Outcrop Under Stars

Hamilton’s back met the pebbled ground with a heavy whump, followed by a low groan emitted from Hamilton’s mouth. As pulsing waves of pain punched into his spine and left hip, he found it hard to see through the fresh tears in his eyes; yet he kept them wide open, searching frantically for whatever it was that had launched him out into the brisk air. His eyes, however, only found stars, both those found far away in the depths of space along with those manufactured by his rattled brain.

Only twenty minutes ago, he had been hiking up the tall rocky outcrop half a mile from the colony walls as the last warm colors in the sky huddled together on the horizon, fighting their losing battle against the blues and purples. If it was a different day, Hamilton would’ve stopped and admired the perseverance of the warms in their sky-born battle, as he usually did whenever he was out in the evening. But on this fateful day, he was absorbed in a troubling discussion with the woman on his left.

“So you’re telling me—” the woman was saying, twin gun holsters swaying, one on each hip, “—that, without a doubt, the seismic readings suggest an impact?”

“Yes, I am sure of it. The epicenter of the quake was approximately 15,500 kilometers away in the Malovian Sea, leagues away from any major fault line.”

“And what do you think was the source of that impact?”

“Well...Julia, listen—”

Hamilton paused, turning to glance at the woman. Her expression was blank, those bright silvery eyes focused on the uneven ground beneath them as they continued their climb. Julia had always been hard to read.

He sighed.

“Julia, I’ve known you my entire life. We’ve been through a lot together, even before our Drop.”

Hamilton paused as he struggled to find the right words to say.

“And I know you’re Commander now, and it’s no secret that the road leading up to that has caused our friendship to fade somewhat, but...I still trust you with my life. And I will always be honest with you, even if we disagree on something.”

He glanced over at her again when she didn’t respond. Was that...sadness he saw hidden in her countenance? Regret? No, he decided.

“I’m probably not making much sense, and I know what I’m about to suggest is...catastrophic, to say the least, but it is based on data that Terry and I have gathered and quadruple-checked. We cannot see any other explanation.”

They were nearing the top of the outcrop now, a special place in Hamilton’s heart. Pity it has to be the place where such somber material has to be discussed, but it was where Julia wanted to go.  We shouldn’t be disturbed by anyone there, she had said.

Hamilton swallowed nervously. His next words didn’t come easily, mainly because he didn’t want to hear them himself; there was something that felt so...final with spoken words. Their exiting of the mouth is a one-way ticket, and once the words are out, there is no taking them back into the private haven of the mind.

“Julia...I am quite certain that the impact was The Prospect.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They were both sixteen when they shared their first kiss beneath a silent audience of stars. It was somewhat awkward, as many first kisses are, but nonetheless it ignited the fire in her breast like nothing else could.

Even the nervous excitement of being selected for The Prospect’s 34th Drop couldn’t compare to that explosive feeling of love. They were chosen at age twelve, the youngest ones thus far. Hammy was picked for his impressive academic record, and Julia for her equally-promising talent in sharpshooting.

After they were given the news, they had rushed over to the western window, a massive pane of the strongest glass known to mankind. They smudged their noses against it, gazing upon the small purplish planet many miles beneath them in the familiar enveloping sea of milk-speckled ink. For the first time in her life, Julia could call the planet what it would fully become in six months’ time: home. And when she looked over at Hammy, with his sandy hair and soothing amber eyes full of wonder, she knew he’d be with her every step of the way.

But perhaps it was experiencing that raw strength of love that pushed Julia to end whatever it was she and Hamilton had, only a few minutes after that first kiss. Julia had a goal, something she had set her eye on even before touching down in that large, egg-shaped rocket. Achieving that goal required her full attention, and the undeniable power of that kiss frightened her. She felt if she didn’t act, her blossoming love for Hammy would distract her from her sole purpose.

And so the distance between them grew. Hamilton rose quickly through his field, being appointed Chief Geologist before his 24th birthday. Julia finally achieved her goal by her 28th, and even to this day, hearing her name preceded by Commander still fills her with pride.

She just wished her promotion hadn’t strained her relationship with Hamilton even more. Now that she was in charge, she had to attend numerous meetings, including those with the geology team. Even though she and Hamilton usually agreed on the bigger, more important things, she found herself frequently arguing with him over the smaller details. It almost never failed; if Hamilton and Julia were in a meeting together, some form of disagreement was almost guaranteed to happen.

And now, standing on that all-too-familiar ledge, they might be on the brink of their biggest argument yet.

Julia...I am quite certain that the impact was The Prospect.

