Page 48 of Stars on Fire

He swayed slightly from his recent effort. ‘The attack is isolated. There’s no other across the metro or the rock.’

‘Sante,’ Kainan clipped.

The sound of more explosions in the bar atrium below them dragged away Selene’s attention. Weapons discharged, shooting bolts of energy throughout the space. The assailants prowled the room, shooting their lasers at any moving thing, including the security drones and guards who poured into the area. The newcomers fought with callous precision, making Selene’s blood run cold.

‘Bastards!’ Kage ground out as one of The Osirian’s security guards fell.

‘Not just bastards,’ Kainan said. ‘I’ve spotted something. Zoom in on their faces or rather lack of any.’

The Sable Riders went still as their irises contracted and their neuro nodes processed the data. They all shared a long look and an even longer neuro-linked conversation.

‘What is it?’ Who are they?’ Selene called out, unable to stand the suspense any longer.

‘Crats,’ Kainan said quietly. ‘The Technocracy.’

Selene’s heart fell. ‘Which means they’re here for me.’

Kainan gave her a wry nod. ‘Maybe so. Now that we know what we’re up against, we need to get down there,’ he said. ‘Kage, you take the lead. I’ll be right behind you.’

‘Hell yeah!’ Kage said, thundering towards the room’s shelved walls. ‘We’ll need heavier firepower than handguns to counter the crats weapons.’

He touched a hidden panel to the left, placing his eye on the camera above it for a biometric reading. The wall detached and swung inward to reveal a second inner room, a weapons hold.

Its walls seemed secured with reinforced panels that could easily withstand bladed and blunt weapon attacks. Selene saw that the higher levels of the gun room’s modular display system displayed a series of heirlooms and antique firearms inside clear fire-resistant containers.

Below, on the neo-steel modular gun rack system, hung a series of modern pulse rifles, multifunction weapons capable of firing low-velocity pellets and ballistic projectiles, laser guns and handguns. Vertically stacked sword rifles were also in a high-density vertical rack for quick and easy reach.

Kage, Zane and Xion each reached for a sleek rifle and dashed toward the glass elevator. On his way past Kainan, Kage tossed one of the lethal weapons to hiskhosi, who niftily caught it.

Selene scrambled for her bag, trying to keep her calm. Another series of detonations shook the building, and she stumbled, falling back into solid arms.

‘I’ve got you,’ Kainan rumbled, holding onto her as she regained balance. He turned her around to face him. ‘We designed this room with high-security, pulse-resistant ballistic panels that can withstand small arms and bladed weapon attacks. They can’t come in, but you can’t leave either until this firefight is over. ‘Til then, you stay here.’

She gave him a steady look. ‘You all go. I can take care of myself.’

‘Nada,’ he pushed back. ‘You stay with one of us, always!’

‘Riv, you’re with Selene, brother,’ Kainan commanded the only other Rider left in the room.

The man nodded, his magnificent sheathe of dead straight silver hair shimmering about his pale face. Satisfied, Kainan jerked up his chin at Selene before streaking after his friends.

Riv turned his white irised eyes towards Selene.

‘Want to see the show?’ he spoke soft and low, with a small smile. She sensed that despite his nonchalance, he was probably the most dangerous of the five Sable Riders.

He strolled to the glass wall, and she followed, albeit sceptical about the violence taking place below being termed a show.

The mayhem was something to behold.

The balance of power shifted the moment the Sable Riders landed on the ground floor. The four men disappeared into a blur, their feet kicking mercilessly, their arms landing heavy blows, and their laser rifles pulsing rhythmically as they moved through the room so fast Selene couldn’t get a fix on them. All she could see were the attackers falling back, unable to withstand the relentless punishment of the fleet-footed team.

The Sable Riders seemed to flit in and out of sight, and she thought she saw the Kainan’s body blur into a cloud of shimmering gold energy, almost like he’d dematerialised.

She shook her head.Impossible, she thought. It must have been a detonation of some kind clouding her view.

Furniture and banquettes exploded, chairs flew into the air, and Jarok’s bar went up in flames as the fight intensified.

‘Zane will be weeping now,’ Riv commented drily. ‘He spent a year searching for the right colour of Ebuli onyx for that counter.’

---