The Starborn Read Online Free

through the archway. The cave was far too small to hold ten thousand, so Wia started looking for an extension.
    UV light was her method of search, and it showed a marked series of impressions on one particular stone on the wall. Wia leaned on the stone and a wall separated, giving her a blast of fresh air with the humidity of water in it.
    She lifted off her feet and flew down the path to the water. A huge, arched cavern lined with lichen of varying hues greeted her. This is where the ancient Caffexi hid during attacks.
    She flew back to the hidden door and noted that it had closed behind her. A little more UV generated and she was able to open it with pressure on another rock.
    Wia walked out of the cave, and she met the first of the Caffexi on their incoming march. “You know how to get into the lower cave?”
    The older woman flicked her tongue nervously. “What older cave? We merely take turns hiding here for safety. The others remain outside.”
    “Matriarch, may I carry you?”
    The woman blinked. “Um, yes?”
    Wia lifted the woman in her arms and flew rapidly to the cave wall. She showed her where to press and the release on the inner cavern wall. “You can all fit easily. Do you eat lichen?”
    “Whenever we can.”
    “You will love the lower cavern then, fresh water for all of you and enough lichen to feed the city for several weeks.”
    The matriarch blinked and bobbed her head. “Thank you, stranger. We are not an aggressive people, and it has been our downfall more than once. I will make sure that they all get below.”
    A thunderous noise from outside the cave began, and Wia floated up off the floor again. “I will keep them from you until your people get down below.”
    The matriarch bowed. “Thank you again. May you be safe and secure.”
    Wia smiled at the passive blessing. “May you be safe and secure.”
    She left the cave and looked for the source of the sound. The first of the marchers had arrived at the entryway and were making their way inside. There was still a kilometre of walkers behind the first, and she was going to take care of them.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    The first incoming ship was in battle with Comet. The second had slipped right past him. Wia grinned and flew upward with her hands gathering power from the nearest star.
    She held both hands in front of her and blasted a column of energy through the ship. Their guns and lights stuttered and went dark, sending them to the surface of Caffexi in a spiralling crash.
    Wia chuckled. She just loved the power of binary-star systems. With one target down, she waited for the next ship to get into her protective radius.
    The two suns set, and she fought with starlight as the Nefgar kept coming. The ground was littered with shattered ships, and they continued to launch one after another.
    The moment that the Sector Guard arrived, Wia breathed a sigh of relief. The radiation she was slinging had rendered her barely decent, and her tattered robes were hanging on by threads.
    Ships, battle armour and the distinct taste of celestial energy filled the air. Wia settled back to the ground outside the cave and waited for the professionals to do their jobs.
    Wia looked up and sharpened her gaze. It was not simply the Sector Guard, there were two Alliance warships sending the Nefgar running for it. They were determined buggers. She had to give them that.
    A footstep behind her told her that she was not alone. “You did well, child.”
    She turned, and the face of the matriarch was near her own. The eyes had shifted colour from gold to swirling green.
    “Caffexi?”
    “Indeed, pleased to be speaking directly to you. My children are not very bright, but they are talented. They had no idea that there was a hidden cavern behind that wall. They haven’t had to escape in this generation.” The planet smiled from within its Avatar. “You are the star born, are you not?”
    She chuckled. “Not the only one. There is a member of the Sector