Stars in Nova (The Sable Riders #6)

The New Has Come

F or the first time in years, Orilia’s atmosphere was filled not with the sounds of battle or despair but with the symphony of rain—a melody of hope.

The planet was healing, and its people, once fractured and broken, could begin to dream again.

For days, showers fell.

The change was slow at first, each second stretching into an eternity as they waited for something to happen.

After the first deluge, the air shifted, carrying a subtle humidity that hadn’t been there before.

A few days after the first rainfall, the team emerged to conduct assessments.

Standing with Sharin near a patch of dead earth, Samira crouched to examine the dirt in the valley outside the core Thalassi tunnel entrance.

She ran her fingers through it, her brow furrowing.

‘It’s loosening,’ she said, her voice filled with cautious hope. ‘The ground isn’t as hard as it was previously. Think I even see leaf shoots.’

Conducting soil tests nearby, Kisan paused, his attention snapping to her. ‘You’re sure?’

Sharin nodded, pointing to a shimmer just beneath the surface. ‘Look. The energy’s starting to take root.’

Over the following hours, sprouts of green began to emerge, pushing their way through the brittle earth. At first, they were small, frail, and tentative, but as the bio-kinetic energy infused the earth, they grew stronger.

The shoots stretched upward, transforming into saplings, their tender leaves catching the light breaking through the clouds.

Sax huffed, a flask of kahawa in his hand. ‘Well, I’ll be damned.’

He took a swig before placing the vessel down to help with gathering more stats.

As time went on, the transformation accelerated.

Days later, Samira stood on an incline overlooking Thalassi’s tunnel entrance.

Vines unfurled, their tendrils wrapping around jagged rocks as if reclaiming the land for nature. Trees burst into full growth, their canopies spreading to shade the recovering ground.

The once-barren plains became lush fields, vivid with wildflowers in blue, yellow, and red hues.

She stared in stunned silence, her hands pressed to her lips. ‘It’s happening,’ she whispered, her voice trembling.

Kisan joined her, his green eyes scanning the changing landscape. ‘Not just here,’ he said, his tone steady but tinged with awe. ‘Look.’

Beyond them, rivulets of water began to flow through the dry riverbeds, their crystalline surfaces reflecting the vibrant greens of the fresh vegetation.

Grasses spread, their roots anchoring the soil with astonishing speed, stabilizing what had once been a crumbling wasteland.

The air also changed, infused with the fresh scent of earth and the delicate perfume of flowers.

Water trickled into streams as the team moved through the transformed landscape, examining the effects of the kinetic burst.

Samira knelt beside a cluster of blooms, her fingers brushing their petals.

‘It’s incredible,’ she whispered, turning to her man. ‘Even dormant plants are coming back.’

Kisan tapped his comm, connecting to the Cephei’s systems. ‘Mirage, run an analysis. I need to know how far the effect has spread.’

‘The initial radius is about six hundred klicks,’ the AI replied, its voice crisp. ‘Expansion is ongoing as the energy propagates through the soil and plant life.’

As the rain continued to fall, the group gathered near the canopy of a mature tree with budding leaves.

Samira twisted to her man, her eyes shining with gratitude. ‘ Kralji , you’ve given us a future.’

He shook his head. ‘We all have. This was a team effort.’

Sax clapped a hand on Kisan’s shoulder, his grin irreverent. ‘Take the praise, hero.’

Samira reached for his hand, their fingers intertwining. ‘Let’s keep transforming it and make this world what it was meant to be.’

Kisan smiled, the warmth of her touch grounding him. ‘I’m in as long as I stay by your side.’

Samira wasted no time.

Using her network of fluid relays, she shared Kisan’s technology with the other two continents.

The cloud seeding and dynamic pulse were replicated, and the lakes and forests across Orilia XIV began to return. The barren planet transformed, and the scars of war faded as life reclaimed its place.

The Vaelorii, once a fragmented and hidden people, emerged to rebuild their towns and villages.

The noise of restoration and construction replaced the silence of desolation, and hammers and saws echoed as they began to craft a new future.

The precipitation continued to fall.

Together, they watched as the land around them came alive, the promise of renewal spreading with every drop of rain, each shoot of new life.

For the first time in years, Thalassa was breathing again.

Outside the underground caverns of Thalassi, a shaft of sunlight poured through the rock-strewn entrance.

In the distance, the Cephei sat waiting for its passengers, its sleek, stealth skin gleaming in and out of the shimmering view under the Origin sun.

Samira was lost in a heated kiss with Kisan.

That morning, he’d woken her with tender caresses, loving her long and slow until tears ran down her cheeks.

He’d kissed each eye as he slicked in and out of her.

‘I love you, Kisan,’ she’d breathed as she came for a third time. ‘So much.’

‘I love you more, kaissa ,’ he groaned through his mind-blowing orgasm.

