Page 89 of Stars in Halo

Pulling out a handkerchief, she wiped her face and blew her nose.

He turned away with an ache in his heart and his nether regions.

Cursing, he played with the control panels, verifying the rendezvous location.

‘We’re a few minutes away from meeting our new friends. We’ll leave Mirage on Tachy stealthed overhead tracking us and head in on their ship. I suggest we suit up and equip you with power armour. Are you OK to fire a laser gun? Your last attempt was jacked.’

When Katya gave him a withering look, he lifted his hands in surrender. ‘Just checking. Good aim?’

She rolled her eyes, and he chuckled.

‘Naam, I’ve got good aim. I was too tired and over lugging a giant man through the wilds of Iccythria to make it stick,’ Katya sniped, matching his sarcastic tone. ‘So, what’s the plan?’

‘We rendezvous with our allies to rain hell on House ALMQ.’

Xion guided the Tachy towards a rocky ravine that was a hop and skip away from the edge of a deserted town a few thousand klicks west of LeCythi.

He set the ship down on a flat surface, and they both moved to the rear deck to suit up in the power armour.

Katya marvelled at the suit’s intricate Sable design, the seamless technology integration, and sheer potency. She holstered her laser pistol and followed Xion to the outer airlock.

‘Ready?’ Xion rumbled, his voice timbred and steady.

Katya nodded, her heart racing.

‘HUD on,’ he rasped.

She tapped a button on her suit, and the semi-liquid helmet slid on.

It was a snug fit, but being lightweight, she barely realised it was on her head.

Xion suited up too, then, with a chin jerk, pressed a panel to lift the rear deck airlock.

Their boot and rear thrusters propelled them forward at his command as they navigated through the volcanic shower of rocks and heated dust.

Xion steered through sheets of falling black soot, his advanced sensors guiding the way.

Katya followed close behind, her weapon at the ready.

The ravine stretched before them, punctuated by the occasional glimmer of reflected light.

As they approached the rendezvous point, a massive freighter emerged from the shadows, its lights reflecting off the rocky surfaces of the jagged hills around them.

Xion signalled for her to take up a position in a hover next to him as he input a series of commands on his wrist comm, establishing communication with the ship.

Xion jerked his chin. ‘After me,’ his sonorous voice murmured into her HUD.

Katya hesitated, overwhelmed with the enormity of the experience and how much lay in the balance.

With a deep breath, she let him tag her hand and lead her forward.

Rescue Me, Love Me

The Iccythrians that welcomed them onto the House DKRT ship were stern-faced giants.

Xion and Katya exchanged a glance as they approached the unknown gendarmes.

Like most of Katya’s people, they were dark honey and ebony-skinned Adonises, their dermis embedded with diamonds and gems.

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