Epilogue
With K'Sumi Hinata Alamaq of Iccythria in custody and the Black Claw gang and the D'Hanna brothers enjoying the hospitality of Deathreach Maximum Prison, Xion returned to Eden with Katya.
When it was all said and done, she handed the Serpent's Iris back to the Rhesian authorities.
She was surprised to receive a hefty amount for the return, as its original owner, the King of Rhesia, had set up a handsome reward for it.
She used the money to redesign her life.
First, she sold all her holdings in Iccythria, lock, stock and barrel.
With her bank balance now healthy, she relocated her adopted kids, one bio-daughter, two carers and her mother to Eden II.
Xion flew them from Iccythria onboard the Sable Group's lead frigate, Notus I, to their new home.
The D'Landra family, the formal surname Katya chose as her and her children's, arrived to a warm Sable kindred welcome.
At first, the Sable Riders put them in a sumptuous apartment in the Sable HQ building.
Later, Katya chose a stunning three-level, twelve-bedroom duplex in the same complex for her mother, two carers, and adoptees. The family was thrilled at the beautiful scenery and settings.
Katya and Kaaia, however, settled into Xion's suit, which was a floor above with direct private lift access to the townhouse.
The children's transition to their new life on the rock was smoother than Katya could have ever imagined.
They made friends with their classmates in their new schools and neighbourhood as Katya focused on setting up a fresh life for them.
Once established on the rock, she began to indulge her love for creating silk art.
Xion created a studio for her on the rooftop of Sable HQ.
It was a perfect space, containing a pool, a play area, and a gym.
It soon became a beloved hangout for her kids, where she created her designs and kept an eye on them.
Her first design installation piece used bright gradients of suspended filament thread, strands of silver, and multi-hued ribbons to fashion a giant, ethereal, halo-shaped floating star.
It was so stunning that Kainan bought it from her and hung it in the Sable HQ lobby, making her creations an instant hit on Eden II.
Commissions flowed in, and soon, Katya found herself in high demand as a showcase artist on Eden II.
Before long, her pieces adorned the most prestigious galleries and public spaces, each a masterpiece that captured the essence of the celestial beauty surrounding them.
As Katya's fame grew, so did her connection with the people of Eden II.
Creating her art served as a beacon of hope and inspiration for those who gazed upon it.
Any whispers of her past as a rogue thief faded into oblivion, replaced by admiration for her talent and resilience.
With her legitimate wealth, Katya set up trust funds so that her adopted youngsters would have financial security for their future.
She was keen to ensure they would never struggle like she did growing up.
She, her mother, and her children thrived in their new environment, basking in the affection and stability of the Riders' extended family.
Her little household also soon came to adore Xion.
The once childless bachelor stepped up to the role of de facto uncle and dad.
Katya fell in love with Xion all over again as he navigated the fatherhood highway.
Without complaining, he took on the mantle of helping to raise youngsters unrelated to himself—with humour, strength, and a tenderness that brought her to tears.
‘I'm having a riot getting to know them,' he told his woman one night.
‘Their personalities are always changing and growing, and they're very individual,' she warned.
Xion soon came to find out on his own.
Kira and Kali both had terrible separation anxiety since their kidnapping and were seeing therapists for it. Hugs from Katya and Xion seemed to help.
Kian was boisterous and had visions of becoming a wildlife controller in Dunia.
Kade loved music, dancing and blazers with gold buttons.
Kane was a heart-on-his-sleeve romantic.
Kaan and Kadi were super agreeable and sweet and went along with everything.
Koda was a rough-and-tumble kid.
Kylo, Kobe, and Kastian were in their early teens and had started to argue a lot, insisting on things being done in specific ways and changing their minds often. Xion's presence in their lives gave them the structure they needed, and he brought them to his kapo classes, which nurtured a bond with them and instilled discipline, too.
Kashton and Kaaia were addicted to hugs and wrestling on the floor
They were also all silly, serious, messy, impetuous, loving, selfish, selfless, confident, guarded, funny and quick-witted.
Despite their complicated pasts, the kids were resilient and full of life. They embraced every new experience with excitement and curiosity. While there were still moments when their trauma would resurface, Katya's love and support, along with Xion's care, guided them through it.
