55

We are back with the lunar based Tracy's! Thank you for your patience with the posting, thankfully fanfic net seems to have sorted itself out for now! I am a little behind writing wise now but I will try and catch up as soon as I can. Thank you once again for your lovely reviews I am glad that you are still enjoying it.

John slammed the metal hatch and got on the mic. "Captain Taylor."

"John are you" –

"Captain; listen carefully. Alan is in the north bunker sealed in under emergency protocol. It will let up in twelve hours but if I'm not back you'll need the code I've just imputed to your communicator understood?"

The captain pinched the bridge of his nose looking at the screens in front of him where he could see John climbing back in the buggy. He sighed. "Understood. Well, if you're going to do this at least let me be your eyes. There seems to have been a technical failure with the scans hence why it didn't pick up the first round of debris." I'll try and give you as much warning as I can if there's anything incoming.

"Thank you, Captain."

John hurried over to the east wing where the lab had been located. He felt hell of a guilty leaving Alan like that but the earlier impact had been far too close and he wasn't going to watch his brother get blown up for a second time today. There was no need for them both to die. He would manage this himself. He didn't think his dad would cope if he lost one son let alone both after all they had been through of late. He pulled up at the site and nearly swore at the devastation before him. His initial theory had been right, it was an old rocket segment that was Chinese in design. It was approximately twenty-five-foot-long and looked to be the only half of the original rocket. It had broken up on impact and scorched into the surface coming to a stop about twenty foot out from the base. The crater it had formed was massive, the debris would have been travelling faster than a bullet at the time so the impact was significant. This is what had caused the moon base section to separate as it had been compromised from the foundations at the bottom which in turn, had caused it to collapse inwards from above. John gulped. He could easily be pulling a body out of here - this was bad. The separated end of the moon base was covered in rubble, so much so he couldn't see the breach The only thing he hoped for was that the containment unit had held. It was made to withstand this kind of scenario as the last thing you would want is a potential containment breach to release a disease into space or the rest of the base. It had been vigorously tested on earth before being assembled here. He had to have faith it would have protected her.

He grabbed the winch cable on the buggy and dragged it over to the first bit of collapsed paneling he could see might come away easily. He also grabbed his laser cutter and set to work cutting the panel into smaller, more manageable chunks. Twenty minutes later he got ready to winch the first bit out. It was heavy, John could hear the engine whirring under the strain. The wheels skidded but eventually gained traction. "Yes!" he exclaimed; one small victory was his. An hour later he had cleared enough to see the edge of what he was sure was the containment module. He was getting so hot it was unbearable. They were on the sunlit side of the moon for the next 13 days and it was roasting him. The suit was having to work overtime to cool him and he only had a litre of water to sip that he was trying to conserve. Sweat was pouring down his face making his nose itch uncomfortably. Once he was out of his suit he was going to rip his skin apart trying to quell the all the other itches. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead as he tried to wipe it with his forearm before realising he was being stupid.

"John, status report" Clipped the Captain.

"I've cleared a path and can see the edge of the containment module. The space junk appears to be part of a Chinese fuselage system, it has weakened the foundations causing a partial cave in. I'm going down now to see what I can see."

"Ok, take it easy. We're still trying to override the lockdown system, if we can get out, we'll come and assist. Space debris impact in approximately forty-five minutes. No-where near as big as the last one but still a danger to life."

"Understood. Thanks Captain."

John wrapped the winch around himself before abseiling down into the newly formed crater. He pushed aside some smaller slabs of rock and twisted metal panelling grunting with the effort as he did so.

John peered in through the six-foot gap he had created and shone a light. He could see the glass was still intact although there was a large crack just above his head. He shone the light left to right and jumped when something banged on the glass. A hand appeared at his face level smacking on to the glass before a small figure slid down the glass next to him. "Chloe!" he shouted before realising she couldn't hear him. He noticed she had a nasty looking head wound, there was a thick red torrent of dried and crusted blood down her left-hand side of her face, staining her blonde hair which had become unbound and dishevelled. Her eyes were tear stained, she looked like she'd lost the will to live. He needed to get to her. He signed to her that it was him and he was going to try and get her out. A weak smile crossed her face. She signed back slowly. John if I don't make it out of here…. there's something I need to tell you. She leaned against the sealed glass door and spread her hand up to where his was. They met on either side of the glass briefly touching. She looked at him in a haze of pain. He stared back concern etched in all his features.

