The entire crew watched the videos. After, they commented and theorized on it. It was generally agreed upon that if the small group of older people onscreen represented the whole of GB 1 and 2, they could safely assume that there was no physical danger to the crew. Unless the crowd went wild and tried to sexually assault them all, that is.
"We're no strangers to sex, Captain." Cruz stood firm. "Mary and I come prepared for such actions."
"Oh, yeah." Mary nodded perkily. "Excitedly prepared!"
Further, a consensus was reached that Ensign Braxton should accompany the landing party, as she was the most mature member of the crew. Should there be any awkwardness or sudden conflict between the Wrinkles and the rest of them, Braxton might be able to step in as a mediator. It was hoped that the Wrinkles would respect her, even if they did not respect the other, younger people.
Cruz and Mary produced sexy doctor and nurse costumes for the occasion. Cruz's was made up of a white doctor's smock, white pants, a clipboard and a stethoscope. Mary's costume was, of course, a white micro-dress with plenty of cleavage and thigh visible, topped off with a white cap that had a little red heart on it.
"Are you two really going to wear those costumes?" Washington asked.
"Have you lost your sense of humor, man?" Cruz turned it back on him.
For their part, Washington and Braxton donned their crispest uniforms for the special occasion.
In a short time, the Space Relations touched down to a massive crowd of what must have been thousands upon thousands of cheering and excited people. Their greeters were all old and wrinkled. Right down to the last one, Washington noted.
"I know they're old, but there are so many of them." Barbie worried. "I mean, what if they all turn into some kind of mob?"
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." The captain replied.
She leaned over to give him a kiss. "Be careful, honey."
"I will. I want to get back to you in one piece, don't I?"
"You'd better!"
Washington grinned, hoping that would calm his lover's anxiety a little. As he pushed the button to extend the ship's short set of stairs, he wondered for what must have been the millionth time whether he should bring a weapon along. Just as he had all those times previous, the captain decided against it, because he felt it might bring about more harm than good for their public image. One does not simply bring a weapon to a peaceful planet, without wrinkling some feathers in the process.
The captain was the first to step out. Due to the enormity of the crowd, he truly felt like some sort of emissary for galactic peace, which of course was part of his mission. He raised his hand in greeting to the great mass of humanity assembled before him. They responded with a roar of enthusiasm and cheers. It seemed as if an entire world had shown up just to say hello to him.
As the ship had circled around the landing pad before making their descent, it's cameras had observed hundreds of tall spires sitting atop massive cylindrical structures, all painted in bright and beautiful colors. The architecture was very different from the cubed, typical glass and concrete structures that dominated the Earth. There were no cars or roads here, but open air and canopied vehicles that coasted the skies like a plague of bees. The crew had seen many craft arriving and parking next to the landing area just before the Space Relations had descended. He wasn't surprised when one such vehicle floated to a stop right in front of them.
Gar stepped out, his movements fluid and quite spry for his age. He held his hand out like a stop sign. "This is the standard Earth greeting, yes?"
"That's one of them." Washington replied. "Here, hold your hand out like this, and I'll show you another one."
"Are you a human being?" Gar asked.
"Of course I am."
"We've only ever seen one or two that look like you." Gar smiled at him. "We thought you might come from a different planet than the rest of them, because of the dark tint of your skin."
Sometimes I do feel like I am from a different planet than the rest of them, the captain thought to himself. "We are all from the planet Earth, Gar."
"Well, we welcome you to Our World, man of Earth." He said. A moment later, they were shaking hands.
There was a sudden rising in the murmur of the spectators. Washington turned to see Braxton heading for him. Behind the older woman, both Cruz and Mary were already playing up to the crowd.
"Hello, I'm Ensign Braxton." The older woman held her hand out.
"Do the women touch hands in the same manner as the men?" Gar asked.
"Yes, we do." Braxton nodded.
