The knife glinted, a sly crescent under the late afternoon sun. His boots crunched against the dry, alien soil as he crouched by the ivory carcass—black blood pooling beneath it in slow, viscous drops. Finn Tarkor ripped the knife free from the beast's skull, wiping it on the lapel of his duster. The coat, made from woven metallic fibers, shimmered dark bronze, and his black shirt clung damp to his torso. He exhaled, the air thick with the smell of scorched ozone and the beast’s bitter musk.
“That was... unnecessarily dramatic.”
Mina’s voice crackled to life in his comms implant, threaded through with an amused tone. Above him, her silhouette flitted from the cockpit of the Rainstrider, her shadow briefly cutting into the pinkish clouds. The craft’s solar sails fanned out behind it, glowing faintly with refracted sunlight. Finn rolled his shoulders and glanced up, the corners of his mouth quirking into a smirk.
“Watch your tone, Mina. I just saved your ass. Again.”
Her chuckle vibrated through the implant. “The captain saves the crew. Sure. Classic.” A pause, and then a serious note. “Get back onboard. The storm’s coming in faster than forecast, and we’ve got company.”
Finn ran a hand through his jet-black hair. Buzzing on that familiar edge of adrenaline, he twirled his knife back into its sheath. His narrowed eyes scanned the horizon. Sure enough, the distant crackle of roiling neon-blue lightning blurred the edges of the pale desert ahead. Storm clouds, laden with fumes, crept closer like slow-slinking predators.
But it wasn’t the storm that made his stomach knot—it was the parade of black specks on the horizon. The Talok Syndicate’s gunships. They moved in formation, their dark metallic hulls gleaming like polished obsidian. They were too far out to hear, but Finn could feel the ominous vibrations in his chest. Just like he felt the memories clawing at the edges of his mind. Mina’s urgency suddenly snapped him out of it.
“Captain. Move. Now.”
The Ship and the Shadows
Finn sprinted back to the Rainstrider, the pungent dust rising around his boots. He tightened the straps of the leather scabbard across his chest and slid his blade into it. His fitted pants, dark sable with angular patterns stitched in muted gold threads, were smeared with dirt, but they clung to his frame in a way that allowed for swift movement. Grace under pressure, that’s what his father called it. He spat dryly at the ground just thinking of the old man.
The ship’s ramp hissed and lowered just in time for Finn to leap onto it, the sharp winds nipping at his dark bronze coat. An array of warning lights danced near the cockpit, surrounding Mina, who didn’t even glance back at him as she barked commands to the ship’s AI.
“We won’t outrun them,” she said, her fingers flying across the control screen. Her short auburn hair glowed faintly with the dashboard’s bioluminescent blues. “Not with this overload on our energy cells.”
Finn slumped into the co-pilot’s seat, flexing his fingers. “So, we don’t outrun them.” He thumbed the laser pistol holstered at his belt. "We outrank them."
Mina threw him a glance. “Famous last words."
"Worked last time."
“Barely."
Before either could say more, the Syndicate’s gunships screamed through the air, their staccato energy bolts splitting through the atmosphere. Finn grabbed the controls, his lean muscles taut with focus. Beside him, Mina fired up the rear defense modules, aiming to buy them time rather than destroy Syndicate assets outright. One bad move and flame would replace the desert sands below them.
The Rainstrider shuddered violently under each blast. Finn banked hard left, moving through the narrow outcrop of ancient rocky spires dotting the plains. The echoes of detonations filled their shared silence, sharp explosions mingling with the storm’s electric rumble. The gunships were gaining. Always gaining.
The Deal That Changed Everything
The Syndicate wasn’t after Mina’s stolen codes. Finn knew better. They were after him—they always had been. The memories flashed unbidden: Cold walls. A chain breaking with force. The hollow ring of laughter as a man richer than kings signed off a pact that destroyed entire systems. They had turned Finn into a weapon, a boy with no loyalty except fear.
Until he fled. Stole one of their prototypes—this very ship—and made it into his sanctuary. His shacklebreaker. His redemption.
“Finn!” Mina’s voice broke through his thoughts.
The gunships were closing. Too close. Energy shields dropping rapidly to 18%. An alarm screeched throughout the cockpit.
“Not ideal!” he admitted and flipped a switch on his panel. The ship sighed before its thrusters roared defiantly, carrying them upward into the storm's edge. Lightning lit the screens in harsh, vivid flashes as the gunships followed close behind.
“What’s the play, Captain?” Mina asked tersely, her face grim in the flickering shadows.
Finn’s eyes glinted. “We let the storm play for us.”
The Fury Above
Up they climbed into the choking storm. The gunships hesitated just long enough, unsure of entering the electric deathtrap, but one by one, they breached the chaotic skies in pursuit. Finn grinned despite himself. They’d made it.
“Cut all auxiliary power,” he instructed. “Let the storm shield us."
“You're insane.”
He shot her a tight smile. “Always have been.”
Lights across the console dimmed as the ship entered silent mode, their thermal signatures blurring against the maelstrom of lightning bursts. The gunships surged in, their sensors scrambling in the electromagnetic interference.
And then the storm struck. A bolt of pure white-hot energy lashed down, splitting one of the Syndicate’s ships in two. Finn flinched but held the Rainstrider steady, letting nature do the work. More bolts followed, their raw force obliterating the formation as Mina’s hacking triggered chain reactions in enemy systems.
When silence finally returned, they emerged from the storm’s veil, battered but alive.
The Aftermath
Mina leaned back, breathless. “Well, that was suicidal."
Finn shrugged, staring ahead at the endless horizon. "And yet, here we are."
“One day, Captain…” She let the threat hang between them, half-joking, half-exasperated.
But Finn only grinned again. Somewhere in the distance, the ruins of a city, long dead and forgotten, loomed, their destination solidifying in the glare of a cold sun rising over the sands.
“One day," he echoed, his voice low, almost wistful. Behind them, the storm raged on.
Genre: Sci-fi/Action Adventure
The Source...check out the great article that inspired this amazing short story: Review Starbucks Dark Roast Espresso Roast Nespresso Capsules for Vertuo Coffee Maker Taste Test Results
Disclaimer: This article may contain affiliate links. If you click on these links and make a purchase, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Our recommendations and reviews are always independent and objective, aiming to provide you with the best information and resources.
Get Exclusive Stories, Photos, Art & Offers - Subscribe Today!
Post Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.