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"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present our eight astronauts who have volunteered for this mission! Men, please step forward."
The eight young men rise from their chairs and grin at the audience and press, each sporting a brightly, and uniquely, coloured space suit.
"These intrepid adventurers will spend time in the Skeld, our newest spacecraft, researching the surrounding area, before returning home in no longer than six months' time."
"What about the corruption?" one reporter asks. "It's happened before, surely it could happen again."
The host nods. "Yes, we understand that on a previous mission, there was a corruption to the system, and one of the crewmates ended up involuntarily murdering the others; however, we have made sure that the ship's system has the highest level of security possible, in order to avoid another catastrophe like the Mira mission."
With a final flourish, the host concludes the conference. "Let's wish them all the best of luck for their mission; ladies and gentlemen, our astronauts!"
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First to enter the ship's lobby is a dark blue-clad male, a red beanie perched on top of his fluffy black hair. He immediately approaches the laptop situated on one of the crates and messages his family that he has arrived safely, before sitting in one of the ten seats lining the walls. Exhaling, he glances at the double doors, wondering who his crewmates truly are. The eight of them met briefly at the press conference, but didn't speak to each other - they were too busy thinking about what their mission would entail. At least, the blue character was.
He doesn't have to wonder for long, however, as soon a magenta figure appears in the doorway. He's slightly shorter than the blue boy, with curly, almost yellow hair, and somehow he's managed to tie a pink balloon, identical in shade to his suit, to his head.
"Um hi," the pink boy says apprehensively. "My name's Bang Chan, and, uh, I'm an astronaut now!"
The blue boy blinks, before smiling at Chan's attempt to thin the ice.
"I'm Yang Jeongin," he replies, holding out a muffed hand, which Chan takes and shakes.
The pair remain smiling at each other, until another figure appears behind Chan. He's even smaller than the magenta male, and he's wearing a black spacesuit. His equally black hair is adorned with a navy ninja headband, and he tugs slightly on the dangling end as he introduces himself.
"Hello, I'm Seo Changbin," he says, "and don't make fun of my height - I'm actually proud of it."
Chan raises his hands in surrender as Jeongin stifles a giggle. It's kind of hard not to make fun of someone's height when they are half a head smaller than you, but somehow the pair manage. For now, anyway.
