Empty Toward The Moon

Prologue

...Oh, let a man of spirit venture where he pleases
And never tip his golden cup empty toward the moon
Bring in the wine!
Let your cups never rest!
Let me sing you a song!
Let your ears attend!
What are bell and drum, rare dishes and treasure?
Let me be forever drunk (fighting) and never come to reason!
~ Bring in the Wine by Chinese Poet Li Bai (ca 705 – 762) ~

Prologue

The night sky above reflected a billion pins of starlight. Dark blades of grass crushed under foot. The fire light reflected off the short squat trees surrounding the clearing where the Company has set up base. The energy shield kept in the filtered air and kept out the wild animals. I pause, looking over my shoulder one last time, watching everyone who means everything to me, my Company, my family, my home. And I leave them all behind, step through the energy shield, and walk away.

[You don't have to do this, Cia.] Nova speaks, his voice drenched in worry.

If I don't, who will? Latte or Tom? You would make them do it, Nova? What about our alien friends, Earliu or Mocha? The AI? Your kids? Who, Nova?

[He said to wait for him. We need to wait.] His voice was even smaller, tinged with frustration.

You think they wouldn't just splatter those rocks from orbit then pick up Tourmaline pieces afterwards? They don't need any of us alive. Just DNA swabs and a petri dish.

[Cia...]

I know, Nova. It was a good run while it lasted, but now it's time to go, Brain Hijacker, I smirked.

[Meat bag.] He murmured.

Tourmaline, my organic starship and the last of her kind, was waiting for us and closed us in after we walked up the ramp to the cargo bay. She gave us a quick lift to the bridge deck. By the time I sit down in the command chair, Tourmaline has lifted off from the planet surface.

As we fly up through the atmosphere, the bridge forward screen projects the armada of ten battleships who are currently waiting for us to hand ourselves over. Ransom ourselves for the lives of everyone on the planet below.

So this is it then. I wonder if there wasn't anything else we could have done. Pulling up a holopic of the last person to give my goodbyes, I look at his beautiful sea green eyes with shimmering flecks of silver light. My gut clenches tightly at what I have decided to do and my heart pains, throbbing, deep and sharp. I take a deep breath and put his holopic away.

"Let's do this, Tour, Nova. I'll see you on the other side." I salute the screen before us.

[Let me be forever fighting and never come to reason! ]

"Let US be forever fighting and never come to reason." I respond.

[For ten thousand generations, Cia.]

"Ten thousand generations," was my reply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is an ORIGINAL webnovel by author JV Findlay. Feel free to support her work over on ko-fi.com/jvfindlay ♥~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~