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.

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.

A monitor nearby played an informational video about Earth’s one and only moon colony: Lunaria, the city of his dreams. Though so far away, he felt like it lay within his grasp for the first time. What choice did he have but to be captivated by it? 

“Are you heading to your first deployment?” The girl a few seats over might as well have appeared from thin air.   

“Hm? How’d you know?” He shook his head out of a daze. Only now did he realize his mouth had been hanging open for who knew how long.

“You seemed pretty enthralled by that video for a star ranger.”

“Oh yeah. Some nights, I spent so long looking at the dome through my telescope, I’d dream about it.” He sighed. “Even now, I can almost breathe that artificial air.”

“I’ve heard it’s cool. My aunt’s paying my way. I bet you’re glad you don’t have to pay those ticket prices either, huh?” She had a pretty laugh.

“Gosh, I thought I’d have to spend my life savings just for a visit. Thank goodness for the IF.”

 “You know,” she tilted her head, “I’ve always wondered, why’s it called the Interstellar Forces when we haven’t gone past Mars yet?”

“We’re supposed to dream big now and grow into it later. It worked for me, so…!” he ended with a shrug. “And who knows,” he knew, “we might be going past Mars soon.”

“That’s cute. Sorry about the budget cuts, though. No more weapons, I get, but you guys don’t even have your own ships anymore? They’re just deploying you with us civilians?”

“My ship’s kind of a special case.” Out of curiosity he decided to check his phone. “But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to che–”

His eyes widened in horror at what time it displayed. It was 25 minutes past when he should have boarded.

“Is something wrong?” asked the girl.

“Sorry, I gotta go.” He gathered his bags and hurried over to the receptionist. “Excuse me. This is the boarding area for the Celestion ships, right?” Maybe everyone else was just late. “I was supposed to be boarding a ship 25 minutes ago.”

“Oh, no sir. Are you with the Interstellar Forces? All military spacecraft are located on the opposite end.” The receptionist motioned directly behind him.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” He shook the receptionist’s hand vigorously. “Seriously, my career is in your hands. And yours too,” he sped past the girl, “have a nice trip, bye!” 

The stocky star ranger ran toward his new destination, stumbling and nearly dropping his bags along the way. Did the others leave without him? He sure hoped not. No matter how much he loved the spaceport, he’d rather not be stuck waiting there while his crew had a blast in space. Time was of the essence. He had no room for distractions, not even–

Oooh, a replica of the spaceport? His little brother would’ve loved to see something like that! It would only take a second to text him a picture.

No. Now wasn’t the time for that. He had a mission, and nothing could get in his way. He passed by souvenir shops with cool t-shirts that he’d love to get his hands on. Now wasn’t the time for that. The fresh smell of cheesy pizza reminded him that he hadn’t eaten since the early morning. Now wasn’t the time for that, either. Somebody called the name Léonardo Summers in the background. Now wasn’t the time for–

Wait. That was his name.

He turned toward the call. It came from another star ranger with a bleached blond afro. A rush of relief washed over him, and he rushed over to the guy calling his name, almost dropping his bags in the process.

“W-Wait, that’s me! I’m…!” he panted “I’m Léonardo Summers!”

The other guy looked his way, smiling. “There you are. I’ve been lookin’ all over the place for you!”

“Ah, gosh! I’m so sorry.” 

He stopped to catch his breath. Usually, he had much more stamina, but all the running around while carrying his luggage made his limbs feel like lead and his chest feel like it was on fire. That didn’t stop him from trying to give an explanation.

“I had been waiting in the completely wrong area. I thought it was the right area, but I thought it was strange because no other star rangers were there, but I stayed anyway because Lunaria and a cute girl, then I checked my watch, and it was like ‘Shoot, I’m late!’, and–”

The other guy chuckled. “It’s okay, man. Catch your breath. Seems like we both had a busy day.”

“You can say that again.” the rookie replied, his voice now raspy. “Are you with the Celestion-5?”

“Yeah, the name’s Emil. I’ll be your lieutenant captain.”

Lieutenant captain? The rookie had been expecting someone in their mid-twenties or early thirties to hold that position. This Emil looked around the same age as him, a recent high school graduate. 

He looked amazing, too. Emil stood a couple inches taller, around average height. His bright, amber eyes glistened with warmth and good nature. His skin was a deep olive tone that went well with his hair. He had a smile emanating with charisma. To the rookie, Emil looked more at home on a silver screen than in the Interstellar Forces. Was this guy even real?

“Ranger Summers, reporting for duty, sir!” He dropped one of his bags so he could properly salute. Might as well try to make a good impression after being so late.

“Pleasure to meet you, too.” Emil returned the gesture. “Want me to help you with your bags? You looked like you were struggling.”

“Ah, thank you.” He handed his lieutenant the bag still in his hand. “Here, this one is lighter.”

“Thanks~” Emil took it in one hand and offered a handshake with the other. His grip was crushing, but the rookie tried not to show pain. “Shall we be off? The others are waiting for us.”

“I’ve been ready my whole life!” Reinvigorated, the rookie picked up his other bag with newfound energy and a smile to match.

“You’ve got a lot of spirit, Léonardo.” Emil shared his energy. “I think I’m gonna like you.” He winked.

“I think I’m gonna like you too. And please, you can just call me Leon.”

The two walked to the other end of the spaceport, the crowd thinning as they went. By the time they got to their boarding area, it was just the two of them and a receptionist.

Emil slapped his forehead. “Aww man, did they leave without us?”

“They left already?” Leon felt his heart begin to break. To think that after all this preparation, it took one wrong turn to crush his dreams.

That must’ve shown on his face. “Woah, hey now, don’t look so down. I didn’t mean that they took off, see?” Emil pointed toward the window. “Our ship’s right outside waitin’ for us.”