Now she left the circle of his arms with a small smile, eyes sad.

‘I’ll be back,’ he murmured. ‘A month max.’

‘You’d better bring that tight ass back to me,’ she whispered.

She turned and rejoined her friends and family on the sidelines.

He sucked his teeth, missing her already.

She kept her eyes averted, blinking hard.

He sighed, knowing, like her, he didn’t even want to contemplate goodbye.

Fokk , when he returned, he’d never let her out of sight.

Sax stood nearby, with Sharin lingering beside him, eyes fixed on his face.

Sax leaned in, his hands cupping Sharin’s face with surprising tenderness. Their kiss was slow and deliberate, as if neither wanted to break the moment.

Sharin brushed her fingers along his jawline when they parted, her lips curving into a rare smile.

‘You better return someday,’ she said.

‘We’ll see,’ Sax replied, his grin lopsided but genuine. ‘Depends if you want me around for my charm or aim.’

Sharin smirked, crossing her arms. ‘Your charisma is questionable, but your aim’s decent.’

Kisan stood a few paces away, hands crossed over his chest, giving them privacy but catching enough of their exchange to smirk.

When Sax finally stepped back, he turned to the gathered group of Misandra, Malik, Liora, Samira, and the core unit he’d fought with, Garner, Jessa, and Talin.

‘’Friends!’ he grunted. ‘You’ve been graced with my presence for too long. Don’t screw up this gift of a renewed planet while I’m gone. Consider this a blessing from your favorite monk.’

Laughter rippled through the crowd, and some Vaelorii raised their hands in a mock benediction.

‘ Sante , padre,’ Samira mocked.

Sax growled. ‘I’m not a -.’

‘We don’t care what your title is,’ Samira interjected. ‘What we care about is that we love you, Sax Sable, regardless of the rogue that you are.’

Sax smirked, but Kisan tagged something rare: moisture in his eyes as he turned away.

He bit his tongue, choosing instead to give a quick hug, throwing an arm on Sax’s shoulder as they made their way to the Cephei.

‘Tis what I hate about the business of people,’ the gruff shrouded man growled as they strode along. ‘You get torn from them just when you begin to love them. Fokk , it burns.’

In that moment, Kisan received the insight he’d often wondered about for years. His fellow Sableman was a giant freaking Sarisian cuddle bear. Who loved deep and hard and struggled to let go of those he’d lost.

Thus, his mask of cynicism and scoffing sardonic nature.

Kisan glanced at Sax and gave him a wry grin. ‘To quote you, blessed are those who love while enduring testing and temptation. Afterward, they will receive the crown of life promised to them.’

‘ Fokk off,’ the cowled man grunted as the Rider chuckled.

In minutes, the gunship’s drive was throbbing, and the sleek cruiser ascended, its engines reverberating in harmony as it broke through Thalassa’s atmosphere.

The two Sable men sat in the cockpit, the silence between them companionable.

The vast expanse of space stretched out before them, a field of stars broken only by the swirling blues and greens of the Pegasi cluster.

‘You’re quiet,’ Kisan said, glancing at his friend.

‘Just thinking,’ Sax replied, his eyes focused on the view. ‘About Orilia XIV. How it is now a transformed creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.’

‘Does this mean you’ll be back, given there’s a smart, attractive, and freakin’ personable woman waiting for you?’ Kisan added, the question in his voice unmistakable.

Sax huffed. ‘ Nada , for my very nature rebels against it. My heart was made to wander far and wide, always remaining in the wilderness of the soul. Selah. She knows it too, but should we ever meet somewhere out here, then so be it.’

Kisan let out a rumbled chuckle. ‘Never understood it, but I respect it. Mirage, take us into hyperspace and then take over controls.’

‘Noted, boss khan .’

Kisan turned to his mate. ‘A game of cards, my friend? This time I’ll whoop your ass.’

Four days later, the forested highlands of Skardis came into view.

Rolling emerald plains gave way to jagged peaks, their snow-capped summits piercing the clouds.

Rivers snaked through the valleys, their surfaces catching the sunlight and reflecting it like liquid silver.

The Cephei touched down at the spaceport, a modest facility surrounded by dense forest.

Sax disembarked, his cassock shifting with the breeze. He turned to Kisan, his grin as irreverent as ever.

‘Take care of your water queen,’ Sax rasped, teasing.

Kisan smirked. ‘Try not to burn down your freakin’ stills and the monastery.’

Sax arched a brow and extended a palm. ‘When do I get those hundred schills you owe me now, given my card mastery?’

‘You got a fokkin ’ free ride to Skardis. Consider us even brother.’

The Sarabaite barked a laugh and threw a mock salute before disappearing into the throngs of Skardis’ spaceport crowds.

Headed toward a distant tree-lined path leading to an abbey perched on the side of a mountain cliff.