The
homelight spills across the moon’s rocky, craggy surface. I’ve never seen
homerise before, and as the bright blue planet lifts above the horizon, I’m
sorry I didn’t visit our moon sooner. Clouds cover the continents, but I can make out
the lights of Aris City along the coast. I try not to think about the bomb
craters around it.
What I
wouldn’t give to watch the homerise every morning. I wonder if it changes with
the seasons. But I doubt I’ll ever find out.
Maybe I’ll
be one of the lucky ones. Not every Starcruiser is shot down. They say one in
ten makes it through. And then maybe I can come back one day, watch the
homerise of a free world. If there’s anything left.
A hundred of
us shuffle through the boarding gate. Lights move among the stars overhead, and
I know they aren’t satellites. The last fighter escorts make a low pass over
the Starcruiser. They’re all that’s left.
I follow behind
a teenage girl, down the rows of dark, cramped seats to our own. There are no
windows, only harnesses and emergency lights. And after we lift free of the
gravity, there’s no way to know how close they are. I close my eyes and imagine
seeing the homerise again someday.
Not every Starcruiser is shot down.
Points: 7
Reviews: 13
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