Surprisingly the trip to the spaceport went smoothly, and no one even glanced twice at me. It must be the uniform with my golden hair and sapphire eyes. I stand out like a twelve-foot krojen bull in a herd of frill's not because frills were small but because the krojen bull has a streak of blue flame along its spine. The locals all have dark skin, dark eyes, and white hair, and if your different in any of these traits, you're an outsider and without any rights. They only put up with the spacemen because, without their trade, everyone would thirst to death in a matter of weeks.

I was taken from my contemplations by a voice to my right. At some point, I had entered a large group of people wearing various colors of uniforms waiting for the spaceport lift. "Hey, squirt, how did you get your dorm mother to let you take a trip off the ship?"

Turning to my right, I find myself face to face with the man who gave me this uniform. " I uh um well, I was lucky, and she was in a good mood, I guess. Your Felix, right?"

Felix puffed out his chest and stared off into the distance. "Being too handsome should be a sin. I can't even walk onto a backward planet in the fringe without running into my fans." The older man standing on his right rolled his eyes and swatted the back of his head. "Owe hey, don't be jealous. I can't help how good-looking I am."

"Ah no, I heard this Uncle call you that. That's how I knew your name." I said while pointing at the older man beside Felix.

The Older man spluttered. "Uncle, now come on, I'm only twenty-one." Felix was almost bent double laughing at my comment. Well, until he figured out the rest of my sentence, then he sobered up.

"Wait, how can you not recognize me? I'm the captain's only child; I have sat next to him at every ship gathering since the day I was born," Felix exclaimed while staring at me in shock.

While I internally panic, I kept a straight face with an apologetic smile on my face. " I'm sorry I am not allowed out very often."

This time the older man shoved Felix out of the way. Sticking out his hand, he introduced himself. "My name is Harold." While I stared at his hand, wondering what to do, Harold's face became stern. "I'm guessing by your actions you did not receive permission to leave the ship." He moved behind me with a sigh and placed both hands on my shoulders, and he pushed me onto the lift that had arrived, then he continued. "The rules are there for our protection. You can never underestimate the fringe worlds. That's why we don't let kids who haven't passed the exams to go planetside."

At this point, my panic was beginning to become apparent to everyone, especially Harold, who could feel me shaking with his hands on my shoulders. Glancing up at the people crowded around me, I see that some are watching me get reprimanded. Most gave me a wink and a smile, but many older men and women gave me disapproving glares that only made my shaking worse.

After a minute of this, Felix knocks Harold's hands off my shoulders before wrapping an arm around my neck and lowering his voice so only the three of us can hear. "no worries, Harold and I can sneak you past old Iron eagle Benson, but you will owe us a favor in the future deal?"

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I didn't know what else to do, so I nodded. Well, I already owe Felix a favor anyway, so what's one more? But how come Felix doesn't recognize me? It's been barely over an hour since he gave me the uniform? I got my answer ten minutes later when we walked onto a large raised platform with a silver shuttle idling in the center. Harold shoved me into a group of youngsters carrying crates onto the shuttle while they walked toward a tall, middle-aged man with more muscles than every constable in my neighborhood combined.

Mixing in with the crowd, I finally figured out why Felix and Harold never questioned if I belonged. Everyone here is in a white and silver uniform. The girls all have golden hair and blue eyes while the boys have silver hair and green eyes. Even stranger, the girls are all gorgeous, and the boys are really good looking—kind of like what you would expect on a teen drama. That's weird. This group all look alike, but Felix Harold and the middle-aged man I assume is iron eagle Benson has black hair and eyes. Well, at least Aunti Lue snuck me in to take a bath yesterday, so I am cleaner than usual.

Well, I say we look similar except that everyone here towers over my four foot nine inches. The boys by a foot or more, and the girls are anywhere from six to ten inches taller. Several were staring at me with raised eyebrows, and I caught several murmurs wondering how a little kid got into their group. Soon a cheerful voice to my side asks me. "Hey, sweetie, how did you end up in our group? Did you get separated from your dorm mother on an excursion?" Another boy said. "No, that can't be right. This world is flagged as a yellow danger level. They wouldn't let the kids out for an excursion here."

Honestly, if I weren't so scared right now, I would be really annoyed. I doubt I'm much younger than these kids. Remembering what Uncle Wang said about acting as if I belong and that I'm supposed to be somewhat arrogant, I say. "Um, I'm fourteen." It's probably not a lie since when non-citizens girls turn fifteen there sent to the brothels, and I'm still free. I can't be too old yet.

At my comment, the boys no longer paid me any mind, and the girl's eyes turned to pity as they looked down at me. The girl who first spoke to me patted my shoulder in a consoling way while staring at my skinny frame and flat chest. "Don't worry, hun; there's still time. Make sure to start eating right and listen to your dorm mother. She isn't just nagging you. It's for your own good."

I wonder how massive their ship is that they don't find it strange that they have never seen me before?

An older boy in the group turned toward me. "I doubt you can carry one of these crates by yourself, Marian. Why don't you team up with the runt for a bit as your almost as tiny."

The girl beside me, Marian, I guess, spluttered and said. "What do you mean I'm a good four inches taller and in much better physical condition."

Turning to get a better look, I can't say she is wrong. She is about five feet one inch and slim, not bone thin like me but athletically slim with two perky breasts that she is currently trying to show off by puffing out her chest. I'm not jealous, I swear.

A shout from Benson got everyone moving again. I wasn't sure what to do, so I followed Marian closely as she stopped to read a few labels before stopping at a crate and turning to me. "We should be able to carry this one if we work together." This crate, while not one of the largest, wasn't very small either. I nodded, grabbed the handle on one side with both hands, and gave it a test lift. It's not too heavy, but I can feel the strain on my arms, so I nod to Marian, and we follow the line of young adults up the ramp into the shuttle.