The crew just about jumped out of their seats as the sirens of a call went off. In front of them, a ship stood still in the vacuum of space.

“A call?” Rito grumbled; it was too early for this. While the concepts of morning and night didn’t really exist in space, it still felt like early morning. “Who’s calling at this hour?”

“Hello,” Tobi said after a yawn, pressing his hand down on the answer button. Only to be surprised by a familiar face.

“Bax?” Tobi looked at him in surprise.

“Yo, how’s my bro?” He said with a cheeky grin.

"...Good, this is a surprise?”

“Well, I got an even bigger one if you want to land at the Penumbra Pergola.”

“Ummm, sure?”

“Great! See you there!” He beamed and cut the video feed.

“What was that about?” Rito asked, confused.

“Who was that?” Rayla asked.

“Barax, my brother,” Tobi replied.

“Oh right, yeah, that checks out,” Rayla replied upon remembering what his ‘dad’ looked like. “Are we going?” she inquired nonchalantly.

They landed at the Pergola entrance next to the ship that was just in front of them. On the side of the ship, etched in Hypnoserian, was "Gallant Journey." Out of the ship hopped four aliens, clad in peacekeeper armor.

His brother was, of course, a Duwarin. The blue fish woman with a trident tail was an Andos, an aquatic xeno found on planet Hydroseia. The pig girl was a Zhulou from the planet Lagao. And the primate promezar was a Yukuwan from planet Wungku.

“Hey, bro, long time no see,” his brother walked up to him with a grin on his face. “How's the ‘birthday’ boy!” He hugged Tobi tightly, lifting him off the ground.

“Would… be better …if… I could …breathe…”

“It’s your birthday today?” Rayla asked, confused.

“Oh dip, it is!” Rito exclaimed, looking at the calendar. “Well, at least by the Hypnoserian calendar. Dates and time are hard to measure in space,” he grumbled.

“Well, a birthday is just what we called it. It’s more like the day Dad brought you home,” Barax rustled his hair, much to his annoyance, as his hair tie fell out, making it flow down his face like rain.

“Can you not? It takes forever to get my hair up.” Tobi whined as he started to gather his hair backup to tie it up. 

“Let your luscious locks fly, bro. You look like a shampoo model.”

“You gonna introduce me?” he asked, moving his hair out of the way like a curtain, looking straight at the other aliens aboard his brother's ship. “Or just tease your poor helpless brother in front of your friends on his birthday?”

“Ha, of course, that there is Vexva, Promezar, and Qye’lin,” he pointed to the fish, primate, and pig in that order. “They are my crew.”

“You're wearing peacekeeper uniforms and those are rank C badges,” Rayla said skeptically.

“Yep, you must be well-informed if you recognize the class symbol. Most civilians just think all peacekeepers are the same regardless of rank.”

“Yeah, I am. Are you on duty? I don’t think it’s very professional to slack off on the job for a family visit,” Rayla accused.

“I got my pager on. You don’t think the action is constant, do you? It’s been radio silent for weeks. What’s a break to celebrate your brother’s birthday,” he patted his brother on the back, and his headband fell out of his fingers, causing his hair to fall down again as he was trying to tie it back up.

“So you gonna introduce me to your girlfriend? Tobs, you sly dawg.”

“Girlfriend?!” Rayla exclaimed in annoyance.

“Yeah, she’s not my girlfriend,” Tobi said, embarrassed.

“Awesome, I don’t have to keep pretending to be nice to her then,” he noticed the purple bug.

“You come to keep Tobi safe, Rito?” he asked with a smile, “it’s so cute that you guys still hang out.”

“Why do you gotta make it sound so cringe.” Rito deadpanned.

“I calls it like I sees it.” Barax snickered. 

“Is this just to wish me a happy birthday or was there something more to this?” Tobi groaned.

“You know I have more planned,” he said, poking his tongue out cheekily. “I’m gonna take you on a tour of the Penumbra Pergola. I know you love hearing random interesting alien shit.”

“Thank you for so elegantly explaining my hobby,” Tobi deadpanned. “But you're serious?! Of course, I want to go into the giant Pergola!” He turned to his friends. “What do you say? You up to it?”

“I don’t know what this is,” Rayla said, looking up at the giant entrance.

“I guess I can look at plants,” Rito said like he had nothing better to do.

“...plants?” Rayla felt even more confused.

“That’s right, the Penumbra Pergola is home to the largest collection of plants in the galaxy, if not all of space. It’s kind of hard to tell how vast space is,” a rabbit woman said from behind them.

“Gah!” Rito jumped as soon as she started talking. “It’s rude to sneak up on people.”

“Sorry, I was getting tired of watching you making small talk.”

“You guys, this is Yalee. She’ll be our tour guide of some fancy plants and shit,” Barax gestured to her.

“Thank you for so elegantly explaining my job,” she walked into the shade of the pergola. The darkness was basically instant. “Now this way, and be sure to stand close.”

“The Penumbra Pergola works by utilizing the light from the nearby star, Adhafera, to cast a shadow that has helped many nocturnal and subterranean flora flourish,” the guide explained as they walked past various glowing plants.

