Christmas Starlight - 1. Chapter 1

As we passed through the decorated market, lit by the orange glow of ancient lights that simulated ‘sunset’, Marius dragged me across the ‘town square’ at the center of the market past the tall pine tree that grew there, and around the small tables toward the ancient collections stall located against the far wall of the Market Bay. We weaved our way through the throngs of families with children dashing about, the various people surrounding stalls, haggling for the best price, the lines at the food stalls, and others just looking for some excitement. The various stalls had small decorations for the holiday to draw attention to their secondhand and recycled wares. At one stand, a woman was trying to trade a small shirt for a larger one while holding on to a young growing child's hand. The next stall we passed sold little of value and seemed to be a place for the elderly to discuss and bicker about the market and its people. Another stall had so many teens crowded around it that I couldn’t see the wares, but I knew from when I was their age that it held cheap things to wear and a few games. Marius’ eyes lit up like little supernovas when he saw the array of old computers, handheld games, little devices and gadgets that I had no clue about, and a various array of semi-identifiable household items. What drew my eye was a small display to one side that held books in clear boxes. Real books! They were actually made from hundreds of sheets of paper. The only times I had ever held one were at my grandmother’s, and in history class. Grams had two as heirlooms. While Marius was rifling through the obsolete gadgetry, I picked up one of the cases. The faded cover held an intricate design in the center with words above and a name below.

“That one is a classic from the Earth days,” the elderly lady stall owner said. “It was very popular at the time. You would be hard pressed to find it elsewhere.” Most books were passed down in families or sold at auction, so she wasn’t wrong about that. Finding books at market was an opportunity I wouldn’t pass up, but she didn’t need to know that.

“How much?”

“A thousand credits each.” She smiled. That was the end auction price for certain volumes with a packed house. None of these books were iconic enough for her price. I grinned inside, knowing her game.

“Wouldn’t something like this run for around… three hundred?” I threw back. She dramatically scoffed at my price.

“No way, young man!” She waved her arms in front of her, a bit too much. “Nine hundred, at least.” We went back and forth a bit before we arrived at truly fair price.

“I’ll take these two.” I indicated them and then paid. She smiled at me and thanked me. I walked over to see if Marius found something to buy as I put the books in my market satchel. “Have you found more things to clutter the few surfaces left at our place?”

“Yup,” he answered with a slightly giddy look and then looked over at me. “I see you have, too.”

“I have,” I responded smiling, and just watched as he continued to look and check prices with the haggler.

“Wanna go to the sugar-ice stall?” Marius asked after haggling her down to reasonable prices.

“That sounds good.” I nodded as he was handed back his chip card. Before we could start toward the sugar stall, a resounding beep cut through the din of the market and we stopped moving. As the second beep sounded, families gathered together and parents picked up their small ones. With the third beep everyone had settled in. Instead of a fourth beep, all power shut down. The only light left was the faint glow of the paint that marked the walkways, and chemical lights above the doors and a few stalls. Unlike the previous din, there was hushed conversation as everyone awaited the end of the unscheduled blackout.

Neither of us said a word, but Marius pulled me to him and set his chin on my shoulder. As I played with the hem of Marius’ jacket, I could hear a mother trying to comfort her child not too far away. Most kids didn’t understand the blackouts and few adults had the heart to explain the reasons behind them. Marius held me tighter as the time dragged on in the dark.

After a very long twenty minutes, the lights began to flicker back to life, the air started moving through the market again, and the sound of coolers and heaters coming back on was soon drowned out by the return of the sounds of the market. Everyone returned to what they had been doing before the blackout, but the smiles now appeared slightly forced. Marius and I locked eyes and he indicated the exit. I nodded. Neither of us were in the mood for the market anymore, so we made our way back across the market.

“Are those truly necessary?” a worried woman asked the nearest person.

“That one seemed longer,” someone commented.

“Do you think that’s the only one for today?”

“They should find a solution soon. Right?”

Many people were discussing the blackout but no one wanted to discuss the reason for it. The ship’s generators were starting to fail in spite of constant repairs and attempted upgrades. Our flying city had simply not been designed to last this long. The power from the generators was stored in energy banks and then distributed from there. Recently, the energy banks didn’t have enough power to send out again. When the engineers discovered this, the commanders ordered all non-vital systems to be shut down at ‘night’. That had solved the problem for a number of years. After the first ship-wide blackout, a system was put in place that initiated a temporary blackout in any sector drawing too much power.

Once we had reached our quarters, I pulled out my books and set them on our coffee table as Marius found space on his workbench for his new gadgets. Our quarters were small, with a single bedroom, a bathroom, and then a single room for everything else. This was quite a common arrangement, although we had more things sitting on the counters, stands, and shelving units. We both enjoyed collecting odd things, him his gadgets and me my stories. We had a viewer attached to the wall with an array of video cards in organized containers beneath it. The shelves next to it were filled with electronic readers that had been filled with stories. The wall across from the door was taken up by Marius’ workbench, materials and tools. He had shelves above the workbench filled with various things, most of which I had no clue about.

