"I am indeed." The lady walks over and wraps him in a warm embrace. "Thanks so much for everything you've done for Maeve. I don't know what we would have done without you!" "There is no need to thank me. I would do anything for her." The lady takes a step back, looking into his eyes. He can see her wrinkled, weather-battered face now.

As Derek wheels onwards, he feels a whish of cool air pass over his face. No reason to panic, but still unusual on a space station with environmental controls. The corridor comes to a halt with a left and right turn. Right time, lucky I hope. He turns right and goes fifty meters. A guard appears before him, a rifle resting on his shoulder.

Derek feels a stiff breeze blow across his face. "Wow, it's cold here. Is this not the planet where humans are meant to have evolved?" Jessica looks back at him with a quizzical look. "Eh, not on this part of the planet. Come on, we'd better get the two of yous inside." Soon, she was pointing to a nearby white-finished bungalow.

Derek lies fully dressed in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Hours have passed, and nothing from Maeve. Was I just fooling myself? Why would a girl like her want anything to do with me? She could get someone who actually walks. I was a fool. He turns to lie on his side. No, there was a real connection. I didn't just imagine it all.

Maeve wakes to the noise of fellow prisoners and thinks of Derek, who is back on base. She prepares for her hearing before the lunar judge, facing the choice of pleading guilty. Her lawyer suggests accepting the plea for a chance at freedom in ten years. Nervously, she follows two stern officers down a corridor.

Derek drives his wheelchair into position in the middle of the deck. Clamps lock onto the wheelchair as a belt closes around his torso. There is a large computer monitor in front of him showing the grey hangar door blocking their exit. The rest of the deck is full of red leather seats and various computers that combine into an AI hive mind known as "The Ship".

And then she gone. Derek could feel a buzz going through every fiber of his body. She was beautiful and had not recoiled in horror at his disability. No, she had embraced him warmly. He thought of her long red hair up touching against his ear. I am on top of the world. And yet the world around him continued on as if nothing had happened.

Hours pass, and the Earth now looms large in the viewport. Derek stares in fascination at the multitude of space habitats now visible in orbit. "Which one is the New Yorker habitat?" Maeve smiles and holds her hands out in front of him. "There it is. It has a blue hue. See it?" "Wow, it looks so small, hard to imagine one hundred million people living there.

Back in his room, a million thoughts run through Derek's head. He has just heard over the communications line that Maeve is alive. She is being brought to Moon Sector C right now. He is both thrilled that she is okay and terrified at the thought of meeting her. He looks at the mirror. Combs his hair to the left, then back to the right.

His wheels clank as he goes down a bump, his surroundings becoming less wheelchair friendly. Taking a left, then a right. I'll have to turn around if things get worse. A big step and I'm goosed. He hears chatter coming around the next corner, where he is met by two armed, stern-faced men. A chill goes down Derek's spine. They are decked out in the attire of the Drugs and Firearms Force.

The hail of fire stops their pursuers. On reaching the end of the corridor, they are met by another lift, except it's locked this time. "You need to enter the code - zero, three, four, five. A perk of the job," Derek roars as he opens fire once more. Maeve taps the code in, and the door swings open. "Let's go, Derek!".

Maeve glances at the digital clock over the door. It's been two hours since she met Derek. What did he say, 40 minutes? Talk about being overly optimistic. She is sitting in an interrogation room. The walls are a cold, blue color; there is a table and two chairs at the centre. Talk about having a strange day. She is walking around the room, waiting for the next person to come in and ask questions.

Hours pass, and the magnificent habitats come clearly into view. They are cylindrical in shape, with a constant stream of small vessels travelling in between them. "Looks incredible, doesn't it, Derek?" Maeve says, both of their eyes transfixed. "It is. I read somewhere that we're reaching the tipping point where more people will be living off Earth than on it. Crazy, really, and there's a huge universe out there for us to colonize." Derek's eyes were wide with wonder.

Maeve's movements are easy to track. She is connected to the lunar net. It is about predicting where she will be brought next. Derek needs to be there in advance, and at exactly the right time. He continues his usual routine. All the time plotting. Nathalie seems to sense something is afoot. "Still thinking about her, Derek?" And, "there are other girls."

Maeve hears Derek take a large breath. He speaks in a serious tone. "Your ship has no landing gear. To have a soft landing, you will need to initiate the thrusters at certain points as it descends. Even then, it would ordinarily be considered a crash landing. "I'm going to change the holographic display. You will now see a much smaller ship in front of you and the moon in the distance.

The lift door opens. Derek is sitting in his electric wheelchair and pointing a Swazi hand laser at one of the guards. Its sleek design is unmistakable; it has the power to disintegrate those in front of it. "I'm here for you Maeve." His hand motions for the two guards to get out. They look at each other in disbelief before raising their hands and exiting.

Derek goes down the lift to the ground level and makes his way to the entry area. He looks out to see them getting closer with every rotation. Their entry is now imminent. He is waiting for the hatch to turn. He goes over to the left, not wanting his chair to be the first thing she sees. His heart is pumping now, and he reminisces about their first virtual meeting.

Maeve looks at the giant dome that is the moon station Sector C. It is a large, translucent dome with multiple levels inside, under a star-laden sky. She sees dots moving. Looking down at the grey regolith, she hopes to join them. Thank God for Derek; everybody made it back safely. She shudders at the thought of what would have happened without him.