Page 60 of Stars in Halo

The air was stale and heavy with the scent of metal and fuel. The interior was cold and unyielding under his touch, a stark reminder of his imprisonment.

No one was around.

Including Katya.

His freakin’ sexy and fokkin’ confounding lover who’d let his kidnapping take place.

The thought of it ate at his soul.

He was overcome with rage, wanting to wring her neck, stick his face into hers and give her a good ol’ ripping.

But his anger would do fokk-all now, so he forced himself to calm down in a wave of grim grittiness.

He had to focus on escaping first. Revenge was for later.

Mirage, you there?

The soft ping in his neural node set him at ease.

Where the fokk am I, and how do I exit this shithole?

You’re on board Fortuna’s Grace. The ship we followed to Enia, which, as I’ve learned, is owned by House D’Hanna of LeCythi, Iccythria.

Do you have schematics, and can you guide me the hell out of here?

I can. I’ll direct you myself, starting with a hatch to your left.

With his strength back and guided by Mirage’s directions, Xion discovered a maintenance trapdoor hidden behind a panel in the corner of the hold.

He pried it open, adrenaline coursing through his veins, fueling his efforts.

The portal gave way, and a sliver of dim light spilled into the darkness.

Xion squeezed through the narrow opening and found himself in a labyrinthine network of corridors.

I need to find Katya and her brothers and secure some freakin’ answers. I’m assuming they’re on the bridge.

You could escape from an airlock, and I’ll pick you up. You’ll be drinking hot kahawa and lounging under the stars in minutes.

Xion huffed. It’s the piss-poor coward’s way. And where would that leave us? I’d still have no idea what they’re planning and who’s behind it. I’m no quitter, Mirage, you know that.

The hum of the ship’s engines reverberated through the metal walls. His neural node parsed a map over his vision, which guided his stealth movements.

Mirage fed him real-time data, alerting him to approaching threats, plotting his route, and sidestepping cameras and security checkpoints.

With each passing moment, they progressed deeper through the ship’s dark corridors, their steps silent as they navigated the labyrinthine passages.

As they drew near a set of heavy blast doors, Mirage paused, scanning the security protocols that guarded their path.

With rapid calculations, the AI set Xion’s metanoids to work, bypassing the intricate lock system.

Get ready, Mirage said as the AI executed the override sequence, and the massive hatch slid open with a pneumatic hiss.

As they neared what seemed like the control room, Mirage projected a holographic map of the ship onto Xion’s neural node interface.

He rounded a corner to find a cluster of armed sentinels loitering at the entry to the bridge.

Their eyes widened at the sight of the Rider strolling toward them.

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