Page 1 of Lunar Bound
Chapter
One
Planet of Zorveya
Luniaren moved silently through the shadows of the transport bay, recording his thoughts in the privacy of his mind where they would remain untainted by the opinions of others. If this mission failed, which it would most assuredly do, he would not be blamed for it. He would not lose his ticket back home.
* * *
Personal Log, Pre-Departure:
This mission is a farce. A desperate ploy by a Peacemaker Council that has run out of rational options. I have been ordered to participate in this Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides experiment, as if finding a mate on a primitive planet could somehow prove that generations of conflict between the light and shadow zones of Zorveya are merely a misunderstanding that can be resolved with goodwill.
Let me be clear. I have no intention of mating with fleshy aliens. I find the possibility disgusting.
My opposition has been noted and ignored. The punishments for refusal have been made clear: exile, the stripping of my family's land holdings in the shadow territories, and the dismantling of our ancestral research facilities. I go not by choice but by coercion.
My traveling companions are no better than expected. Solarestabinian, Solar Bound as they now insist on calling him, is the typical Solarus brute, all flash and fire with no subtlety. He is the sole representative of the light-dwellers of our tidal locked planet. And Eclipsyionic, Eclipse Bound, true to his twilight existence between dark and light, is forever balanced on the fence between our worlds, pretending neutrality while clearly favoring the light-dwellers with his policies. At least he has the decency to appear as uncomfortable with this arrangement as I am.
They call me Lunar Bound, which is an insulting designation. The Earth people use a surname to designate family. I will never be family to a light-dweller.
The Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides corporation's representatives, Gary and Bob, are incompetent to a degree that borders on criminal negligence. Their ship appears to be cobbled together from spare parts, their knowledge of interspecies relations is superficial at best, and their understanding of our cultural conflicts is nonexistent. Someone should investigate how they were selected for such a significant undertaking.
I predict disaster. But I will observe. I will adapt. And I will survive, as those of the shadow have always done.
* * *
A flash of golden light interrupted his thoughts as Solar strutted into the transport bay, trailing energy sparks like a careless child. Lunar retreated deeper into the darkness, his night-adapted eyes narrowing against the unwelcome brightness.
"Ah, lurking in the shadows as usual," Solar called out, his voice deliberately loud. "Come into the light, Lunar. It's good for the complexion."
Lunar didn't dignify the taunt with a response. Solar knew perfectly well that extended exposure to his level of light output was harmful to shadow-dwellers. It was a petty provocation, designed to establish dominance before their journey even began.
What Solar didn’t seem to realize was that deep space was dark. This ride would not be enjoyable for him. It might even be painful.
Lunar suppressed a smile at the thought.
Eclipse arrived next, his presence marking a balance between them as it always did. "Are you both prepared for departure?" he asked, placing his modest luggage beside the entry ramp.
"As prepared as one can be for a mission doomed to failure," Lunar replied quietly.
Solar scoffed. "For once, we agree. This is beneath my station as an Elite Guard. I should be overseeing the plasma cannon installations on the eastern border, not playing matchmaker on a backward planet."
"The council feels this diplomatic initiative has merit," Eclipse reminded them. "And our compliance is not optional."
"The council," Solar mimicked with a sneer, "hasn't set foot outside the Twilight Belt in generations. What do they know of the real tensions between our peoples?"
Lunar found himself in the uncomfortable position of sharing Solar's sentiment, if not his crude expression of it. The Peacemaker Council, with their compromise solutions and moderate stances, understood neither the depth of the shadow-dwellers' grievances nor the extent of the light-bearers' aggression.
"The ship is prepared for boarding," Bob announced, appearing suddenly at the top of the ramp. His yellow skin looked sickly even to Lunar's eyes, and the ill-fitting uniform he wore did nothing to inspire confidence.
The Galaxy Bride crew consisted of three short, strange alien creatures with oversized heads and eyes. Their energy signatures were all but nonexistent. Logic said that a head that size would hold vast knowledge. Lunar didn't think logic applied in this situation. Their hosts' heads seemed to be filled with empty space.
"We're just finishing the final checks on the navigation systems," Bob continued.
"By we, you mean the trainee who didn't have the sense to keep out of the night bogs, don't you?" Solar asked, his light pulsing with suspicion.
"Harris is fully qualified," Bob assured them unconvincingly. "Mostly. He's completed nearly sixty percent of his certification."
