Page 50 of Stars on Fire

‘What did you find out?’ Zane asked.

‘It’s The Technocracy,’ the AI said.

‘We’re across that already, Mirage,’ Kainan said. ‘We interfaced with their nodes and found who betrayed Selene’s location. What else can you add?’

‘The ship they used to get onto Eden II, a refitted rattler fashioned into a Falasian cruiser, flew out of port a few minutes ago, but I can’t be sure of its trajectory yet in the system.’

‘Get a satellite drone on it,’ Kainan commanded.

‘Naam,khosi. We have lost precious time, though, and they’ve probably disappeared into hyperspace. But, unfortunately, I cannot confirm if you’ve terminated all the crats on Eden II’s metro dome. There could be more of them hiding in the city. I won’t know until I’ve swept the whole place. Until then, I strongly recommend that Her Excellency Selene be removed from the city and situated in an entirely new and secure accommodation.’

‘Does that mean I can’t return to Dunia?’ Selene ventured.

‘Nada,’ came Kainan’s curt reply.

‘You’re afraid The Technocracy may still be prowling the System,’ she deduced.

‘Naam. We’re not quite ready to face them. We also don’t want to risk crossing the blockade. Especially because we’re not yet ramped up for the battle it’ll take to knock ’em out in order to get you home - if they detect us,’ Kainan said. ‘We have to keep you on Eden II until we can be sure it’s safe to return.’

‘Then where shall I go?’

The Sable Riders fell hush, their eyes locked together in a silent discussion.

Finally, Kainan at Selene decisively. ‘J’Urg Mihòr.’

‘Where’s that?’ Selene asked Kainan.

Riv answered her instead. ‘The dark side of the moon. Where it feels like you’re on the cusp of a thousand worlds.’

As soon as Kainan declared Selene’s new destination, things began to move swiftly.

A Sable Group assistant was dispatched to gather Selene’s duffle bag from the apartment suite and load it onto Kainan’s corvette.

Meanwhile, Selene made a secure comm call to Rina to update her on the recent attack. Naturally, her best friend was profoundly concerned, but Selene reassured her she was in safe hands.

Mirage prepped her ship for departure, and The Sable Riders confabbed subvocally amongst themselves.

After a few minutes, Kainan lifted a hand, and Selene turned off her comm tab. ‘For your sake, I’ll run through the current sitrep,’ he told her. ‘Kage, you’re in charge of prepping the armada. Xion, you’ll recruit the ship crews, troops and fighters while working with our sec teams to maintain peace on all domes. Riv, you’ll make sure we’re all well armed for the inevitable battle and Zane -.’

‘- He’ll be crying over his destroyed onyx table,’ Riv mocked, ducking as his slighted brother leaned over to slap the back of his silver-haired head.

The Riders, bar Zane, smirked.

Kainan continued with a slight smile on his face. ‘Zane, you’re on supplies, moving schills around, and working with Xion and Kage to sniff out any more crats and security leaks we may have missed. I’ll be working with Mirage and Selene to secure the flight paths, trying to find the best route to either fight the crats and storm their blockade or slip an entire armada unseen and undetected into Dunia’s airspace. We’ll also work on a plan to launch simultaneous attacks on key facilities, coordinating with the Free Dunia Council on the planet.’

He turned his wildfire eyes towards Selene. ‘You’re with me.’

She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself in a futile effort to ward off the sudden panic she felt building inside her.What would be the outcome of all these rapid-fire decisions?Would they work?

It also didn’t help that her anxiety was interlaced with the nervousness of being alone with Kainan again.

The pair said their farewells quickly, and then Kainan led her to the elevator, which sunk a few levels, opening out onto a bland corridor.

‘We’re now in the tunnels under the metro dome,’ he told her. ‘It’s safer than exposing ourselves on the surface to get to the spaceport.’

They walked rapidly through the dimly lit maze of passageways that trailed off to other ingresses unknown. The tunnels were spacious and well-lit, with a sleek and modern design. But they overlapped, and Kainan took sudden turns and corners she couldn’t quite grasp herself. Had she been alone, Selene was sure she’d have been hopelessly lost in the confusing network of conduits and arteries.

After what seemed like an age, they stopped outside an airlock. Where a bank of sleek helmets rested on a rack against the wall. And below them, a series of exo space suits, jackets and anti-grav boots.

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