Page 107 of Akur

“They’re right behind us,” Kon-stahns whispered, eyes locked on the scanner now. But her voice was calm, almost detached, as if she was ‘therapying’ the disaster rather than facing imminent death.

He glanced at the scanner, too, his jaw tightening. The Tasqal ships were closing fast. “I know,” he muttered, directing the small ship as it weaved through the chaos. The same wreckage slowly stripping the ship’s armor was the only thing they could use as a shield. Each near miss, each jarring impact, bathed the small cockpit in red.

“There,” Kon-stahns said, pointing to a hulking derelict. “What’s that? Can we use it?”

He followed her gaze. The derelict ship was massive, a twisted monument to some forgotten disaster, but it offered a sliver of a chance. It was an old Class-4 power station. The kind that used unstable reactor cores to fuel entire colonies.

“Risky,” he said, his voice a low growl, “but it might work. The space is tiny.”

“Like threading a needle. But you can do it. You’re the best space pilot I know.”

He grunted a laugh, warmth flooding through him. “I am theonlypilot you know.”

Kon-stahns laughed, the sound so rich it momentarily deleted everything around him. In that single moment, all he could see was her.

“They’re going to fire, Kon-stahns.” He broke the truth. The peace of her laughter was immediately shattered.

“We’ll make it.” Her gaze locked with his.

Her trust in him was indescribable. And she had no idea what it did to him.

“After this…” he said, watching her face as the derelict ship came closer. “After this…when it’s over…will you…will you let me show you my homeworld? Tonvuhiri. When it’s safe. You could meet my…what’s left of my clan…”

He didn’t know why his life organ stopped beating as he waited for her response, even as they flew toward something even more dangerous than any answer that could come from her lips.

Kon-stahns’ gaze flashed to him and she shifted her hand from where she was gripping his arm. As the derelict vessel became so large it was all they could see before them, she leaned over, her lips closing over his.

“Of course,” she whispered. “Of course, I will.”

Moments before their ship was to slip through the jagged hole in the derelict’s side, the scanner screamed. The qrakking Hedgeruds had locked weapons.

“Hold on!” he roared, banking the ship hard as they entered the hole. The first plasma bolt streaked past their starboard side, close enough that the heat sensors wailed. The second struck the derelict exactly where he wanted it to.

The hidden reactor core.

As they flew out the other side, Akur held his breath. For a click, nothing happened, and he wondered whether the core had been stripped. Gods knew how long the ship had been floating in this debris field. Scavengers could have taken every and anything worth a few credits.

But then the readings on the console before them exploded.

Raw energy erupted from the derelict’s spine, a tsunami of radiation and plasma that lit up the void brighter than a star. The Tasqal ships’ superior shields meant nothing against that kind of power. They were too close, too committed to their pursuit.

“Holy shit,” Kon-stahns breathed, gripping his arm tighter.

But they weren’t safe. The blast wave was coming.

He yanked the controls, trying to outrun the destruction they’d unleashed. The little ship groaned, metal shrieking as if it was being torn apart. Warning lights flooded the cockpit. The heat inside spiked.

Something exploded behind them and their ship lurched, spinning. Kon-stahns screamed as she fought to stay in her seat.

“We’ve lost an engine!” His claws flew over the controls, fighting to stabilize them.

The blast wave hit them full force. The entire ship shuddered. For a moment, he thought the hull would crack open like an egg.

“Akur…” Kon-stahns’ voice was tight. “That doesn’t sound good.”

He grunted, still wrestling with the controls. “Ship’s dying around us.”

More alerts screamed for attention. Hull breach. Life support failing. Power fluctuating. The console in front of Kon-stahns sparked and went dark. She jerked back with a curse, smoke curling from the dead panel.

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