Page 60 of Eclipse Bound
"I am aware."
Poppy had moved closer during this exchange, her hand hovering near but not quite touching Lunar's shadow form.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked softly. "Your home?—"
"Will never accept my true nature," Lunar completed. "Here, in darkness and in light, I am myself."
Eclipse felt a resonance with Lunar's words that shook him to his core. How many cycles had he spent in the Twilight Belt, never fully belonging to either light or shadow? Always mediating, never simply being.
Harris' device emitted a series of urgent beeps. "Seven minutes to extraction window. Must prepare."
The Galaxy Brides trainee scurried about the clearing, setting up small devices at specific intervals. Eclipse recognized the pattern. They would form the dimensional coordinates for the extraction field.
Rowan moved to Eclipse's side again, her energy brushing against his.
"So Lunar's staying," she said quietly. "What about you?"
Before Eclipse could respond, a distant sound caught their attention. The distinctive thump of helicopter rotors carried across the desert.
"Milano," Lunar confirmed, his shadow essence extending to scan the horizon. "Multiple aerial vehicles approaching from the southwest. Ground transport following."
Harris squeaked in alarm. "Four minutes to extraction. Not enough time to relocate!"
Eclipse assessed their situation with the clarity of a diplomat accustomed to crisis. Milano would arrive just as the extraction window opened. They would have seconds, not minutes, to make their departure.
And he still hadn't discussed his feelings with Rowan.
"We need to mask our position," Poppy said, panicked. "We need something to slow them down."
Lunar nodded. "I will create a diversion. My shadow-walking abilities allow me to move undetected."
"No," Poppy protested. "It's too dangerous."
"I am most suited to the task," Lunar insisted. "I have chosen this planet. I must begin defending it."
"Three minutes!" Harris wailed.
The helicopter sounds grew louder. Searchlights swept the desert floor in the distance, methodically closing in on their position.
Eclipse felt a surge of respect for his formerly antagonistic companion. Lunar had always been the most reserved of their trio, the least likely to take risks. Yet here he stood, volunteering for danger.
As Lunar prepared to depart, Harris suddenly let out a distressed chirp. The small devices he'd been arranging began to flicker erratically.
"Problem. Big problem," he exclaimed, his enormous eyes widening even further. "Extraction field unstable. Energy matrix destabilizing!"
Eclipse moved toward the devices, his twilight essence reaching out to sense the dimensional calculations. Immediately, he detected the flaw. The extraction field was calibrated for three specific energy signatures—his own twilight form, Solar's light energy, and Lunar's shadow essence. With Solar already extracted and his own energy severely weakened, the field lacked the necessary balance. It could not carry three different signatures. It would need to be stabilized.
Harris didn't understand the technology he was implementing. It would never work like this.
"What's happening?" Rowan asked, looking between Harris and Eclipse.
"The dimensional bridge requires balanced energy to form properly," Eclipse explained. "Without Solar, and with my essence depleted, the bridge is going to collapse, and it will take the ship waiting for us with it."
Rowan looked up at the sky in worry. "Dani and Solar are up there. Are you saying their ship will explode or something?"
The helicopter sounds were alarmingly close now.
Eclipse turned to Rowan, knowing it was time. The words he needed to say could no longer wait.