You will make it out of here, so you hold on to that thought for me. I want to hear you say it. He started to clear more wreckage out of the way. He needed to find the service hatch that would allow him to pass the suit through so Chloe could get it on. Then he needed to hack the panel and get the containment chamber to release. He couldn't remember if it was on the left or right dammit! He didn't want to waste time digging out both sides.

He tapped on the glass. He was concerned when she didn't stir where she was slumped on the glass, he banged harder. She slowly turned her head. Only one of her pupils reacted to his light Shit!

Chloe – Left or right side for the service hatch? He signed quickly. She pointed over her left shoulder. To the huge mound of twisted metal and rubble. He jumped soaring six foot into the air to the top of the pile, he grabbed on to a protruding beam. Thankfully objects on the surface of the moon only have 16.5 % of the weight that they would on earth which meant that John's movements were lithe and quick. It also meant he could move the heavier rubble and fragments than he could on Earth by himself. He kept scrabbling and digging at the pile lugging rocks, metal, wiring and other items till he could see the service box. He was sweating buckets now and in danger of overheating. He forced himself to take a sip of his drink from the water bladder in his suit. His suit was now covered in off white moon dust up to the elbows and all down his front, he still had to pay careful attention to what he was doing to ensure that he didn't snag his suit. "Yes!" he declared as he found the yellow and black hazard tape that marked the edges of the service box. He pulled open the hatch and shoved the bag he had brought down with him through it. He then pressed the button to start the decontamination process, to his relief it still worked. He dropped straight back down right in front of where he had left Chloe. The front of the containment module was almost clear of wreckage now.

Her head was slumped on the glass, her eyes closed, hands tucked to the side with her body turned towards him, she was still bleeding. He tapped the glass but she didn't stir. He needed her to wake up. If she didn't put that suit on, he couldn't open the containment chamber or she would die with exposure to the atmosphere. Her lungs would rupture with the last remaining breath she had and then she would asphyxiate within 15 seconds as the oxygen left her body. He hammered desperately on the glass. He was so engrossed in his task he didn't notice the shadow jump into the crater. Someone landed with a light bounce next to him. John flipped round his eyes wide in shock. "Alan!"

"You can't get rid of me that easy Johnny boy. Right; what do we need to do to get her out? We have Thirty minutes and counting till another impact." John shook his head still dumbfounded they didn't have time to discuss how he had got out, now he was back to two people he cared for to worry about. His head spun.

"She's unresponsive with a head injury, I need her to go and put on the suit or she dies. Trouble is there's no sound in space so she can't hear me banging. I was hoping she'd feel the vibrations but she hasn't."

"Ok" Alan pulled one of his emergency light beacons off his belt." He turned it on and set it on the SOS setting so that it flashed and blinked in quick succession, he held it right up to the glass at her face level but not directly at her.

"Ah Alan! That's genius! Why didn't I think of that!" John got out his and started to do the same. Chloe's brows furrowed together in discomfort. They kept flashing.

"Probably because you're subconsciously panicking."

Something bright was flashing across her face, like bright sunlight through a half-closed curtain. She didn't want to wake up but her mind was urging her to. She groggily came too pressed against some glass. She was too cold…. She leaned back, hand to her head where she felt a sticky substance. Her hands trembled as she looked at her fingers that came back crimson. Now she remembered what she was doing here. John! She turned too quickly causing her to sway. She steadied herself on the glass with a bloodied hand smearing down it. There he was! He was signing something; Alan was there too! Chloe there's a suit in the service hatch, can you get it? She tried to stand but found for whatever reason she couldn't, instead she dragged herself along the floor, she could see the hatch six feet in front of really wasn't that far, why was it taking so long? Once she had painstakingly dragged herself under it, she tried to stand using the glass to support her. She fell at first and cried out. She sunk back on the floor; this was it! she was done for. She'd always known space was dangerous but she'd never expected to die here, she was too young to have pictured her death or even considered that as a direct consequence. Now her time had come and she realised too late that she hadn't left any words for her family, any goodbyes for her friends. Her eyes slipped, her breathing becoming awkward, the simple life processes she'd taken for granted becoming torturous. there must be a leak somewhere, the oxygen was depleting too quickly. John, he would be waiting for her to come back. She knew he wouldn't leave without her; she didn't want to be responsible for his and Alan's deaths too.

