The following are excerpts of the "Firecracker" heroine Kali (AKA KA71):

Extract from the chapter “Demardray Maze” – as Orion wakes from cryosleep:

‘How are you feeling?’ came an almost regimented voice from the shadows. It reminded him of someone he once knew, but his memories were still fragmented within his mind at present. As he tried to open his eyes the bright light within the room made him close them again involuntarily, and a bolt of pain ruptured his spine as he tried to get up.

‘Just hang on a minute there,’ the voice continued, but this time a little closer. ‘You’ve been in cryo, so it’ll take a few minutes to get your body ready for movement. You’ll feel a slight…’

‘Ow,’ he yelped, pulling his arm away from the syringe, which only added to his misery.

‘Stop moving,’ the voice snapped. ‘What did I just say?’

‘You didn’t mention a syringe?’ he bit back, his eyes beginning to focus for the first time.

‘I’ve had it in my hands since reviving you,’ came the impatient response.

‘Everything’s fuzzy. Who are you?’ he asked, as he felt parts of his body become more accustomed to movement. Whatever was in the syringe worked fast.

‘My name is Kali,’ the female figure replied.

‘Ouch,’ came the reply, raising his hand to his forehead as she spoke.

‘Well,’ she noted. ‘The memory blast signals you know my name; that’s something.’

‘How long was I under?’ he asked, his vision almost returning to normal now, the memories in his head resurfacing gradually. He began to pull his body up to the side of the tank. Both his head and body hurt like hell.

‘A few days,’ Kali noted. ‘You went under…’

‘…because of a surveillance ship,’ he remembered. ‘Take it they skimmed right past us?’

‘Almost,’ Kali nodded. ‘We got into cryo just in time. No chance they could get any readings from us, although creeping into our orbit is a little odd. Sorry, but I had to turn off all power and only keep the emergency running for our tanks, so it’s still a bit chilly here.’

‘Vortana,’ the figure noted as he stepped from the tank and wrapped himself in a full-length cryo-robe. He pushed the heater mechanism and smiled as the warmth began to heat his tired body. Turning toward Kali, she passed him a bag of rations and he took them contently. ‘Cheers.’

‘Yes,’ Kali smiled. ‘The ice planet of Vortana, hence the cold.’

‘Do you know who they were? Did the computer manage to trace anything from their ship?’

‘No,’ she sighed. ‘From this distance the only way the comp could have identified them would have set off their systems anyway. We don’t know who, but on the plus side we were left alone.’

‘Thank you,’ the male replied. ‘How come only some of my memories are coming back? What about my long-term ones?’

‘Ah,’ she hesitated. ‘You did mention that before you went under. Give the comp a few minutes to boot up and I’ll bring up your message.’

‘I recorded my own message? Great,’ he smiled. ‘Can you just give me the gist of it and forgo the autobiography please?’

‘I can,’ Kali nodded. ‘Basically, you crash-landed on Vortana around a week ago. You then made it to this mining colony, where I helped you recover your health and we’ve been working on a plan to get you off the planet since then.’

‘And before that?’ the man asked patiently. Some of his short-term memories were returning to him. He relaxed a little as the scattered flashbacks of Kali seemed pleasant ones.

‘You never told me anything from before that,’ she replied solemnly. ‘You were wearing some sort of armour; I can get it for you if that’ll help your recollection?’

‘Guess it’s worth a go,’ he smiled. ‘Did I say what my name was?’

‘Ha,’ she laughed. ‘No, we had a few hours of fun thinking one up, but in the end you approved.’

‘Really?’ the stranger replied hesitantly.

‘Follow me,’ Kali chuckled. ‘I put everything of worth down in the hanger, just in case.’

‘Hanger?’

‘Yeah,’ Kali said, with some pride in her voice. ‘If you can’t recall much from before then you’re in for a big surprise.’

Kali led the way down to the hanger, and once inside stood at the raised railing at the back of the enormous facility, looking forward.