His words were no surprise. Julia was first notified that something was wrong with the massive spacecraft where she was born when she suddenly and inexplicably could not make any radio contact with its captain, nor to her parents up there who never once missed her calls. That was two days ago. Yesterday evening, the Chief Astronomer, Terry, worriedly expressed difficulty in sighting The Prospect in orbit above them, and the earthquake that night seemed to suggest the worst. Hamilton’s words now fully confirmed her fears.

“Hamilton...you do know what this means.”

“Our friends and family who weren’t Dropped are almost certainly dead, our primary source for supplies and soldiers is gone, and in the advent of any major disaster on this planet we have nowhere to retreat, nowhere to run...yeah, I know what it means. We are stuck here without our lifeline.”

Julia gazed out at the horizon. The sun’s last colorful sky artifacts were being swallowed by a deep and suffocating navy blue.

She already knew what she had to do, but she was nervous. Her palms were sweating; she wiped them off on her pants below each holster. It’ll be over soon, Julia told herself. She proceeded.

“Hamilton, we can’t tell the colony.”

She watched his expression carefully; his amber eyes narrowed as he turned his head to face hers.

“They have every right to know. Most hav—had family on The Prospect, just like us.”

“The hysteria, Hamilton. It’s stressful enough living down here, and the only thing keeping most of us from going insane is knowing The Prospect is up there for us in times of need. Don’t you remember the ruckus that the arachnopod attacks nine years ago caused?”

“Of course I remember. But we have no right to withhold such critical information. You’re better than this, Julia. I thought I knew you.”

“My troops could not handle mass unrest, and that’s assuming none of them mutiny.”

“The people, Julia! Think of the people!”

“I am thinking of the people. I think it best if they do not know. We have to—”

“Then you’re no better than the tyrants that forced our ancestors to leave Titan!”

Julia was taken aback. She did not show it in her straight face and gray eyes, but Hamilton had thrust a spear through her pride.

Focus, Julia, this will be over soon. We just have to be sure.

Hamilton turned on his heel. He walked a few feet forward, right up to the edge of the ledge, and lowered his head.

“I’m sorry Julia, but you cannot change my mind. I will never be able to forgive you if you decide to keep the colony in the dark.”

A pause. Julia exhaled.

“I’m sorry to do this, Hammy.”

“Do what?”

He began to turn around right as the bullet caught his hip, and then Hamilton flew.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Just the previous year, Terry had celebrated the 30th anniversary of his promotion to Chief Astronomer. Securing that position for three long decades did not surprise Hamilton one bit, truth be told. Terry was one of the smartest men he had ever met and it was common knowledge that he was instrumental in the success of the colony in its earlier stages.

Even in his older age, Terry was cool and calculated in just about everything he did; even during especially difficult times, Terry was always the optimist.

“The reinforcements are landing tomorrow morning,” he had said with a smile during the worst of the arachnopod attacks against the tall colony walls. “We have nothing to fret about.”

So when Hamilton saw Terry’s deeply troubled eyes the dawn after the quake, he knew something major was amiss.

“Subduction zone quake?” Even his voice sounded off. The cool and calculated edge was...gone.

“No. Impact. Must’ve been a huge asteroid. Don’t know why we weren’t alerted by—”

“Just as I feared. Hamilton, listen to me.”

He grabbed Hamilton by the shoulders and stared at him, unflinching, dark sapphire eyes wide open and seemingly distant.

“I’ve been searching all night. I can’t find The Prospect with the telescopes.”

Terry’s disturbed eyes and ominous words had been bouncing around his head all day. Maybe that could partially explain why, not long after landing from his disorienting flight, Hamilton suddenly imagined the old astronomer falling off the side of the outcrop and vanishing into the tall bushes below.

The delirium must be setting in, Hamilton realized with a grimace.  

He wiped his wet eyes a second time and looked down at his body. Lifting up the bottom edge of his woolen shirt, he saw that his side was covered in an even coating of sticky smeared crimson.

Suddenly he became aware of the ringing in his ears. Struggling against the pain draped across his entire frame like a heavy quilt during a summer fever, he brought up his hand to his ear and snapped his fingers, but only heard a distant muffled click.

And then Julia came into view, running. He did not know how much time had passed, but as she approached, he could clearly hear her footfalls on the ground.

“Hamilton, oh my god.” In one nimble motion, she passed the gun from her hand to her right holster before inspecting the wound.

“You’ll be okay. I don’t think it hit anything vital and that shrub on the rock face broke your fall. How’s your back?” she asked, producing a long-antennae'd walkie-talkie from her pocket.

