Literature / Galactiquest

It's Neptune or nothing.

Galactiquest is a Web Serial Novel by Bulgariansumo.

The Interstellar Forces is sending the Celestion-5, one of its new, experimental spacecraft, on the first manned mission to Neptune. Not the most respected branch of the military for a variety of reasons, it doesn’t help that they accidentally filled the crew with teenagers (and a few 20-somethings.) On the way to Neptune, the assorted members of the Celestion-5 crew end up making new discoveries not just about the Solar System, but about themselves, each other, and the Interstellar Forces itself. Comes with pictures!

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This web serial provides examples of:

• A Friend in Need: In "The Confession," once Emil realized how tough of a position the Summers brothers are in, he agreed to help cover for them without hesitation.
• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Lorenzo and Emil fit this to a T.
• Alternate History: The Interstellar Forces exists in place of NASA. They also somehow managed to build a Moon colony and a Martian base.
• Always Someone Better: Lorenzo is this to Captain Vanderbilt.
• Artificial Gravity: Spaceships in Galactiquest tend to have this. The Celestion-5 can turn its gravity on and off.
• Beneath Suspicion: Emil didn't believe Angelo could possibly be up to something shady until he caught him in the act.
• Big Gal, Little Gal: Shirley and Sparky are this trope along with Brains and Brawn.
• Bookcase Passage: A random tile in the Celestion-5's observation deck opens the way to the engine room.
• Brains and Brawn: Sparky and Shirley are this trope, along with Big Gal, Little Gal.
• Break the Cutie: After finding out how much Angelo lied and how much trouble he'd be in if he's found out, Leon spent the majority of "The Confession" withdrawn and grief-stricken.
• Breaking the Glass Ceiling: The Interstellar Forces was men-only before Jun showed up.
• Canon Illustrations: Along with the cover images, Galactiquest entries are often peppered with these.
• The Cape: Lorenzo wears one. It's implied in "Mingling on the Moon" that no other captain does this, and not even Emil knows.

• Cassandra Did It: Mia got punished for talking out of turn while trying to warn Leon not to.

• Cardboard Box Home: Angelo lives in one of these while hiding from the others in "The Confession."
• Closet Gay/Closet Trans: It was revealed in "Life in Orbit" that Jun was nonbinary, but only out to Roxie and Aiden, with everyone else still thinking they were a woman. They came out to the rest of the crew in "A Very Special Announcement," leading to most of the others coming out as some form of LGBT+ themselves. However, they still chose to remain closeted to the rest of the world even after this.
• Coattail-Riding Relative: Lorenzo's POV in "Mingling on the Moon" suggests that Captain Vanderbilt is this.
  A group of star rangers came over to their table, led by none other than Captain Vanderbilt of the Celestion-6, grandson of Colonel Hans Vanderbilt of the Army. He wouldn’t let anyone forget it.
• Colonized Solar System: Lunaria, the Moon colony where Mia grew up, is this.
• Comically Missing the Point: In "Bon Voyage Celestion-5," Mia tried get Leon to stop talking to her during a briefing, but Leon thought it was some kind of hip Moon speak. She finally spoke up only to get caught by the captain.
• Compliment Backfire: Jun tried to get Aiden to practice being nice by complimenting Mia. All of his attempts ended up awkward for both of them.
• Confirm Before Reveal: Jun asked Aiden how he was able to sit on an empty box before both came to the realization that Angelo was hiding inside.
• Conspiracy Theorist: There's a web forum called Interstellar Fonies where people doubt the Interstellar Forces' accomplishments. For example, users there think the IF never went to the Moon and that Lunaria is actually located in a California desert. Aiden posts even more ridiculous theories to the forum, hoping people will buy it because he finds it hilarious. Aiden himself tends to have conspiracies about the IF, but they're more grounded in reality. Usually.
• Conveniently Timed Distraction: Leon almost remembered what he wanted to tell Mia, but an announcement distracted him.
• Cuteness Overload: Roxie has this reaction upon meeting Angelo.
• Dirty Cop: Jun dropped out of police academy after discovering that the precinct they thought were the good ones were this.
• Dislikes the New Guy: Angelo's appearance made a terrible first impression with Lorenzo, and later on, the latter suspected him of lying about his age. He's right. Aiden wasn't fond of him, either.
• Does He Have a Brother?: Lorenzo and Emil would often turn down girls interested in them by sending them to each other, not realizing that neither were straight.
• Domed Hometown: The city of Lunaria is located inside of a dome.
• Don't Call Me "Sir": When Leon first called Emil "sir," the latter told him he didn't have to. Rarely does anyone refer to him by his full title.
• Easily Impressed: Leon. In "Bon Voyage, Celestion-5," Emil and Jun admit going out of their way to see his reaction to lifting off because of this.
• Effortless Amazonian Lift: Roxie weightlifting skills impress both Leon and Aiden. Shirley is able to lift up people with just one hand.
• Ensign Newbie: Lorenzo and Emil are the captains of the Celestion-5 despite being newbies themselves.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Leon upon finding out that Angelo used Leon's phone to lie to their parents about not knowing where Angelo is.
• Fair-Weather Friend: Jun's accomplice, Stephanie brushed off their concerns about the plan and texted them less frequently until the former became famous.
• Fake Identity Baggage: When Angelo pretends to be Leon over the phone, he learns about how his family is handling his own disappearance.