It helped that all the other Riders were dads, too, and they waded in when it all got too much for Xion.
Still, he soldiered on with a grace that belied his once notorious bachelor status.
One night, she woke to Kaaia's crying.
Rolling out of bed, she found Xion had first reached the child's room.
She discovered him cradling the little girl in his arms, his deep voice murmuring soothing words that calmed her sobs.
Katya stood at the doorway, her heart swelling with love at Xion's tenderness, a side of him that few had the privilege to witness.
In these quiet, intimate moments, she tagged the depth of Xion's character, her spirit overflowing with gratitude for this man who had become not just her partner in life but a pillar of strength for their ever-growing family.
He took the kids to school, made lunches, fixed toys and took them on Corvette rides into space. He even danced to the latest music with the tween girls in the living room.
Without exception, Xion demonstrated that his commitment to her was also a promise to her children to prioritise them.
Kaaia quieted down, her tear-streaked face looking up at Xion with trust and adoration. Katya approached them, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, the warmth of his skin beneath her fingertips.
‘You are amazing with her,' Katya whispered. ‘Sante, for being so incredible with all of them.'
Xion swivelled his head to look at her, cocking a brow and giving her a crooked smile that was sexy-as-fokk. ‘I can't imagine my life without them now. They've become a part of me, just like you have,' he said, his eyes holding hers in a gaze that took her breath away.
With Kaaia drifting off into peaceful slumber again, Xion placed her back in her cot and tucked her in with a feather-light touch.
He turned to Katya, his eyes soft with affection, crossed the room to her side, swept her into his arms, and returned her to bed.
The Corvette Classic was one of Pegasi's most premiere championship events.
The Eden II course was a contest of mythic proportions that captured the attention of all echelons of the racing community, from amateurs to top professionals.
All racers had to pass checkpoints in stationary orbits around the moon rock in sequential order.
Despite the speeds used, the tournament was about machine output, velocity, and ability to manipulate navigational computers.
So, the more money one had to invest in a kickass system that could push the engine to its maximum, the better one's chances of winning.
At one point in its history, its organisers had offered to counteract this by introducing specific racing rules that included no computer assistance. This would mean physicists would become the best racers—or every racer would have had to become a physicist.
The outcry had been so tremendous that the idea was pulled almost at once.
However, to spice things up and introduce some nasty headaches, officials—namely Kage and Kainan Sable—introduced a few challenges. One was to place several checkpoints at different orbital planes around a gravity well, effectively making them move.
Which pushed even the most experienced pilots to their limits of lightning-fast navigational re-calibration.
This year, an unprecedented number of corvettes entered the race—96 sleek and shiny racers in all rumbled on the starting line that stretched for miles over Eden II.
One of them was a glossy black mutha of a machine piloted by none other than Xion Sable.
His co-pilot was announced as being the alluring Katya D'Landra, and the couple cut a dashing sight from the bridge of their high tech super luxe craft.
Clad in flashy suits, the pilots waved to cameras surrounding their consoles; their holo faces transmitting to legions across the galaxy.
As soon as the starting horn sounded, the polished, streamlined racers bolted away above Eden II's dome, soaring through the dark void of space with blazing speed.
Below, the ground shook beneath the feet of spectators. The vibrations sent a tingling sensation up their legs, causing the onlookers' hair to stand on end with static electricity.
Screens all over Eden II and Pegasi captured the high-octane competition for the millions of onlookers.
The race was a thundering display of sleek ships glittering like jewels against the cold backdrop of Pegasi's celestial wonder. Their engines roared as pilots pushed them to their limits in a chaotic symphony through the vast expanse.
Observers viewed the action with bated breath as the corvettes weaved through narrow corridors and zoomed past floating debris.
At one point, an explosion rocked one of the vessels, causing it to spin out of control. The crowd gasped as it avoided crashing into another Corvette but regained its balance in time. The pilot navigated the rest of the course, keen to make up for the lost time.
Two racers, one the Tachy, were neck to neck at the crossing line, vying for first place. The spectators erupted into cheers as they crossed over at a hair-raising speed.
