When she gets lost in worry again, Uly gives Devon a little boost. (Prompt: 006 Sunset)

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Kaleidoscope

She'd been struck dumb the first time she saw a sunset on G889.

It was the night after they'd crashed, before they'd even managed to determine their position. She'd had a thousand different things on her mind, most of them worries. But when she'd looked up to see a kaleidoscope of colors across the sky, all of those thoughts had fled to the back of her awareness for several long minutes.

That moment was the first time Devon had really understood just how much had been lost in during Earth's environmental devastation. She'd already decided that she wasn't going to allow a repeat of that destruction, but the first time she saw a sunset, the decision had become a vow. No matter what, she would not allow her people to make the same mistakes again.

There had been more sunsets since then, of course. In fact, she'd almost found herself getting used to them. They didn't affect her the same way anymore, and tonight was a night she mourned that fact. She could use something that would stop her racing thoughts.

They weren't going to make it in time.

She'd originally estimated nine months to New Pacifica, naïvely thinking they'd be able to travel twenty kilometers a day. That estimate had been proven wrong during the first week of their journey, but the two extra months she'd added to account for that would have still left them over a year to set up the colony once they arrived.

But that was before the approaching winter had forced them to stop and set up this semi-permanent camp. Devon's time calculations had flown right out the windows of the bio-dome.

Yale still believed they'd make it to New Pacifica on time, but when she'd pressed him, he'd admitted he wasn't sure they would have sufficient time to set up the colony. If they left here soon, they'd probably be okay. But if they didn't….

Devon sighed, reminding herself that it was a miracle Eden Advance was still here at all. Like the sunsets, they hadn't known what they were missing until they encountered new things.

"Mom?"

Uly's eyes stared up from between a hat and a scarf. "I didn't hear you come up."

"You looked like you were a million klicks away."

"Not quite so far." She forced a laugh for his sake. "Only a few thousand."

"New Pacifica again?"

"Yes." She knelt down so she was at his eye level. "It's going to be dark soon. Why are you still outside?"

"I wanted to watch the sunset with you," he answered.

She didn't have to force her smile this time, as she put an arm around his shoulders. "Thank you. I'm glad to have someone to share it with."

He leaned against her. "Don't worry, Mom. We'll make it there in time to set up the colony."

"I certainly hope so."

"We will. You'll see. The Terrians say it gets easier on the other side of the river. We'll travel faster then."

"But we still have to get there first, sweetie. And the Terrians don't have the same sense of time we do. It won't be as easy for us as it is for them, either, since we can't swim through the earth."

"We'll still get there," he insisted. "It's going to be spring soon. That's why the Terrians are talking to me again. They're already out of hibernation, you know."

"No," she said quietly. "I didn't know."

"Well, they are. So we'll come out of hibernation again soon too." He pointed at the sky. "You're missing the last of the sunset."

Above them, the reds and oranges had shaded into purples and blues. Devon put her other arm around Uly and hugged him close until full darkness fell. She hadn't really thought of Winter Camp as hibernation before, but the comparison made sense. It also made sense to think the Terrians' coming out of hibernation was an indicator that spring was on the way.

As the stars came out, she smiled again. It was to herself, but it was sincere, because Uly's words had replaced her despair with hope.

They still had time. They could still make it.