Chapter 14 #2
Lunar exchanged a look with Eclipse, noting how the diplomat's essence still wavered dangerously, like a candle flame flickering in the wind. Whatever Milano had done to him had fundamentally destabilized his energy.
"Transport waiting one kilometer north. Must hurry," Harris said, already backing toward the door.
Eclipse attempted to gather his essence to move, but Lunar saw him falter, his form briefly dispersing into wisps of purple-blue light before reconsolidating. Rowan immediately steadied him, her hand instinctively finding the sturdiest part of his wavering form.
"Can you make it?" Rowan asked.
Eclipse nodded in the affirmative.
Poppy gathered supplies. Lunar watched her hands, those delicate human appendages that had traced patterns through his darkness, that had somehow touched parts of his being no physical contact should reach. Even now, he felt her mark on him. She'd altered his genetic makeup.
He couldn't help analyzing her. Poppy's movements were quick but precise, grabbing only what they truly needed. Adaptable. Resourceful. Qualities he had come to admire in her species.
He pulled Harris aside while the others prepared, his shadow essence enveloping them both for privacy. "Explain the extraction parameters."
The trainee's rambling explanation confirmed what he'd suspected. The dimensional bridge Galaxy Brides used required balanced energy signatures—light, shadow, and twilight. It could not accept human lifeforms, at least not safely. Poppy would not be coming.
"Dimensional fold becomes black hole-adjacent phenomenon," Harris squeaked, his translator struggling with the concept. "Ship waiting in orbit would be... scattered. Non-recoverable."
Solar. Dani. The extraction vessel. All of them lost.
Lunar retracted his shadow essence, releasing Harris, who scurried away to check his equipment.
His gaze returned to Poppy as she stuffed the last of their emergency supplies into a pack.
His darkness reached for her unconsciously, like water seeking its level.
He had imagined staying, finding ways to shield them both from Milano's pursuit, using his shadow-walking abilities to keep them hidden while they built something that neither of their kinds could destroy.
But now that choice was dissolving like mist in sunlight.
They slipped from the cabin into pre-dawn darkness. Lunar extended his senses outward, detecting Milano’s forces. There were three helicopter squadrons, ground vehicles on all major access roads, and energy scanners sweeping in grid patterns.
"This way," he directed, guiding them through a narrow ravine where he had detected a gap in Milano's surveillance net.
They moved in silence, Eclipse supported between Rowan and Poppy while Lunar flowed ahead and behind, sometimes splitting his essence to scout multiple routes simultaneously.
The stars overhead began to fade as the first hint of dawn threatened the eastern horizon. Time slipped away with every step.
Lunar kept close to Poppy whenever possible, his darkness brushing against her arm, her shoulder, her cheek. Each contact sent ripples through his essence. Her warmth called to him with each step, making what he had to do infinitely harder.
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.
Poppy stepped closer to him. He felt her hope forming through their connection. "Are you sure about this? Your home—"
"Will never accept my true nature," Lunar interrupted. "Here, in darkness and in light, I am myself."
She reached to touch his face. He felt his energy automatically going toward her. “This is all I could ever want. I promise, we’ll find a way to live where you’ll be safe. Whatever it takes, as long as we’re together.”
The familiar threat of the helicopter sounded over the desert.
“Dammit. Why can’t they just leave us alone?” Poppy frowned.
Lunar called out a warning to make sure Eclipse heard the threat.
Harris panicked even more. "Four minutes to extraction. Not enough time to relocate!"
"We need to mask our position," Poppy looked around helplessly. "We need something to slow them down."
Eclipse tried to expand his energy and instantly contracted back within himself. He was nowhere near optimal health. He could barely keep his energy together, let alone fight.
Lunar placed a hand on her arm to calm her. "I will create a diversion. My shadow-walking abilities allow me to move undetected."
"No," Poppy protested. "It's too dangerous."
"I am most suited to the task," Lunar insisted. "I have chosen this planet. I must begin defending it.”
"Three minutes!" Harris cried.
The helicopter grew louder. Searchlights swept the distance.
As Lunar started to leave, Harris suddenly let out a distressed chirp, stopping him. The extraction devices flickered erratically.