Page 176 of Star Claimed Omega
‘That’s more like it,’ Santi said, adjusting the collar of his jacket as he stepped over the groaning heap of bodies. ‘A nice warm welcome.’
‘Also an efficient way to clear the way,’ Miral deadpanned. ‘In one foul swoop.’
Abandoning the groaning, downed men, the trio moved as a unit through the port’s upper corridors, boots echoing on stained steel.
Lieutenant Rexus’ office was what Santi expected: over-decorated, overstaffed, and oozing with delusions of grandeur.
The man himself stood at the rear of a desk made of fake marble and cluttered with bad decisions.
Darro Rexus was rotund, sweating beneath his tight military tunic, his bald scalp gleaming under the overhead light.
His beard, styled into a tapering triangle, quivered over his bulging belly at the affront. He appeared like a man who hadn’t run a drill since the last administration.
Behind him, four guards bristled with weapons drawn.
Rexus scowled. ‘I don’t know what thefokkyou think you’re doing.’
‘Oh, good,’ Santi cut in. ‘We were hoping to skip the pleasantries.’
‘This is my station!’
‘Nada,’ Miral corrected, ‘this wasyourplay pen. Emphasis on past tense.’
‘You think I’ll hand over control to a pack of self-important Signet operatives and Synth-bot? You’ve got another thing coming, '
The rotund man reached for a button beneath his desk.
He was too slow.
Kaal vaulted the furniture like a predator, whirling around with a roundhouse kick that landed in Rexus’ solar plexus.
Darro fell with a heavy thud.
Seconds later, the Signet wolf planted a boot in the middle of Rexus’ chest, flattening the man to the floor.
The Allied guards rushed forward.
Miral moved like silver light, turning out the lights for a pair of them with a nerve disruptor.
Meanwhile, Santi danced with the other two, catching one by the arm and twisting it behind his back with a crunch that made the man scream.
He shoved the screaming man into his friends, and the two collided, stumbling and falling to the ground.
The skirmish hadn’t even lasted ten seconds.
‘Back thefokkdown,’ Santi growled to the pair scrabbling on the ground, who promptly dropped their weapons and surrendered.
Rexus wheezed beneath Kaal’s grip as he was cuffed. ‘You’ll regret this.’
Santi crouched beside him. ‘You received a direct order from two legal authorities. You resisted and even fired at your new official bosses. Now you’ll sit in your own brig like a good little turd and reflect on your life choices.’
‘You’ll never hold this station. My men won’t follow you. I’ve scattered them through the levels. There’ll be uprisings, accidents, delays,fokkin’ trouble.’
Santi’s smile didn’t quite touch his eyes.
‘Don’t worry,’ he rasped, ‘when the wolves prowl in, the rats flee and those who remain, we tear to pieces.’
He stood and dusted off his palms. ‘Miral, Kaal, take out the trash.’
