Large. Blue. Filled with a patchwork of green.
"Kind of reminds you of home. Don't it, cuz?" The voice cracked through the ships communications relay. Slightly graining from the distance, and from the lack of care put into upkeep. A good smack normally gets the speaker working just fine. "Really takes me back."
Looking at the slow approaching planet from space, aside from the landmass formation, it almost seemed like an exact replica of Earth. Clouds swirled above what could only be beautiful dancing water. The biggest difference though, was that a large portion of land covered Earth's surface, this planet had only a handful of islands. Some large, most small.
"Hello?" The voice said. "Earth to Stitch. You in there?"
"Don't call me 'Stitch,' Reuben. It's 'six-two-six.'" The reply was harsh, anger filling the words. Six-two-six sighed before letting Reuben's image pop up on the display in front of him. Somehow, his tan yellow fur lost its sheen, making him look much more tired than he was. "And I don't have a home, remember?"
"Right, right, right. Sorry, Captain." Reuben wasn't happy with his response, but kept his lips sealed. "I was just thinking-"
"That's enough you two." Angel's image appeared beside Reuben's. "Should we get down to the mission?"
Time and time again Angel had to keep the two from arguing. Most of the time, she felt more like a mother than a cousin or partner. Even so, she still held the same amount of hope that things would get better that she did when six-two-six first approached her with the offer to be third in command of his ship.
Reuben wasn't as willing as Angel was. Being his best friend's right-hand man ever since the Leroy battle, he enjoyed his life. For once, not everything was about sandwiches. But eventually he was worn down, and Angel convinced him that it would be for the best if he joined.
"I already know the mission." Six-two-six said.
"See, hot cakes?" Reuben laughed. "He knows the mission, giving us plenty of time to-"
"Enough." Angel interrupted again.
"But I was just going to say-"
"Enough."
As interesting as it was watching the two argue back and forth, it was starting to get on six-two-six's nerves. "If it'll make you feel better, Angel. Please go over the debriefing again."
"Thank you." Angel flashed a happy smile. The one that always managed to make everything seem like it would be alright. "I know you already know, but Tarnet Magmora has recently gone on an arson rampage."
As she spoke, a third image appeared above the two experiments. A humanoid like alien with muddy brown skin and deep dark pools for eyes appeared. Glowing red veins pulsating just below his skin. Originating from a poor planet of only rock and lava, he turned to a life of crime like so many others from the outer rim of the United Galactic Federation. With 'setting fire to everything he touches' as a calling card, Tarnet quickly gained a name for himself in the black market and on the UGF's most wanted list ten years back.
"Normally, we wouldn't be dealing with something like this." Angel continued to explain. "But since there are no reports of any thefts, the Grand Councilwoman finds his actions rather suspicious."
"Which means her lap dogs go rushing in." Reuben added.
"Basically yes." There was a pause as Angel quickly looked over he notes. "The trail leads us right to this planet. Unfortunately, there is no information on it. All we know, is that they were contacted over one hundred years ago by the United Galactic Federation, but ultimately decided to stay separate. As per their wishes, no outsider has stepped foot on their land since."
"Until now." Six-two-six reminded her.
"Yes. Until now. You're well aware of this, but since we can't legally be there, this mission is top secret. Sti… six-two-six, you will be entering on your own. Be careful. The planet appears to be mostly water. Your communicator should still reach us, and just in case a universal translator has been added to your jumpsuit. Of course, we don't know what language they speak down there, so it may prove to be useless."
"It doesn't matter." Six-two-six began pressing buttons within his cockpit. It was almost time to begin the mission, and he was eager to break contact from Rueben and Angel to get some time to think to himself. "I don't really plan on talking to anyone down there. I just need to capture Tarnet and get out right?"
"Right." Reuben said with a grin. "But while you're down there, maybe you can catch a couple of waves? Like old times."
Six-two-six immediately disabled communications. If his crew mates wanted to get in touch with him, they would have to wait until he decided it was okay.
Back at the command ship, Angel spun around in her chair to face Rueben.
"What was that?!" She shouted.
"What?" Rueben asked. He turned to face her, his grin fading as he saw the anger in her eyes. "Looky here. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing."
"You're supposed to be helping him."
"Exactly! Look at this planet. It might as well be Earth. What better opportunity to finally make him think and talk about home."
"Maybe so. But you can't push him. And calling him 'Stitch' was…"
Now Reuben let the anger get the best of him. He exploded from his seat, leaving it to spin around in circles. As he stomped over to the pink furred angel, he rolled up the sleeves on his uniform. "That's his name, sister. He is 'Stitch.' Since I was activated I never knew him as 'six-two-six.'" He said the names in a mocking voice. "It's been far too long. He needs to grow up and deal with what happened. I didn't leave my life behind just so I could watch him waste away like this."
