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Seeing The Way
It was always hot on the planet Bytoria V, the binary suns made it so. All citizens wore protective glasses to shield their eyes, but they weren't provided by the State. People traded them, passed them on to family or friends, but they remained expensive. They filtered out the harmful rays. An essential, for those who could get them. Those who could not would buy cheap knock-off versions and end up scarred or blind. Bright red scorch marks round their eyes, or the milky residue of white irises where once were working retinas. It was a harsh atmosphere outside of the biospheres that regulated atmospherics.
Leon was an Outsider. It meant her grew up beyond the biospheres where the wealthy lived. His dad was an off-worlder he'd never met, and his mum worked in the mines for minimum wage. Mostly he was left to fend for himself, and at eighteen he was old enough to sign up himself for the mines without parental consent. But nobody in their right minds wanted the job unless they were desperate. It was poor conditions and minimum wages, a job usually reserved for prisoners and criminals. They served their time in the labour camps under lock and key, but there were some free souls who chose to try their luck. The corporation gave you an allotted work consignment and you were paid by the load. Any funds of Berodium crystals were property of said employer, but with a bonus of 3% going to the finder. That was a lot of money, even for a small crystal the size of your little finger. Berodium fed the space engines, and was the planet's chief export.
Leon was a handsome guy. His long slender antennae were just sprouting fur, and he had a beautiful spotted fur line from his head down his back to his tail. The rest of him was smooth and fine, a dark cinnamon colour. What was unusual were his gorgeous grey green eyes, like moss in shadow, inherited from his father's genes. A lot of the inhabitants of his planet saw his beauty, but few paid him attention because of his social caste. He was Outsider, poor and non-educated, and his status was clearly evident from his bedraggled pair of glasses. They were old and ramshackle, a dangerous thing to be wearing substandard ray blockers.
The young Bytorian had suffered more than most growing up. His mum had received many offers to buy him for the Anderuduan pleasure houses, but she was loyal,...
Leon was an Outsider. It meant her grew up beyond the biospheres where the wealthy lived. His dad was an off-worlder he'd never met, and his mum worked in the mines for minimum wage. Mostly he was left to fend for himself, and at eighteen he was old enough to sign up himself for the mines without parental consent. But nobody in their right minds wanted the job unless they were desperate. It was poor conditions and minimum wages, a job usually reserved for prisoners and criminals. They served their time in the labour camps under lock and key, but there were some free souls who chose to try their luck. The corporation gave you an allotted work consignment and you were paid by the load. Any funds of Berodium crystals were property of said employer, but with a bonus of 3% going to the finder. That was a lot of money, even for a small crystal the size of your little finger. Berodium fed the space engines, and was the planet's chief export.
Leon was a handsome guy. His long slender antennae were just sprouting fur, and he had a beautiful spotted fur line from his head down his back to his tail. The rest of him was smooth and fine, a dark cinnamon colour. What was unusual were his gorgeous grey green eyes, like moss in shadow, inherited from his father's genes. A lot of the inhabitants of his planet saw his beauty, but few paid him attention because of his social caste. He was Outsider, poor and non-educated, and his status was clearly evident from his bedraggled pair of glasses. They were old and ramshackle, a dangerous thing to be wearing substandard ray blockers.
The young Bytorian had suffered more than most growing up. His mum had received many offers to buy him for the Anderuduan pleasure houses, but she was loyal,...
