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The o back to their homes or settle on a colony, an outpost, or another planet But others didn’t have anywhere to go or wanted to serve on her ship The pickings weren’t always great, and she had to make sure she kept everyone fed She was the captain, after all She was also the person who had saved some of them from similar circumstances and found their newest crewfor new jobs So o” that so more heartless would have made the last nineteen years easier on her

At least, she thought it had been nineteen years It was hard to keep track of tih she was only eight when her world was destroyed, it was strange to recall a time before she knew of the existence of other species, planets, and inhabited solar systems

The highlight of every day had been breakfast at the table with her parents everyShe only realized tha

t now, though, when she thought back to it as an adult She reet dressed by herself and meet her parents’ downstairs before school

“Sloan, hurry up or you won’t have time for breakfast,” her mom had called up to her as she made her way down the stairs

“Co down Sloan had had her backpack on, filled with everything she’d needed for her class presentation She’d slid into her seat at the kitchen table and dug into her pancakes

“Be sure to chew your food, honey, or you’re going to choke” Her dad had chuckled Sloan had smiled up at him

“What do you want for your birthday, honey?” Her mom had reached for a muffin

“Can I go to the movies with my friends?”

“Sure You don’t want a party, sweetie?” her dad had said, ruffling her hair and placing a glass of orange juice in front of her

“No, Dad I want go to theout with my friends”

“Look at our baby Growing up so fast” Sloan’s mom had taken hold of her dad’s hand while she cooed

Her birthday had been great They went to a movie, and her mom and dad even took them out to dinner afterward Mom and Dad had sat at a table next to theirs and let the back to how quickly she’d had to grow up after what had happened next, Sloan wished she could have had another carefree party with lots of friends, silly party ga cake That had been her last birthday on Earth

It had been three weeks after her tenth birthday that the ships had arrived Everyone had freaked out about their arrival, but Sloan had been happy to have a new Trapper Keeper to take to school and show all her friends It had taken a while for it to set in that things had changed in a way she couldn’t even cos had beenon school break Sloan re out with her friends

That had been when her parents had told her she would no longer be going to school Worried about not seeing her friends, Sloan had tried to convince her parents to at least let her walk to their houses, but it was no use Her friends spent all their time in front of the TV Sloan’s parents had tried to shield her fros still stuck out She re froeneral chaos