Angel knew he was right. She tried to say something, but was unable to. She too couldn't stand watching the one she loved waste away into nothing.
"But we have to wait until he's ready." She said in defeat.
"It's been twenty years, Angel." Reuben said in barely a whisper. "When is he ever going to be 'ready?'"
\\\
Back in his ship, Six-two-six watched as the planet slowly drew closer. Memories had already started flooding back to him before Rueben even mentioned it. Of course he could tell it looked like Earth, he wasn't blind. But it only made him feel worse.
"Let's try not to crash like last time." He told himself.
Activating the cloaking on his ship he began to enter the atmosphere. They could speculate what the planet would be like all the wanted. It was now time to truly find out what this mysterious planet had to offer.
After a few short minutes of fighting the planet's gravitation pull, six-two-six was gently coasting in the skies just below the clouds. His heart nearly stopped at the sight before him. A never ending ocean stretched out as far as the eye could see. If he hadn't seen them from above, he wouldn't even believe that any islands even existed on the planet.
"Computer." He said in a monotone voice. "Locate 'Tarnet Magmora.'"
"At once, Captain Stitch." The computerized voice replied.
Six-two-six grimaced at his name. He made a mental note to make sure and change it once the mission was over. For now, he had a job to do, and it didn't take long for the tracking device to locate the outlaw.
Finally reaching what appeared to be the largest island on the planet, he set the scanner to do a more thorough sweep of the area. The faster he could locate the target, the faster he could get off of the island. There was no telling what his and Tarnet's presence might do, as there was no way of knowing how the citizens would react to them. It had been few centuries since the United Galactic Federation had first contacted them. It was entirely possible that the knowledge that live existed outside of their planet had been completely lost.
"Where are you?" He asked, directing his eyes to the scanner.
The island below him was magnificent. In a lot of ways it reminded him of Kaua'i. In a lot of ways, it wasn't. While filled with trees, they were unlike any he had seen before. They all swayed in harmony with the wind, it almost appeared as if they were actually moving. Tall branches that reached the sky, and all the slithering roots clear on the surface.
Small cities were plotted all over. Bustling with people going every which way. Humanoid aliens with sea foam blue skin and dark kelp green hair. The clothing, while a different style, still seemed to range among citizens. Dresses, pants, shirts, formal wear. There was far more diversity amongst the planet's people when it came to fashion. Though, Six-two-six didn't know if this was the planet in general, or just this one town.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded within the small ship, but it was too late. A large ball of fire filled the windshield, approaching too fast to dodge. Spinning the ship around, Six-two-six was able to control the damage his ship took, but still lost power to the engines. Cloaking dropped, he and his ship fell from the sky.
Emerging from his wreckage, Six-two-six coughed, trying to get the black smoke out of his lungs. His vision had gone blurry from the heat and the crash. Everything around him seemed to grow darker. Thankfully, his fireproof suit, fur, and skin kept him from being hurt, and he was still able bodied enough to extinguish the flames before he lost his entire set of resources and supplies. Once his task was finished, he still was having trouble seeing. Something had drained his energy, taking his mind back to a time he was surrounded by heat and red before.
Shaking the image from his head, he looked around at the sound of a branch cracking. A tall figure stood at the end of the wreckage, and Six-two-six went into a battle stance. Sadly, his body had taken too much, and he fell over with a soft thud. The tall figure slowly made its way over to him. All he saw before he blacked out, was a sickening smile, and glowing red veins.
\\\
With the sound of a large crash off in the distance, Lilac made a break for it.
Dashing out from behind a tree, she ran as fast as her short legs could carry her. She didn't know why the sound made her run, but once she was out in the open it was too late to go back. The bushes rushed up to her quickly, and she dove once she thought she had heard something behind her. Taking a chance, she popped her head out and looked back at her house. There was no one to be seen. With a sigh of relief she let herself catch her breath for a moment.
Her heart beat with worry and excitement. She had never been so far away from home before. Now, looking at the large house on the edge of the cliff, she wondered if she was actually going to go through with this.
"Father will kill me." She said to herself. A bead of sweat rolling down her brow. There was plenty of reasons to run back, pretend like she hadn't tried to escape. That wasn't an option though. "Who cares?"
With that, she turned towards the dense forest and ran. She didn't know where she was going or how she was going to get there. It didn't matter to her though. All that mattered was that she was finally free. Free to do what she wanted, when she wanted. For the first time in her short life, she didn't have anyone to tell her what to do.
And she was going to keep it that way.