We all shared a hearty breakfast. Today we go to work. We were right on the key location now and there was no way any one of us could possibly sleep through this day. We have one chance. To miss this window means coming back next year. Not a hope in hell. This time next year I am going to be fully chilling. This planet is a loafing paradise and with a woman like Mila, there is not a single way I can think of to better enjoy it.

Close the door on this now and we have the rest of our lives.

I briefed Gary on how the day will go down.

"All I am doing is checking that the calibration is clear and this big beautiful planet will drift around this gorgeous Lady-Sun for another million rotations. My dorsal pilots will ensure my protection with the greatest of confidence. They are pacing below in anticipation for a day that will set them free and guarantee more generations to come than any one of them can comprehend.

All I ask of you, Gary, is that you hold our Hi-Sun in tight on the highest point while I do my work. We have a larger gang of slicer sharks that have somehow tracked in on us, waiting to consume my remains. It is not going to happen, but I never underestimate the vicious potential of such entities. Our dorsal pilots know what we are dealing with, even though the slicers play their role in the chain of life on this planet, they too are aware of that strange knowingness and will never let their guard slip against those cold, scavenging creatures."

Mila smiled and showed no sign of fear. Gary stood solid and placed his hand on Hi-Sun to reassure me that she was completely up to the task. Our little deckhands, Max and Pei, just kept the flow of food moving and cleaning up as we spoke. We shared mill tea and joked for a while before I stood to take the lead and spoke.

"Well, Gary, I suppose it is time to show you how I will reach the depths of the ocean. We are today at the highest peak of water. Within a few hours we will be sitting closest to the sun that is possible for any one point on the oceanic surfaces of the planet. But this planet is unique. At this very moment each year we have a perfect equilibrium of our three moons. The largest of our trio will itself sit directly above us, holding the tide in its full draw, pulling the tides of the planet towards her. At this precise point of equilibrium we have an inner peak of the orbital eclipse. From there, every single particle of us and all that is part of this planetary mass will fall away and continue to do so for half of the year until we begin our journey back to this high point once again. The eclipse is coincident with the equilibrium of our orbit. This has been occurring now, perfectly, for billions and billions of years."

Mila looked up at the growing shadow of the moon and said nothing. She didn't need to.

We all sat with our biggest moon high in the sky and drawing in closer with our Lady-Sun closing in towards midday. Below, the dorsal pilots slowed along with Hi-Sun holding the space around our keel. The slicer sharks had again grown in numbers and seemed more aware of what was taking place. More than I could ever have imagined for such spiritless hunting entities. There was a certain hum of energy about their circling pattern. They were holding their wall of attack close at bay, waiting for what looked like an inevitable strike.

I know these dorsals and I know that they are worthy of this task. Otherwise the slicers would have already taken the keel area. The respect, or more so fear, the slicers had for our dorsals was an inherent emotion set by millions of years of evolution. It was a part of them. The large moon drew in closer and began to cast a shadow across the span of the horizon.

I looked to Gary and Mila. We knew that it was almost time. I stood at the very point of Hi-Sun's bow, feet spread shoulder width across the joining balustrades. The moon closed in under the sun and within moments would cast a full black sky directly beneath Lady-Sun. I pointed my body like a spear. Hi-Sun slowed into position and I dove in a high arc out over her, turning down towards my dorsal pilot escort waiting on the ocean surface below.

I held my line and drew up directly to the front of my main dorsal. At the edges of my vision I could see the slicer sharks instantly closing in, pressuring the outer limits of our area. My main man was waiting for me calm and solid. As I struck the water, a clear, sharp air bubble formed around me. I pierced long and deep as my dorsal friend hugged in against my chest and became a part of me. We drove down deep and fast into the darkening blue below.

The black shadow of the eclipse fell across the water above us. We drove deeper still. Whatever lay ahead, there was no turning back now.