Carefully, I opened up the plastic cases and pulled out one of the books. I realized the design on the front was of a tree. I took a moment to take in the feel and look of the ancient book. It had a faint smell to it, not a bad one, but still distinct. Lightly, I lifted the cover, not wanting to break it, and began leafing through the pages. I stopped on a page, admiring the text.

She stopped on her way through the field to take in the way the sun warmed her skin and the wind lifted her hair gently.

The passage sounded wonderful and I couldn’t help but smile, even if I was a bit jealous of the girl in the story.

“Neil,” Marius called my name, drawing my attention to him. He had turned around in his stool watching me. “How’d you like to go up to the gardens?”

“That sounds wonderful.” I set the book down as I stood up from the couch. I stepped into his arms for a light kiss. He intertwined his fingers with mine and gently pulled me into the corridor.

As we approached the gardens, Marius appeared to become nervous. I couldn’t understand the reason though. I lost my train of thought as we entered the gardens. This room was massive under the thick tinted, but still transparent, ceiling that showed the expanse of space. We walked down the central stone walkway bordered by trees and flowers. Light played off the glittering decorations in the trees around us. Winding paths marked by plastic candy canes were on either side of us dividing up the sections of overgrowth. The plants in this room were mostly for oxygen, but many plants had edible berries, seeds, or other parts if you knew what to eat. The farms were in a separate room to protect the food supplies. We started down one of the smaller paths that lead to a small clearing with a bench. This was our favorite spot. Whenever one of us was troubled, we would come here and the other could always find him here to talk if we had fought. We sat on the bench and looked up to space, as always. There was a star near us, which explained the room being a bit lighter than usual. Since the energy problems had started, they had reduced our ship to move on minimal thrust, so I hadn’t seen a star so close since I was a child. It was a beautiful sight. I felt Marius’ fingers on my chin as he gently turned my head to look at him showing me a serious and passionate look.

“Neil-” he was cut off by the blackout indicator. He sighed and rested his head on my shoulder as we waited for the lights to be turned off. Thanks to the not too distant star, the room was faintly lit enough that we could still see each other. He took a deep breath and lifted his head. He placed his hands on either side of my face, looked into my eyes, and began speaking, “Neil, I couldn’t get through life on this failing ship if it weren’t for you.” I began to return the sentiment, but he shushed me with his thumb on my lips. “You are the most beautiful man I have ever met, inside and out. I love the way you get lost in your world of stories and I love that you still care about others outside of fiction. I love everything about you. I love you. You are who I want to spend the rest of my days doing more than surviving on this ship with. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. Marry me, Neil?”

I froze out of surprise and excitement. We had known each other since we were kids in our small school. Despite a two year age gap, we became fast friends flocking together like birds of a feather from the old stories. Throughout our teens we had dated others for short periods, not realizing how we really felt for each other. One night at a friend’s party, my best friend shoved us together and crowned us Couple of the Night, a game where the rules seem to change every time it's played, but typically involve being tied together and doing silly things. Playing ridiculous games with our hands tied together made it click. We wanted to be together. When Marius’ sister had gotten pregnant and moved into a two bedroom with her husband, we finally had the opportunity to live and just to be together. Marius’ concerned expression made me realize I had been quiet for too long. I snapped out of it.

“Yes! Of course!” I shouted and then jumped him, kissing him with everything I had. We kept kissing, holding each other tight until the lights came back on. We spent a moment gazing into each other’s eyes. I turned my gaze upward to watch as the stars seemed to move with my emotions. Wait. I wasn’t imagining it. The stars were moving across the ceiling. We were picking up speed!

“Marius, Look!” I excitedly indicated the sky. Before either of us could pose a question, the crackle that signaled a ship-wide announcement sounded.

“Today, we confirmed the presence of a planet capable of supporting human life,” the commander’s voice sounded from the speakers. We both looked at each other in shock. “We have increased speed in the direction of this world. We hope to determine the safety of this planet by the new year and claim it as our new home. Merry Christmas everyone.” The announcement ended. Slowly cheers could be heard throughout the gardens.

Marius and I jumped up from the bench. I walked a few feet away and spun around, looking at the ship that had been my life until that point, letting the coming changes and possibilities sink in. Marius held open his arms for me once again and I ran into them.

“Let’s have an outside wedding,” I breathed, then nervously added, “if we get to live on the planet.” He nodded into my shoulder.

“Maybe,” he proposed, “we can have a ‘house’ with a ‘yard’ WHEN we get to the new planet.”

“I think all my dreams have come true today,” I said. He pulled back to look at me.

“Merry Christmas, Neil.”

“Merry Christmas, Marius.” I kissed him with all the emotions running through me.