Page 41 of Sixth
Emmy reached out a finger, brushing Lume’s silken fur. “You’ll be safe here,” she whispered. “Keep the lights alive for me.” Lume pressed her small head into Emmy’s hand, then drew back, eyes bright with color shifting from blue to gold. Emmy’s throat tightened as she stepped back toward the ramp. “I’ll come back if I can,” she said, voice catching. The creature’s answering hum was pure and sad and beautiful.
She stepped into the ship and the hush of the forest fell away. The door seals met with a soft hiss. The coldness of the interior made her shiver after the charged warmth outside. She slid into the co-pilot chair and buckled in. Apex took the pilot seat, long hands already moving across the array. He didn’t crowd her, but his presence filled the small space. The cabin light made him look carved from shadow and starlight.
“Vector,” he said without looking.
She blinked back tears, already missing Lume. “Anywhere that’s like here.”
His mouth tugged at one corner. It barely counted as a smile. “That is not a coordinate.”
“Then pick one. Somewhere as beautiful as Echo Light.”
“That is not an easy request.”
He entered flight commands in a sequence like a language. The deck thrummed. The engines spooled up. She watched his hands and the fine web of tendons over his knuckles and had a vivid, unruly thought about those hands on her skin. Heat rushed into her face. She blamed adrenaline. She blamed everything except the truth, which was that she wantedhim.
The ship rose clean from the hollow. The view poured across the canopy. Light broke around them like surf. For a long breath she forgot danger. The planet below was a luminous ocean and the ship skimmed its crown.
The higher they climbed, the more beautiful it became. Below, the entire forest blazed like a sea of stars. For a heartbeat, Emmy forgot fear entirely. The planet’s light became a benediction.
A warning tone cut the moment intwo.
“Incoming transmission. Source: Councilor Thalen Vire.”
Her stomach dipped. Apex didn’t look at her. He spoke as if to the night. “Play it.”
The Councilor’s voice filled the cabin with a cool authority that made her skin crawl. “Lord Vettar. Your crimes are recorded. Your bond to the human violates Council law. You will surrender at once or Echo Light will be purged.”
Emmy’s throat constricted. “He can’t mean—”
“He can,” Apex said. “He believes mercy is weakness. Despite this world being protected, he thinks destruction is order and burning a world makes him righteous.” His tone stayed cold, but there was knowledge in it, old and certain.
“Then he’s insane.”
“No. Iknow him. He is logical. And of more significance, Iknow how the Council thinks. Vire believes we are still on the surface and he means to prove a point.”
“Then he’ll fire,” she whispered. “He’ll destroy it.”
“Unless we vanish first.”
The engines deepened. Light flickered across the window. Emmy looked down at the ghostly forest, the first pinch of dread settling under herribs.
“Weapon capacitors on the Sovereign cruiser at ninety percent. Firing cycle has begun.”
Her mouth went dry. “He’s going to fire.”
Apex’s voice went quiet and absolute. “Brace. All power to main engines. Shield bias forward.”
The sky lit up. The first plasma strike tore through the upper atmosphere, white fire streaking across the darkness. The blast slammed into the planet below, ablinding flare that turned night to day. Ashockwave rippled outward, visible from orbit.
The ship lurched violently. Emmy gasped as gravity twisted. The harness cut into her shoulders. Lights flickered. Sparks burst from the ceiling.
She didn’t realize she was already gripping the armrests until her fingers hurt. Ariver of plasma raked the upper atmosphere and turned cloud to burning silk. The first strike had hit far to starboard. The shock came late, rolled the ship hard, then picked them up and shook them again for the pleasure ofit.
The console spat sparks. Smoke stung her eyes. She heard Core’s voice through the crackle.
“Stabilizers offline. Primary thrusters at sixty. Auxiliary readied.”
Apex didn’t flinch. He moved like water under pressure. “Reroute auxiliary now. Engage secondary trim. Cut bleed from port.”
