Page 134 of Stars in Halo

Gasping, Katya hauled on the oversized suit over her tighter-fitted one, zipped it up, crashed the helmet onto her head, and checked her HUD.

All was green for go.

With another ragged breath, she hit a button to lever open the external portal and, in seconds, was sucked out into space.

An Unbreakable Thread of Love

‘She’s out, I have her signal,’ Mirage declared. ‘I’ve sent a high-speed drone capsule to pick her up.’

Pacing the bridge behind Mirage, Xion leaned into the screen as a sleek metal ovoid shape hurtled through space.

Without warning, his metanoids and prescience sense went wild.

His mind surged with images. He sagged with dread as his percipient vision showed the module Katya was in get hit by a bogey and explode into a cloud of debris.

Jolting, he tore his eyes open and growled to Mirage, ‘You’ll need to secure her in ten seconds. That’s all we’ve got.’

Mirage got the memo.

She sent a lightning-fast quantum command in milliseconds to the capsule’s operating core.

It raced ahead, leaping and crashing through rubble instead of taking the prolonged route to skirt it.

Heading to where Katya was tumbling through space. It stopped close to a shadow rolling against the inky blackness of the cosmos.

With breath hitched, Xion tracked the module as it screeched over his woman, scooped her up and tore away.

Moments later, the capsule shot off. Advancing towards the Tachy, manoeuvring beyond the still-wheeling corvettes and scooting under Akira’s ship that was still firing with wild abandon at the three bogeys.

Just then, a missile head whizzed past exactly where Katya had been careening through the heavens.

The Rider shut his eyes tight, his soul ragged at the near-miss.

‘Xion, she’s safe. She’s inside. I’m bringing her in,’ Mirage murmured with compassion. ‘Get her in the hold.

Xion ran down the stairs to the rear deck.

‘Hey, are we good to blast them to oblivion?’ Mirage called after him.

‘Naam!’ he shouted back. ‘Hit ‘em hard!’

As one, and at Mirage’s command, the metanoids contained in the projectiles punched into the sides of the three pirate ships and released an EMP charge that rippled through the buccaneer’s vessels.

Which led to their instant shutdown of any remaining electrical systems and the immediate subversion of any defensive attack.

Akira’s lead vessel and his armed escorts were left wheeling through space, powerless, their turrets swivelling drunkenly in search of their attackers.

Xion raced into the rear deck of his ship, watching with impatience as the bay doors opened to let in his woman in the rescue capsule.

As soon as the airlock was pressurised, he rushed inside.

The module’s door hissed open, revealing Katya, who wasted no time sprinting towards him.

Her eyes locked onto his, a mix of relief and urgency flashing through them before she threw herself into his arms.

The Rider held her close.

Katya’s grip on Xion tightened, her face buried in his chest. In that fleeting instant, everything else faded away, leaving only the two of them clinging to each other.

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