Stephen was jerked sideways and then snapped back into his bolster as the straps bit into his arms and body viciously. His hands were torn from the controls, and then there was a huge crunch as the light of consciousness went out just as the power had.

►►►

PC Parasite Five

► Penae half rose from his station as they saw the craft slam into the surface of the moon, the thrill of finally nailing the slippery bastard surging through him.

“Bring us to station, standard overwatch position,” he ordered, looking over to the scanner station. “Do we have any readings from the craft?”

The scanner tech nodded. “Two living signals, Subaltern. No weapon signatures. The craft has suffered a near-total power loss.”

Penae snorted. “An impact like that? I imagine it has.”

He considered the situation for a moment. “Very well. See if we can quantum lock onto the craft. It’s probably not intact enough to grab in one piece, but let’s try.”

“As you say, Subaltern.”

►►►

Shuttle Eagle One

► “Wake up, Stephan.”

Returning to consciousness was always a mixed blessing in Steph’s experience. He was alive, that was always a good thing, but the reason he knew that he was alive was because there was no way being dead could hurt this badly in any sane or fair universe.

The thought that the universe might not be that sane or fair was pushed forcibly out of mind as he groaned and levered himself up. His seat restraints were undone. He assumed Milla had done that, because if they’d snapped in the crash, he would probably be paste on the walls.

“Where’s my helmet?” he asked.

Milla hesitated, then shook her head slightly from side to side. “Bad news, Stephan. It was shaken loose and damaged in the crash.”

Steph’s eyes found the cracked polycarbonate shell, and he grimaced. “Damn.”

“It is worse. There is a leak,” Milla added.

“Alright, I’ll make do,” Steph said, grabbing a ventilator mask from an emergency overhead compartment and strapping it over his face before running the hose down to his suit’s air. “It’s not space. I can live without an enclosed system.”

“As you say,” Milla replied, though her tone didn’t show much confidence in her words.

He climbed over the tilted chair and braced himself on dead consoles so he could look out the windows of the shuttle. “I don’t see anything out there. How long was I out?”

“Several minutes, at least,” Milla said. “However, I lost consciousness as well, so I could not say for certain.”

“Right, okay. Standard capture protocol,” he said.

Milla looked confused. “Capture protocol?”

Steph winced, both from the headache and her lack of knowledge. “Pull the computer core and blow it. Destroy your personal computer, everything that contains any sort of memory. We’re using basic emergency gear from here on out. If they get us, that’s all they get.”