The air was thick with tension as the crash of waves roared in her ears. Nadine dove behind the crumbling wall of the half-sunken cabana, her chest heaving as she pressed her back to the weatherworn wood. A sharp whistle sliced through the salty air—a warning—before the sound of whirring engines echoed across the shore. A drone hovered ominously near the waterline, its red lens scanning the jagged coastline. It was hunting her.
She tightened her grip on the crystal vial tucked into the folds of her sash—a treasure worth more than her life, stolen from the Hegemony’s research vaults just hours before. If she didn’t make it off this godforsaken beach alive, no one ever would.
Carefully, she peeked through the slats of the cabana wall. The sunlight streamed through the spaces, painting the sand with shifting lines of gold and shadow. Just beyond the swirling tide, their ship still waited, hidden behind a rocky outcrop where the surf crashed in furious bursts. But that drone wasn’t just watching—it was calling reinforcements.
Nadine sighed, rolling her eyes at her own reckless choices—choices that had led her to crouch here in a leopard-patterned top that somehow managed to be both functional and completely impractical for smuggling interstellar contraband. At least it blended well with the sandy tones of the beach. The high-waisted sarong she’d tied around her hips—woven from fabric dyed in deep browns and muted blacks with shimmering threads—was more Middle Oceania than fringe-era Western Terra design. Its texture caught the sunlight, mirroring the sea foam’s bronzed glow as she moved cautiously from shadow to shadow. Around her ankles, strings of copper beads chimed softly against bare skin. They were gorgeous, sure, but not exactly ideal for sneaking past mechanical predators.
“You alive down there?” the voice crackled over the commlink embedded in her ear cuff. Irritated and familiar.
Nadine smirked despite herself, pressing a finger to her ear. “Barely. What brilliant plan of yours got me here again? Oh right, stealing from the Hegemony. Smart. Really smart.”
“Glad you’re keeping your sense of humor,” Marcus shot back. His voice, as always, was warm under the sarcasm, a reminder of how often the two of them had survived the impossible together. “I’ve got the shuttle started, but unless you’ve figured out how to fly, you’re gonna have to run the gauntlet. ETA for extraction, two minutes. Don’t die before you get here.”
“Working on it,” she gritted through her teeth and ended the call. With the drone closing in, she didn’t have time for witty comebacks.
She tucked the vial deeper beneath the folds of her sarong, cinching its hidden compartment tight, and darted out into the open. Her feet dug into the warm, shifting sand as the sun baked her shoulders. The straps of her bikini bit slightly into her bronzed skin. Practical or not, the ensemble had served its purpose—light enough for her getaway swim, sturdy enough for the climb over crumbling ruins, and convincingly inconspicuous in the tropical smuggler’s bay. Well, until the Hegemony caught on to her plans.
With a sharp buzz, the drone zeroed in on her. Nadine felt her stomach drop as she sprinted toward cover, flinging herself behind another ruined post, this one still laced with the skeleton of some ancient terrasteel framework. A high-pitched zap and the acrid smell of ozone warned her she’d just dodged one of the drone’s emitters. This, she realized grimly, was going to be close.
“Marcus, that extraction better be on time!” she shouted as she bolted from her hiding spot. Sand sprayed upward with every step, the beach stretching impossibly far between her and salvation. Her shadow danced wildly ahead of her in the golden light, a taunting shape that promised everything she wasn’t. Calm. Steady. Safe.
Two more drones whirred into view above the water, their sleek black shells cutting through the bright sun like specters of death. Her breath heaved in panic as she raced for the rocks, but before the first drone could fire, a sharp crack rang through the air. The drone exploded in a burst of sparks, shards of its casing scattering down atop the shimmering waves. Nadine whirled to see Marcus perched atop the boulder outcrop, his rifle slung low and a grin tugging at his lips. He waved casually.
“Move!” he shouted, signaling her to keep running as he took aim again. Another sharp crack sent the second drone into freefall, belching black smoke as it hit the surf. She shook her head, both annoyed by his insistence on theatrics and profoundly grateful for his impeccable timing.
She reached the edge of the rocks just as the shuttle’s engines began to whine to life, its cloaking tech shimmering and peeling away like fog in the morning sun. Marcus extended a hand to haul her up the last jagged ledge, his grip strong and steady as he pulled her into the waiting vessel.
“You took your time,” she panted, collapsing onto the cool interior deck.
He arched an eyebrow at her, his gaze flicking over her sand-speckled bikini and dust-cloaked sarong. “Nice outfit for a rescue op. Did you raid a swimsuit catalog before deciding to become a fugitive?”
“Go to hell,” she shot back, though she couldn’t stop her grin this time. They both knew her beachside aesthetic had been an accident of planning—or lack thereof.
The danger wasn’t over, but for now, Nadine allowed herself to breathe. The cabana’s golden light still danced in her mind, a memory of fleeting serenity against an unforgiving world. The vial in her sash pulsed faintly, its contents glowing softly as she clutched it tight.
“Come on,” Marcus muttered as he leaned into the pilot’s chair, the shuttle lurching forward toward their next hurdle. “Let’s get out of here before someone else ruins our day.”
Nadine nodded, staring out the viewport as the shoreline disappeared behind them—treacherous, stark, and utterly unforgettable. It wouldn’t be the last time she risked her life for freedom, and it sure as hell wasn’t the first.
The Source…check out the great article that inspired this amazing short story: Effortless Leopard-Print Bikini: Embrace Chic Beach Style for Summer with Earthy Tones and Subtle Elegance
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