That thought gave her the last flame of motivation to do something about her situation. She would not have her friend, the guy who she adored die for her. Not today. With a determined growl she pushed herself onto her knees before staggering up and slamming on the glass, she managed to depress the button and pull the handle of the chute down causing the suit to fall on her, the helmet was wrapped inside to protect it. She cried in relief pulling the suit close. It usually took over five minutes to get on a suit normally under emergency situations. She stripped off her trousers and top awkwardly to pull on the undergarment, her feet getting stuck in the legs. She was so clumsy; her coordination was all over the place as she swore in frustration. She then dragged on the top layer and shimmied on the floor to pull it up over her chest. Her arm felt like she'd been stabbed in the shoulder when she went to pull the undergarment up and over. She cried out loud as she tried not to black out. She took steadying breaths before zipping it up. She then lifted the helmet, again her arm screamed in protest. Then she had to put herself through the agony again to pull up the outer suit. She gasped as new tears filled her eyes before completing the seal at the base of her helmet. She pressurized the suit and set the oxygen going. Usually you need 30 minutes of it before venturing out but she knew they didn't have time; she would just have to hope they could get inside again in time. That was even if she got out of here. She tried not to despair, one step at a time Chloe she reminded herself.

John was pressed against the glass trying to look around the corner as much as he could and straining with the effort. She had been gone for too long. Impact was in minutes, they had to get out of here! had she fainted again?

"John, we've got to go!" Alan looked up at the heavens worried.

"I can't leave her Alan I've come this far, but you should go."

"No, I'm not leaving you. I suggest if your planning on waiting for her that you take a look at this panel to see if you can actually override it."

"Oh, I don't need to. I can override it. Brains and I re-wrote the programming for this in our summer camp. They were after an upgrade for a new moon base containment chamber. Dad was impressed with the design but said it should have a backdoor for emergencies regardless of the need for containment. So, we built one in." The only thing is that it can only be opened from the inside. So that even if someone outside had the code they couldn't open it an unleash a potentially dangerous pathogen but if someone got locked in by accident then it could be opened." The bigger problem would be if the doors wouldn't open from the crushing they'd taken.

"Alan, this is Captain Taylor you have one-minute left till impact please tell me you're on your way to the bunker."

They both looked at each other in silent concern, John glanced back into the room praying she was there. He saw an arm then another as she dragged herself across the floor amongst the smashed furniture and lab equipment, to his relief she was fully suited as she emerged from the shadows. "Chloe!" John called in relief. "That's my Girl!"

Alan leant into his comms as he updated command on the situation. John signed to Chloe. Chloe you need to access the panel and type in this code. 19-38-27-42-10

He watched her try to stand, she was really unsteady and slipped down the glass a couple of times. John gestured to her, urging for her to try again. She forced herself up one final time and grabbed the handle near the door. John kept repeating the code so she knew what to input. Her free hand typed in the code slipping a couple of times. John waited anxiously she only had three attempts or it would deadlock then all hope would be lost. He waited the suspense killing him. The door slid open. He rushed forwards pressing to the glass. She passed through the first doors fine but the exterior doors where John was had only opened a slither. She got her legs through but her chest and helmet wouldn't clear the gap. John called for Alan and together they both heaved on the doors with all their strength but they just wouldn't budge, Chloe slumped down, John still holding onto her arm. "Debris incoming, get out of there boys now!" Yelled Captain Taylor. Alan let go and jumped up into the distance. He returned seconds later with a metal beam and wedged it in the door. He looked at his brother "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!" Alan strained and grunted with the effort creating a gap just big enough for what they needed. John dragged Chloe through and scooped her up into his arms. Alan let go and the door sprung back crunching the beam. Alan jumped up on to the crater wall and rubble pile, scurrying his way up as quick as he could.

Once at the top he passed down the winch cable which John clipped around his waist before picking up a semi-conscious Chloe. Once at the top he handed her to Alan so he could quickly hop into the passenger side. He then took her back on his lap whilst Alan jumped through into the driver's seat, abandoning the hover board he had arrived on. More projectiles pelted down all around them as well as storms of dangerous dust particles which would be full of broken-down space junk effectively turning it into shrapnel. Alan flicked the buggy to the right in a particularly dangerous manoeuvre to avoid an impact. John gripped Chloe tighter.

Another bit of junk bounced off the top of the buggy causing him to flinch. He placed his body over Chloe's to shield her as he felt something bounce off his helmet. "Not far now!" Shouted Alan into the comms as he fought with the steering. A few hair-raising minutes later Alan slid to a halt outside the bunker (It was the closest available shelter).

Alan ran and opened the bunker door before coming back and grabbing Chloe. John grabbed the kit he'd packed and followed him in. To John the airlock procedure seemed to be taking forever as he stared at Chloe's limp form in Alan's arms, powerless to do anything else. They had already reported in that they had made it back and were preparing to assess her injuries.

