I maintained regular communications with the creature, they called themselves something that sounded like "Yu-la", over the next several days. The status of process on a fix was always the same, which is to say no indication of any progress. But we did spend a great deal of time synchronizing each other's vocabulary as we learned more about each other. It took some time for me to understand that whatever passes for a generation among them is apparently shorter than a human generation, but that the number of generations since leaving their home surpassed their ability to track. It must have been sheer chance that they were passing near enough to the solar system in the past several decades to even pick up the radio waves we are broadcasting into space. They had diverted to investigate, and had found a wonderful potential home on our moon. Attempts to understand what kind of craft they traveled in was only met with confusion.

A second but empty capsule landed nearby while all of this was going on. It's arrival was detected early and caused a great deal of commotion, and an inspection of the capsule confirmed the same melted circuitry.

"What causes this?"

"Ourr shieldd thatt hidess uss iss dangerrouss too yourr craftss."

It didn't get any more helpful.

Eventually though, the Yula gave news that they could send the HLS and me back to Earth, but would provide no details as to how.

"Are you worried that my return will increase the threat to you from more like me?"

"Perhapss, butt wee doo nott thinkk yourr Aetchh Elll Eessess willl bee successsfull, andd Oxii genn." It spread it's appendages in a hopeless gesture.

Indeed. They had made the moon even more hostile than it ever was.

"Andd wee willl nott causee harmm."

Several days later I was strapped back into my flight chair, waiting on something. I never got a clue as to what they were going to do. I watched out the window, but saw nothing. The change came rapidly. One second I had ducked my head in exhaustion, only for that to be the moment in which they launched the HLS, pinning my chin to my chest for a few seconds. When I recovered and could look back, the surface of the moon looked it's normal pale grey again. I trusted them. If they said they could get the trajectory right, I felt I could believe them.

I think I owed them their safety. I should have been dead, but had another chance at life.