Alex looked outside his window, staring at the beautiful blue planet their ship was rapidly approaching.
The ship made its slow but steady approach to Mars. Through the large observation windows, they could see the transformation of the red planet.
Once a barren, desolate landscape, Mars had undergone hundreds of years of terraforming, turning it into a lush, Earth-like planet. Vast oceans glistened under the sunlight, sprawling forests covered the land, and massive cities dotted the surface, connected by an intricate web of transportation systems.
"Look at it, Alex," Mira whispered, her voice filled with awe. "Mars is... breath taking."
Alex nodded, his eyes wide with wonder. "It's incredible. Hard to believe it used to be a lifeless rock."
As their ship descended through the atmosphere, the view of the terraformed planet grew clearer.
They could see massive cities filled with skyscrapers and bustling traffic of people everywhere within, surrounded by verdant countryside and shimmering bodies of water.
"We have arrived at our destination, we wish you all a safe journey from here on!"
An announcement blared out from one of the loudspeakers, bringing Alex and Mira out of their awe.
The ship made a smooth landing at the main spaceport on Mars. The passengers were instructed to disembark and proceed to the inspection area.
Alex and Mira gathered their belongings and joined the line, moving through the process with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
As they reached the front of the line, a stern looking security officer scanned their IDs and documents.
"State your business on Mars," the officer demanded.
Neither of the two were surprised at the strict security checks, as this whole Solar system was under tight wraps, which was expected considering it was the centre of the Federation and its control over the galaxy.
While Alex was busy with looking for his documents on his communicator, Mira cleared her throat. "We're here to enrol in Capital Prime. We have our acceptance letters and all necessary documentation."
The officer scrutinised their papers, then spoke. "All newly enrolled students should have been here already. Thousands of people come through these checks every year with forged papers trying to enter Capital Prime, and none succeed. What makes you think you'll be the ones to break this record?"
At first, Mira didn't even react as she had done everything properly and followed all the rules. But she couldn't help but be gobsmacked when this officer was accusing them of forging their documents!
Not to mention, the officer hadn't presented any evidence other than them being late, which made this situation seem even more suspicious.
"Screw those damn rich kids and their entrance letters!"
Roan shouted at the top of his lungs the moment Alex and Mira had left.
He was the officer who stopped them from entering.
And he had just received a disciplinary action notice on his communicator.
'Screw that Professor Will, he said he wouldn't pursue the matter any further if I let them pass!'
However while Roan was venting his anger in any way he could, his communicator started ringing once again.
This time it was a call from his manager.
He quickly freshened himself up and calmed down, before he picked up the call.
"Good morning sir, I hope-"
"Cut the bullshit. You're fired, Roan."
His manager instantly shut down his glazing and got straight to the point.
"I've given you too many chances over the last 6 months, but this time you really screwed up. How the hell did you manage to land in the bad books of Professor Will Wothers!? I warned you not to keep bothering the newly enrolled students just because your own kids didn't make the cut, yet you never listened. I'm sorry Roan, but this is goodbye.
You've been removed from your position, effective immediately."
All of a sudden, Roan felt his world come toppling down all at once.
'No...'
'All this just because I was messing with some kids...'
One second he was happily 'doing his job' as a customs officer, and the next he was getting dragged out of the terminal by the security.
'Fuck this shitty world! Life is so unfair!'