Page 57 of Solar Bound
Bob frantically worked the navigation controls.
"They're getting better at tracking us," Dani observed, watching the warning indicators multiply across the displays.
"Their technology is adapting," Solar confirmed.
She moved closer to him and clutched his arm. “We have to help them.”
“If there is a way, I will find it,” he whispered, letting threads of his energy weave over her hands in what he hoped was comfort. “I promise.”
The rescue mission was a mess. Solar stood in the command center staring at the controls for so long that they began to blur in his vision. Dani tried to stand with him, but humans needed sleep, and he’d insisted she rest.
In the end, all he could do was stretch the signal Eclipse tried to send to Rowan on the surface to make sure it reached her. The woman carried Eclipse’s energy stone. It was not a power source Milano appeared to be tracking. From there, he had to have faith Rowan would know what to do.
He did not like acting on faith.
Dani entered holding a nutrient pouch. She handed it to him. “You need to eat.”
He set the pouch aside, not consuming it. "Rowan is attempting infiltration of the Milano facility."
"She's going in alone?" Dani asked in concern.
"Eclipse is showing her the way," Solar explained.
Dani shook her head, admiration clear in her expression. "That woman has guts."
"Indeed," Solar agreed, finding himself equally impressed by the Earth female's courage. "Her tactical initiative is commendable."
For the next several hours, all they could do was watch and hope. Solar did not like the helpless feeling it gave him. Dani stared at the console, as if it might give her the answers she waited for, but only time could do that.
"Rowan has reached Eclipse," Solar watched Eclipse’s energy signature dispersing over the desert. Relief filled him. "They’re out of the facility, but Milano is giving chase.”
“Fuck waiting fourteen days,” Dani said, sighing heavily as if coming to a decision. “Tell Bob and Gary we’re going back now. The extraction happens tonight. No more desert chases.”
Chapter
Sixteen
Dani pressed her face against the observation port, watching the blue-white marble of Earth spin slowly below. Somewhere down there, their friends were running for their lives. And all she could do was watch.
"Anything?" Solar asked from his position at the communications console.
"Nothing new," she replied, fighting the urge to punch the reinforced glass. "Just Milano forces converging on the extraction coordinates."
The command center of Galaxy Brides' ship felt more claustrophobic than ever. Bob and Gary fluttered around various controls, their oversized heads bobbing with anxiety as they monitored the situation on the surface.
"Extraction window opens in twelve minutes," Gary announced for the third time. "Harris is in position with the others."
"We should be down there," Dani muttered, her fingers clenching and unclenching. "Not floating up here like useless?—"
An alarm shrieked through the ship. Red lights began flashing across multiple consoles.
"What now?" Dani demanded, spinning toward the controls.
Bob's yellow skin had gone pale. "The extraction field... It's destabilizing."
Solar moved immediately to the sensor array, his golden light intensifying as he analyzed the data streaming across the displays. "The energy matrix is unbalanced. It requires three distinct signatures to form properly. Didn’t you tell Harris to reset it?"
"So?" Dani asked, not understanding.
