Page 18 of Stars on Fire

‘I am,’ Rina insisted. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t get to brief you in detail before you left this morning. No sleep in 48 hours, last dibs on hot water and zero hammocks to spare means I’ve been slightly off my game. Plus, I had no clue who they’d send. No idea it’d be HIM. Whoever His Magnificence is.’

Selene sighed. ‘You’re out of control, woman. Unfortunately, it also sounds like there’s no alternative. I’ll do what I need to. Stay safe, Ri’. I’ll reach out to you when I get a chance. As soon as possible.’

She tapped off her comm and cocked her head up at the mountain of a man standing a short distance away, lowering her weapon slowly. ‘OK, then pilot. Please take me to your leader.’

The sleek corvette had a name. Mirage.

And with it, a dulcet-toned AI of the same name that welcomed her on board.

Selene raised her eyebrows slightly at the unexpected voice, then wondered who these Eden II folk were anyway. So far, they were challenging all her preconceptions.

First of all, sentient AI tech was hideously expensive, she thought. So whoever owned this bird had plenty of cash to spare.

Secondly, their stealth kit rocked, something she knew little about from her stint in the army and the time spent with her friend and all-around geek, Harlow. Of course, she’d already seen evidence of its cloaking capability, but it was even more fascinating that the ship had a radar-absorbing skin that would deflect most sensor scans and arrays and cost a bomb.

Whoever they were, they also had fokkin’ great taste. She craned her head and looked around when stepping into the airlock above the drive cone, reactor and engineering.

It opened out to a cargo and storage bay. Every plate and bulkhead was beautifully crafted, with seams sealed perfectly and joined and galvanised masterfully. Everything gleamed and shone from exceptional upkeep, and she’d even seen a series of intricate paintings on the walls. The air smelled of metal alloy, leather and wood, plus the lingering scent of recently brewed rich kahawa.

While storing her bags in a locker, she spotted one floor dedicated to a galley, cabins and medbay. Then she followed the mysterious hulking navigator up a flight of stairs past the galley level, up into the command deck and the pilot’s seat. He motioned towards a 360° swivel crash couch that would give her max support when in full burn.

‘Strap in,’ he grunted.

‘Thank you,’ she said.

She acquiesced while he sunk into his pilot’s swivel chair and began messing with the controls. Above him were several large multi-d holo screens showing various maps, security feeds, plus a virtual 3D overlay of the external landscape.

The command deck of the sleek craft was clean, tidy and roomy for a vessel its size. She supposed it needed the space to accommodate the pilot comfortably and about four chairs designed for other people of his immense size. However, for this short hop, the pilot was alone.

Except, of course, for Mirage.

The AI piped up shortly.

‘Does our passenger care for a refreshment?’

Selene was too jittery to drink or eat. ‘No, thank you,’ she confirmed.

The helmsman focused on his nav holo screens. ‘Mirage, prep us for preflight.’

‘Preflight sequence initiated,’ the AI intoned.

Selene’s eyebrows rose as the cockpit fluidly re-oriented itself, holo screens and all, so the seats faced up, ready to boost into space.

The pilot conversed softly with the AI, pausing to cock his head, his eyes glazing over like he was speaking subvocally with someone. She assumed he was patched into a reconfigurable high-tech cockpit and virtual HUD.

Wrapped up in the comfort of her chair, Selene pretended to fuss about on her handheld comm while taking surreptitious glances at the pilot. His large hands moved so fast over the controls and keyboard they almost blurred her vision.

She gave up her amateur spying attempt when his eyes sliced over to her and caught her staring at him.

He turned to face her, the strangely glowing irises between the impossibly long lashes fixed on her. Her heart gave a massive kick.

‘Ready?’

Her traitorous body twitched in response to his deep timbre.

‘Nervous?’

She narrowed her eyes at him, and his lips curled.

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