• Flashback Episode: "The Misadventures of Ranger Kim and Ranger Kelly" takes place a few years before the start of the series.
• Flatfoot And Snarky Guy: Jun and Aiden wound up in this dynamic when Jun tried to find out where Angelo was hiding.
• Frantic Object Concealment: Emil when Leon almost saw the file revealing who the eighth crewmember was. In "New Kid on the Ship," Angelo does this when Leon almost catches him using his phone.
• Friendly Address Privileges: Emil lets everyone call him by his first name. Jun also does this for Leon when he asks how to refer to them.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: In "The Confession," Aiden recounted solitary confinement as being the worst part of being to prison. Angelo also started losing his grip on reality after isolating himself by hiding in a box for almost a week.
• Government Agency of Fiction: The Interstellar Forces.
• Government Conspiracy: In "Life in Orbit," Aiden suspected that Lorenzo was actually a puppet leader and that Emil was Locked Out of the Loop by whoever is really in charge. Jun claimed to know for a fact that the first wasn't true, but wouldn't tell him why.
• Guilt by Coincidence: In "Mingling on the Moon," Jun and Roxie were nearly blamed for stealing the Celestion-5's equipment because they had potato and honey on their hands.
• Hidden in Plain Sight: Jun made it in the Interstellar Forces for a number of months before they had to reveal they weren't a man. Angelo also manages to join the IF despite being 15 years old. On top of this, his brother Leon doesn't realize he ran away from home until a week and a half later because he was under the assumption that their parents sent him to visit.
• Hide the Evidence: Angelo tries to do this with Leon's phone so that he doesn't uncover his lies. He was about to go to much greater lengths before Leon caught him.
• Horrible Housing: The lodging facility in "Earth to Mia" was described as ugly, old, and infested with insects and mold. Not only that, but the electricity went out when Emil tried to turn on the TV.
• Humble Goal: At the end of "Earth to Mia," Mia vows to see the moon again.
• Hypocritical Heartwarming: Aiden called Leon and Mia nerds as he defended them from Bella and Gordy.
• I Can't Believe a Girl Like You Would Notice Me: Mia mentioned thinking this of Roxie in "Maintenance with Roxie and Mia."
• I Can Still Fight!: A bedridden Jun could barely move after breaking their shoulderblade, but continued to insist they would be fine. This prompted Aiden of all people to tell them to see a doctor.

