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The Song of the Stars, Part 3
Gleaming silver spheres lined the shore. For a season they sat. Unmoving. Mysterious. Terrifying and beautiful.
The Song of the Stars, Part 2
The landlord spewed his drink. “Buy the land?” Incredulity dripped from his words like the wine from his beard. He examined the writ of commerce. “You’ve made just one mistake; This scrap o’ parchment only says you can buy land.”
The Song of the Stars, Part 1
As a girl, Alessi would gaze at the night sky. Without a formal education, she did not know the names of the stars, but that didn’t stop her from dreaming of them. She imagined that they were singing to her, a whispered song of what they wished to be called. The stars filled her with purpose and guidance. She couldn’t have explained why or how, but she knew that her life had been laced with destiny.
We Are Stardust (pt. 5)
Another few weeks passed and eventually Massoud gave up her efforts to teach the Petrans to farm. Hughes began spending more time on the surface, eventually only returning to the Exodus to sleep, and that only because Nyoka had insisted on it. Nyoka could feel control of the mission slipping away from her.
We Are Stardust (pt. 4)
Although no one had said it aloud or written it down or filled out any of the paperwork that could have made it official, Nyoka saw Rivera as her protégé, who would someday be in command of her own crew. The woman was in love with the stars; had said as much in her initial evaluation.
We Are Stardust (pt. 3)
Before the shuttle touched down, a ring of Petrans had formed around the clearing. As Nyoka stepped onto the alien world, she could not shake the lightness she felt. Beyond the weaker gravity of a less massive planet, standing on the bluish grass surrounded by indigo leaves, something in Nyoka lifted.
We Are Stardust (pt. 2)
Nyoka couldn’t slow her heart rate nor control her breathing. The tiny acrobat’s speed became unmanageable and it careened off the bar, launching into orbit. Nyoka was walk-jogging to the docking bay where Massoud and Rivera had just offboarded.