Chapter 660: New Year’s Celebration
Narrator: In the Stargazer. The night of December 31st, Year 14,197.
Joe stands tall in the cafeteria and raises a mug full of alcohol as he shouts, “Booze!” He looks up at the ceiling with a grin.
Emily watches Joe with an amused smile. “I’m sure Keith would be having the time of his life if he were here with all of this alcohol.”
Kurt chuckles. “Yeah, well we have some others here that…” Kurt looks over at Zeth and Sasha before continuing. “…get easily wasted.”
Zeth frowns, realizing what Kurt meant. “Hey! We can hold our booze just fine.”
Sasha adds, “We just get carried away sometimes. That’s all.”
Kurt, Emily, and Joe all laugh. Joe then replies, “Oh please. Don’t make us remind you that you got so wasted in the Swamp Underworld that we had to search all over for you two.”
Zeth points his finger at Joe. “I will have you know that was Keith’s fault. He had us drink a lot.”
Emily begins laughing again. “Ha! That was just one occasion. How about the other occasions during safer times?”
Sasha averts her eyes from the others. “Let’s… not talk about those occasions please…”
Pearl rubs her forehead. “As Prince Zeth’s attendant, it was responsibility to find the both of you…”
Joe drinks some of his alcohol and then wipes some access from his lips. “If we let you two have too much booze, you might somehow end up lost on some planet.”
Zeth raises an eyebrow. “But we’re on a spaceship in the middle of space.”
Joe drinks more alcohol. “We can’t underestimate your abilities to end up possibly anywhere when you are wasted.”
Sasha grits her teeth a bit with a disappointed expression. “Oh come on! You really think we’re that bad!?”
Joe simply shouts, “Yes!”
As everyone begins to laugh, Kurt looks over and sees Kasuma sitting at a table by herself just watching everyone. He walks over to her and sits next to her. “Don’t you want to join in on the fun?”
Kasuma smiles as she watches the others. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know Earth’s customs so I was thinking I could learn just by watching. I don’t want to risk offending anyone. That’s all.”
Kurt looks directly at her with assurance. “Don’t worry. You won’t offend anyone. We’re just having a good time.”
Kasuma then looks directly at Kurt with curiosity. “So, is going on drunken adventures one of Eartb’s customs to celebrate the new year?”
Kurt laughs and then responds. “No, not at all. That’s just how Zeth and Sasha are when they drink too much alcohol. Hopefully, January will bring us good fortune on this journey.”
Kasuma looks back toward everyone else. “You know, it’s so interesting how all of our worlds are in different times. In Flora World, it’s not even close to the new year. It’s still Ruwell.”
Kurt scratches his forehead. “Ruwell? Is that the name of a month?”
“Yes, it is. All of Flora World’s months are variations of its founder’s name.”
“Now that I think about it. Why is the planet called ‘Flora World’? Seems like a strange name for a planet.”
“Most planets are named after its founder. Our founder, Hivey Muwell, did not wish for the planet to be named after him. When he first decided on life being created on the planet, he was in awe about all of the beautiful plant life on it. He wanted the planet to be known for that. As such, the names of the months ended up being named after him instead. Every month ends with the letters U-W-E-L-L. So the current month is Ruwell. It’s just a shame that despite founding a beautiful world, it became a place of wars and conflicts.”
Kurt puts his hand up to his chin as if in deep thought. “You know, I guess I never really thought about the origins of planet names before. I guess Earth must be the same way. But Earth and Mars are the only planets in our solar system with life on it, yet all of the other planets also have names. I wonder why that is.”
Kasuma replies, “Generally, once one planet in a solar system is named and given life, all of the other planets will then be claimed by other divine beings even if they don’t immediately be turned into a world suitable for life.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Suddenly, Emily shouts over toward them. “Come on you two! Join in on the fun!”
Kurt and Kasuma stand up. Kasuma looks at Kurt. “I will join in on the celebration with you.”
Kurt smiles and nods. “That’s great to hear.”
As they start walking over to the other, Herbie runs into the cafeteria with two cans of beer in his hands. “Who wants to see how a demon of Hell parties!?”
Joe drinks more alcohol. “Sure! Show us the way!”
Herbie slams the two cans against his forehead and the squeezes them as he opens his mouth wide, allowing the beer to pour into his mouth. However, some of it spills onto the floor. “Let’s gooooo!!!”
The others begin cheating for him but Dusk and Lavana, who are sitting at their own table, are not impressed. Dusk rolls his eyes for a moment before speaking. “Trying to be a show off is quite lame you know.”
Lavana adds, “It will take a lot more than that to impress me.”
Herbie grits his teeth in anger and yells at Dusk and Lavana. “You got a problem with me!? I’d like to see the two of you do something more impressive!!”
Dusk simply responds with, “I’m not the kind of guy that feels the need to try to impress others so I will pass.”
Herbie’s anger rises from Dusk’s response as Lavana adds, “Give me a volcano and I will show you something truly impressive.”
Herbie calms himself before responding. “You two are such killjoys.”
Behind Herbie, Laila begins speaking. “You are going to clean that up right?”
Herbie turns around to see Laila who has a hint of anger behind her smile. She continues. “You will do it, right? Riiiight?”
Herbie stumbles back in fear. “Y- Yes, ma’am!”
Everyone else begins laughing.
***
Narrator: Later that night.
Everyone has gathered in the lounge. Laila begins shouting. “Who is ready for a dance party!?”
Emily points her finger at everyone else with excitement. “I guess I’ll show all of you my moves!”
Joe adds, “Yep. When you have basically forever to do it, you can develop incredible dancing skills.”
Laila pushes a button and then part of the floor transforms into a real dance floor while a disco ball lowers from the ceiling. The lights throughout the room dim as the disco ball spins with multiple-colored lights rotate. Music also begins to play over the speakers. Emily begins dancing on the dance floor.
Herbie begins to clap. “Those are some sweet dance moves. I want to show what I can do too!”
Herbie joins Emily on the dance floor and begins dancing as the others watching cheer.
A little tipsy, Sasha looks at Zeth and gives him a push on the back. “You should join them.”
Also, a little tipsy, Zeth responds as he walks onto the dance floor. “Okay. I got this!”
Zeth begins to dance but his slight drunkenness causes him to dance awkwardly. Soon, he falls over and lands on the floor.
Pearl facepalms. “I figured this would happen. Even with only a few beers, you’re too drunk.”
Sasha walks over to Zeth to try to help him up but she falls over in the process and lands on top of him. They both begin to laugh which then causes the others to laugh too.
***
Narrator: Later that night, just before midnight.
Everyone is still gathered in the lounge and they are watching a large digital countdown clock. There is now under a minute until midnight.
Laila shouts, “It’s nearly time, everyone! Let’s all count down the final seconds!”
As the timer gets within ten seconds, everyone begins counting gown aloud. “Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!!”
As everyone cheers, Zeth and Sasha kiss each other. Joe and Emily also kiss each other. As the cheering continues, the view expands to the outside of the ship as it continues to fly through space.
Narrator: As the heroes celebrate the coming of a new year, their ship continues to fly through the space between solar systems. With optimism about their mission, what will the new year bring them? Will it bring hope or despair? Happiness or tragedy? Soon, their mission will reach its next step.
Chapter 660 END
To be Continued in Chapter 661: Shipwreck
