.
"I thought we don't f$cking care," Ka'eo reminded.
"Yeah!" Max mobbed jokingly. "We don't! F$cking! Care! About these b$tches! Alright?!"
Peter went aaahd! Then he, Mana, and Max laughed.
Ka'eo suggested, "Well? Let's go see who is truly on the roster!"
"You mean you can't check it before they board?" Alec asked.
Kanoa smiled and said, "That might've been smarter. I'm with Alec on that one."
"Yeah, we don't know who they are, just that they're boarding the ship," Peter joked intensely.
Mana said, "The USF will hire anyone. Don't you f$cking see?!... who we are?!"
Most of the crew laughed.
Alec said, "I honestly want to see who is boarding the ship. I am not down for pirates."
Kanoa agreed with a quick nod. He said, "Yeah, I'm with Alec. We should go see."
Kanoa grabbed his pack and walked out of the recreational area with Alec and Max following close behind.
Peter stretched and yawned, looking at Stavros and Ka'eo. He asked, "Well, are we going?"
"Yeah, let's go," Mana nudged along.
Ka'eo, Peter, Mana, and Stavros followed after Max who could still be heard walking loudly down the corridor.
Max was able to pay for a new age surgery backed by USF official studies that repaired the hearing and tinnitus problem in his ears. After that, Max was convinced that his tensions and personal problems with everyone else, including friends from childhood and high school, was a subliminal creation. The tinnitus divided him from everyone else, nearly trapping him into controlled isolation, a choice of his own. He made his mistakes and had to make up for it all, but ever since the successful operation on his ears, he was so energized that he was able to work harder than ever for the people who he relearned trust with, namely Ka'eo, Peter, Mana, and Stavros in his current situation.
"Hey guys? Hey guys? Where are we going, guys?" Max asked jokingly with a nasal tone.
"F$ck!" Stavros yelled out in excitement, startling Peter and Ka'eo into laughing as they kept walking down the corridor. Mana lagged behind, acting as a rear guard, unsure of who was actually boarding and how many personnel there were.
When everyone got to the level of the ship where the storage depots, access lifts, and emergency airlock entrances were, they looked at the people who were walking out from the connected shuttle vessel. They were all humanoid and most of them seemed familiar from a distance. If any of them weren't familiar with Ka'eo, that was usually the problem or the beginning of drama and problems, for whatever reason.
Max and Kanoa stood up front with Alec while Ka'eo, Peter, Mana, and Stavros stood in a very equally distanced square formation. They looked on at the grouping of space suits walking in and waving at them. They all waved at each other, except for Stavros.
Peter whispered to Ka'eo, "What if they f$cking pulled guns out and started blasting at us? What would you do?"