Moonbound

Six billion miles from Earth, racing to the edge of the solar system, Ying-Tai and the entire crew prepare for the long voyage to Altair, 17 light-years away, by submitting to the latest technological marvel—Cryogenic Hibernation. However, when they awake years later, Boog discovers a horrifying fact. They aren’t “when” they thought they should be.

Parked near Mars and freshly showered and dressed to the nines, Ying-Tai and Tima join the crew to celebrate their fortunate escape from Emperor Chin-Yau and his forces. Finally, everything seems to be headed in the desired direction. But when Morstyn enters the celebration, a new threat slowly emerges and Ying-Tai wishes she had killed the man when she had the chance.

After a brutal battle for survival, the escapees finally catch a breath—brief, shaky, and hard‑won. Under significant duress, Chin‑Yau is forced to make a difficult choice, and Dex and Gekko hit the jackpot. Suddenly, life seems very, very good. But the Emperor isn’t done. Not even close. His loyal soldiers are on the move, ready to slam the door on Ying-Tai and company.

The convicts claw their way aboard Chin‑Yau’s starship, freedom within reach—until the Emperor’s troops swarm, pinning them down in a hail of gunfire. Amid the chaos, Ying‑Tai drags an unresponsive Boog to safety, hoping he’s still alive. Of course, the mission’s final step depends entirely on Boog, and with enemy forces closing fast, the crew’s shot at escape is quickly slipping away.

Wounded and running on fumes, the desperate prisoners race to the space elevator, one step closer to freedom. But trouble looms ahead. Ying‑Tai hatches a wild plan to hijack Chin‑Yau’s starship, but not everyone is ready to leap into her firestorm of a strategy, and tensions flare as the elevator nears the ring station. Freedom is close—but still seems out of reach.

Buried beneath the rubble from the last explosion and pinned down by gunfire, hope of escape fades. At any moment, Dex and Gekko expect the mine’s troops to enter the remains of the building. Where is Ying-Tai? Is she still alive? Is it too late to stop the mites? 

As the mine’s forces close in, Ying‑Tai risks everything on a final, reckless gamble. Meanwhile, the wounded Dex, Gekko, Tima, Morstyn, and Boog fight on against overwhelming odds as the troopers roll in heavy artillery.

Victorious yet wary, the prisoners climb the escape shaft toward long‑awaited freedom, unaware that the League’s minekeepers intend to exact a final, brutal price before letting their slaves slip away.

The moon mites are stirring as Ying-Tai begins to despair and lose hope. Meanwhile, topside, the mine’s commander, Captain Amos Trankwell, is concerned that the daily quotas have remained unfilled for the past five days. Amos decides to take his troops into the dark to investigate.

Ying-Tai's plan begins to take shape as she climbs high into the shaft of darkness, but the descent could overwhelm even her reserves of strength. As the prisoners put their plan of escape into action, they discover there may be horrifying consequences.

A new inmate to "The Hole" shatters the daily monotony of too short nights and long dark days, breaking rocks deep below the crust of the Moon for the League. The new prisoner brings rare news of events topside, and Ying-Tai dares to hope.

Carl stumbles upon one of Chin-Yau's most fiercely-guarded secrets—a scheme so mind-boggling no one would ever believe it. Unfortunately, Carl isn't the only one who has been discovering desperately-guarded secrets.

Carl's late-afternoon bath is interrupted by a pleasant yet dangerous surprise, while Julong continues to plot his revenge.

At the bottom of the deepest, darkest pit, Ying‑Tai encounters a ragtag band of condemned prisoners. Each carries a past steeped in secrets, yet even among these so‑called bad apples, a few stand out as truly rotten.

Targeted by Chin‑Yau’s simmering disappointment, Ying‑Tai suddenly finds herself caught in the crosshairs of a quiet but calculated plot to remove her. Yet whatever nightmares she has imagined, none come close to the hellish horror awaiting her at one of the League’s most fiercely guarded secret locations.