Page 47 of Lunar Bound
He felt her glance at him repeatedly, questions in her eyes that he could not answer. Not yet. Not until he was sure he had a plan.
The extraction point was a small clearing marked by crystalline rock formations that rose from the desert floor like frozen waterfalls. As Harris scurried about, setting up the dimensional array, Lunar felt the wrongness in the emerging energy patterns. The field fluctuated erratically. The devices emitted discordant frequencies instead of the harmonious resonance required.
"Coordinates match," Harris stated, his gaze moving over their environment. "Extraction window opens in seventeen Earth minutes. Give or take."
Eclipse moved with difficulty, still depleted. Rowan stayed close to him, her touch helping to steady him.
"So this is it," Rowan said softly. "Just wait for the spaceship and... what? They beam you up?"
Eclipse's confusion at the reference was evident in his energy patterns. Lunar recognized it from Poppy's cultural education attempts as they'd passed the hours in the cabin. The reference was to human entertainment about space travel. Some of it sounded ridiculous. He wasn’t sure this planet would master the stars anytime soon. At least not in any meaningful way.
Lunar moved silently around the perimeter, his shadow essence extended to detect any approaching threats. He felt Poppy follow a few steps behind, her heartbeat elevated, her body temperature fluctuating with emotional turmoil.
"Milano is expanding their search grid. We have perhaps thirty minutes before they reach this sector," he reported, his voice deliberately neutral despite the chaos of calculations running through his consciousness.
He looked over the devices Harris had arranged. It was Zorveyan in origin. He doubted the trainee even knew what this technology was capable of.
The extraction field would create a dimensional fold, a temporary bridge between Earth and the waiting vessel. But without balanced energy signatures, that bridge would collapse, taking the ship with it. Whoever was riding it would be dispersed into the universe. If Eclipse and Lunar went without Solar’s energy, there would be three-fourths darkness and not enough light. This was built to ensure they worked together if they were to leave. Only Solar was already in space.
Harris fidgeted nervously, checking and re-checking a small device. None of his motions was helpful. If anything, he was making the field worse. "Thirteen minutes to the extraction window. All must be ready."
Lunar reached out with tendrils of his shadow essence, touching each device in sequence. He felt the energy matrix they were designed to generate and saw the instability in their configuration. Without Solar's light signature, and with Eclipse's twilight essence so severely compromised, the field would never stabilize.
Unless...
He withdrew his essence, condensing his form. There was another option. It could be calibrated for a single entity to go through. Eclipse alone would be a balance of light and dark. Or they could turn off the light energy, and Lunar could travel in darkness.
But that would mean...
"Lunar?" Poppy's voice broke through his calculations. She stood close now, her eyes searching his shadowed form. "What's wrong?"
He couldn't bring himself to answer directly. Instead, he moved toward Eclipse, who was conferring quietly with Rowan.
Luner approached the diplomat. "I require a moment of your attention, Eclipse."
Eclipse nodded, his twilight essence wavering slightly as he moved away from Rowan.
"I have completed an analysis of our mission parameters and outcomes," Lunar stated once they were out of human hearing range. "The experiment was designed to prove that opposing forces could coexist harmoniously when removed from their natural environment and given a common purpose."
"That is correct," Eclipse confirmed.
"By that metric, the mission has been successful. Solar and I maintained adequate cooperation. We each formed connections with Earth entities. We demonstrated adaptation to foreign environments." He paused, glancing at Poppy. "However, I have reached an unexpected conclusion. The connection formed with my Earth counterpart has created a harmonious resonance that exceeds mission parameters.” He again paused, trying to find the right words. “What I mean to say is that I wish to remain on Earth."
Eclipse's twilight form stabilized momentarily as he processed Lunar's request.
Harris made a gurgling noise. "Not possible. Extraction coordinates programmed for three entities. Eclipse, Lunar, Harris."
Harris’ biological makeup wouldn’t be affected by the bridge, so he had nothing to worry about unless he were trapped on Earth.
"Then reprogram for two," Lunar replied coolly. "I have made my choice."
"The council will consider this abandonment of duty," Eclipse warned.
"Yes," Lunar agreed simply. He again looked at Poppy. She stared at him, her breathing coming in heavy gasps. "They will."
"They may declare you exiled permanently," Eclipse said.
"I am aware." Lunar would give up his home to be with her.
