Epilogue #3
‘Gentlemen, welcome to Sable HQ,’ she said, her voice a smooth, melodic alto.
‘Sante. Where’s Mirage?’ Molan rumbled, stepping into the lift.
‘She’s occupied by a prickly delegation of Synth AIs from Galicia,’ Ayana explained with a polite smile. ‘She asked me to step in today as your liaison, so please follow me. Commander Sable is expecting you.’
The elevator descended, opening into the sprawling glass and obsidian lobby of the Sable Corporation’s executive tier.
Ayana guided them into a stunning office where the walls gave way to panoramic views of Eden II’s hyper-modern skyline.
Kainan and Zane’s looming muscled silhouettes already crowded the room, as they prowled forward to hug and welcome the Sacran brothers.
‘Look at you, all dolled up,’ Zane joked, gripping Idan’s shoulder. ‘The style suits you, even if you look like you’re plotting a mafioso murder in that shirt.’
‘Blame my woman,’ Idan muttered, though he was grinning. ‘She insisted I change from my leather togs, saying they made me look like a provincial yokel.’
‘Not that there’s anything wrong with that, time and place, brother,’ Kainan chuckled, pouring thick, fragrant kahawa into heavy ceramic mugs and handing them out.
For a while, the air was dense with the scent of coffee and easy talk. From updates on their wives and women, to the chaos of domestic life, all the rare moments of bliss they all fought so hard to preserve.
In time, their levity gave way to solemnity as Kainan set his mug down and leaned forward, elbows to his knees, clasping his hands together.
His face sobered into the mask of a leader burdened by the responsibility of entire systems.
‘I’ve got a proposition for you two,’ Kainan stated, his gaze locking on the brothers.
‘With Sulfiqar out of the picture, the royal seat of the Highest Heaven is in contention. Sacra has always been a secretive empire; they sneer at the rest of the Pegasi, but I need its borders to stay stable. The last thing I want is warring gods stirring shit that might overflow onto us mortals. I’m after allies I can trust, eyes and ears I can lean on.
To give me and the Pegasi Galactic Alliance some insight and act as intermediaries between Sacra’s rulers and us. ’
He gave the brothers pointed looks.
Idan let out a short, dry laugh, shaking his head. ‘Mediators? Kainan, I’m a man of the soil. I find serenity in dirt, leather working, and animal wrangling, not in high courts and posturing.’
‘And I’m pure muscle,’ Molan growled. ‘I went from a merc to your security head, and let’s be honest, at heart I’m a gunrunner when the credits are right. I don’t charm people into peace; I talk them into staying down. We aren’t diplomats, we’re the guys you call when diplomacy fails.’
‘That’s exactly why it has to be you,’ Kainan rasped, with a quirk to his lips.
‘The galaxy is full of silver-tongued politicians who’ll say whatever it takes to keep their seats warm.
I don’t need more of those fake kinais. I demand men who know the cost of a bullet and the value of a hard day’s work. I require locked-in, badass operators.’
His eyes flashed with purposeful intensity.
‘You’re not just a farmer and a merc anymore.
You’re Riders now. That means we don’t get the luxury of staying in our lanes.
We roll up our sleeves, we step into the mud, and we do whatever is necessary for the peace of this galaxy.
If that entails having to put on some big boy diplomatic pants and staring down some arrogant Sacran lords, then that’s the mission. ’
‘Besides, Idan is showing us today he can fokkin’ switch it up. He even appears halfway decent when his woman says he has to,’ Zane added with a glint in his eye.
Idan raised a middle finger to the smirking Rider, then traded a glance with Molan.
They exchanged a quick sub-vox conversation; their protests fading as they considered Kainan’s words.
‘The logic holds,’ Idan rumbled out loud after a few moments, leaning back in his chair with a sigh of resignation.
‘Sacra is a powder keg. If it blows, the fallout hits everyone, even our women. And freakin’ hell, we know they’ll all be charging in to help with any war or rescue efforts given their roles. ’
‘Sawa,’ Molan added, his expression hardening into one of professional resolve.
‘We’ll do it. We’ll act as the go-between for the Alliance and the Sacran Council.
We’ll build your bridge to Sivania and the High Heavens, boss-Khan.
Just don’t be surprised if we have to crack a few skulls to keep the fokkin’ foundations steady. ’
Kainan grinned, leaning in to shake their hands. ‘Needs must, kaka.’
The deal was barely finalized when the air in the center of the room fractured.
Mirage materialized, her holographic form shimmering with a frantic energy.
Kainan furrowed his forehead; Mirage was notoriously unflappable, and her agitation was an immediate red flag.
‘Ko’Sawa?’ Kainan demanded.
‘Nada. We have an anomaly on approach to Eden II, Khan,’ she clipped, her voice tight.
Kainan’s brow knitted, eyes flaring and narrowing, knifing up straighter in his seat. ‘Out with it.’
‘It’s a Crat vessel. I have a definite and confirmed signature.’
‘The hell?’ Kainan’s deep timbre dropped an octave. ‘The Crats? We eliminated the kinais. They’re extinct.’
‘Not all of them, it seems,’ she countered. ‘They’re broadcasting a distress signal, but other than that, I can’t get a bead on their intentions.’