“It’s beautiful,” Rayla stated, looking up at the iridescent mushrooms that lined the false cave walls.

“Those are Nurales. They come from my home planet, Anasi,” Rito added.

“That’s right,” the guide said with a smile. “That’s the part about this job I love—people seeing their own culture here. It must bring back good memories of Anasi, huh?”

“Y-yeah, well, actually, I guess that’s kind of a lie,” Rito replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, right. I’m sorry. I forgot you're probably a refugee,” she said, looking back at the mushroom. “You'll have to forgive me for forgetting about that. It’s hard to remember the things that happen to every planet.”

“Well, me and my siblings made it out alive, so it wasn’t as bad as others got. Plus, I was just an egg at the time,” Rito said with a nervous smile. “I just know from pictures and stories.” He looked back up at the fungus. “Nori told me that she used to trick travelers into eating it, and it made them, and I quote, ‘trip balls.’”

“Yeah, they are a dangerous hallucinogen to a lot of non-native species.”

Suddenly, Yalee's walkie-talkie went off. "Ah, Yalee, we got a situation in the aquatics section. A man with a gun is threatening to take lives."

"I'll be on my way with some peacekeepers. Just don't do anything rash until we get there," she said in a panicked tone into the device. "Please follow me and hurry."

"Sorry, bro, duty calls. Get somewhere safe," Barax said, turning to his teammates. "You know the drill, guys."

As they ran down the hall in a hurry, Tobi looked to his teammates. "Are we going to help?"

"Shouldn't you leave it to the professionals?" Rito asked skeptically.

"I was a professional. I know they need all the help they can get," Rayla said, running towards them. "A peacekeeper should never ignore a call to action."

The aquatics section was a large glass tunnel filled to the brim with many plants submerged in water. A crazed man covered in long, shaggy fur, with chunks missing, scratched his skin while holding the gun out menacingly.

“I’m serious, I’ll fucking do it! I’ll shoot the tank and flood this entire place unless you give me what I want!” he shouted.

Tobi peered around the corner as his brother entered the room.

“I see you didn’t follow your brother's advice to stay safe,” the fish person replied from behind them.

“Gah!” Tobi jumped. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. I’m here to help.”

“Then prepare to take my lead.”

“I’m Barax, peacekeeper rank C. I’m here to negotiate on your demands. I am unarmed and just here to talk,” Barax stated, walking out of the shadows with his arms up.

“My demands are simple. I want the illegal plants! Nurales, Clipsee, Noirco. Anything that sells well on the black market, this place is like a junkie’s fucking wet dream. And if you don’t bring them to me, then I’ll make this a wet nightmare!” He pointed his gun at the water tank again.

“I’ll bring you them. Just please put the gun down, sir,” Barax urged with his hands.

“And get rid of my leverage?! I wasn’t born fucking yesterday.”

“Okay-okay, ease up. We’ll meet your demands if you just don’t hurt anyone. I have a staff member that can help you if you just calm down.”

“What’s he doing?” Tobi asked, confused.

“A distraction. We can’t open fire with a crowd of people present,” the pig spoke up. “We will rescue the civilians while he’s distracted. And when he lets his guard down, Promezar will apprehend him to the best of his ability without the weapon being set off.”

“Now's our chance,” Vexva stated. “Just be as quiet as possible.” She snuck into the room while the junkie was talking to Barax, tapping on the shoulder of some citizens. “Psst, make no noises while I try to sneak you out,” the dog alien nodded as he followed.

Tobi approached a small family, a mother and her son. “Now I need you to be very quiet and stay on this side of me,” he instructed, making sure that they didn’t get shot, shielding them with his body.

As the negotiations continued, Tobi maintained his position, ensuring the safety of the frightened family behind him. Barax, the peacekeeper, tried his best to keep the situation under control.

The crazed man ranted, demanding the illegal plants in exchange for the safety of the hostages. Barax negotiated, buying time for the rest of the team to carry out their plan.

Meanwhile, Rayla, Rito, and Promezar, the primate peacekeeper, had quietly moved to strategic positions, ready to spring into action. Vexva continued to guide citizens to safety.

Suddenly, Barax signaled Promezar, who swiftly moved to disarm the agitated individual. A brief struggle ensued, but Promezar managed to wrest the weapon away without setting it off.

Barax, seizing the opportunity, restrained the suspect while Vexva and the rest of the team secured the area. The citizens were ushered out of the aquatics section, away from the danger.

With the situation under control, Barax signaled for Tobi to step back, ensuring the safety of the family he had shielded. As the crisis abated, the peacekeepers acted with precision, diffusing the threat without harm to anyone.

After the incident, the crew gathered to discuss the events.

“You did well, Tobi,” Barax acknowledged. “You kept them safe.”

Tobi nodded, relieved that the crisis had been averted. “Thanks. Just doing what I could.”

Rayla patted Tobi on the back. "Not bad for your first real fieldwork. Welcome to the chaos of space, rookie."

As the crew made their way back to the ship, Tobi couldn't shake the adrenaline coursing through his veins. The events of the day had brought them face-to-face with the unpredictable nature of space travel, a reality that would undoubtedly shape their journey ahead.