Page 182

It throbbed with silver etchings, a security feature designed by Ki’Remi himself to thwart invasive scans and energy-based weaponry.

As the landing gears extended, talon-like against the pristine surface, a hatch hissed open, and a boarding ramp stretched out with crisp efficiency.

‘Stunning, but tis not a ship,’ Issa reflected. ‘Tis a promise of glorious war if provoked.’

Her man huffed. ‘Tis the only way we Sablemen ride. Welcome to the Alatyr,kidaya.’

‘How poetic,’ she mused. ‘A vessel named after a sacred stone containing runes endowed with healing properties.’

‘Also, the navel of existence, a relic of immense power, tied to the balance of the world,’ he intoned as they stepped forward.

Her voice was wry. ‘I take it you didn’t pick the name?’

‘Mirage did,’ he admitted. ‘I wanted TheUnfokkwitable.’

Issa’s laugh was soft.

‘Tis my second ship,’ he went on. ‘The Technocracy destroyed my first one, the Umbra, sometime back. Long story.’

With not even one look behind them, they strode aboard.

When the doors were sealed, Ki’Remi’s neural node pulsed with a familiar presence.

‘That was exhausting.’

Mirage’s out-loud utterance was laced with mock irritation.

‘Do you know how many real-time calculations I had to process to access an astral field and navigate a multi-dimensional gate? Not to mention the security layers, and now, a fleet of looming warships is gathering for a cosmic battle. These celestials are paranoid bastards.’

Ki’Remi smirked. ‘Yet, you still made it.’

‘Because I’m brilliant.’

‘Debatable.’

‘Ungrateful.’

Issa settled into the ship as the two Sable Riders squabbled in good nature.

She stowed her things away, then sat, her spine molding into the comfort and gel of the high-tech crash couch.

Just as the Alatyr commenced take off, she asked, ‘May I use your comms, please?’

Ki’Remi gave her a keen glance from his second chair’s seat and nodded, pointing to the console before her. ‘No need to ask,kidaya. What’s mine is yours.’

Issa gifted him a soft smile as she tapped a sequence into the holo-interface, initiating a secure link.

Outside, two divine celestial Sedevan gunships provided an escort as the Alatyr headed toward the jump gates.

‘Issa?’

The face of her father filled the display.

Aged, weathered, but alive.

A shuddering breath left her as relief, joy, and agony tangled into one.

She pressed a hand to the screen as if she could touch him across the vast space.