‘Show us,’ Zane rasped, crossing his arms, his aqua-blue eyes turning to ice.
Mirage flicked her wrist, projecting a massive tactical virtual display mid-air.
A capital ship appeared onscreen, gun turrets gleaming, cutting through the void with singular, terrifying purpose.
‘It’s half a day out,’ Mirage added.
Kainan’s face hardened into a mask of cold fury.
‘Go to Defcon 1,’ he growled. ‘Get the rest of the Riders on-planet in this room. The others can patch in via our holo link.’
Mirage’s head snapped to the side, her form flickering with a sudden distortion. ‘I’m receiving an incoming priority signal. They’re hailing us.’
Kainan dropped into his seat, his mouth in a straight slash, body braced and roiling with tension.
His face was a mask of cold, controlled rage as he shot a look at Zane.
Zane jerked his chin and turned to the demi-urge, taking over, his expression grim.
‘Sweep the incoming link for hacks, back door codes, or malicious logic-bombs,’ he gritted out. ‘Once you’ve cleared it, accept. We have to know who the fokk they are and what the hell they’re after.’
Mirage’s hands moved in a blur as she wove a defensive shroud through her omniscient network.
As she worked, the heavy double doors hissed open, and Kage, Xion, and Riv stormed in.
The atmosphere in the room thickened with tension, pressurized by the sudden influx of even more smoldering Rider energy.
‘Tis true?’ Xion grated, his dreadlocks flying as he flicked his eyes over his brothers. ‘The Crats?’
Kainan nodded, with a slow, disbelieving shake of his head.
Idan and Molan exchanged a wary glance, bracing themselves.
They’d witnessed the Riders at high alert, but never this raw, primal charge that vibrated through them, pulsing through the air.
Mirage gave a cautious grunt. ‘The line is clean. They aren’t hiding a Pandora’s box of horrors.’
‘Accept the hail,’ Zane growled.
In the center of the office, a massive holographic screen unfurled, the resolution shimmering before snapping into terrifying focus.
The Riders leaned forward as one, glaring at the visuals.
Five men stood on the bridge of the Crat ship.
They were humans, most certain; muscled and rugged, but their eyes burned with the unmistakable, luminous glow of meta-potency.
Dark scars and shifting, sentient ink crawled across their skin like living shadows.
However, it was their faces and the familiarity of their features that sent a jolt of pure ice through Idan’s veins.
They appeared majestic and warrior-like, not unlike the males in the room with him, one in freakin’ particular.
‘Who the hell are you?’ Kage’s snarl cut through the suffocating silence. ‘You’re not Crats.’
One of the strangers stepped closer to the camera.
He took his time, his glowing gold eyes studying the Riders keenly, until his gaze rested on Kainan.
‘Nada,’ he growled, his vox halting and raspy, as if the words were being dragged across gravel. ‘We aren’t those fokkin’ insectoid mongrels. We commandeered this vessel some time back, long story.’
Kainan surged to his feet, stalking toward the display til he was inches from the radiant screen. ‘Then we’ll ask you again: Who in Devansi’s hell are you?’
The man on the monitor stared back, matching Kainan’s menace with a terrifyingly matched potency; his presence was just as glowering and sinister as the Riders’ khan.
Standing well behind the smoldering Riders, Idan sensed his Ssignakht sight involuntarily flare to life.
The world shifted into hues of gold and silver, revealing a truth written in the DNA of the man on the Crat ship, a soul-resonance that screamed of a shared lineage.
Idan let out a muffled whistle as he and Molan again locked eyes.
Shit just got interesting, his brother muttered into Idan’s neural node.
The stranger spoke, his timbred, hoarse words cutting through the room like a guillotine.
‘My name is Kalkidan Raiden, most call me Kidan,’ the man stated, his eyes locking onto Kainan’s with a haunting intensity.
‘I’m the leader of this motley crew of soldiers.
We left Earth decades ago, burning through an endless void for over thirty years, caught in a chrono-meteorological time storm.
Not because we got lost, but because we were hunting. ’
‘Who were you seeking?’ Kainan growled, his massive body poised for violence.
Kalkidan arched a brow and leaned in, eyes flaring with molten power.
‘You, Kainan Sable. I and two of the men behind me, Kham and Khalfan, are your half-blood brothers.’
At his pronouncement, the Riders jolted as one.
The stranger ploughed on in his raw guttural timbre. ‘We didn’t just find you to reunite, brother, we tracked you down because we’re the only ones left alive who can warn you.’
‘Of what?’ Kainan grated through clenched teeth.
‘That you’re now prey for a threat far more pervasive, invasive, and malignant than anything you’ve ever imagined. May the gods of Quasar’s Eye help us all lest we fall to their machinations.’
THAT ENDING?!!
ARE THE RIDERS BOWING OUT, OR IS THE SAGA JUST BEGINNING TO HEAT UP?
The dust hasn’t even settled, and I know you’re spiraling.
Where did Kainan’s half-brothers come from, and how did they become meta-humans?
What’s the new existentialist threat facing the Riders?
And most importantly, which new strong women are we introducing into the mix? Because you know these new Riders don’t stand a chance against the lethal, brilliant, and defiant queens about to cross their paths.