Page 19 of Stars At Dusk

Kage gave Harlow a narrow look. Then a half grin. Followed by a shake of his head.

‘You’re a dangerous woman.’

‘I’m serious. How better to enjoy a ride in one of Pegasi’s most badass gunships, with the picturesque views stretching as far as my eyes can see, than with a mimosa in one hand.’

‘Day drinking much?’

‘Just my regular Saturday morning mimosa,’ she shot back with a wrinkle of her pert nose. ‘It’s a ritual I have to celebrate the week and work I’ve done. A personal reward.’

‘Personal?’

She nodded. ‘Because if I don’t reward myself, no one else will.’

‘No one around to celebrate you?’ he asked casually.

‘Not usually,’ she replied quietly, looking off into the distance.

Kage looked up from his controls and studied Harlow briefly, his gaze considered. ‘Then I’d be a beast if I refused your request. Mirage, are you able to indulge our guest?’

‘I certainly will try.’

Harlow heard the smooth hiss and slide of machinery within the gunship as the engines warmed up. Then a panel lit up beside the captain’s chair.

It smoothly pulled out to reveal a clear stemless and lidded flute, filled to the brim with an artful orange concoction.

‘One-third prosecco, one-third orange juice and a tot of Grand Marnier,’ Mirage announced.

Harlow clapped her hands with glee. And nabbed her drink.

She took her first sip through the reusable straw with great indulgence, savouring every flavour, eyes closed for a moment.

She opened them to meet the intense gaze of her Edenite companion.

‘Care for some?’ she asked, extending her flute.

He gave her a hooded, warning glance.

‘Can’t drink on the job. But feel free to knock yourself out.’

‘I will,’ she said, deciding to enjoy the moment. She sipped her mimosa and lost herself in the beauty of Dunia at dawn, unfurling below as Void Senior lifted to the skies, quietly powered by thrusters.

They slid stealthily past Axuma’s dome’s structure, with a section of its plasma panels parting for them when Mirage unleashed a sophisticated hack on its control algorithms.

They shot through the opening and into the lower atmosphere. Below them, Axuma looked like an opalescent pearl in the early morning light.

‘It’s so stunning,’ Harlow whispered, awed by the view.

‘Dunia is certainly a planet on steroids,’ her pilot agreed.

‘Was this trip your first visit here?’

Kage shook his head. ‘Nada. Been here a few times. The last time was a few years ago, for an engineering project.

Harlow let her gaze drift from the stunning views of the planet below to the man behind the pilot’s control. ‘Ah, so you’re an engineer?’

He paused, running his tongue under his lower lip. ‘Guilty as.’

‘What were you working on?’ she asked, her curiosity piqued.

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