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It surged through her chest, through her limbs.

A heated pulse flooded her veins. Her lids fluttered. Her body went limp.

She blacked out.

The last thing she heard was the hum of the air conditioning, and her breath slowing as the wolf-spirit stood guard.

She woke with a start.

Where thefokkwas she?

She swung her boots toward the ground, and they clamped with a hiss, the magnetic soles synchronizing with the deck’s grid.

She doubled over for a second, bracing herself on her knees, her heart hammering against her ribs like it was trying to escape.

When her eyes finally adjusted, Savvine sat up with care and straightened.

Her head was still swimming from the impact, but she was steadier now.

This wasn’t her ship.

It was a Corvette, but nothing like the ones in the flotilla.

Nonplussed, she rose to her feet and studied her surroundings.

The lighting in the strange ship dimmed to a softer hue, rose gold against the obsidian walls, and she sensed the pulse of its core like a heartbeat through the floor.

She didn’t note any seams, no bolts, and everything appeared curved with deliberate fluidity.

It was a dream of a room, a cathedral of calm.

A single, massive armchair sat facing a window so transparent and translucent that it made the expanse beyond appear within reach.

It was a full observatory fashioned from high-tech synth-plex glass stretched from ceiling to floor, wall to wall, displaying an unbroken view of the cosmos beyond.

To the right: the glittering remnants of the debris field.

To the left: the stars, endless and cold.

She caught a stir in the air and turned, her eyes drawn to a pair of boots slung over a stool.

Her heart lurched.

A tall man lounged in the armchair, only the back of his head visible.

She blinked.Had he been there seconds ago?She hadn’t sensed anyone else in the room with her.

How had he ghosted in without her noting it?

She stared at the back of his head. His hair was a rich dark violet, wavy, full on top, shaven on the sides above a sleek flight jacket.

Curiosity took over, and she took tentative steps towards him.

She staggered forward, then steadied herself on the back of his chair.

He shifted as she rounded his seat with caution.

Bracing, muscles coiled, breath held, and then, with an inhale, stopped dead.