Page 51 of Stars in Aura

The Sacra High Ssigis had found her.

Unfriendly was not even close to what they were capable of.

She’d defeated them this time, but there’d only been one ship.

She’d have no hope of facing and surviving a fleet of Ssigisan’s Warlocks, the Silent Assassins of the Sedevan Order.

Neither did she have a snowball’s chance in hell against the Saatifa, the guardian warriors of the Divine Immortal Deity, Sulfiqar.

Ki’REMI

A little ways from the group and out of earshot, Ki’Remi crouched and angled his backpack to the front, laying it on the ground.

From within, he withdrew a holo-emitter.

The damaged unit was twisted, and its internal components were fried from a wild round.

He sucked his teeth and exhaled through his nose.

Activating his metanoids, he sent a pulse through his neural node, commanding them to disperse.

A metallic shimmer flowed from his fingers into the broken device as the nanobots merged with its circuits, re-configuring the data pathways and rewriting the failing code.

The device whirred to life seconds later, the transmitter glowing a cobalt blue.

Ki’Remi’s lips curled.

The holo-screen flared to life, static crackling before the feed locked onto its target.

Admiral Rhye’s face materialized, his eyes flashing as he assessed the transmission.

‘Sable. You took your time patching in.’

Ki’Remi’s expression remained unreadable. ‘We went down, crash-landed on the surface. The cruiser has been reduced toburning wreckage, shattered by the debris of a now destroyed enemy vessel.’

The senior soldier’s stance shifted to high alert. ‘The hell?’

‘Short of it is that we encountered hostiles on the descent. An advanced, stealth-capable force in an unknown origin ship, equipped with heavy artillery.’

Ki’Remi’s voice was flat, but his eyes burned with intensity. ‘Not Allorian.’

Admiral Rhye’s cybernetic eye flickered as he processed the information. ‘Confirmed?’

Ki’Remi’s jaw tightened and exhaled. ‘Naam.’

‘Threat still out there?’

‘Neutralized, for now, sir, and no other similar ship in orbit. But, if they return, I have the ultimate weapon of war with me.’

‘Explain?’

‘My fellow surgeon happens to be a kickass soldier. Did you know anything about that when you hired her?’

The admiral arched his brows and shook his head. ‘Elaris?Nada, first I’ve heard of it.’

‘Keep it to yourself. She’s an anomaly I did not expect to deal with. I can’t figure her out. Each time I try to burrow under her freakin’ skin, I find more layers underneath.’

The Admiral snorted. ‘I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.’

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