Uncle Yang's

I stared at the expectant crowd, searching my brain for any answer..any answer at all but the truth...and I told the biggest lie I have ever told.

I paced on the little hill that rose slightly above the ground and stared at the two moons hovering above us all.

"I was in the wreckage of our ship recently. Most of it just a empty husk as you know, but somehow, I managed to climb up and got the ship's emergency radio working."

The crowd murmured a little until a female voice rung out. "Pop, you shouldn't be trying stuff like that! You'll get yourself killed!"

I sighed. Meg always worried about me. 18 years old and instead of being at a science academy, she was here with us an old forgotten planet, playing nursemaid to her father.

"I'm okay, Meg, really", I said while hearing the crowd murmur some more about my health, while others begged me to continue telling them the story. Of course, its likely that I was lying about being okay, but I probably didn't know that.

"Anyway, I got the radio working and I got a message out. I sent out a mayday and I waited for a reply."

"And?", a man in the crowd asked.

"And I got a response!"

There was an audible gasp in the crowd as they all drew closer to the rock, listening to my every word.

The wind picked up a bit, causing a whistling sound in the area. By now, we had gotten used to the sounds, but at first, we feared that it was a wild beast.

I waited for the wind to stop and I continued.

"I heard from a ship that was positioned near the Vega system which is pretty far, yes, but they said they can come in a few weeks and we just have to hold on until then."

A cheer erupted from the crowd, including Meg, her flaming red curls bouncing in time with her movements.

Yes, it was a lie. It was huge lie, but I really couldn't tell them the truth.

In the meantime, it gave the people some hope for a month at least. Everyone needs a reason to keep going even if its a lie, at least thats what I told myself, anyway, while I gazed up at the sky of our planet, praying as if I were inside a cathedral.

I could almosy hear God shake his head at me and say "tch, tch tch"

"Pop? You okay? You're staring up at the sky again."

I looked back at Meg and just smiled, watching the crowd dancing in celebration of their coming rescue.

"Come on down," she said. " I'll make some Szechuan orange chicken just the way you like it."

I smiled at her again and followed. "You know my tastes well! Oh wow, does that take me back!"

Meg smiled back at me. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah", I said to her while we walked on the barren, rocky terrain. "When I was your age, your grandma and I both lived in the undercity where everything was rather grunge.

"But even though, we weren't well off, we did find some good eats there. One of my favorites was the a little, hole in the wall place called Uncle Yang's Table. "

"It had a small bar with stools, neatly arranged and I could always smell the aroma of the last meal that they cooked."

"Mom and would go there everytime it rained. We'd be drenched to the bone and the manager would see us and bring us a small serving of hot and sour soup on the house."

"Wow! " Meg said. " So what happened to the restaurant?"

"Well, like all things, it had its ups and downs and eventually, it was bought and sold and the whole place was knocked down in favor of some new development. All that remains of it are the ghostly remains in my memories."

Meg gave me a sideways smile and led me to the communal encampement and had him sit down in front of the small fire while she prepared the meal.

I allowed the scent of the roasted peanuts and orange rinds fill my very being, caressing my soul with the familiarity of home.

As I opened my eyes again, I stared at the twin moons, one hiding behind the other and remembered where I was. I was still here and still hiding the truth from my daughter and the rest of the group.

I felt bad to have gotten their hopes up, but even that the truth was far to big to process.

Meg finished cooking the meal and gave me a bowl, which I took gratefully.

"You know," I said, glancing at her, "I am sorry you never got the chance to visit Uncle Yang's"

Meg shrugged. "Maybe we can build a new one!", she grinned.

"Maybe. Maybe", I replied slowly stirring the noodles with the chopsticks.

******

One month passed and all eyes and ears turned skyward on the little planet. The twin moons once again, reflected the light of a distant sun giving the landscape a bluish glow.

All of the colonists looked towards me as I, too scanned the skies.

Then, we all heard it. The unmistakable scream of a sublight engine.

Rescue!

Everyone startes racing to the landing ship, waving hysterically as they got closer and closer to the descending vehicle, which was landing a short distance from the original crash site.

As I caught up to them, I slowed down, watching the new ship land gracefully, while the group stared at the crash site without saying a word.

*******

A pair of uniformed men exited the craft and inspected the crash site. Both of them came out quickly, retching at the site of decomposed flesh.

A chirp came over the commlink. "Lt.?"

One of the men rose. "Yes, Captain. Its as we feared. All dead. No survivors."

After a few minutes silence, the captain spoke again. "Alright. Someone must've hit the autobeacon before the crash and it took years to reach us. You two can come back. We'll give them a proper send off from orbit and may their souls always find the way home."

"Yes, Captain", the Lt. replied as he and the other crewman made their way back to the ship. As he ascended the ramp, the Lt. sniffed the dry air of the desolate little planet and thought he caught a whiff of Szechaun Orange chicken.