1. Boarding for Takeoff

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Escaping the June heat into the safety of air conditioning, a group of white and orange uniforms scattered among the crowd of civilians. The shortest stumbled over the dividing line marking his exit from the outside world. It didn't bring him down much, because like the rest of his fellow star rangers, soon, he'd be taking the trip of a lifetime. Soon, he'd be going to space.

Now if only he knew where to go

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Now if only he knew where to go.

He spotted another star ranger, and from the looks of his badge, this guy was higher-ranked. A corporal. "Excuse me, sir, can you direct me to the Celestion boarding area?"

"Head straight and uhhhh, make a left at the–wait, you said you were going to the Celestion units?"

"Yes, sir." The younger one gave a nod. "It's my first deployment, actually. I can't wait to take off for space!"

"You got assigned to that project on your first deployment?" The corporal studied him up and down. "Well aren't you a lucky boy? No wonder you look like you're gonna explode with excitement!"

"I might!" Whether he laughed at his own joke or from sheer excitement, even he couldn't tell. The older man laughed with him.

"Since you're on such a special ship, I think they're to theee," the corporal snapped his fingers, "the right of the escalators. Yeah."

The rookie gave a hearty salute, which the corporal returned. "Thank you, sir; I'll be on my way." He walked a little bit before turning back. "Take care!"

"Go get 'em, tiger!"

"I will!" Stubby legs carried him into the crowd as fast as they could while the corporal's snickering faded into the background.

So this was the spaceport. Bustling, spacious, sprawling; it was everything he hoped it would be and more. He saw himself in the reflection of the floor, grinning with wonder. Despite the crowd, a lofty ceiling made him feel as though he had all the space in the world; so much, he could get lost in it.

He did until bumping into someone. "Whoops, sorry."

The passerby gave him a scowl before continuing left of the escalator. He had quite a scar on his face.

The rookie continued right. As he neared his destination, enormous windows came into view, showcasing the runway under the clear blue sky. He beelined directly for them. Precious inches of space were the only thing separating his face from the glass, and he almost dropped his duffle bags in awe of the state-of-the-art spacecraft. Today, he would board one.

Today, his wildest dreams would come true.

He checked his phone. His ship was scheduled to take off in 30 minutes. Judging by the lack of uniforms, no other star rangers sat in this waiting area. Strange. He must've been the first to show up. Punctuality was sure to make a good impression with his captain, so he sat down and celebrated making it here so early.

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