‘Wow,’ he smiled. ‘That’s amazing.’

‘Almost from scratch,’ Kali noted.

‘Really?’ he looked on at the spaceship before them. More memories started to resurface.

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Excerpt from the chapter “Traitor” – as the mysterious surveillance ship finally catches up with them:

‘We’re being hailed,’ Kali sighed, as she unholstered her pistol.

‘Open it up right away,’ Orion noted toward the gangway, now wearing his full armour. ‘Don’t even think of giving them an excuse to fire upon us again.’

‘Okay, you ready?’

‘No,’ Orion replied honestly. ‘But then, guess I’ll never be.’

As the gangway lowered on pistons, allowing the two to egress from the Redemptor, the coldness of space hit the both of them.

‘Air quality and gravity is okay,’ Kali noted. ‘Looks like their thermal shielding though has been turned off.’

Orion strode across the external landing bay, the darkness of space around the complex eerie.

‘Looks like they haven’t paid the bill for lighting either,’ he grumbled.

Up ahead of them the second ship had now landed, the frontal guns facing them. Orion felt anxious but kept walking. The freezing winds began to bite into his skin, underneath the armour.

Kali caught up with him, her pistol still in hand, but kept it lowered.

‘Here we go,’ Orion noted.

Ahead of them the gangway descended, and a single figure approached. Kali and Orion stopped. Both noticed that the stranger had no weapon raised, but as their ship still could have had automated targeting enabled, they still kept their own movements to a minimum.

‘I guess you two are the ones from Vortana?’ he asked, half knowing the answer.

‘Which means you’re the one who scanned the planet,’ Kali replied.

‘Yes,’ the stranger replied. ‘My name is Adrich Mylos, special agent of the Styriatü, soldier of the Kybernan. And I…’ the man began, before setting one knee on the ground and bowing before them, ‘…am at your service.’

Kali and Orion looked at each other in astonishment.

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Excerpt from the chapter “War” – as Orion finally remembers his past:

‘Right,’ Orion smiled mischievously as he picked up his sword which was resting next to the console. ‘You ready?’

‘Better prepared than whoever’s in those tunnels when you make the switch,’ Kali smiled. ‘Memorised the layout?’

‘I thought you’d lead,’ he smiled back.

‘Bet you did. Just remember I adjusted the timers, so don’t go overshooting our various waypoints.’

‘Again’ Orion grinned, ‘another reason to follow in your most reliable footsteps.’

Kali sighed, flicked a switch and approached the doorway.

‘No bailing out now,’ she considered, half expecting a response. ‘You okay?’

‘They’ve gone silent.’

‘Um, good?’ Kali replied. ‘Who?’

‘The voices.’

‘Oh. Not sure if now…’ she began as the doorway opened. The timer in her mind started to countdown, although as backup they both had automated alarms within their forearm devices.

‘Change of plan,’ Orion said as he bolted from the central chamber and into the corridor beyond. ‘You take the original route, I’m on a detour.’

‘Hold on!’ Kali shouted as she chased him down the intersection. At this rate Orion would pass the first waypoint, becoming locked within a maze of tunnels along with both beasts and soldiers. She cursed him heavily under her breath as he easily made the first junction.

Orion stepped over to the control mechanism and operated it manually, shutting Kali on the other side. He turned to view her through the viewing glass, his features apologetic but also focused on their mission.

Kali pressed the intercom button and spoke simply.

‘Open the kyfing door Orion.’

She saw him smile sadly, before reaching back to the speaker. There was a momentary pause before she heard his voice.

‘Kali, my friend,’ he began. ‘My name’s James. I’m from Earth, and I’ve finally begun to remember everything.’

‘What?’ she began. She had never heard of Earth.

‘Where I go, you cannot follow, but this is not a parting. Follow the plan, stick to the routes and I’ll meet you at the portal.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘You will,’ he smiled. ‘But you have to trust me. Don’t try to stop me. Now go, the timer is running. Be careful Kali.’

