Page 62 of Lunar Bound
Dani tightened her restraints, her face set in determined lines. "If we survive this, I'm never leaving Earth again."
"Ten seconds," Lunar continued.
Solar's light flared brightly, surrounding Dani in a protective cocoon of golden energy. "I will absorb the impact force."
"Five seconds."
Lunar's thoughts turned to Poppy. So close now, yet still beyond reach. If they survived this impact, if he could reconstruct his essence in the lunar shadows, he might still find a way to reach her.
"Poppy," he whispered as the lunar surface rushed to meet them. "I'm coming."
The impact came with devastating force. The transport broke apart around them as they slammed into the crater floor. Lunar felt his shadow essence fragmenting, scattering across the impact zone despite his efforts to maintain cohesion.
Darkness claimed him. Not the comfortable darkness of Lunaris or the gentle night of Earth, but the absolute void of consciousness disrupted. His last awareness was of his essence spreading through the lunar shadows, seeking stability in the perfect darkness of the crater's depths.
Time lost meaning.
Then, gradually, awareness returned. Lunar found himself reforming in the deep shadow of the crater. Around him lay parts broken off the transport, twisted metal, and shattered components spread across the lunar surface. Their arrival had been far from subtle.
Solar was nearby, inside the bulk of the ship. Lunar automatically flowed toward the vessel, slipping through the cracks to get in. Dani was unconscious but alive within Solar’s protective field.
"Status?" Lunar managed, his form still wavering as it reconsolidated.
"Functional. Oxygen is low. We must conserve it for Dani." Solar replied, though his light was dimmed significantly. "You appear severely fragmented."
"I will recover," Lunar assured him, though the process would take time that he was reluctant to spare.
"Can the ship reach Earth?" Solar asked the critical question. He focused all his strength on keeping Dani safe.
Lunar extended his senses, seeking any functional components among the wreckage. "The emergency beacon remains operational. If calibrated, we might establish communication with Eclipse."
“If we don’t…” Solar looked at Dani. “She can’t die like this.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Lunar said, unsure how he was going to keep the promise.
Together, they tried to salvage what they could from the wreckage. Lunar's shadow essence flowed through broken systems while Solar used his light energy to power a makeshift communication device.
"The signal will be weak," Lunar cautioned. "And Milano may intercept it."
"We have no alternative," Solar pointed out.
Dani regained consciousness as they worked.
"Did we make it?" she asked groggily.
"We have reached Earth's moon," Solar informed her.
"The moon?" She leaned up in her chair to stare through a viewing port. Her breathing visibly deepened. Blood trickled from the back of her head. "Please tell me you have a plan."
Lunar calibrated the emergency beacon to match the frequency Galaxy Brides had given them. The connection was tenuous, the power barely sufficient to transmit across the distance to Earth. But it was their only hope.
He sent the simplest message possible, one that would require minimal power but convey everything necessary. "Help."
Then they waited, conserving their energy, hoping against probability that the message would reach its intended recipient. Lunar's fragmented essence continued to reconsolidate, drawing strength from the perfect darkness of the crater. Solar maintained an energy field around Dani to protect her from the lunar environment as oxygen reserves became dangerously low.
Dani wasn’t doing well. Her body shook, and her eyelids drifted open and closed.
"No response," Solar observed as the makeshift beacon continued its silent transmission.
