FIVE MONTHS LATER
We first glimpse the planet at 0700 hours.
On the observation deck of the Tuliare, Logan and I stand hand in hand before the window with a group of people, including Nellie, Ariadne, and Sam, blinking at the bright yellow Zanda star floating out in the otherwise empty darkness. The tinted windows protect our eyes, so we can stare directly at the light beaming from the star’s surface. As our battle station slowly circles the sun, the planet Marden comes into view for the first time.
It’s a murky reddish-brown color from far away, but as we move closer I make out the blue-green of the oceans. The world looks even more beautiful than I imagined it. It is a harsh one, and we will face trial and error helping the vegetation to thrive again. But with vul and humans working together, we will save it.
Two moons hang in the sky beyond Marden, both smaller than the moon orbiting Kiel. They are round, one dark gray and the other icy silver. Neither is poisonous, because moons aren’t meant to be.
This isn’t just a new world, a new place to call home. It’s a promise of a life I once believed impossible. A chance to live many more years, and have children of my own that could grow up without fearing kill chambers or an acid sky. If I decide I want children. It’s a choice now, not a requirement like in the work camp.
Our lives will evolve into something different here. I don’t know what they will be like, but I hope they’ll be better.
“It certainly looks promising,” Logan says with a wry smile.
I laugh and intertwine my fingers with his. “I guess we’ll find out.”
“Together?”
“Together.”