Boarding for Takeoff!

“Excuse me, 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!” The young star ranger gives a nod. “It’s my first deployment, actually! I can’t wait to take off for space!”

“Woah, woah there kiddo. You look like you’re going to explode with excitement!”

“I might!” The brunet laughs, revealing a set of bucked teeth. Whether he’s laughing at his own joke or from sheer excitement, even he can’t tell. The older star ranger laughs with him.

“Just head straight and make a right at the escalators.” instructs the close-shaven veteran.

The new recruit gives a hearty salute. “Thank you, sir! I’ll be on my way.” He walks a little ways past the stranger before turning back. “Take care!”

“Go get ‘em, tiger!” advises the veteran.

“I will!”

The elder’s snickering grows fainter and fainter as the young adult moves further away. With bags in hand, he walks as fast as his short legs can carry him.

So this is the spaceport. Bustling, spacious, sprawling; it’s everything he hoped it would be and more! He can see himself in the reflection of the floor, grinning with wonder. Though the area is crowded, a lofty ceiling makes him feel as though he had all the space in the world, so much space, he could get lost in it. And that, he did. While staring at it, he accidentally bumped into someone.

“Sorry!”

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

The new recruit continues to the right. As he nears his destination, enormous windows come into view, showcasing the runway. He beelines directly for them. Precious inches of space are the only thing separating his face from the glass before him, and he almost drops his duffle bags in awe of the state-of-the-art spacecraft. Today, he would be boarding one of them. 

Today, his wildest dreams are will come true.

He looks at his watch. His ship is scheduled to take off in 30 minutes. Looking around, he can’t see any other star rangers in the waiting area. Strange. He must be the first to show up! Punctuality is sure to make a good impression with his captain, so he’s glad he made it here so early. He passes the time by striking up conversation with strangers, and later getting distracted by an informational video on the moon colony. Though Lunaria is so far away, the starry-eyed recruit feels like it’s within his grasp for the first time. He can almost breathe that artificial air. There’s still no sign of the rest of his crew, but he doesn’t feel like much time has passed. He continues talking to the other passengers in waiting, until they suddenly get up and start boarding one of the spacecraft. He gets the feeling something is off, but decides to wait a few more minutes. He’s too mesmerised by the Lunaria info-video. As he learns new facts about the moon colony, minutes upon minutes pass.

Still no sign of his crew.

Maybe now is a good time to check the time. The slightly concerned ranger pulls out his phone, and what displays before him makes his eyes widen in horror. It’s 25 minutes past when his ship should have taken off. He frantically makes his way over to the receptionist.

“E-excuse me! This is the boarding area for the Celestion ships, isn’t it?”

“Oh, no sir.” the receptionist corrects. “Are you with the Interstellar Forces?”

 Frantically, the ranger nods. “Yes! I was supposed to be boarding a ship 25 minutes ago. D-do you know where it might be??”

“All IF spacecraft are located on the other side of the spaceport.” The polite receptionist motions directly behind the recruit. 

“Thank you, thank you so much,” He shakes the receptionist’s hand vigorously. “I can’t thank you enough, seriously! My career is in your hands!” 

The stocky star ranger quickly runs toward his new destination, stumbling and nearly dropping his bags along the way. Did the others leave without him? He sure hopes the others didn’t leave without him. As beautiful as the spaceport is, he wouldn’t want to be stuck waiting there while his crew has the time of their lives in space. Time is of the essence. There’s no room for distractions, not even--Oooh, is that a replica of the spaceport? His little brother would love something like this! Maybe he should take a picture to show him--No. Now is not the time for that! He is on a mission, and nothing can get in his way. He passes by souvenir shops with cute t-shirts that he’d love to get his hands on. Now is not the time for that. The fresh smell of cheesy pizza pursues him as he remembers he hadn’t eaten since the early morning. Now is not the time for that, either. Somebody calls the name Léonardo Summers in the background. Now is not the time for--

Wait.

That’s his name.

The frantic young recruit turns toward the source of that voice. It’s coming from a star ranger with a curly mass of bleached blond hair. A rush of relief washes over the rookie, and he rushes over to the person calling his name, almost dropping his bags in the process.

“W-Wait, that’s me! I’m…! I’m Léonardo Summers!” he yells between panting.

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

“Ah...gosh! I’m so sorry!” The brunet stops to catch his breath. Usually, he has much more stamina, but all the running around while carrying his luggage made his limbs feel like lead and his chest feel like it’s on fire. “I had been waiting in the completely wrong area and I thought it was the right area but I thought it was strange because no other star rangers were there, but I stayed anyway, I can’t even remember why I stayed there, then I checked my watch and it was like ‘Shoot, I’m late!’ and--”

The curly-haired star ranger chuckles. “It’s okay, man. catch your breath. Seems like we both had a busy day!”

“You can say that again!” the tired ranger replies, his voice now raspy. “Are you with the Celestion-5?”

“Yeah! The name’s Emil. I’ll be your lieutenant captain.”

Lieutenant captain? The young ranger has been expecting someone in their mid-twenties or early thirties to hold the position of lieutenant captain. This Emil looked around the same age as him, a recent high school graduate. Also, he looks amazing! He stands a couple inches taller than the awestruck recruit, around average height for a guy their age. His bright, amber eyes glistened with warmth and good nature. His skin is a deep olive tone that compliments his golden hair nicely, and vice-versa. He has a smile emanating with charisma. Is this guy even real?

“Ranger Summers, reporting for duty, sir!” The rookie drops one of his bags so he can properly salute to his superior. Might as well try to make as good of an impression as he can, after being so late.

“Pleasure to meet you too! Want me to help you with your bags? You looked like you were struggling earlier.”

“Ah! Thank you!” he hands the lieutenant the bag he’s still holding. “Here, this one is lighter.”

“Thanks!” The young lieutenant takes the bag firmly in one hand and offers a handshake with the other. His grip is crushing, but the recruit doesn’t show any anguish. “Shall we be off? The others are waiting for us!”

“Yeah!” Reinvigorated, the new ranger picks up his other bag with newfound energy and a smile to match it.

“You’ve got a lot of spirit, Léonardo!” Emil appears to have inherited the rookie's energy. “I think I’m gonna like you!” He winks.

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

The two head off to the rest of their crew.