Page 100 of Stars in Umbra
He now tapped through his commtab with impatient precision, his jaw tight with focus.
Commander Jukari loomed beside him, older, barrel-chested, with a face weathered by sun and time.
Born in the coastal province of Miran Veldt, he’d once been a marine sub-commander before transitioning into diplomatic security.
His deep, deliberate voice carried a quiet command as he orchestrated the briefing with unhurried ease.
He was the stabilizer, the man whose calm held the line when tempers flared.
Major Hensley, composed and exacting, was a native of New Rambasa’s elevated civic district.
She had graduated top of her class at the Dunian Military Strategic Institute. She was a cold-eyed analyst turned field operative who rose through the ranks by coordinating the high-level evacuation during the Mistral Riots.
Her braids were pulled into a taut crown, and her fingers stayed laced behind her back as she observed everything, calculating six steps ahead.
In the room before them, holo files hovered mid-air, glowing columns of data rotating, casting flickering light over their faces.
They had a long list of items to get through.
Vesk Tyran’s killer was still at large, the Falasian escapees had been located, and charges brought.
However, her team had to provide a report to the UGM Justice Department to bolster their case.
Rina took a breath and kicked off the meeting.
‘Begin. Individual reports, please.’
Jukari launched into the latest interplanetary security updates, his voice steady, until the holo display beside him blinked.
A breaking news alert spread across the stream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SURVIVOR FALLS FROM SKY, CREATING NEW RAMBASA TRAFFIC CHAOS.
MYSTERIOUS FIGURE PLUMMETS FROM SKY ABOVE DUNIA.
SOURCES SAY THE PATIENT IS ALIVE. IN CRITICAL CONDITION.
The footage was blurry, handheld. Emergency lights flashed, crowds screamed, and bots swarmed.
Then the still frame showed a man, half-naked, bleeding. Face bruised, eyes closed. Body strobing with gold sigils, cratered into the street.
Rina’s heart stopped.
Her chair scraped back with a screech.
She stared.
The injuries and grainy film distorted him, but it was enough for her to identify the person.
‘Mo,’ she whispered.
The room whirled around her.
‘Where did they say they were taking him?’
Her whisper was tinny, laced with panic.
‘The man is being held at the New Rambasa General,’ Jukari confirmed.
