Page 143 of Star Claimed Omega
A memento of the infamous breach ofThe Sombra.
The modulated explosive was identical to the one that gutted the Signet dreadnought.
That theRed Skullswere ‘venerating’ it made her sick.
She stared at it, and her heartbeat clenched tight in her chest.
Across the table, her uncle’s laser pistol lay unguarded, beside a broken bottle.
She edged closer under the guise of fetching a beer, her fingers curling around the grip as she passed.
The firearm vanished into the folds of her coat like a secret swallowed whole.
She jolted when one of the capos, Rodeo, her contact on the ship, roared.
‘To the girl who brought ourCarmine Cardinalback!’
The room erupted in cheers.
Her father rose, his arms spread out, a drink clutched in one hand. ‘To Scarletta! My blood, my vengeance reborn!’
They toasted her, then pulled her into their sloppy embrace.
Lips grazed her cheeks.
Greasy hands patted her back, and someone kissed her hair.
She stood stiff, her breath frozen in her lungs.
She’d never felt more hollow.
Soleil found a shadowed corner and sat, her knees huddled, observing the shit show before her.
This wasn’t life; this wasdecayparading as a celebration.
TheSombrahad been real.
She remembered her bunk, her humble work, her team, Wren, and Astra.
The steam of early-morningkahawa.
The beauty of a lake she’d never imagined possible.
Santi’s strong arms around her waist.
The way he always kissed her forehead, like she was precious, a gift he never thought he’d deserve.
That life had been a dream.
This madness, on the other hand, was a cage of derangement.
Hours passed, laughter curdled, prone bodies slumped against bulkheads, blacked out in pools of their own filth.
Her father and Vern collapsed in their thrones, snoring and slack-mouthed.
That’s when she moved, silent as a breath.
She slipped to the plinth and reached down.
