The shuttle groaned in protest as the last of its systems wheezed to a halt.

  Smoke drifted lazily from the control panel. Sparks danced from open wiring, and the cracked viewport offered a crooked view of Relic’s skyline—a smeared smear of grey metal and smog. Not dead… yet. But close.

  Inside the scorched cabin, silence reigned.

  Jarek Thorne sat stiff in a jump seat, blood trickling from his brow. One hand clutched his blaster; the other braced against the wall. His breathing was steady—but his eyes never left the other man in the shadows.

  Sai.

  Still as stone. Hood low. Face calm.

  Too calm.

  Above them, Pepe floated limply from a docking port, his voice glitching softly.

  “Well… that was definitely not regulation atmospheric reentry. Five stars for excitement, one star for survival odds.”

  Brinn was coughing near the rear, wrenching open a melted side panel. His massive frame moved with tired strength as he examined the damage. “Engines are slag. Everything else too.”

  “Don’t be dramatic,” Pepe said brightly. “Some of the cabin lights are still working. That’s something.”

  Sai didn’t move. Didn’t speak. The shadows around him seemed to cling unnaturally, curling faintly at the edges of his boots.

  Jarek narrowed his eyes. “You gonna keep pretending to be part of this crew, or are you just waiting for us to bleed out so you can loot the corpses?”

  Sai finally looked up, slowly. “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

  Pepe chirped. “Ooh, edgy. Ten out of ten on the mysterious loner scale. Do you come with a tragic backstory, or is that sold separately?”

  Jarek’s blaster hand twitched.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Brinn stood, soot on his arms, sweat running down the side of his face. “We’re alive. That’s what matters.”

  “That,” Jarek muttered, “and figuring out who the hell shadow-boy really is.”

  Sai’s voice was soft, nearly emotionless. “I told you. My name is Sai.”

  Sai didn’t answer.

  Pepe broke the silence with his usual flair.

  “Let me guess: Wanted. One count of murder. Two counts of betrayal. Seven counts of brooding in dark corners?”

  Brinn let out a rare, dry laugh. Jarek didn’t.

  He stepped forward, gaze locked on Sai. “That veil trick. The way you moved back there. That’s Blackhawk work.”

  Sai’s eyes flicked to him, unreadable. “I was one of them.”

  “Not anymore?” Jarek asked, tension coiled in his tone.

  Sai shook his head slowly. “The Blackhawks taught us how to hide in light and kill in shadow. But they’re not what they used to be. Something… crawled in.”

  Pepe floated down, blinking. “Ominous. Creepy. I love it.”

  Sai looked out the broken viewport again. The shadows at his feet curled, subtle and patient. “I didn’t leave the Blackhawks. I escaped them.”

  Pepe whispered, “So we’ve crash-landed with a former assassin, and we’re on the run from his ex-shadow cult. Just checking.”

  Brinn rubbed a hand down his face. “We saw each other’s faces back on that ship. We all left prints. Signatures. Doesn’t matter who we were—we’re all targets now.”

  “That,” Jarek muttered, “was your fault.”

  Sai looked at him sideways. “No. It was the Blackhawks’ fault. You just didn’t realize it yet.”

  Jarek gritted his teeth, staring at him like trying to see beneath the hood. “You move like them. But you’re not on a leash. So tell me—who’s pulling your strings now?”

  Sai didn’t flinch. “No one.”

  Pepe made a long, exaggerated beep. “Oh good. A rogue shadow operative with no leash. That’s not horrifying at all.”

  Brinn finally stepped between them, arms wide. “Alright. Enough chest-thumping. We’re not going to survive long if we keep threatening each other.”

  Jarek looked away first. Not in surrender—just choosing a different war.

  A stepped back into the shadows, saying nothing.

  Brinn turned toward the busted hatch. “We need salvage. Tools. Maybe shelter. Whatever this planet has to offer.”

  Jarek pushed off the wall, finally holstering his weapon. “I’ll check the terrain. Try to find a path out of this crater.”

  “I’ll hold the line,” Sai said, already half-faded into shadow again. “Just don’t take long.”

  Brinn grabbed his scorched toolbelt, sighing. “Can’t believe I just crash-landed with the world’s moodiest bounty hunter and a suspicious shadow ninja.”

  Pepe zipped after Jarek, muttering as he went. “It’s like I’m in an episode of ‘Who Wants to Die on a Derelict Planet?’ I didn’t even get snacks.”

  Jarek paused near the ramp and looked back one last time. His gaze lingered on Sai. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling.

  I’ve seen that face before.

  And it didn’t end well for the last person who did.

  He muttered under his breath, “This is a terrible idea.”

  Pepe hummed. “It’s not an adventure until someone starts questioning all their life choices.”

  Starforged RPG, and I’m loving the process of adapting those wild sessions into something tighter, moodier, and (hopefully) worth reading.

  Primy