Stargazers

14. The Ultimate Sacrifice

     The celebration of the Colony's independence was made that much more special when the three astronauts from Earth were introduced to deafening cheers from the crowd in attendance. Not only were people happy to see new people on their world, but this was actually the first full confirmation that Earth had survived the asteroid that had threatened to wipe them all out. That alone was another reason to celebrate the big day as the people partied, many long into the night. It was a grand celebration, but one that eventually settled down without any incidents, and everyone eventually went home. Nathan was still full of energy so he left the house where he was staying with his crew and went for a walk on his own. While he was strolling down the street, he was amazed how much like any American town this colony looked like, as well as noting how great it was to stroll around without having to be worried about cars running by and possibly hitting you. It was dark in the colony, but there were street lights making the ability to walk around easier. The people were very polite as well, just saying hello and moving on, not doing anything to bother the new visitor. It wasn't until about twenty minutes after Nathan left the house that someone walked up to speak with him

     "Excuse me," the young lady asked, as she seemed to be only a little older than he was. "Aren't you one of the new visitors?"

     "I am," Nathan said, extending a hand, "I'm Nathan."

     "Jessica," the young lady replied, "Are you lost?"

     "No, I'm just wandering around." Nathan told her, "I find it easier to look around without everyone around at night. I'm also having trouble sleeping; this is all just so exciting."

     "I can imagine," Jessica said, gesturing to her left. "There's a really nice park on this side where you can look at the stars and sometimes the moons. Let me show you."

     "Sure," Nathan said, following her.

     He followed her to the other side and like she had said, there was a park that a lot of kids enjoyed using during the day, but at night it was especially nice for looking up through the glass dome and at the brightly lit stars above. They walked over to a nice patch and laid down on the grass so they could keep looking up.

     "This is amazing," Nathan said, still looking up, "the same stars, but seen from a different part of the galaxy."

     "It's a perk, I won't deny it." Jessica replied, "one some nights, we can even see Earth but we have to use a telescope."

     Nathan sat up and looked back at her, "Do you miss Earth? You were old enough to remember it."

     "I do sometimes," Jessica replied, "I miss watching new television shows."

     "Oh, I got that covered," Nathan said, laughing. "We brought data cubes with most of the shows that have aired over the last fourteen years. We also brought over the most popular movies from that time as well."

     "Wow!" Jessica said as she sat up, "That is going to make a lot of people happy."

     "We came in peace," Nathan continued, "Nothing says it better like coming over with something to watch and goodies."

     "Goodies?" Jessica repeated.

     "Candies for the kids," Nathan answered, "we brought a few boxes full. Not too much because we needed the space for our rations for the trip. We kind of ate some of the candy on the way too."

     Jessica laughed, "I'm not sure I could resist that temptation either."

     "There's still plenty left," Nathan said as he lay back down.