Page 76 of Stars in Halo

‘He’s now under my care,’ Mirage said to Katya. ‘I’ll begin with healing his wounds and infusing him with metanoids to replace the ones he lost. It’ll take some time. Perhaps even twenty-four hours, but the suit will help drag him out of that hell hole.’

‘Damn, that’s nothing like the suited armour systems I’ve seen in the past,’ Katya whispered in awe.

‘Everything else but Sable gear is McShit, inferior in all their ways,’ Mirage intoned.

With Mirage’s guidance, Katya set charges along the outer wall.

Stepping back to Xion, she folded herself over him and used her wrist comm to set them off.

The muffled explosion rocked the space, causing debris to rain down and dirt to cascade from the cracks in the ceiling. The wall crumbled, creating a makeshift exit for the pair.

The blast wave passed, and a cold wind rushed in from the outside, blowing dust and particles around.

Katya moved, nabbing packs of provisions and repacking them, redistributing what they would carry.

By this time, Xion had somehow got to his feet. He now swayed in the middle of the cell, his shattered and wounded body only just standing due to the meta suit he now wore.

Katya thrust a heavy coat at him.

Xion stared at it as if unable to comprehend what she wanted him to do with it.

With a curse, Katya pushed his hands into it, slapped on a helmet, and tugged gloves on his injured palms.

Katya reinforced her suit and shrugged into a substantial cloak as well.

She turned to the man weaving on the small bench.

‘Xion, we have to move. Now.’

Grappling one of the consolidated packs onto her shoulders and the other over Xion’s hunched back, she picked up a rifle and wrapped an arm around his waist.

Without hesitation, Katya half-dragged the burly, thicker, much taller man through the newly formed opening, leading the Rider into the night.

As they emerged into the cold air and shattered skies, sirens wailed in the distance, signalling the alarm raised by the cell break.

Katya scanned their surroundings, her mind already racing ahead to the next step of their escape plan. ‘Mirage, talk to me.’

The Sable consigliere replied with a sit rep. ‘Your path is clear, but you’ve got bogeys and the enemy to your backside, so move the fokk along. Remember, I can’t land the Tachy; the volcanic disturbance where you’re at makes it too risky. Also, once you’re outside the facility, the ionic storm will disrupt our comms, so use the HUD in your helmet to guide you. You must ascend to higher ground a few hours from here and stay concealed until the storm breaks. I’ve sent you a map of the best exfil location. Hustle there and wait for me. Travel safe, and see you soon.’

A chart shimmered into view in Katya’s heads-up display, guiding the way out of the treacherous valley.

‘Can you walk?’ she asked Xion, her tone brisk but laced with concern.

‘Save yourself,’ slurred the man in her arms. ‘I’ll only slow you down.’

She glanced at him, ‘Don’t underestimate Iccythrian strength, Rider. We’re built to survive low-oxygen environments, and our muscles are ripped. So please shut up so we can leave here alive.’

He nodded, his weak head bobbing, leaning on her for support as they made their way through the darkness.

They made their way through the dark alleyways at the facility. The adrenaline pumping through Katya’s veins kept her senses sharp.

Every sound and movement heightened as they dodged drones she was sure the ALMQ sentinels had sent.

Soon, they left the prison block behind and tackled the rugged volcanic terrain of the wilds of Iccythria.

Katya led Xion through the treacherous landscape, the harsh topography testing their endurance with every step. The barren ground crunched beneath their feet, the air thin and biting as they trudged onwards, the silhouettes of rock formations looming like sentinels in the moonlight.

Xion’s breath came in ragged gasps, his weakened state evident as Katya supported him.

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