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‘Naam. You’ll meet Senior in just a little bit.’
His hands flew over the controls, reactivating the stealth shield and electromagnetic engine. It growled with a power that only a machine pumped with crazy horsepower and peak torque could. The flyer throbbed under Harlow’s feet, and she almost melted into it.
Kage’s hands did in a quick dance, and a pair of auto drones detached themselves from the side of the flyer and took off to parts unknown.
With a thrust, the sleek craft glided into the air and rumbled away quietly.
She glanced at the ground as it fell away. She thought she spotted a commotion of fire and ambulance vehicles crowding the other end of her street, but it was soon out of sight. Seconds later, they cruised through Axuma’s early morning streets as the city began to stir.
In the early morning hours, Axuma was shrouded in the hush of sleep, the air cool and crisp. The city was calm and peaceful, as if holding its breath, waiting for the day to begin. Its roadways were quiet and empty, with only the occasional car or pedestrian passing by. Above, the sky was dark and cloudy, with the first hint of dawn appearing on the horizon.
As Kage pushed the flyer faster, the sky began to lighten, gradually illuminating the streets and buildings, bringing Axuma to life in all its vibrancy, full of energy and endless possibilities. The city stirred to life with the first workers and commuters heading to their jobs and appointments. As the sun inched over the horizon, Harlow whispered her goodbye to Axuma, having no idea when she’d be back, as the doors of shops and cafes flung open and the sounds of a waking city filled the air.
They didn’t take long to reach his corvette, which was not parked at the main spaceport. But instead, they headed over the fence of a berry farm on the city’s outskirts.
At his command, the sleek gunship materialised against the early morning sky, its landing gear firmly wedged between rows of ripe, sweet-smelling strawberries.
It was HUGE, and Harlow gaped, trying to take it all in. While at the same time noting that not one fruit patch had been destroyed in the landing of the sleek gunship.
‘And this is Void Senior,’ Kage divulged as a cargo bay door slickly opened on the side of the towering, vertically aligned ship.
‘I can see why it’s senior, alright,’ Harlow said.
They swept past the open doors, and she marvelled at the corvette’s matte radar-absorbing skin and fractal tech that would deflect most sensor scans and arrays.
This was heaven for a geek like her.
The flyer rumbled to a stop inside the large cargo and storage bay. Her eyes ate up everything she saw. From the neat, beautifully crafted plates to the bulkheads, with seams sealed perfectly. Each aspect was joined and galvanised masterfully. Every surface gleamed and shone from exceptional upkeep.
Kage hopped out of the flyer and nabbed her bags which he stored in a locker nearby. He swept his helmet off and gestured that she follow him.
She complied, legging it past the cargo doors and up a flight of steps to the galley, cabins and medbay.
Further and higher to a neat, cutting-edge bridge crowned with a 360-degree plex display. There were also several large multi-d holo screens showing various maps, security feeds, plus a virtual 3D landscape overlay of the external landscape.
He motioned towards an empty 360° swivel crash couch that would give her max support when in full burn.
‘Your throne awaits,’ he grunted.
She fell into it and strapped in while Kage slid into his chair and played with the controls. He didn’t consult any of the holos above him, and Harlow deduced he was patched into a virtual HUD cockpit.
Kage moved his hands over a control pad, and the nav holo updated with a burn location and new trajectory as the cockpit fluidly re-oriented itself, holo screens and all, so the seats faced up, ready to boost out into the atmosphere.
‘Mirage, Shadow here, ready for flight.’
‘You’ve been MIA for a few hours, Shadow,’ said a dulcet-sounding voice. ‘And now you show up with a very pretty young woman. Did you go wife hunting again?’
The man at the controls grunted. ‘Hilarious.’
The sound of trilling laughter filled the bridge.
‘That’s Mirage,’ Kage ground out to Harlow. ‘Our very opinionated AI. She also thinks she’s got jokes.’
An AI too?Harlow marvelled to herself.With genuine emotion parameters? Those didn’t come cheap.
‘Does our passenger care for a refreshment?’ Mirage piped up shortly.
Harlow pushed her luck. ‘Does she make a breakfast mimosa?’
