Page 13 of Stars in Halo

Porters in space suits scurried into the concourse from the pier and air bridges outside Eden II’s transparent sky vault. They transferred bulky cargo onto smaller vessels pushing out toward the moon’s massive dome.

The fly cab he was shadowing halted before Eden II’s private spaceport dock. One reserved for the most opulent yachts and nestled within a secluded part of the busy terminal.

Xion parked his sleek craft in the dim-lit bay and sat back to watch, honing his meta vision on his mark.

As she stepped out of the hire flyer, Katya’s lithe form shimmered beneath her elegant dress, her gaze fixed on a single grand craft.

The Rider studied it as she sidled towards it.

It was a Ccyth design.

It stood out, framed against Eden II’s dome, tinged with silver hues, its chromed surface gleaming.

The ship sported intricate lines and well-designed contours, radiating luxury and power. ‘Fortuna’s Grace’ adorned its side in refined golden lettering, glistening with an otherworldly shimmer.

The woman called Katya approached the entrance of the yacht.

Xion guessed she must have imbibed an alcohol inhibitor on her way because her gait was now steady and purposeful.

His meta vision narrowed as she handed a small chip to the Iccythrian security guard, who stepped aside to allow her passage.

The doors of the super-boat slid open, and her lithe form disappeared into its depths.

Xion leaned back with pursed lips as the ship lifted off and took to the skies.

He patched into the private Sable network.

The manifest for the craft was encrypted, and he cursed.

This meant the ship’s owners had much to hide and had spent plenty of schills to install the best encrypting software.

For a Ccyth carrier to do so with such audacity, given their alliance with Eden II, was fokkin’ irking.

Moreover, camouflaging your flight path was illegal throughout Pegasi. More so on Eden II.

However, Mirage’s quantum computers often overcame any efforts of bad players in the universe to circumvent the rock’s robust space aviation monitoring intelligence.

Then again, the Iccythrians were a lethal lot, closeted and secretive. They were wheelers and dealers in the lucrative weapons trade and jewellery business.

That was their legal front.

They also dabbled as mercenaries, pirates and many other nefarious activities, running illicit goods to Iccythria, their planet on the farthest edge of Pegasi, where the three galaxies met.

He made a note to speak with Soren Dukarat, the local Ccyth fixer on Eden II. Perhaps he’d get a bead on the kinais who owned the ship that had just flown the mysterious woman from his patch.

Xion engaged his flyer and roared back to HQ.

Where Mirage was waiting.

He found the Sable consigliere in the gaming salon, prepping the lost wagers for storage.

They were bagging the Iccythrian precious stones in a data shield anti-radiation bag with a touch of irritation on their unlined face.

‘I managed to shut down the hack and separate the coded gems from the other collateral we collected tonight. I’ll keep the rogue jewels from the Sable vault in case they try and de-crypt that system, too.’

‘Are they real?’ Xion asked eyes on the sparkling offenders.

‘As genuine as they get, but it’d take a talented gemologist to insert code into them and splice them back together, which points to just one group of professionals.’

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