Quiet Celebration
by Amanda Russell
11:50 p.m., December 31, 1999.
Victor Bergman glanced at the clock set into the commpost in his lab, then back at his guests. There were any number of small, and large gatherings throughout the base to mark this milestone in the history of human kind, but he'd not been interested in attending any of those parties. A quiet celebration was more his style, as it was for his guests.
"Victor, if we were still in Earth orbit, what would you be doing tonight?"
Bergman glanced at John Koenig, then at Helena Russell and smiled slowly.
"Oh, I expect much the same as what I'm doing now; enjoying a small gathering of close friends who had assembled to toast in the new year together. I'm sure we would also be sharing a bit of a laugh at the expense of all those poor, gullible souls who believed the advertising and media hype about the new millennium beginning with the year 2000 instead of 2001."
John and Helena both nodded, smiling as well. It was a classic example of wide-spread acceptance of mis-information.
"Yeah. Helena, had you special plans for tonight?"
She considered a moment, glancing at her hands, then looked up to let her gaze rest on the photo of the Earth rising over the Moon that adorned one wall of Bergman's lab.
"No. I usually took the duty on New Year's Eve. After Lee died... I didn't think I had much to celebrate, so I let those who were eager to party have the night off. This year I expected to be on duty in the Medical Center here, for the same reasons."
"But you aren't."
Helena met John's gaze and slowly shook her head. "No, I'm not. Maybe, this year... I realized I do have something to celebrate, even though it may not be the same things others are celebrating."
Victor nodded and uttered a quiet comment of agreement. John met and held Helena's gaze, believing he understood some of the reasons she had for celebrating. He shared some of those same reasons. He broke eye contact with Helena when Victor asked what his plans for this night had been.
"I hadn't gotten around to thinking about it. I was so focused on getting the Meta Probe launched that nothing else seemed important. I'm sure I'd have ended up at some party, arguing about when the millennium actually starts. All in all, I'd rather be here than there."
Victor smiled and Helena met John's gaze again, hoping he was aware that she too was glad he was there instead of some party on Earth.
Victor glanced at the clock once again, then stood and excused himself. He disappeared into a small storage room off his lab, and when he returned a few moments later, he carried an ice bucket and three champaign glasses.
"Victor...?"
He just chuckled as he placed the ice bucket on the table before them, and reached into its chilled depths to lift out a small bottle of champagne. It contained just enough bubbly for them each to have one glass to ring in the new year.
"Where did you have that stashed?"
"Among my personal effects." Victor smiled as John grinned and shook his head. The clock read one minute to midnight and John aimed his commlock at the monitor, bringing up the digital, base-wide display that was doing a countdown to midnight, Greenwich Meant Time.
Helena indicated the screen with a nod of her head. "Not quite the same as seeing the ball drop in Time Square, but warmer and much less claustrophobic."
Both men chuckled their agreement, then Victor smiled widely. "Here, not much time now." There was a note of excitement in Victor's voice as he indicated for Helena to distribute the glasses. He tore the foil from the neck of the bottle and all three turned to face the monitor. Together they chanted the traditional ten second countdown.
"... Four,.... Three,... Two,... One..." Victor eased the cork from the bottle and poured champagne into each glass. He faced his friends and they all held their glasses out to one another. "Happy New Year, dear friends. Here's to... whatever may be out there, just waiting for us to discover it."
They touched glasses, and each took a sip of their drink. Victor leaned forward, kissed Helena's cheek and wished her a happy new year. He shook John's hand and wished him the same. Then he glanced at the table and shook his head once.
