Page 36 of Stars At Dusk

‘And, how is Harlow?’ Selene said, waggling her brows at Kage.

‘Fine,’ he said, eyeing the couple warily. ‘Selene, you should check in on her,’ he continued.

‘I’ll let her settle in,’ the pretty woman said. ‘Then I’ll drop by and get a handle on how she is. Get all the sweet goss!’

‘You do that,’ Kage growled.

‘You must have been over the moon to see her,’ the Prime of Dunia simpered.

Kainan choked. ‘He was howling for her.’

‘Well, if the kiss I saw her give you at Zulu One is anything to go by, she’ll have been mooning over you too these last few months,’ Selene added cheekily.

‘A kiss already, and cooking for her? Damn, this has all the makings of a lunar love story,’ Kainan drawled.

‘Let off you two,’ Kage snarled. ‘You’ve become insufferable since shacking up!’

‘We just want everyone to be happy like we are,’ Selene said in mock innocence.

‘Remember what we talked about,’ Kainan guffawed in a full belly laugh. ‘It’s like someone said, shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you’ll land among the stars.’

Kage sucked his teeth. He’d had enough. He picked up his clothes and thrust them under his arms along with his boots. He stalked off, but only after giving the couple the full privilege of his middle finger.

‘Always good to see you, Kage,’ Selene called after him in a sing-song voice. ‘Love you to the moon and back again.’

He fled to the chorus of their raucous laughter.

Harlow

Morning on Eden II came with none of the accoutrements typical to the start of a day on Axuma. No birds chirping, neither feathery cirrus clouds in the sky, nor the lingering sounds of lakeside birds honking and quacking in the early morning.

Instead, one woke to a mostly silent, fauna-free, bright world.

On Eden II, with no air to absorb the full-on luminescence from the System’s twin suns, the glare peeking over the distant horizon hit all surfaces with the same intensity as the rays streaming down from overhead. If it were not for the intelligent diffusion of the dome above the metro, the moonscape would be blindingly bright.

Nevertheless, at 0400, the dome’s smart glass turned the full beams of starlight into wakefulness, with daybreak slowly illumining over two hours, just like a natural sunrise. However, it still was too lit for most planet dwellers unused to rousing on the rock.

Thank Dunia for a luxury suite with wall-to-wall black blinds, Harlow thought as she ventured to the bright shining patio with a cup of kahawa.

She instantly missed her early morning ritual of strolling out of her apartment with her kahawa cup to wander the shores of Lake Axuma. On those mornings, she’d toe off her shoes and walk along the grassy foreshore, stepping through diamond-bright dew droplets that glinted on the leaves and grass of the lake’s lush trees. She’d often sit on the shoreline, do some gentle Pilates, breathe in the freshest and sweetest air, and absorb the hothouse scents of flowers and greenery. Ducks, geese, moths and butterflies would flutter around her as she’d fall back on the grass to gaze at Eden II in the skies above.

Small mercies, Harlow said to herself, staring up at her new home’s hanging gardens. While not the lakeside greenery she was used to, they were still impressive. She lost herself in the stunning scenery and gasped at the sight of glowing canaries and even more unbelievably white butterflies flitting amongst the copious plant life cascading down the walls of 517. She made a note to ask Kage about them when she saw him next.

Speaking of,she reminded herself. He’d sent her a note on the fancy comm tab in her apartment the night before with simple instructions on how to get herself to the roof, where a shuttle would be waiting at 0800 hours.

She checked the time and gasped. Only 25 minutes to go before lift-off. She gulped down her kahawa and rushed into the shower.

Many minutes later, dressed in a simple purple jumpsuit, and sturdy boots, she nabbed her bags, a jacket, a calorie-laden pastry and a reusable cup filled with even more kahawa.

She rushed out of her suite and into a lift that whisked her promptly to the upper levels of the grand building.

The doors opened to a small terminal, a glass-ringed reception and a waiting area tucked under the eave of the building. Droids silently rolled about, manipulating the air traffic control screens and ops. She also spotted a digital check-in station. As she approached it, it flashed with a message customised for her:Harlow Meridien, please board the waiting shuttle.

She glanced outside at the extensive landing pad with enough space for 3-4 midsize crafts. A sleek passenger shuttle sat in the landing and take-off area.Also electromagnetic,she quickly deduced as she rushed outside the terminal sliding doors and jogged to the shuttle’s extended air bridge.

A silver droid stood at the bottom of the stairs, and she spotted a few heads inside the passenger flyer. She was late by five minutes.Or was it fifteen?

‘Miss Meridien?’ the sophisticated bot enquired.

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