HAWK

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: LIMBO (2/6)

The ride was swift and silent.

After trying to question Kas over who she was and why she'd landed in an escape pod, the direction of the conversation was abruptly changed when President Mantana climbed out of the pod beside her. After a brief (and rather one-sided) conversation, Mantana ordered the ships to escort them to land. Within minutes, he, Kas and Worm (and her X1 suit) were bundled into the back of a cruiser and whisked away towards the coast, closely accompanied by the other four ships. The journey didn't last long; the pod had landed a mere five miles from the coast. In no time at all, slim, elegant shapes materialised in the skyline like a mirage and manifested as the city of Sevine.

Sevine was surely the wealthiest city on Lysan, a trait that had given it its nickname of the City of Gold. Its wealth was surpassed only by its immense beauty thanks to its stunning marble architecture and its vast network of clear-water canals that made it a paradise in the summer months and a wonderland in the winter.

Compared to the rest of the city's structures, the embassy was relatively unimpressive - from the ground, at least. From above, its octagonal frame had been stamped on the landscape like a badge of the city. A ten-acre lawn coloured its hollow centre, and it was there the fleet of cap cruisers descended to kiss the planet's surface.

As they descended, Kas spied a throng of people in suits beside the landing zone, no doubt waiting for the company to arrive.

'Look at them,' Mantana said as the cruiser drifted towards the ground. 'They have no idea.'

'Ignorance is bliss,' Kas replied.

'How are we ever going to explain everything?'

'We? I don't think so, man. This is your stop, not mine.'

Mantana looked at her with fresh panic. 'You're not staying?'

'I've done my part. Now I'm going home.'

'But I need your help!'

'No, you don't. You've got Astrid, remember?'

Mantana's panic eased as he remembered the X1 fighter waiting in orbit. The door beside him opened up, revealing a team of armed officers and a mass of people in suits.

'Mr President,' the redhead in the suit at the front said.

'Just a second,' Mantana replied. He extended his hand towards Kas and she shook it. 'Thank you.'

'Thanks for the ride,' Kas replied.

'If you need anything, you give me a call.'

'Anything, huh?'

Mantana smiled. 'Within reason.' He thanked Worm and shook her hand as well before disembarking the cruiser. As he stepped out, the redhead instructed Kas and Worm to follow.

'They're not staying,' Mantana said, to which the redhead frowned.

'We have to take them in, sir.'

'You have no idea what those two have been through. They risked their lives more than once to save mine, and I'm not about to repay them by subjecting them to days of questioning.'

'But we--'

'This isn't a debate,' Mantana snapped. 'Make sure they get to wherever they want to go, even if it's the other side of the goddamn planet. Understand?'

The redhead nodded and Mantana gave Kas a small smile. She smiled back just as the cruiser's door closed.