• I'll Take That as a Compliment: Mia after Aiden complimented her for having Bystander Syndrome.
• Implausible Deniability: In "Mingling on the Moon," Captain Vanderbilt tried to claim that the number calling his phone wasn't Shirley's when Lorenzo used her phone to call the number of the person who planned the theft.
  Captain Vanderbilt did not answer his phone. “Oh weird.” He announced, a little louder than necessary. “Must be the wife calling. I-I could’ve sworn I told her I’d be in a meeting today!”
• Improbable Age: All of the Celestion-5 crew are this. Even the older members like Jun and Aiden wouldn't normally be considered for a mission of this scale. The captains of the Celestion-7 are also this, but in the opposite direction. Angelo takes this up to eleven, being only 15 years old when he joins the cast.
• Incompetence, Inc.: The Interstellar Forces regularly shows that it isn't the most professional organization behind the scenes, and has become a laughing stock because of it. Aiden in particular is very willing to call out its flaws and sometimes exploit them.
• Ineffectual Loner: Lorenzo isn't rude or condescending about it, but he doesn't trust anyone enough to open up to anyone other than Emil. Mia and Aiden used to be this, but are gradually learning to warm up to the others. Somewhat.
• Insult of Endearment: Aiden isn't the best at showing affection.
  Aiden: "You're still the same dork you always were."
• It Amused Me: After figuring out that Angelo hid Leon's phone on purpose, Aiden gives it back to him not to help him out, but so that he can watch the situation play out organically.
• Keeping Secrets Sucks: In "New Kid on the Ship," Emil admitted that it was hard for him to keep Angelo's identity as the eighth crewmember a secret. More seriously, the same episode focuses on Angelo's distress at having to keep up a lie to his brother, their parents, and his new crewmates.
• Last-Name Basis: Lorenzo is only known by the others (except Emil) as Captain Galhardo. Likewise, his POV narration only refers to the other characters (except Emil) by their last names. This gets complicated once Angelo joins the crew, since he and Leon have the same last name.
• Latex Space Suit: The main cast usually wears something like this onboard the ship, but have a different uniform for going out.
• Luck-Based Search Technique: When trying to find who stole the Celestion-5's supplies, Aiden realized that the thieves weren't working on logic. Instead, he decided to let Leon run wherever, figuring that he would be on the same wavelength as the bumbling culprits.
• Lying to Protect Your Feelings: Roxie told her dad she was on a ship, but hadn't told him which one or its mission.
• Mildly Military: Somewhat invoked. The Interstellar Forces is notably relaxed in comparison to other branches of the US military in-universe. It's one of the reasons they're considered lesser.
• Mirthless Laughter: Emil breaks out into shocked laughter upon catching Angelo on camera about to throw Leon's phone into the furnace.
• Mistaken for Dyed: Mia's hair is naturally red, although a pinkish tint. Leon assumes it's dyed.
• Mundane Luxury: In "Earth to Mia," Mia considered relaxing and eating fast food with her coworkers to be a special experience.
• Mundane Object Amazement: Having lived on the Moon her entire life, Mia hadn't experienced much of nature. This lead to her getting excited over things like birds, ants, and being able to touch rocks with her bare hands.
• Neat Freak: Lorenzo is very particular about keeping things neat, especially his appearance.
• Nepotism: The Interstellar Forces has this in spades. It's pretty well known that a star ranger can get special privileges depending on who they know or who they're related to. Aiden suspects that Lorenzo and Emil got their jobs because of this. In "The Misadventures of Ranger Kim and Ranger Kelly," Eric Murray would have gotten away with bullying one of his peers if the higher-ups liked his uncle.
• No Social Skills: Mia and Lorenzo struggle to make friends because of their lack of people skills.
• Only Friend: Roxie to Mia, Emil to Lorenzo, Jun to Aiden, and Leon to Angelo.
• The Paranoiac: Lorenzo plans his life around covering up his (and Emil's) flaws so that no one can exploit them. It's implied that his father influenced this.
  Emil: "Y’know, you and Dad keep talkin’ about all the ‘enemies’ we have, but I’ve never heard of any of ‘em."
• Political Overcorrectness: This seemed to be quite a few star rangers' attitude toward the idea of lifting the gender ban when Jun first joined the Interstellar Forces undercover.
