They consumed a steel bar he wrenched free from a bulkhead behind him.
Next, he had them fashion a weapon, turning the metal into a blade.
As they worked, he established a neural link to his silent stealthed companion in the skies nearby.
Mirage, I’ll need you on standby to patch me to the Supreme King of Iccythria, His Highness K’Sumi Hinata Alamaq of House ALMQ. Tell him a Sable Rider needs to talk with him. If he refuses, involve Kainan and have the King of Rhesia persuade him to take my call.
Will do.
The Rider also used the sheared metal to create a rudimentary earpiece, which he handed to Katya.
‘Place in your ear in case we’re separated and need to remain in touch. The metanoids inside have created a signal link to receive sound in my neural node. I’ll be able to listen when you speak, and you’ll hear me, too.’
‘Sante,’ she whispered, placing the unlikely devices in her ears.
‘Ready?’ he rasped. ‘I’m fokkin’ primed to get this over and done with. So stay here, don’t make a peep.’
He turned and studied his marks.
The three D’Hanna brothers were assembled at the control panels, watching a celebrity holo and laughing.
They’d also been imbibing in generous grog bottles as if celebrating like all their chicken had come to roost.
He couldn’t wait to dissuade them of the fact.
Easing from the gloom, blade in hand, he moved with a predator’s grace, his steps silent as he closed in on the unsuspecting trio.
Korin, Kiros, and the K’Zito were too engrossed in their revelry to detect him.
Xion neared them, his grip tightening on the hilt of the weapon he had crafted with his metanoids.
He had only one chance to make this work. So with a deep inhale, he lunged forward, his movements a blur of speed and precision, blade flashing in the overhead light.
His hands reached, wrapped and banded around Korin, the makeshift implement hovering above the eldest D’Hanna sibling’s exposed throat.
The room went silent as two other brothers jolted in shock.
Korin struggled with a muffled cry.
‘I suggest you listen close if you want your sibling to live,’ Xion growled.
Kiros and K’Zito growled and made threatening lunges but were repelled when Xion’s meta eyes flashed, and the blade at their elder brother’s windpipe sunk deeper, and he yelped.
Xion sensed Katya on the sidelines. Her eyes were transfixed on the unfolding drama.
‘You think you can fokkin’ waltz in here and threaten us?’ K’Zito spat, his bravado returning. ‘You have no idea what you’re playing at.’
Xion’s grip tightened on the knife, a glint of steel in his eyes. ‘Try me.’
‘I will.’
With a smirk, K’Zito pulled out one of his laser weapons and pointed it at Xion.
His weapon crackled with energy, ready to unleash a devastating blast. But before he could strike, a cry cut through the chaos.
‘Stop!’
Xion turned as Katya raced toward Xion, her face caught in urgency and desperation.