Page 69 of Stars in Nova

‘You mean that? Because all I want to do is take it and get thefokkout of here.’

Samira tilted her head, glanced at Sharin, and then sighed. ‘Please be civil,’ she told him.

‘Always,’ he drawled.

Their familiar flame sparked for a moment.

Kisan’s gaze on her shifted to a smolder, then sliced away.

With a chin jerk, he stepped forward.

His hand hovered over the mask, the air between it and his palm crackling with energized ions.

Her head engineer, Sharin, adjusted her goggles and muttered, ‘It’s inert. It hasn’t powered up since we got it. If you can wake it, I’d be impressed.’

Kisan didn’t reply.

He reached out, his fingers brushing the surface of the artifact.

The instant contact sent a ripple of light coursing through its veins.

‘What the hell?’ Sharin whispered.

‘They’re my metanoids, millions of nanobots, crafted just for my physiology, by would you guess, the crats.’

Samira jolted in shock. ‘You have crat tech in you?’

He nodded. ‘Long story. It was why I recognized what the cyborgs were the second I set eyes on them. Once you see one, you never forget.’

Energy pulsed under his suit and skin, and he emitted a hum. His noids glow intensified as they linked with the dormant circuits on the spindled artifact.

The mask came alive, its embedded crystals flaring to life in sharp, green pulses.

Sharin stepped back, her eyes dilated in shock. ‘Well, I’ll be damned.’

The engineer’s breath hitched, her eyes flicking from Kisan and back to the mask. ‘You’re connected to it.’

Kisan’s rasp was dry and matter-of-fact. ‘It’s more than a connection. It’s a part of me. It knows me, and I it.’

‘You owe me a story,’ Sharin said, shaking her head in disbelief.

‘Depends on whether anyone on this rock deserves to hear it after your leader lifted my shit.’

His eyes slid to Samira’s, and their gazes locked, caught in a war between defiance and flaring attraction.

‘What plans do you have for it?’

‘As I said, it seems to have the capability to disrupt the Crat’s technology, cut through their shields, at least, that’s the theory. We’d have to test it in person.’

‘If only we could get it working,’ Sharin said.

‘It’s working, just not for you,’ Kisan growled.

Sharin turned to Samira, who sighed and swiveled her head to the Rider. ‘We need your help, and we fast. Time is not on our side.’

His jaw ticked. ‘You need more than speed, trust me. With tech, this intricate, even my knowledge might not be enough to craft what you need.’

‘Perhaps if you and Sharin -.’

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