Adrasteia's Epic Quest

The moon rose above the horizon.

A pink glow bathed the plain, making it look like a piece of silk stretched out on the ground. The few trees that were scattered across the grass glowed a dull orange in the light. The fireflies that lived in those trees flickered in time with the crackle of wood burning under the spit where their meal was roasting. Two men stood over it, swatting at their sweat-stained shirts and cursing roundly whenever a cloud passed in front of the moon.

The rest of the party was still asleep, huddled together on one side of an improvised tent made from some of Mariana's dresses and blankets. Oskar had put it up to keep them warm when they first arrived on this planet, but now they were too exhausted to bother with privacy. He'd wanted to sleep as well, but he couldn't stop staring up at the sky. It was so clear tonight! He could see every constellation; there were even more than back home! And so many more stars...

He sighed wistfully, thinking about home again. Would he ever return there? Would anybody ever find them again? Why did they have to go offworld in such a rush? Hadn't anyone been able to take care of whatever problem had arisen? Didn't his family even miss him?

"Why would I expect any recognition for doing my job well, especially after receiving so little recognition for performing poorly all these years?" Oskar wondered.

* * *

"What do you think, Oskar?" asked Mariana. "Is that it?" She pointed to a silvery spot against the purplish haze of the sky. "I think so," said Oskar, squinting through his telescope. He straightened up and scratched his head thoughtfully. "Probably."

"So, what's it called?" asked Tarik eagerly. He'd been itching to leave the ship since they set foot on this planet, and he hadn't been able to keep quiet once they got here. His friends were starting to get tired of hearing him complain about everything and anything – they'd only heard a fraction of it because they kept falling asleep during his conversations – but nobody felt like telling him to shut up today. They were all pretty excited themselves.

"It's called Adrasteia," Oskar replied. "And we are here precisely because Adrasteia is here." He looked around at their surroundings: flat fields stretching out beyond them as far as they could see; a few trees scattered across this plain; not a single sign of life anywhere else but for them and their ship parked behind them.

Tarik frowned at him disapprovingly. "I thought we were here because you decided it would be cool to explore a new planet." He strode over to where Sigrid was standing and leaned against her shoulder. She smiled up at him and held out her hand for his cup so she could refill it from the wine jug she had brought along with them from their ship's kitchen cabinet – after all, how often do you get to drink wine while camping on another planet?

She hummed cheerily under her breath while filling everyone's cups, except for Oskar's (he didn't want any), and then returned his empty cup to him with an extra-big smile, reminding him that she wasn't annoyed with him even though earlier she had complained about how slow and boring he was (true).

Oskar shook his head at Tarik's comment and smiled indulgently at Sigrid's antics before raising his own cup in a toast: "To Adrasteia!" Everyone raised their cups too and repeated after him: "To Adrasteia!" Sigrid poured herself another glass from the wine jug without pouring any more into anyone else's cup since she guessed by now that none of them really wanted any more anyway. She herself was feeling pleasantly tipsy – it was really nice being on another planet!

And she knew if things continued along this way, she might just end up having an intimate moment with Tarik tonight! She gave Tarik another sidelong glance as he chatted away happily with Oskar about this new planet they had discovered together. Maybe she should finally do something about her feelings for him because neither one of them was getting any younger after all.

Meanwhile, Svetozar leaned against one of the ship's engines, staring intently at the sky. He had been acting strange lately, as if there was something he wanted to tell Sigrid other than simply being friends. Upon noticing her looking at him, he returned her smile shyly before returning his gaze back up to the sky, contemplating whether they were truly in the right location or not.

Suddenly, Svetozar unexpectedly spoke out loud: "Sigrid told me once, 'If anything happens now, you won't be able to make things better for yourself or for anyone else no matter