"Have a good mission, you lot!" Vienna said as she waved at Squee, Billy, Yikk and Nori. "And be good!"
"We will, Vienna!" Billy exclaimed.
Once the door of the main spaceship of the Skeld closed, Lava, Arnie, Charlie, Navy, Nika, Vienna, Neri, Yuri, Pop, Rice and Choco went back into their living building.
"I wonder why Mack gives us those teeny tiny missions lately" Lava said. "Me, I'm more of a fan of the bigger ones, so it's most likely for the best that I'm not involved in ones like this."
"I wonder how Nori feels" Rice said, "now that he's all alone on a mission without me. I wonder if we both felt different…!"
"Don't twins always feel the same all the time?" Nika asked.
"That's a very good question, but no, the both of us are so much different from each other. For example, he's the quieter guy, and I'm the more talkative person. Oh, and he's also more serious than I am with my consistent puns and jokes."
"Interesting."
"And he's easily frightened, too…! Man, I love scaring him whenever he doesn't expect it!"
"Oh my gosh, Rice, you're a terrible little sibling for scaring your brother like that! Neri never scares me, and neither do we scare Yuri!"
"The dark scares me more than someone does" Neri stated.
Meanwhile, Charlie and Choco had started cleaning the inside of the building here and there.
"They're partners in crime when it comes to keeping the house clean, huh?" Pop said.
"They sure are" Vienna said. "And they seem to somewhat enjoy it as well, which is good, because I'm not quite a fan of it, to be honest."
"Neither am I" Lava said, "that's why I used to have butlers and maids to do it for me and my parents. And they're careful and delicate enough with my room as well, and I approve of that to the fullest."
"I'm the more careful and delicate one" Charlie said. "As for Choco, he's a tad blunt, as he often tends to drop stuff and such."
Choco gave the tomboy a tickle attack for telling stuff about him like that.
"Stop it! Now, you're making me blunt!"
"They could possibly become crushes anytime soon" Rice said, "just imagine…!"
On the main spaceship of the Skeld, Squee got to be the impostor.
"Man, it's suddenly so quiet on this mission" Nori said. "It's obvious that I'm not used to it."
"Hey, neithah awe we" Yikk said as they also pointed at Billy, "even if this be ouh second time, we not be used to it eithah, huh Biwwy?"
"That's right" the yellow crewmate replied. "But it'll probably happen more often, just you wait." They headed for the garbage chute in one of the corners of the cafeteria, while their friend downloaded the data on the computer next to them.
Nori fixed the wires in yet another corner, and it was quite easy for him to do so.
And just as Billy wanted to head for the storage, the alarm went off, as the oxygen of the ship was about to be depleted.
"I'll go to the admin to handle it thewe" Yikk said, "as I have my next task thewe anyway."
"Aight, then I'll do the one at O2."
"I'll come with you, Yikk" Nori said, as he and his fellow crewmate in lime headed for the admin room to enter the code there.
Billy seemingly entered the passcode to stop the alarm at the speed of light, because when the childish youngster and the older twin did, the alarm immediately stopped blaring.
"Phew, that was cwose. Now to upwoad those data I just did…" Yikk headed for the computer near the door to do their next task.
Nori fixed the wires near the door.
"If you're looking for me" he said once he was done, "I'll be doing tasks at the electricity room, alright?"
"Aight, have fun!"
"You, too." The older twin chuckled as he went off.
As soon as Yikk's data were finished uploading, an 'oof'-like exclamation could be heard from the right of the ship.
"Oh me, oh my! Wooks wike this be my next task, wathah then chawting the couwse…" They sped towards the side from which the sound came, and suddenly saw Squee and an unconscious Billy in the O2 room. "Squee!" They said this in a tone as if about to punish them.
The dumb blonde squeaked in fear upon hearing their (nick)name.
"You be way too dumb to be a good impostah…!" The childish youngster grabbed the closest megaphone to report Billy's unconscious body.
