"Dat nak," Dara said, unable to hide the smile in her voice as she thanked Kirk and Jaylah once more

They sat around a large fire. Many of the liberated workers danced and sang. The slave driver's stores had been raided and they now feasted on exotic fruit and other strange foods. After the battle, Jaylah and Kirk helped put out the fires and tend to the wounded, but they themselves were exhausted after such a long day and Dara made them stop and led them back to her hut to rest for a few hours. It was still early in the night when they awoke to the sounds of the celebration. Five of the moons were shining high above in the night sky.  

Dara handed Kirk and Jaylah two bowls of steaming hot liquid. "Kifdi! Bi dal!" She said happily.

Kirk nodded. "Thank you...er...Dat kal...day..."

Dara made a clicking noise, which was her people's form of laughter.

"Wait, what did I say?" Kirk asked Jaylah, who was grinning. She just shook her head.

"Kifdi! Kifdi!" Dara told him, pantomiming the act of drinking it.

The steaming liquid smelled strongly like wet limestone mixed with some very strong alcohol. Kirk shrugged and brought the bowl up to his lips, taking a long gulp of the hot liquid. He pulled it away, coughing and gagging at the taste. Dara clicked, her shoulders bobbing up and down as she giggled.

"It's good," Kirk lied with a forced smile.

Jaylah, who seemed to enjoy it, took another long drink. "Bi dal, Dara," She thanked, already having figured out a few words of the language.

The people soon showered their heroes with an entire array of exotic foods, spread out on makeshift platters. Wine and gifts were laid at their feet.

Dara's child, Idi, suddenly ran towards Kirk, sitting down on his lap. He smiled, his long spindly teeth gleaming in the firelight. He held out a bowl of fruit. "Shilibi Kirk!" He said in his excited little voice.

Captain Kirk looked at the small round fruit in the bowl. They were slightly larger than plumbs, but covered in a thick covering of patchy, scraggly grey fur. They almost looked like mice, just without heads or any other appendages.

Kirk made a face and nodded. "You know, I think I'm full."

The child clicked as he laughed, picking up one of the fruits and holding it out to him. "Arshini Kirk! Shilibi!"

Kirk took the piece of fruit from him, looking at it for a moment before lifting it to his mouth and taking a bite. A warm, rich and creamy sweetness flooded his mouth. It was delicious, like fine chocolate that melted in his mouth. "Hmmm..." He finished it. "That's actually really good," he said nodding.

The child smiled, picking up one and popping it into its mouth. Kirk offered the bowl to Jaylah.

"Try one, it's really good," He said. Jaylah took one, eyeing him suspiciously as she did so.

"Kirk, Jaylah help—ed AtkDn," Dara said, gesturing to the people's around her. "T—ank—sss." She said with a nod. "Dat nak."

Kirk nodded with a smile. Dara happily clapped her hands together, before turning and talking to another AtkDn for a brief moment.

Kirk ate another one of the fruits Idi had given him. "These are really good. What is this?"

"Shili," Idi said laughing. 

"Shili," Kirk repeated as he finished chewing. He took another drink of the steaming liquid from the bowl, the taste beginning to grow on him. The comforting warmth of intoxication spread throughout his body.

Idi continually brought different bowls and plates of food for Kirk to try, enjoying the expressions he made when he ate the different unfamiliar foods. Kirk soon suspected Idi was using him to test the flavor of the foods before he ate them himself. Kirk reached for his drink when he realized the bowl was empty. An AtkDn rushed over and quickly refilled it.

The flames from the large fire began to move slowly, the yellow gold streams of light dancing as they rose towards the stars.  An AtkDn  woman stood in front of the flames and began sing. Kirk held Idi, who sat in his lap eating a bowl of fruit.

He watched the woman, listening to her song. Her deep voice was mesmerizing, every note perfectly smooth, like ripples slowly moving across the clear surface of a depthless lake. Her voice was full of longing, full of sorrow for a home that had been lost to her for so long.

Kirk couldn't make out the beautiful words that were flowing together like water in a smooth mountain stream, but he could see in his mind the place she was singing of. Cool crystal lakes in endless valleys of flowing golden grass. Snow tipped mountains of blue sapphire. He could feel the cool summer evenings around him, see the suns drifting lazily beneath the horizon, casting the clouds in a golden fire.

He could hear the sounds of laughter, he could feel the cool summer breeze blowing through his hair, the soft grass beneath his feet.

            Leahna.

            Home...

The flames swayed slowly back and forth, gently dancing beneath the night sky. The moons watched silently from above, the universe around them shimmering in the cool night air.