Page 66 of Star Claimed Omega
Santi met each gaze in turn, the fire of vengeance already lit in his chest.
‘The Signet family will respond with scorching retribution for this cowardly attack,’ Santi growled.
Hishermanosnodded, then knocked the bourbon back in a single, burning swallow.
No speeches. No theatrics. Just the quiet clink of glass on steel and the weight of shared resolve.
Santi rested against the long table, arms crossed over his torso.
His armored suit was unzipped to his waist, exposing his clavicle and the bruises, cuts, and injuries all over him.
‘Miral report,’ he murmured.
The Synth AI’s dermis flashed as it interfaced with multiple subsystems, her expression stony.
‘The attack was coordinated,’ she stated. ‘They masked their entry by piggybacking in on the dredgers.’
‘Fokk. The very same I had a gut feeling about?’ Santi rasped.
Miral nodded. ‘Once off the dredgers, they got in via the tertiary maintenance shafts above Deck 29. Only four access points lead to the bridge ventilation tunnels from there. Interestingly enough, the men who jumped Soleil were icemen. I haven’t had a chance to question them yet, but I won’t be surprised if they’re caught up in this shit as well.’
Santi’s jaw flexed. ‘And no one thought to scan the dredgers for crew anomalies?’
‘I did, but they masked with shield harmonics that are new to me,’ Miral grimaced. ‘My apologies. They bypassed entry protocols using codes that tell me they had a high level of familiarity with them.’
She zoomed in on the shaft schematics, highlighting multiple pathways the assailants had taken with surgical precision.
‘They also moved so fast and without hesitation, using up-to-date maps and blueprints ofTheSombra, meaning they had internal help.’
The room chilled.
Mak muttered under his breath, ‘Hell.’
‘Fokkin’ insider help?’ Santi rasped, rough with rising fury. ‘There’s no other way they would’ve known the right intervals to drop, the blind spots in the camera network, the override chain on the pressure locks.’
Kaal slammed a fist on the table. ‘So someone on board gave them access. Or sold them intel.’
Santi curled his lip. ‘Perhaps even both.’
The silence stretched, heavy with implications.
Boaz broke it. ‘Were the attackersRed Skulls?’
Miral’s avatar nodded. ‘Most likely. Several of the attackers had dermal etchings under their sleeves with matching RS iconography.’
Zev cursed. ‘They still came for us even after we quelled the prison uprising.Fokkers.’
‘They’re desperate,’ Santi said, voice quiet. ‘Since the jail yard shit, they’ve attempted to pick off some of our smaller operations. Hijacking supply freighters. Looks like they finally found a way to come for the big target, the bridge.’
Mak tapped the table. ‘The question again,cabrónes, is why? What is their end game?’
Santi took a deep inhale. ‘They were after the controls, to access some shit. What, though, remains a mystery.’
Miral turned to him. ‘Orders?’
Santi’s eyes flared. ‘All of us start digging? Talk to your CIs, informants, fleet, and flotilla contacts. Find out what thefokkin’ Red Skullswant from us.’
The strong guard grunted in assent.
