LXVI. Sun.
"What is it?" I gaze sidelong at eh blazing blue orb before us, unable to look directly into its radiance.
"A new sun," Luke answers. "A millennia of dust, condensing together particle by particle until it finally ignites."
"There's dust out there?"
Luke laughs. "As long as there's creation, there'll be waste. It just drifts until it forms something new."
"It's beautiful."
"It's Akaru."
Akaru, A brilliant diamond of the night sky, born of the castaways of another time. I shiver with the sense of rightness in the word.
In the light of a heavenly miracle, I've found a name.
LXVII. Moon.
I pity this moon, our temporary sanctuary. It broke away from its planet years ago, only to be trapped by gravity. Now it circles and circles, free to move, but not where it chooses.
We've been here for two weeks, and I'm getting impatient. Luke says they're trying to place us somewhere safe. I tell him I don't want to be placed. I want to find a new life for myself.
"Be patient, Akaru," he says. "The galaxy's bigger than you think."
I'm too angry to reply. I guess for now I'm stuck here, swinging around on a gravitational chain.
LXVIII. Stars.
I've taken to talking to the stars. They're the only bit of brightness in this place. Everything is dull, even the people. My companions from the mines haven't recovered as I have. They drift aimlessly, still the lifeless, biddable livestock they were before. No-one on this rock is worth talking to.
Except Luke. His brilliant, thought-provoking conversation brings life to my days. I wish I could spend all my time with him, even just sitting and enjoying the peaceful energy that rolls off him. But he has things to do.
So I settle for the inconstant company of the sky.
LXIX. Clouds.
Finally, I'm going somewhere. But the clouds around us are solid, and I can't see what lies ahead.
We're headed to a peaceful, prosperous planet where it should be easy to find a new job, a new life. The problem is, I'm not sure that's what I want.
Luke has been telling me about his life, a traveling, exciting existence. There is no everyday for him. That's what I want. Variety. To see everything this galaxy has to offer. As I've discovered these past few weeks, I can't tolerate stability.
I look out the window again. The clouds are clearing.
LXX. Planet.
We're here, and it's time for me to decide. The ground beneath my feet fees safe. It doesn't move or falter, doesn't drop out from beneath me. But I can't shake the feeling that if I stay here, I'll never leave. I love my freedom too much to lose it again.
"I can't stay."
Luke doesn't look surprised. Instead, he shakes his head with a sigh I can't decipher.
"You're guaranteed security here."
"I don't want a guarantee."
"I know." He meets my eyes reluctantly. "And I don't want to leave you here."
"Then let's go."
"Right now?"
"Right now."