Sure enough, one ship remained on the runway. Leon rushed to the window to get a better look.

There it was. A sleek, silver behemoth sporting golden wings and a curved window at the front. Its shape was reminiscent of an airplane, but much rounder. From the top, it resembled a star.

“That’s our ship?”

“Yep.” Emil now stood at his side. “I know it’s kinda small, but–”

“It’s incredible!” Leon’s eyes opened as wide as they could, taking in every little detail. “I can’t wait to get inside!”

“You won’t have to wait much longer, then.” Emil smiled, already walking toward the boarding tunnel. “Follow me.”

Leon followed him through and down some stairs into the wide open runway. He felt a slight breeze on his skin, the last time he might ever do so before going into space.

“It’s so beautiful.” Leon felt as if he might start crying as they approached the ship. He had to keep his cool, at least in front of Emil.

“Glad’ja think so! Me and the captain spent the last coupla days sprucing things up.” Emil averted his eyes with a smile. “Mostly him, though.”

Finally, they found themselves standing underneath the ship. Ahead of them was a room begging for Leon to enter, but all he could do was stand in place, staring. 

“Here we are!” Emil bowed and gracefully rolled out an arm toward the room. “This is the loading deck, where we load things and people.”

Leon didn’t budge.

Emil nudged him along. “C’mon, don’t be shy!”

Leon did as told. He now stood inside the Celestion-5.

“I… I’m here. I’m standing in a real, actual spaceship.” He tapped the floor with his foot a few times to make sure it was real. A large mirror on the wall reflected his joy from a distance.

“We are.” A smile rivalling Leon’s spread to Emil’s face, revealing a chipped tooth. “Is this your first time on one?”

“It is!”

He rubbed his hands together. “Well, aren’t you in for a treat? I’d hate to rush you, but we can’t keep the others waiting for too long.”

“Ah, you’re right, you’re right.” Though Leon could’ve stayed in this room forever, he didn’t want to hold up the others.

Emil handed him his other bag. “Just throw your bags wherever and let’s head upstairs, okay?”

“Yes, sir.” Leon placed his bags by a group of luggage. Those must belong to his crewmates. He couldn’t wait to meet them all.

“Ahh, you don’t have to call me that.” Emil waved his words away. “Save the formalities for when we’re around the captain.” He winked.

He allowed Leon to take the spiral staircase ahead of him. A door near the top caught the latter’s attention.

“What’s that room?”

“Oh, that? That’s the incinerator. We’ll use that to burn our trash, and I thiiink it’ll help fuel the ship? The captain knows more about that kinda stuff.”

“Coool–Ah!” He bumped his head on the ceiling.

“Whoops, be careful. Press that button on the panel up above you.”

When he did so, a circular door slid open, allowing him to enter the next room. 

“Yeah, now we’re going places.”

Go places, they did. They finished climbing the stairs to see… another set of stairs.

“There’s a lot of spiral staircases on this ship, huh?” Leon noticed.

“Tell me about it.” Emil joined him in climbing the next set. “I can’t tell you how many times I tripped over these.”

 “You?” Leon couldn’t imagine him missing a step, let alone tripping over anything. “You seem so–I dunno if this is the right word, but stylish? Graceful! Yeah, graceful is the word I’m looking for.”

“Me? Graceful?” Incredulous laughter could be heard from behind. 

“You seem that way to me. Honestly, you’re just a cool guy in general.”

“Oh, wow, um. Thanks, I try.” Emil sounded somewhat touched. “You’re a cool guy too.”

“Really?” Leon couldn’t believe his ears. This would be the best thing to happen to him all day if he weren’t going to space. “I never really thought of myself as cool.”

“C’mon, your enthusiasm’s pretty cool.”

“My enthusiasm?” he asked, enthusiastically.

“Yeah, like that! I feel pumped up just talkin’ to ya.”

He felt like floating up the rest of the stairs.

“Watch out for the ceiling.”

Leon stopped just in time to avoid bumping his head again. He saw another panel and disk-shaped door above him. “Do I just press this?”

“Y– Actually, knock first. Someone might be standing above you, and I don’t exaaactly remember if these have motion sensors.”

“Good call. Don’t want anyone tumbling down on us.” Leon knocked on the disk.

“We’re comin’ through!” Emil shouted to the ceiling, then addressed Leon. “You can open it now.”

The disk slid open after Leon pressed the panel where, thankfully, no one fell. No more stairs awaited him and Emil in the next room. Instead, four other star rangers stood in a row.

“Everyone still here? Good.” Suddenly, Emil frowned after surveying the room. “Wait, where’s the captain?”

Someone pointed to the door at the front, decorated with a little star.

Emil tilted his head back, sighing. “I’ll be back.” He pointed toward one end of the row. “Leon, you stand over there.”

After closing the entrance, he jogged through the door ahead, mumbling something about a lousy way to treat guests. Leon barely had any time to look around before he heard him shouting from behind the door.

“I’m baaack! ...Of course I found the last guy! We couldn’t just leave him behind! What would Dad think? ...They’re waiting for you to come back! Now get down here so I don’t hafta climb another set of stairs!”

The door cracked open slightly.

“We’ll be with you shortly.” Emil closed the door as quickly as he opened it.

Leon didn’t mind the wait. He still tried to process the fact that he was on a spaceship. Looking at this room, it didn’t feel like it. Walls of teal surrounded him, only broken up by a brown door and the orange stripe on which he and the others stood. Still, being here was just so exciting, he couldn’t help feeling giddy.

He almost didn’t notice the jiggling of the doorknob, as it opened to reveal the Celestion-5’s most important crewmember.