Hamilton watched Julia’s mouth move rapidly as she brought the device close to her lips. He forgot to listen to what she said.

“Hammy.” The walkie-talkie was gone and she was staring at him as she pressed a reddening cloth against his side.

“...what?” he winced.

“I said are you still with me?”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“I just killed Terry, you know. His body is over there. Shot him dead.”

“Why?”

“He followed us. We must’ve been too distracted to hear him sneak up...but he lost his mind, Hammy. After he shot you he started yelling about killing us all so we don’t have to suffer.”

“Suffer?”

“I don’t know…” She tucked a short strand of hair, colored like the golden insides of a peach, behind her ear. Then she continued.

“...I guess life as we know it without The Prospect was too much for old Terry.”

Hamilton began to nod, but stopped almost immediately at his neck’s sharp protest.

A moment passed.

“Why did you say sorry earlier, Julia? Before Terry…before he shot me. What were you going to do?”

She gave a thin smile, her eyebrows coming together to create a single peak.

“I know you’ve always said you’d despise being in any position that dealt with ruling or government...but I’m ordering you to assume the position of Co-Commander, effective immediately.”

“...what?”

“I need you, Hammy, now more than ever. You’re the only one I truly trust and the only one I’d have as Commander by my side. You’ve proved once again that you want what is best and fair to everyone.”

Julia paused, possibly to gather her thoughts.

“I just can’t do this alone anymore...there is a very difficult time ahead. Breaking the news to the colony will be no easy task, as Terry just proved. We’ll need to plan carefully before we make the announcement.”

Hamilton narrowed his eyes.

“What changed your mind so suddenly?”

“Nothing changed my mind. I was always going to tell them.”

“Then why did you argue otherwise?”

Julia’s walkie-talkie came alive on the ground beside them with a voice flatly announcing “Medic unit ETA in eight minutes.” She pushed it aside.

“I had to make sure that we’re still on the same moral page after we drifted apart...and that you’re still that same caring boy I grew up with.”

Hamilton must not have put on a convincing face, since Julia averted her eyes after a few seconds of silence and said, “I had to be sure that love wasn’t clouding my judgement.”

For the first time since the earthquake, and in spite of the dire state of affairs and the constant throbbing that rippled across his body in waves, Hamilton managed a smile.

“Kind of a poor location to try to ensure that, isn’t it?”

Julia laughed and turned to look at the top of the outcrop.

“How many years has it been?”

“We were sixteen. Almost thirteen years.”

A soft smile remained on Julia’s slightly reddened face as she removed the cloth from Hamilton’s side to re-inspect the wound. After a few moments, she laid down on her back right beside him. Hamilton was surprised when he felt her fingers intertwine with his.

“It’s my fault we drifted apart, Hammy. I felt like you’d only be a distraction to what I was trying to accomplish, so I had to push you aside, and I guess…even after I became Commander, that feeling, that fear, of the love I had for you holding me back still lingered. That’s why I tended to argue with you during those meetings, Hammy. I would just get in defensive mode and my ability to compromise with you kind of fell apart.

And yet, it’s funny…the moment I couldn’t radio my parents and had to consider the possibility that something happened to The Prospect, I immediately knew I needed you. We’re just...much stronger together, as a team, and I’m sorry I didn’t realize that earlier. I’m sorry I didn’t let my stupid fear go long, long ago.”

“It’s okay, Julia. Thank you…thank you for telling me all of this. I forgive you.”

A breeze picked up, gently awakening the leaves in the bushes where a fresh corpse now lay. Hamilton glanced over at Julia, but found it hard to see, and not because of wet eyes. It was getting dark, quickly; the blues and purples had most certainly conquered all that was left of the yellows and oranges in the sky.

Julia shifted beside him, and then spoke, voice almost a whisper.

“Do you even think the colony has a chance?”

Hamilton shifted his gaze up to the sky, the deep, dark beyond, now starless. The endless swath of black suddenly made Hamilton feel very, very small; knowing that, up there, his first home no longer drifted reassuringly in orbit; what was left of their lifeline, their protection, now sat on the bottom of the ocean where it would remain for the rest of time.

But then...a cloud shifted in the heavens, urged along by an invisible wind. In its wake, shimmering flecks of light materialized, of whites and yellows and silvers that fought proudly against the gloom. The mammoth of a cloud kept moving, slowly, and before long, the atmosphere was awash with a city of stars.

“Do I think we have a chance?” Hamilton said, eyes passing from one distant light speck to the next.  

He squeezed Julia’s hand, and this time, to his surprise, the words came easily.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”