Page 165 of Stars At Dusk

Mirage’s counterattack worked. The Rinnax hack of The Sable Group’s systems and comms was subverted, and it died under a barrage of the AI’s worms. Then, comms flickered back to life, Sysnet rebooted, and Sable-Net was up across the lunar sphere.

In the deserted conference room at Sable HQ, the sapphire lightning arcs emanating from Zane’s eyes died down. He fluttered his lids shut and instantly fell into a deep meta-rejuvenating sleep.

Meanwhile, Kage freewheeled through space over the shattered Skylab dome. His suit was severely damaged and kept beeping with a cascade of alarms and alerts. However, the lifesaving features still worked and were pumping various chems into him to assist his metanoids. He felt himself fall into a doze several times, and each time his suit would send another zap of cortisol and adrenaline into his body to keep him conscious.

Man, he was done.He felt utterly bruised and battered, wiped from the events of recent hours. All he needed was some rack time. He felt his eyes pull close and he fought the slide into unconsciousness, keeping his eyes on the lavender dusk twilight above Eden II, and his soul fixed on the warmth and hope the lilac glow conveyed.

Soon, the hormone jolts weren’t enough to keep him from delirium as time and space dilated. Just as he was about to slip away into unconsciousness, he felt the gentle tug of a tractor beam pulling him towards a light that hurt his eyeballs.

He heard the vibration of an engine, the slide of a hull door and the slow fall of his body onto a hard surface. Then came the one sound that would always be able to call him back from the dead.

Harlow’s voice.

He struggled through the sinking sands of oblivion, forcing his mind into consciousness. He retracted his helmet and dragged his eyes open, and there she was, bent over him, hands stroking his face, those beautiful lavender eyes streaming with tears.

She spoke first through trembling lips. ‘Lost much?’

He grinned wearily and lifted a hand to wipe off her tears. ‘Never,’ he mumbled. ‘Not when I’ve got the brightest star in the sky to follow.’

She gurgled with laughter. ‘So cringe, Sable. Didn’t think you were the sappy type.’

‘Been through hell and back, woman. I deserve to be sappy whenever I want. You finally here to stay woman? Or is this just another tease?’

‘I’m here baby, now and for always.’

They stared at each other for the longest moment while Kage registered the resolve in her eyes.

‘Sweet Eden, I love you,’ he rasped, touching her lips softly with his gloved hand.

She took a deep breath. ‘And I love you, Sable. Every part of your ballsy, hangry, salty, pain in the ass, sexy self.’

‘That’s all a brother needs to hear from his sweet, sassy and gutsy woman,’ he murmured as he let himself slip into the delicious pull of a profound blackout.

18

Born to chase starlight

Harlow

‘Grip me any harder and my hand could lose blood and fall off.’

‘Never letting you go, babe,’ she whispered. Harlow smiled and held onto Kage’s left arm even more tightly as the maglev lift they stood in fell deeper into Eden II’s crust.

She watched as the floor numbers flashed by until they dropped to U59. The lift kept dropping, its display panel now showing their final destination. The ‘Lower Lobby’.

Kage glanced up at her from the comm tab he’d been scrolling through with his free hand. ‘You’ve got questions.’

‘I certainly do. And if you know me well enough as you keep saying, you’ll know what I want to hear.’

‘Patience,kara,’ he said, flicking his eyes back to his screen.

She rolled her eyes for a moment.

‘I sensed that,’ he said drily.

She sucked her teeth and felt the rumble of his laugh. It overwhelmed her heart, so she buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms even more tightly around him.

Which was all she’d wanted to do since he’d awakened from his rejuv bed two days after his ordeal.

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