Page 61 of Eclipse Bound
"Rowan," he began, gathering his twilight essence into its most coherent form. "There is something I must tell you."
She looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the blue glow of the extraction devices.
"I know what you're going to say," she said, her voice tight with emotion. "You have to go back. You have a duty to your people. You need to warn them about Milano. I understand."
Eclipse reached out, his twilight essence brushing against her cheek in the closest approximation of a human caress he could manage.
"That is not what I was going to say."
Searchlights swept over the nearby ridge. Any moment now, Milano's forces would spot them.
Eclipse tried to expand his energy field to stop it and instantly retracted in pain.
"Stop, you're not strong enough," Lunar told him. He stepped forward, his shadow form extending toward one of the flickering devices. "I can stabilize it with my shadow energy. I'll have to go up."
"But you wanted to stay," Eclipse said, sensing Lunar's regret.
"As do you if given the choice," Lunar replied, his shadow essence rippling with resignation. "But one of us must go. Your essence is too depleted for the journey. The council needs to know about Milano's technology."
"Can't Harris adjust it?" Poppy asked desperately, the realization dawning on her face.
Harris shook his head vigorously. "No. No. No."
"Pull yourself together," Rowan ordered.
"Field parameters set by Bob and Gary," Harris muttered. "Need specific energy triangle. Light, shadow, twilight."
The alien frantically ran around to adjust controls that clearly made no difference before tripping and falling face-first onto the rocky ground.
"Is he…?" Rowan began.
Harris pushed himself up and held his head. Miserably, he said, "Pudding."
"He's fine," Lunar dismissed.
Lunar stood motionless, his shadow form contracting slightly. Eclipse could sense the conflict within him. His desire to remain with Poppy clashed with the harsh reality of their situation.
Harris stumbled in circles, holding his head.
“If one of us doesn’t control the energy, the ship will be lost,” Lunar was saying to Poppy. “Solar, Dani, all those aboard, will die.”
“Can’t Harris…?” Poppy tried to argue.
“Someone needs to return with Solar. My people will not trust him if he’s alone,” Lunar said.
Poppy shook her head, as if she could push away what he was telling her.
"Galaxy Brides cannot be trusted to deliver critical intelligence," Lunar said, his voice hardening. "The council will dismiss any such message without verification from an authorized entity."
Poppy moved closer to him. "You're saying you have to go."
"Yes." The single word carried the weight of resignation and duty.
The helicopter sounds grew dangerously close now.
"Pudding!" Harris shrieked, diving toward the center of the array.
"Eclipse," Lunar said, turning to him, "you must remain. Your twilight energy is too weak for the extraction. And Milano has already studied your energy patterns. They can't learn more from you that will harm our people. But if they were to find Solar or I…"
