Page 12 of Stars in Mist

A coincidence? Or was Pegasi leading him to this one place after all these years?

He remembered the bizarre incidents on his way to Neron N13 and pursed his lips, wondering about the nature of the mysterious and unseen.

His mood lifted now that he had a target he could work with.

Moving away from the station, he headed to where his flyer sat.

Just as he rounded a corner, another ping went off in his node network. The noids he’d implanted on the robedkinaiwere sending out a proximity alert.

He messaged Mirage.I’ve got a shadow on me. It’s the same figure from the skiff. They followed me to the tavern and now here.

I know. I’m tapped into the noids and can spot them in motion.

How far behind me?

Mirage sent through live footage from the station’s cams showing the dark-cloaked pursuer.They’re keeping a few hundred meters. But they’re tracking your every move.What’s your play?

In the shadowy recesses of a rabbit-warrened spaceport such as this one, a soul could hide for days.

However, life as a Sable Rider had taught Riv many lessons.

The most important one was never to indulge a lurker on his trail, especially when he was in the wind. He had to handle them now so they wouldn’t inconvenience him later. Besides, he had places to get to.

The cat and mouse game was on.

Maybe he’d even permit them to capture him because he had the proficiency to fight his way out.

He decided on the latter option, which would give him the most leverage to discover who they were and what they wanted.

They’d be more willing to share if they knew they had the upper hand and, in so doing, let their guard down.

Riv? Please don’t leave me hanging.

He jolted at Mirage’s prompt.Here’s the scenario. I’ll allow them to snag me. Then I’ll capture them. Find out why they’re following.

He moved towards Neron N13’s outer habitat. Tapping into his neural vision, he got a 360 panorama of his surroundings.

It showed a shadowed figure in the distance, flitting in and out of view.

Riv darted among the containers and parked flyers abandoned throughout the port. He dropped his stealth mode every so often, hoping it’d lull his stalker into thinking he was an easy target.

At one point, he doubled back.

By his calculations, his lurker would be along within minutes.

Riv cradled his laser weapon in both hands, moving with care.

It was a rare slim-line model he’d had for many years and modified to his needs.

It was accurate, lethal, and never missed.

Riv, however, had it on stun to ensure he didn’t ice his skulker before finding out what he was after.

He turned a corner in the shadows and realise he hadn’t seen hiskinaifor a minute or two.

He sent a command to the noids he’d planted on them, and they returned a location ping.

His lurker was at a standstill. They were not moving at all and were far behind his current position. So he swiveled on his heel to head that way.

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