Soon, a brief emergency meeting took place.
"Vote me" Squee said. "Pleeeaaase, vote me!" They sounded dramatic and desperate.
"You bet youh sweet butt, Squee" Yikk said. "I saw you wif Biwwy an' you even stayed neah them! Youh knuckles even still be twembwin' wif that stwength o' you…!"
Billy's ghost, who was also at the meeting, 'put' their arms around Yikk's neck in approval and endearment.
"Go, my friend!" they said. "You can do this!"
"And you're definitely sure about this?" Nori asked.
"Suwe am, Nowi."
The three crewmates voted on their pagers, and Squee voted themself, dumb as they were. Next up, the orange crewmate was sent outside of the ship to do some tasks there.
The final results were to be seen on the pagers afterwards.
"You're a good sleuth, Yikk" Nori said, "tattling on that dumb blonde like that." He patted their shoulder and smiled at them. "Now, let's take care of Billy before finishing our tasks, shall we?"
Yikk nodded and hummed in approval, as they and their fellow crewmate headed back to the O2 room to bring Billy from there to the medical bay.
It didn't take long before everyone including Billy's ghost finished all of their tasks. (Yes, even ghosts must keep on working!) As for Squee, they ironically worked quite hard outside of the ship, and yet still felt annoyed at being tattled on as the impostor.
Once the mission was all over, Yikk and Nori headed to the medical bay to tend to Billy, who only just woke up upon their arrival.
"Ugh, my head is still pounding…" the yellow crewmate groaned.
Yikk immediately grabbed a washcloth from the nearby cupboard, soaked it in the sink and put it on the sore spot on Billy's head.
"Thanks, Yikk, you owe me one."
Nori handed a cup of water to the Latinx for them to drink.
"Aw, you guys, you're so kind…!" They wanted to sit up straight, but the older twin put a stop to that.
"You should rest for a bit, Billy, especially now that the ship is slowly heading back to its base." He gasped briefly. "Then we should probably pick Squee back up, too."
Yikk nodded and hummed towards Nori.
"Biwwy, you stay hewe while Nowi an' I get Squee, otay?"
"I will."
The dark blonde youngster gave their friend a quick peck on the cheek before heading for the storage with Nori. Little did the former know that they left their friend blushing quite hard just now…
"Hey, Yikk" Squee said, "you're not the worst fake noodle – I am!" They put a hand onto their friend's shoulder.
"No, no" the childish crewmate said, "you be a ton bettah than I be as an impostah! You no thwow tantwums, I do!"
"Yeah, that's right, but that's just the typical me who doesn't get angry that easily." The dumb blonde shuffled their cheek against their friend's in a friendly fashion. "You want a tangerine?"
"Suwe, why not?"
The two friends were left eating at the dining table for a little longer than the rest of the crewmates.
"How was your mission anyway?" Arnie asked. "Kind of rude of me for not asking that sooner."
"Easy peasy lemon squeezy" Billy replied. "Squee knocked me out cold but Yikk was very quick to discover that." They sighed with a smile and a slight blush. "They're the best problem sleuth ever…"
"Oooh" Choco said, "looks like someone's in love…!"
"What? No, I'm not! We're just friends!"
"We could be best fwiends, Biwwy" Yikk said, "an' then we'll see how the west will go, huh?"
"Not a bad idea. Alright, hereby." The two crewmates shook hands with a big smile.
"Hey, Rice" Nori said. "The mission without you? A tad unusual, but still cool and worth it."
"We'll eventually get used to it" Rice replied.
Suddenly, all twelve of the pagers went off with yet another message.
Hi, crewmates! Starting from tomorrow, missions will also take place at two other locations than the main spaceship of the Skeld, namely the Mira HQ and the Polus, since they're looking for more crewmates to accomplish some missions and good tasks there! What do you all think of this suggestion? Oh, don't bother answering – I know you all will eventually really like it. Have a nice noon! -Mack
"What are those locations anyway?" Pop asked, as she grabbed the 'Crewmates 101' guide book from the nearby bookshelf and flipped through a few pages until she found an accurate one. "Hmm, Mira HQ, huh? Looks quite nice." She showed the pictures to the rest of the crewmates.
