The Afterparty

[Nightfall]

The trio went into Bernards personal quarters which had a special bar that mr. Browning knew the contents of very well. Mr. Browning nearly dived into it and grabbed a bottle of tequila, he opened it and took a huge swig...

"Ah! Good to be alive! Sorry for that old boy, but I believe you promissed that once, not long ago, in my dreams! Now, I'll give my attention to this beauty.. I believe the two of you have things to talk about..." he took another swig and played some old song by a now forgoten artist from the planet known as Terra... again... Terra... the link with his name... He startded drowning in the liquor.

She gives me love that I could never hope to have,
She tells me that she needs me,she tells me that shes glad,
And if she goes away, Im like someone whos left out in the rain,
I need, I need her, I need her love.

The singer finished the first verse...

At that time Mariella and Bernard were holding their glasses of blood-red wine in their hands, looking into each other's eyes... Bernard whispered...

"
May I send a soft breath in your direction? Close your eyes and forget the
Agitation... please, have a drink with me... relax... have a word about
Reflections... Out of my dreamy abstractions I make a question:
If I look into your eyes under the pale moonlight, would I see
Enlightment? Or is it just a small death on the streets in the city of
Lust and Longing? We shall summon the Tempest and the Thunderstorm by taking a
Leap of Faith into the unknown. I'll watch your eyes and lips move breezily as you make
Acquaintance between me and magic stories of twilight until the night falls.
"

There was a small silence. A moment of fear. Music began again. And the words of another song...

And the love that I feel is so far away:
I'm a bad dream that I just had today -- and you
shake your head and
say it's a shame.

...

---

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov
The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor