Read Over the Moon (Star-Crossed Book 1) for Free Online Page A
Authors: K. McLaughlin
It wasn’t like she was exploring someplace no one had ever been, after all. People walked out here all the time. She took an experimental bound that carried her half a dozen feet, and landed as lightly as if she’d floated back to the ground. This wasn’t going to be so hard.
“Look up,” Jacob breathed.
She followed his advice, and gasped. All she could see was stars. But it looked like she could see all of them. It looked like every star in the galaxy had gathered in the lunar sky. She’d read poetry written on Earth comparing the stars in the sky to jewels on velvet. If only those poets could have seen this! The view from any place on Earth paled.
“The breaker is over here,” Jacob said, breaking her from the view. He’d walked over to the lab dome, and was standing next to a pile of heavy cables that ran there from the central dome. That must be the power conduit. Jacob bent forward and opened the breaker box.
“Odd,” he said.
“What’s that?” Carmen asked.
“It looks like the breakers are all set correctly.”
She bounded over next to him. “So what’s wrong, then?”
He knelt down next to the box, poking inside it. “I’m not sure. It should be working just fine. Let me try uninstalling the breakers and setting them back in place. Maybe one of them is socketed badly.”
Carmen stood back and watched him work. To her, it looked like a large gray box with a bunch of smaller black boxes stuck into sockets inside it. She knew how breakers worked. But she didn’t know what was wrong with these ones. She was curious, so she watched everything Jacob did, tracking his every moment. So she spotted the small blue spark as he worked one of the breakers out of its socket. That didn’t look right.
“Jacob, I don’t think–”
She was cut off by a much brighter flash of light, a huge spark that jumped from the breakers up to Jacob’s hands. He yelled – she could hear him over the radio. And then he fell backward. The hands of his suit were blackened and smoking. And he wasn’t moving.
“Shit,” Carmen said. “Jacob? Answer me, Jacob!”
She went to his side and looked into his helmet. His eyes were closed. He wasn’t moving at all. If he was out of the suit, she could see if he was breathing, check his heart rate. How could she do that here? She exhaled – and saw the breath mist the bottom of the glass faceplate a little. She leaned over, and watched for any misting on Jacob’s plate.
Nothing.
“No you don’t,” she said. The suits had gripping points on the shoulders. She grabbed his so she could drag him over to the airlock, but she found there was no need. In the low gravity, she could pick him right up. She grabbed his arm instead and slung him over her back. The mass threw her balance off a little, and she wobbled with the first couple of steps. But she was quickly making good time to the lock.
“Hang in there. I’ll have you inside in a minute,” she said. She pressed a button on her left wrist to change radio frequencies to the emergency channel. Everyone with a radio would pick up her message. It was seriously time to call for help.
“Medical emergency at the central dome airlock,” she called. She hoped someone would come running. Jacob was going to need treatment, fast, and she still didn’t know her way around well enough. Where was the medical bay? If his heart was stopped by that burst of electricity, where was the nearest defibrillator?
“Roger, help is on the way,” came a reply over her radio.
Carmen exhaled in relief. She’d never been so glad to hear another voice. It was her fault Jacob was out here in the first place! She’d never be able to live with it, if anything happened to him because she’d been in a rush.
She reached the airlock, and touched the panel. She felt it buzz under her fingers. But the red light above the door didn’t change. Was it cycling? It ought to be ready for them, still in a vacuum state. Why wasn’t the door
“Look up,” Jacob breathed.
She followed his advice, and gasped. All she could see was stars. But it looked like she could see all of them. It looked like every star in the galaxy had gathered in the lunar sky. She’d read poetry written on Earth comparing the stars in the sky to jewels on velvet. If only those poets could have seen this! The view from any place on Earth paled.
“The breaker is over here,” Jacob said, breaking her from the view. He’d walked over to the lab dome, and was standing next to a pile of heavy cables that ran there from the central dome. That must be the power conduit. Jacob bent forward and opened the breaker box.
“Odd,” he said.
“What’s that?” Carmen asked.
“It looks like the breakers are all set correctly.”
She bounded over next to him. “So what’s wrong, then?”
He knelt down next to the box, poking inside it. “I’m not sure. It should be working just fine. Let me try uninstalling the breakers and setting them back in place. Maybe one of them is socketed badly.”
Carmen stood back and watched him work. To her, it looked like a large gray box with a bunch of smaller black boxes stuck into sockets inside it. She knew how breakers worked. But she didn’t know what was wrong with these ones. She was curious, so she watched everything Jacob did, tracking his every moment. So she spotted the small blue spark as he worked one of the breakers out of its socket. That didn’t look right.
“Jacob, I don’t think–”
She was cut off by a much brighter flash of light, a huge spark that jumped from the breakers up to Jacob’s hands. He yelled – she could hear him over the radio. And then he fell backward. The hands of his suit were blackened and smoking. And he wasn’t moving.
“Shit,” Carmen said. “Jacob? Answer me, Jacob!”
She went to his side and looked into his helmet. His eyes were closed. He wasn’t moving at all. If he was out of the suit, she could see if he was breathing, check his heart rate. How could she do that here? She exhaled – and saw the breath mist the bottom of the glass faceplate a little. She leaned over, and watched for any misting on Jacob’s plate.
Nothing.
“No you don’t,” she said. The suits had gripping points on the shoulders. She grabbed his so she could drag him over to the airlock, but she found there was no need. In the low gravity, she could pick him right up. She grabbed his arm instead and slung him over her back. The mass threw her balance off a little, and she wobbled with the first couple of steps. But she was quickly making good time to the lock.
“Hang in there. I’ll have you inside in a minute,” she said. She pressed a button on her left wrist to change radio frequencies to the emergency channel. Everyone with a radio would pick up her message. It was seriously time to call for help.
“Medical emergency at the central dome airlock,” she called. She hoped someone would come running. Jacob was going to need treatment, fast, and she still didn’t know her way around well enough. Where was the medical bay? If his heart was stopped by that burst of electricity, where was the nearest defibrillator?
“Roger, help is on the way,” came a reply over her radio.
Carmen exhaled in relief. She’d never been so glad to hear another voice. It was her fault Jacob was out here in the first place! She’d never be able to live with it, if anything happened to him because she’d been in a rush.
She reached the airlock, and touched the panel. She felt it buzz under her fingers. But the red light above the door didn’t change. Was it cycling? It ought to be ready for them, still in a vacuum state. Why wasn’t the door