Chapter 1

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Location: Mindoir

Year: 2170 

"Come on, slowpoke, we're gonna miss it!"

Two shadows raced across the lush green fields of Mindoir, their figures silhouetted by the cascade of pink, purple, and orange all around them. It was the night of the Grand Syzygy, a day that only came once every ten thousand years. The orbiting cycles of Mindoir and other planets in the Elysta cluster of the Ismar Frontier would match up perfectly, all five planets aligning one behind the other. With the planets' close proximity with one another, the inhabitants of the colony would be able to see the outline of the planets as the central star illuminated them with its light. With Saleas's and Zeona's quick orbital period, however, it was only sure to last a few hours and they wouldn't even see Melile, the last planet in the system, because of its smaller radius compared to the second-to-last planet Hesano.

"Anasthatha, wait!" 

In front of the second figure was a taller one, a young girl in her mid-teenage years. Her long auburn hair, nearly extending down to her butt, was constructed into a braid that was now loosening due to the rush of wind in her face. Hair frayed in all sections except for the top of her head, the hair held down by a cap with the Alliance logo on it. It was old, much of the color faded to a grayish color and crumpled with excessive use. Even one of the sewn stars that made up the logo had unraveled and fallen off sometime over the decade she had it. It was given to her by a passing Alliance patrol, a young pilot slapping it onto her head affectionately when she spoke of her desire to fly a spaceship in the future. Sadly, that wasn't the life for a farmer.

"Ana, wait!" 

The second figure, who had fallen incredibly behind now, was a six-year-old girl the auburn-haired teenager, Anastasia, had babysat for her parents who were much too busy working in the fields to watch after the infant. Ana had watched the young girl grow, thinking fondly of her as the little sister she never had. Being the only female child in a family of six, her mom was the only one she could relate to but she was busy most of the time watching after the younger boys. It was nice to have a girl to hang out with, even if she wasn't her age. The six-year-old was named Talitha and had beautiful, wavy brown hair that reached just past her shoulders. She still had the appearance of a child with a round face and small facial features. The second of her two front teeth had fallen out about a week ago, giving her more of a lisp than she had before. Honestly, it was adorable to hear coming from her. 

Talitha fumbled along behind Anastasia, tripping constantly due to the rubber boots she wore on her feet. Those boots were made for farm work, not athletics. It didn't help that her jeans were a bit too long for the poor girl. Ana spared a glance over her shoulder, expression softening a bit. Talitha was only half her height and here she was rushing her along. Within moments, she was at the girl's side who had started crying because she felt alone.

"Don't worry, I'm here," Ana cooed, kneeling down with her back facing the small girl. "Climb on," she offered, flashing a white grin at her friend.

Talitha rubbed at her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt. "A-Are we gonna b-be lathe?" she asked, wrapping her arms around Ana's neck and her legs around the older girl's waist. 

"Not with my super-fast speed~" Ana replied optimistically, standing up when she was sure that the girl was securely fastened onto her back. "Hold on tight!" she added before darting back off across the field. The grass was nearly waist high the further they traveled away from the village. Some space cows darted off in different directions when the two got too close, Ana heading straight for a large oak tree in the distance. It was her favorite spot to just sit get away from the busy life of a farmer and think or daydream about the future. She was serious when she wanted to be a pilot. She /still/ wanted to be a pilot.

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