Page 172 of Star Claimed Omega
He snatched her last box of food and tossed it to the floor while the man with his hands on her raised his baton and hit her, hard.
The woman cried out, clutching her ribs as she sank to her knees.
Soleil’s fingers curled.
The guards had not yet seen her.
Her pulse surged, and seconds later, she shifted in a blur, her limbs lengthening.
Molten red light erupted around her.
Her eyes flared, a spectral crimson as she growled.
The security personnel turned too late.
She hit them like a comet.
She tackled the first against the metal wall, claws raking through his breastplate before slamming him to the floor with a bone-jarring clang.
He reached for his blaster.
She knocked it away with a growl and bared her fangs just inches from his face.
He passed out cold, soaked in the stink of his own fear.
The second guard lunged with his baton. She spun and caught his wrist in her jaws.
Then she slammed him into the cart, which toppled with a shriek of metal, and he too crumpled.
Soleil stood panting, a spectral apparition.
A red shimmer swept over her fur as she regained control.
The older woman stared in shock, trembling.
Soleil shifted back into her human form.
‘It’s alright, you’re safe now, Auntie,’ she muttered, her chest heaving. ‘I’m done now.’
The woman gasped, then began to weep.
Soleil knelt and helped her gather the scattered goods and food containers while folding up the cart.
‘Come on, Auntie,’ she murmured. ‘You’ll be safer on Deck 9. I’ll walk you there.’
It took thirty minutes and a few awkward elevator rides, but Soleil saw the woman off to a quieter merchant strip before heading back toward her dorm.
The whole time, her mind reeled.
The Accord Legion was turning feral.
This was meant to be a protected outpost; however, the only thing the locals were being shielded from was peace.
The guards bullied traders. They raided homes for ‘random inspections.’ They pulled rank over every rule and shadow.
All the while demandingprotection-baksheeshand threatening to disappear those who rebelled against them.
Chatter in the back hallways said more pirates were consolidating off-station.