"That's a huge tower!" Neri gasped in surprise.
"Must be quite close to outer space" Squee commented on one picture of the skyscraper where it was night-time.
"No, you idiot" Lava said, "it's just evening or night on that picture. Furthermore, it's just an ordinary skyscraper."
The dumb blonde bonked the snob on the head.
"Ow!"
"Excuse me for being blonde, Lava." Squee took a seat on the sofa next to Navy instead.
"Lava's right" Pop said, regarding the left picture on the left page of the book. "It's not taller than that one skyscraper in Dubai, I presume."
"In such a case" Charlie said, "the highest part would probably still be under construction for many years."
A few nods and hums here and there were the replies to the statement.
"Now, regarding the Polus…" The girly girl flipped a few pages. "Darn, that looks quite huge." She showed the pages to her fellow crewmates.
"And cold, too" Nika said, noticing the high amount of snow on the photo of the location. "I hope we're still allowed to wear our spacesuits there to keep ourselves warm."
Pop read a few lines on the page, and eventually nodded and hummed in agreement to Nika's statement.
"Indeed, spacesuits to keep ourselves warm are mandatory! Oxygen usage is optional but recommended, however, since there's a high amount of air pressure there."
"Sounds like a peculiar place to be, to be honest" Vienna said. "But thank goodness that we have tempered spacesuits to keep ourselves warm enough. How's the air pressure inside of those buildings?"
"Hmm, lessee…" Pop read a few more lines. "A ton better than outside, so imagine if one passes out or gets sick and has to go to the medical bay, they're allowed to take their helmet off and turn the oxygen tank off as well."
"Wike at the Skeld?" Yikk asked.
"That's right. Ah, that reminds me to read details on the amount of oxygen at Mira HQ…" The pink crewmate flipped a few pages back and read again. "The only outside places are the launchpad and the balcony, and the air pressure there is also quite high, so spacesuits are indeed mandatory there once again. Inside of the building, helmets are allowed to be taken off and oxygen tanks are optional but recommended once again… oh wow, it says that there are universal vents there for the impostors, rather than selective ones like they do at the Skeld."
"What about the vents at the Polus?" Lava asked.
"Also a very good question…" The pages were flipped forward once again. "Nope, selective vents there again."
"Then, people will surely enjoy Mira HQ as impostors."
"Maybe." Pop closed the book with a slam before putting it back into the bookshelf. However, with that slam, she accidentally made Yuri weep out of shock. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! It's a force of habit…!"
"It be otay to do in the dohm woom" Yikk said, "but not in the main woom, aight? You know how I ahways sweep thwough evewyfin'?"
"They're right" Arnie said. "If you're done reading before going to sleep, it's okay to do, but you shouldn't do it again in Yuri's presence." He rubbed Pop's back and shoulders. "It's very good of you to have apologised for it so quickly."
Vienna had given Yuri to Billy in the meantime, and even their simplest back rubs had silenced the baby within no time.
"Wow" the Latinx said, "guess I'm some sort of a magician with the behaviour of a baby. My own younger sibling never got quiet if I tried to comfort them."
"Oh, I wasn't the easiest baby eithah" Yikk chuckled. "No wondah I still weep tons nowadays."
Some of the other crewmates chuckled back in response.
"You know, Yuwi… Biwwy is a weal sweetheaht…" The cutesy crewmate planted a gentle kiss on Yuri's cheek, making them giggle a little in response. "So am I, appawentwy…"
"If we had to pick a few people to babysit Yuri someday" Navy said to Vienna, "I'll definitely choose Yikk and Billy. They both seem so good with them!"
"Aren't they?" Vienna answered with a smile.
