Chapter 2 - (part one)

The sleek spacecraft Luna Moth was oddly graceful even as it plummeted. As fortune would have it, the ship was now within the gravity field of the cerulean sphere that was the planet Demeter-12. The ship's inhabitants weren't sure which would be a worse fate: drifting aimlessly through the endless void of space with the ship's power waning, and therefore any hope of rescue in equally short supply; or the very real prospect of obliteration if they crashed into the surface of the planet below. It was the latter scenario that now seemed more likely to play out, as the ship was descending rapidly, and barring some miracle, within decaseconds they would surely wipe out.

Daesti Derecho and her traveling companion, Lina Lazuli, had cruised through myriad star systems, but their leisurely cross-galactic trip had just come, they now feared, to an abrupt halt. All their glorious plans were now on hold: skinny-dipping in the azure ocean of Kepler-226; hiking through the rocky foothills of Tartarus-15b; wild pub-crawls in the space city of New Drogheda; and other escapades yet to be determined.

"Losing altitude," intoned a synthesized voice in the cockpit. Meanwhile, an alarm from the ship's main console began to breedle loudly and insistently.

"Drokk it!" yelled Lina, pounding a control panel with her fists. "What a way to cut short our vacation!"

They were within the upper atmosphere of the planet Demeter-12 and now the Luna Moth was in a near-nosedive, apparently plunging toward the vast open ocean. But as the ship pierced the dense clouds, they could just make out some sort of landmass.

"We'll never make it to Corus Sigma," said Daesti, referring to their anticipated destination, where they had intended to dock their ship for routine maintenance and take in some of that port's famous nightlife--until this recent spate of bad luck befell them.

Daesti, ever imperturbable, checked a reading on the console. "Lucky for us, navicomputer says we're in the airspace of an island-city. Our mayday beacon's on."

A voice came over the communicator.

"This is Fatropolis air control tower. State your emergency."

Lina and Daesti shot each other an incredulous glance. "Fatropolis?" stage-whispered Lina. "You've got to be kidding me."

Daesti smirked but put a finger to her lips to shush her friend. "This is the Luna Moth, compact recreational craft, crew of two. Our engine's malfunctioning and our battery's low. Requesting interception and permission to land for repairs."

"Permission granted. Dispatching rescue pods to bring you safely in. Prepare for interception."