"Then welcome, woman of Earth." Gar shook hands with her, although he'd lowered his head toward the ground as he did so.
"Does your planet have a name, Gar?" Braxton asked.
"Oh, we only call it Our World. We call our sister planet, Our Other World, and we call our sun, Our Sun." Gar explained. "We're not in such a hurry to name everything as your people seem to be. We don't understand why your people use two names, because a person only really needs one. I suppose we all don't think alike. To us, having a group name implies some type of ownership. As you'll soon see, we are all happy sharing everything with everyone."
"You say that like you expect us to try and change some of your customs."
"Some of your representatives from Earth have tried to teach us the concept of credits and ownership, but we won't have it here." Gar shook his head. "Our Other World tried to follow these ideas at first. They ended up bickering and fighting among themselves, while your representatives tried to ply one side against the other. Finally, Our Other World rejected these teachings altogether and went back to the old ways. This hasn't made Our World or Our Other World very popular to your Space Corps. This is also why we hardly have any contact with your ships." Gar seemed to be holding something back. "Well, among other reasons."
"Rest assured, Gar, that we are not here to change your customs." Braxton cut in diplomatically. "We are here to promote peace. I promise you that I will write a letter to the highest authority in Space Corps, to tell them what a negative experience you had with our emissaries."
"I thank you." Gar nodded emphatically. "May I ask if you are a wise one mentoring your captain?"
Not expecting the question, Braxton turned toward Washington.
"Actually, yes, she is." Washington answered. "Ensign Braxton brings many years of experience and wisdom with her. I am truly grateful for her presence. She has already proven herself to be very valuable to me and to my crew."
"Thank you, captain." Braxton said.
Washington could almost feel the warmth and pride coming from the woman's voice.
"I would like to take you to the leadership hall." Gar said. "We've prepared quite a celebration for you there."
"We would be glad to accompany you, Gar." Washington replied.
Gar noticed that the main hatch of the Space Relations was now closed, and that its running lights were still on. "Will your vessel be leaving?"
"Yes." Washington nodded. "I've asked my remaining crew to orbit around your world once. This will give them a chance to fly the ship without me looking over their shoulder. I've instructed them to gauge this planet's atmosphere and geography and the like, from afar."
"But we've prepared a great banquet." Gar insisted.
Washington caught the tiny bit of strain in the man's voice that Mary had told him to watch out for earlier.
"All are welcome here." Gar added.
"The ship will descend, and the rest of my crew will join us..." Washington allowed the end of his sentence to linger a moment. "If I tell them to."
Expertly, Braxton cut in. "But we're here and we would love to go to your banquet. We want to see whatever sights you would like to show us."
"Yes, we have many wonderful sights on Our World." Gar slipped back into his gracious host mode, motioning for them to approach his personal craft.
Washington looked back to where Cruz and Mary were standing together. The goofy pair had their arms on each other's shoulders. They were kicking their legs up as if they were in a two-person chorus line.
"Will you guys cut that out?"
The Doctor Of Love and his Nurse Of Love halted their performance and hurried over, much to the dismay of the enthralled crowd around them.
"That was so much fun!" Mary squealed as she jumped into the vehicle's back seat.
"I'll second that." Cruz moved in next to her.
Several older people were standing on the opposite side of Gar's vehicle. None of them took the driver's seat, Washington noticed. Gar would be driving his own flying car, it seemed. As he watched, the older man took a moment to inform his people that he would next be heading to the leadership hall, whatever that was.
Gar noticed that neither Washington nor Braxton had taken seats. "Is something wrong?"
"Where is it appropriate for a captain and his mentor to sit?" Washington asked.
"You can sit on each other's shoulders, if you'd like." Gar replied. "Sit wherever you please."
Braxton had a quick solution. "Captain, I'll sit up front with Gar. You can take the seat directly behind us."
Washington nodded. "How high will this thing be going? How high in the air?"
"We can go as high as you wish."
