Page 128 of Stars in Halo

‘Course set,’ Mirage announced as he appeared in the cockpit.

‘Thank fokk. Let’s get the hell out of here,’ he growled.

The engines hummed to life as the ship lifted from Zanyria Prime, hurtling through space towards after his woman.

Boom Time

Akira’s ship was a sizeable freighter used for hauling cargo and contraband.

Although light freighters held their own in combat against other fighter craft most of the time, larger vessels, such as his bulk freighter, tended to be less capable.

With its imposing size, sluggish speed, and modest armament, Akira’s ship was a sitting duck in the vastness of space.

In a strategic countermeasure, the pirate master always had two nimble corvettes as escorts.

His crew, too, had been picked for their ability to fight if cornered, and they fit the typical pirate cliches.

When she and her brothers entered the bridge, one of the gang waved a weapon at Katya and her brothers.

They sank into their crash couches as the man glowered over them.

Katya nodded to him, wondering if he recognised her from the old days when she was Akira’s girlfriend.

His name was Grax, a towering hulk from the asteroid belt of Malon-7. His brute strength and unwavering loyalty made him the perfect muscle for any sticky situation that might arise during their travels.

As Akira and the crew prepped for a hyperspace jump, Katya studied the other Black Claw gang, trying to remember who she knew from the past.

They were a fascinating mix of beings from diverse corners of the galaxy.

Rho, the weathered ex-soldier from the Draconian system, was the ship’s formidable weapons expert. His icy, calculating stare gave even the most ruthless pirates pause.

Beside him was a woman, the pilot, whom the crew called Kora.

She was unknown to Katya, and given her cybernetic implants, she was a sharp-tongued pilot from the technologically advanced planet of Cygnus. She tapped away at her console with lightning speed, scowling as she worked.

Also present were several Falasian mercs, a glowering Siriuxian engineer and a few Allorian deckhands flitting in the shadows.

Akira’s voice cut through her musing as he rose from his captain’s seat. ‘Now that we’re on our way to Eden II let’s pow wow. It will be a long haul to that end of the System, so it’s best to use the time in hyperspace to finalise our plans. With me, guests and friends.’

‘Where to?’ Katya asked.

‘My ready room,’ Akira invited, loping to the room to the side of the bridge.

The D’Hanna siblings followed.

They walked into a small meeting space reeked of burnt kahawa and stale cigars.

Katya’s brothers, Korin, Kiros and K’Zito, settled in beside her, their expressions suspicious and wary.

Akira lounged back in his chair, his gaze fixed on Katya with a hint of amusement.

‘Share your plan, sweetheart, and I’ll tell you whether it holds water,’ Akira drawled, smirking.

Katya threw the Sable tech tablet on the desk surface.

‘Like I said when we met on Zanyria, that’s our in. It’ll give us access to the spaceport, specifically to a small berth deck. We can offload there and use it again to get past any controls and check-ins.’

She flicked a button, and a holographic map of Eden II flashed on. The route to the Sable vaults was also lit up, and the vehicles they could use to enter the city and the vaults were outlined.

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