And with that, the intercom felt silent, and Orion disappeared into the tunnels.

No, his name was James, Kali told herself.

And she was his friend.

Kali reached for one of the rifles that they had raided from the guards and began her sprint between waypoints. Her mind raced with his words, and swore that if she ever saw him again, she would…

…would what?

Kali forced back her emotions, knowing that they were not real.

Damn him, she cursed as she tore through an intersection, lifting the butt of her rifle into two stationary guards stationed there. Kali did not even break stride as she continued toward the second waypoint.

Damn you indeed, for making me feel alive again.

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Later that same chapter:

Kali stormed through the automatic doors and did not even hesitate as she shot the two guards at the far end. She then turned her attention to the console looking over the cavern beyond, her sole attention on where her friend was now roaming. A moan brought her attention back to the room.

‘What’s the matter?’ she hissed across at the downed soldier.

‘You shot me?’ he questioned. ‘It hurts.’

‘I apologise,’ Kali restrained herself. ‘Although you’re quite clearly in violation of the Xyrion Treaty, I’m sorry that I didn’t realise my live rounds had run dry and my rifle had switched automatically to stun.’

‘Stun?’ the second man winced. ‘This is stun?’

‘Ish,’ she whispered, checking the weapon. ‘Rudimentary stun anyway. Very low power setting apparently.’

‘I think I’m hyperventilating,’ the first offered dramatically.

‘For Ryana’s sake,’ Kali cursed. ‘What kind of mercs are you?’

‘Mercs?’ the second queried. ‘We’re not mercenaries!’

‘Not mercs?’ she quizzed.

‘No,’ added the first, his injury clearly healing radically by the second. ‘We’ve been brought in to assist with the herding.’

‘Some herd,’ the second sighed. ‘To be honest, Fyffe, it’s a relief to be shot.’

‘Ha,’ came the reply. ‘You’re right there, Jacquard.’

‘Ahem,’ Kali cleared her throat intentionally. ‘To the point please.’

‘We’re not mercenaries,’ offered Jacquard.

‘We’re farmers,’ noted Fyffe.

‘And also grade “A” herders,’ Jacquard added.

‘Although to be honest what they were herding in that cavern were not our usual run of the mill cattle, I can tell you,’ Fyffe concluded.

‘James,’ she whispered, looking back at the cavern beyond the viewing screen.

‘You have a friend out there?’ Jacquard asked, his concern real.

‘Yes,’ she replied with fear.

‘Come on,’ Fyffe noted, trying to get to his feet. He picked up Jacquard. ‘She needs our help.’

‘What?’ Kali heard herself asking.

‘We’re not the enemy,’ Fyffe told her, rubbing his chest where the stun had hit him minutes before. ‘We’re not against the treaty. I’m not sure what you’re doing here but we were sent in to herd. Guess this is where you tell us your story.’

‘My friend is out there,’ was all Kali could reply with. ‘The cavern.’

‘It’s where they were being herded toward,’ Jacquard responded solemnly. ‘Come and look.’

Kali’s eyes drifted to where the two men now pointed, out through the huge glass viewing window and down through the relative darkness of the cavern beyond.

‘There are hundreds of tunnels,’ Fyffe offered. ‘We have been guarding certain intersections to ensure the doors remained barricaded. The beasts were then syphoned out from that hole at the far end of the cavern toward the front of the mountain, where the garrison is stationed.’

‘It’s no garrison,’ Kali told him. ‘Not of Xyrios loyal soldiers anyway.’

‘Oh,’ Jacquard sighed. ‘Guess Geepa’s going to be in for a surprise then, when he asks for payment?’

‘I’d say,’ Fyffe puffed wildly. ‘Any chance we can get on the talkie and warn him?’

‘No,’ Kali said sternly, her eyes capturing movement below. ‘I have a better plan.’

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About the novel "Border World":

Border World https://amzn.eu/d/0lRnD3M

Available as Kindle or paperback via Amazon (self-publishing)