The crew of
Calypso gathered in the common area
for a sumptuous a spread as they ever truly had. There were no special
delicacies, but some good home cooking as well as the crops from the
hydroponics bays. The highlights, of course, being the two pies, apple and pumpkin,
that perfumed the entire room.
Flynn
licked his lips, eager to dig into the apple, but just as eager to wrap his
lips around the duck they had picked up from the harvest festival at their last
stop. As usual, Reese had done the trading and cooking.
Flynn was
ready to dig in when Ann stood up, getting everyone’s attention. She held her steel
cup in both hands, and, for a change, looked somber.
“I’d like to say a few words,” she
began.
Flynn took
in the expression on everyone else’s face, seeing stunned silence that he knew
was likely on his own face, as well.
Ann, seeing
no one disagree, continued. “We have come together to offer thanks. On old
Earth, there have been many religions where we have done the same, but it
always came back to the first moment, when we came out of the caves. We looked
high into the heavens and knew something greater than ourselves, and that we
must give thanks.
“Today, we’ve grown beyond gods and
saviors, and know the glory of the stars, themselves. Compared to the stars,
our lives are mere twinklings, and so we owe the stars not just our thanks, but
that we live our lives to the utmost. Join me in continuing the tradition of feasting
on glorious bounty and celebrating the good times, that we might make more of
them, passing our memories on to the stars.”
Flynn sat stunned for a moment,
then raised his glass. The others followed, then all clinked them and drank
deep.
Never
thought Ann had such a spiritual side to her.