He pushed the thruster lever forward. The VID-2 groaned, its landing struts retracting with a series of heavy mechanical thuds. As the ship lifted, a sudden tremor shook the cabin. A jagged plume of lunar dust erupted from a nearby fissure—a moonquake.
Elias let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. The VID-2 was battered, scorched, and low on oxygen, but she was still flying.
"Keep it together, girl," Elias whispered, gripping the flight stick.
The ship tilted dangerously as a spray of regolith pelted the underside. Warning lights flashed crimson across the cockpit. If he lost an engine now, he’d be a permanent part of the lunar crust. He rerouted emergency power to the lateral thrusters, the VID-2 roaring as it fought the shifting gravity.