• Press-Ganged: The warrant officers on the Virgo were surprised anyone bothered to report Aiden's antics anymore, so when Jun did it, they got assigned to basically be his keeper.
• Pretending to Be One's Own Relative: In "New Kid on the Ship," Angelo pretends to be Leon so that Leon doesn't find out that he isn't supposed to be on the Celestion-5 and so his parents won't find out that he's there.
• Properly Paranoid: In "Life in Orbit," Roxie was proven right about the weight when it nearly fell on Aiden. In "The Misadventures of Ranger Kim and Ranger Kelly," Jun became this as they began to realize the repercussions of getting caught masquerading as a man. "New Kid on the Ship" had Lorenzo suspect that Angelo wasn't the age his records claimed.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Jun describes Commander Galhardo as this. Jun themself could be considered one.
• Remembered Too Late: Emil upon remembering what he meant to get the toolbox for in "Overworked."
• Reminder Failure: Leon kept getting distracted from remembering what he meant to tell Mia in "Bon Voyage, Celestion-5."
• Research, Inc.: The Interstellar Forces became strictly a research organization after the incident that made Lorenzo and Emil's father famous.
• The Runaway: Aiden ran away from his group home as a teenager. Technically, Jun also did this in order to join the Interstellar Forces. There's also Angelo Summers, Leon's little brother, who joins the Celestion-5 while running away. Roxie is also revealed to have run away from home as of "The Confession."
• 20 Minutes into the Future
• Science Fiction
• Secret Room: In "Sanctuary of the Elusive Captain," it's revealed that the ship's engine room is hidden under the floor of the observation deck. Only Lorenzo knows about it until Leon trips the opening.
• Self-Imposed Exile: Angelo tried to do this after Leon found out about his lies.
• Shiny-Looking Spaceships: The Celestion-5.
• Show Within a Show: Galaxy Gal, Leon's favorite anime.
• The Shut-In: Lorenzo stays in his room so often, his crew sometimes won't see him for a week at a time.
• Space Clothes: All of the Interstellar Forces uniforms are this, plus Lunaria has an entire subculture dedicated to wearing outlandish space fashion.
• Speculative Fiction
• Starting a New Life: Angelo tries to do this on the Celestion-5, but doesn't realize that it's the same ship his brother got stationed on.
• The Stool Pigeon: César Galhardo, of the Whistleblower Wilson variety. He is most (in)famous for exposing an unauthorized plan within the IF to build a secret death ray on the Moon base.
• Switching P.O.V.: Every story is from a 3rd Person POV of at least one of the protagonists, sometimes even switching characters between chapters.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Throughout "The Confession," he's nothing but kind to Angelo despite the trouble he caused. He also let Aiden get away with eating from the space food box when he wasn't supposed to.
• Tears of Joy: In "Sight for Four Eyes," Leon cried tears of joy at seeing the Earth from space. This caused issues because they blurred his vision due to the lack of gravity.
• Terrible Ticking: In "New Kid on the Ship," Angelo thinks he hears Leon's phone even after setting it to silent mode.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Emil sometimes tries to get away with calling Lorenzo "Captain Bro." This leads to Lorenzo not responding to him until he addresses him by his proper title.
• Token Adult: Jun, being almost a decade older than more than half of the crew, feels this way, even though they technically aren't. Although, when the closest people to their age are Roxie and Aiden, can you really blame them?
• Trail of Bread Crumbs: An empty bag of chips lead Jun and Aiden to the box where Angelo was hiding.
• Tranquil Fury: Leon displayed this toward Angelo upon figuring out that Angelo lied to everyone and impersonated him.
• Web Serial Novel: Officially published via Wattpad, Royal Road (here), and Tapas.
• We Have Reserves: Captain Vanderbilt got this speech from Commander Bellamy after he was found guilty of stealing the Celestion-5's equipment. Later, he revealed to Lorenzo that they didn't really have reserves.
• You Are Better Than You Think: Emil tried to convince Angelo that he didn't deserve to go to jail for potentially causing his grandfather's injury.
• You Are Not Alone: In "Overworked," it turned out that others were trying to help Emil. This backfired when someone nearly got injured trying to finish one. It Gets Better though. After Emil blamed himself for it, everyone cheered him up and promised to help him with the chores. Even Aiden.
• Young and in Charge: Lorenzo and Emil are younger than around half of their crew.