It was a photo finish, but after reviewing footage from multiple angles, it was declared that corvette number seven had won by milliseconds.
The winning aviator climbed out of his ship amidst thunderous applause and applause from his fans. He held his trophy high while cameras flashed around him, capturing this iconic moment.
The Tachy, which had come in second, was nowhere to be seen.
Xion was also unresponsive when Mirage tried to reach him.
‘Did the kinai overshoot the end line?' Kainan asked his wife, Selene, as he attempted to get a handle on where their fellow Rider was.
A few moments later, Mirage sidled to the Sable Group's khosi. ‘Found him, or rather he and his woman. They blew past the end of the race by millions of klicks, but none of them are picking my hails.'
‘I'm sure they're busy, fokkin' busy,' Kainan drawled, winking at his partner, who laughed at his insinuation.
The couple in question were lying naked on a divan on Tachy's bridge, floating under the twin stars of Alphetraz.
The halo from the celestial phenomenon cast a mesmerising glow over Xion and Katya as they lay entwined, their bodies bathed in the ethereal light. The soft hum of the Tachy's engines provided a soothing backdrop to their intimate moment amidst the vastness of space.
Katya traced lazy patterns on Xion's chest, her green eyes sparkling with playfulness as she peered at him. ‘We overshot the mark quite a bit, darling,' she teased, a playful smile dancing on her lips.
‘Nada, khaliya, we hit it hard,' Xion rasped, nuzzling her.
She gazed up at him with adoration and mischief in her eyes, her fingers gliding along his jawline with a feather-light touch that sent shivers down his spine.
Xion chuckled, his mocha-jade eyes alight with amusement and desire. ‘Seems like we got a little carried away, my love. But who can blame us with a view like this?' he murmured, pulling her closer as they luxuriated in post-coital euphoria in the bridge of the Tachy.
Their escape from the race had been deliberate, a well-planned deviation that allowed them this stolen moment of tranquillity amidst the chaos of their busy lives.
Now, Katya turned her sloe eyes on her man. ‘Think the kids will miss us?'
‘Not when they've got the Sable stable of children to play with. Kainan's house is overflowing with all of them. Besides, we deserve our bliss, every second of it.'
‘Never a truer word has been spoken. I'm glad we took the honeymoon and left the wedding bells,' Katya sighed. ‘Mum has our nannies plus Harlow and Selene to help, but damn, I can imagine it's bedlam.'
‘They'll be just fine,' Xion rumbled, nuzzling her neck. ‘Stop fussin', mama.'
They both gazed at the sea of stars spread before them, feeling like they were the only two souls in the universe.
Xion traced his fingers over Katya's skin, a smile playing on his lips.
Another prescient vision hit - of her and him, their lives intertwined in a beautiful tapestry of love, joy, and purpose.
He leaned his head back, allowing the pulsating visions to wash over him until they faded, and reality slowly seeped back in. His woman's arm was now draped over his chest, her breath slow and steady.
He gazed down at their entwined bodies, at the halo of jewels pulsing on her forehead in the afterglow of their passion.
A smile crept up as he realised how complete he felt.
‘Where to next, Rider?' she whispered, nipping his ear lobe.
‘To one of the finest beautiful sights in the universe aside from yourself. A star-rich region of intense turbulence and high-energy stellar activity located within the larger Carina Nebula. Where meteoric mountains of light rise from between collapsing columns of gas flung from accretion jets, while below nest the hallmarks of stars being born. It's wild, and it's colourful as fokk. I've always wanted to view it,' Xion replied, a glint in his eyes as he ran his fingers through Katya's hair. ‘Most of all, I want to make love to you in the centre of the nebula's halo.'
Katya's eyes sparkled at the prospect of this new adventure. ‘Lead the way, Rider,' she murmured. ‘I can't wait.'
With a gentle smile, Xion extricated himself from her touch, strode naked to the bridge console, and while she admired his taut behind, he activated the Tachy's engines.
They rumbled to life, and the sleek vessel surged into the unknown, guided by the light of two incredible glowing celestial stars.
THE END OF ONE BEAUTIFUL STARLIT STORY