Finally, it clicked and swished open allowing Alan and John in. John laid her on one of the four bunks and took her helmet off. She moaned at him moving her head, her eyes fluttering.

"Chloe, I need you to stay with me if can." All of a sudden, she started gagging. "Oh No! Alan Help me roll her!" Technically they should have rolled her protecting her spine in case of a spinal injury but the way they had to rescue her earlier did not allow for them to follow protocol. If her back was damaged he hoped it would have been quite obvious by now. She leaned over grabbing onto him as she vomited all over the floor splattering his knee and feet.

"I'm so sorry" She stammered weakly.

"Don't worry about it, I'm pretty sure you have a nasty bout of concussion." John took off his gloves and threw some medical ones on before Alan handed him a swab. He gently cleaned up her wound and applied a sterile dressing. Alan handed him a cold compress which he applied to the bump on the side of her head. She hissed in pain.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" John started to pat his hands down the side of her neck and downwards to check for wounds and breaks. She hissed when he touched her right shoulder.

"There?"

She nodded. He made a note, could be sprained or dislocated. He finished conducting the full body check. Chloe didn't appear to be in pain anywhere else.

"I have some pain meds do you want us to administer them?"

She nodded. Alan prepped the syringe as John pulled back her suit enough to get to her shoulder to inject the meds. "Let me know it you feel like your going to be sick or drowsy ok?"

"Ok. thank you for coming to get me, I…. I thought I was going to die." She whispered. Tears began to well at the corner of her eyes. Alan rose, signaling that he was going to check in with base to see if they could get access yet. John nodded. He leant closer to her and placed a reassuring hand on her cheek.

"Your welcome, once I heard you were out there, I couldn't leave you. Just try and stay still for me. We're locked out of base at the moment and waiting for this space junk to pass over, then we will get you to the doctor." He removed his hand to check her compress before popping it on her forehead again.

"John, I wanted to tell you earlier…." John waited patiently, she looked disorientated and confused. "John if I had died, I wanted you to know that although I haven't known you for very long you have had a massive impact on my life since that first day, I met you. I was alone starting on this new venture; I was the only one in my year that was selected for the space academy programme. Then I saw you looking just as lost and insecure and I knew I wanted to get to know you better. As time has gone on, I've come to wonder if…. if we could be more than friends and I thought I would die with that question unanswered." She searched for the truth in his eyes, he still looked concerned about her condition but his face was as poker faced as ever. She wasn't sure how he would react to her confession.

Alan chose that moment to come back over. John squeezed her hand in a reassuring gesture and smiled before looking at Alan. "The worst of the debris has now passed. They have managed to seal off the broken sector and the systems have rebooted so moon base is open. They are sending a crew to come and get us with the doctor. Should be here in twenty."

"That's great thanks Alan."

"See aren't you glad I came after you anyway." Alan glared at John haughtily.

"Look I'm sorry I didn't want to risk your life, you're my younger brother, it would have been irresponsible of me. How did you get out anyway?" Chloe watched with interest and slight annoyance, Alan always did have an inopportune way with his timing.

"You're not the only one who can hack software John. I may not have your finesse but I am more familiar with the latest tech than you. I'll tell you later if you're lucky, I can't disclose my secrets in front of witnesses." Alan looked smug in a playful way.

John knew that it shouldn't have been possible for him to override the codes like that. He could see he wasn't going to get anymore out of his brother for now though. He shook his head.

"Well thanks for the assist, even if it was stupid."

"Your welcome. It wasn't stupid, it was heroic."

Thirty minutes later the doctor was gearing up to move Chloe out with his team. John and Alan and brought up the rear. They hovered off at some distance to talk privately.

"So how did you do it?" John lowered his voice.

"Well I wrote this really complex bit of code then dismantled the panel so I could bring up the R drive" –

"Alan..." John intoned in an uncanny resemblance to their father when he knew one of them was feeding him bullshit.

Alan put a hand behind his head and looked sheepish. "I remembered these new watches of ours and that you said they could be used in space too. I called Dad." –

"YOU DID WHAT!" That drew a look from the last guy in front. John stopped and turned to face Alan.

"What else was I meant to do? You didn't leave me with a lot of options, did you?" He hissed. "Anyway, I explained the situation and he in turn told the Captain to give me the code you had given him after promising not to kill him for letting his boys run wayward across the moon as Captain Taylor put it. Father trusted me to help you and I did."

"I guess we're going to have to call him later then."

"Yep he wants us to call as soon as we get back to base."

"Just great" Replied John as he secured his helmet. "Just great."