Page 7 of Star Claimed Omega
The assailant twitched, the vibroblade buzzing near his hip, but Santi did not recoil.
He let his calm stance saturate the space, his muscled, physical presence drawing the man’s fevered focus away from the terrified bystanders and toward the shadowed corridor behind him.
‘No one here’s your foe,’ he urged, retreating into the gloom, keeping his tone soft, non-confrontational. ‘Just me,hombre. Come on. Let’s talk where it’s quiet.’
The man followed, unsteady, staggering, consumed by the stimulant.
Santi tracked his every movement, timing the perfect instant to intercept.
Not with blunt force, but with focused mindfulness, guiding the violent storm where fewer might be harmed.
The confrontation came down fast.
Once in the alleyway, the man pivoted, a snarl twisting his face, the blade vibrating.
Santi gave no ground as violet and blue light erupted across his skin.
His fangs grew long, and his eyes burned with spectral fire. The air shimmered with heat and ozone as his potency exploded into the narrow passage.
The man struck, a wild sweep designed to kill.
His filthy, caked face glistened withkoko-infused perspiration, his breath reeking as he launched himself with abandoned fury, the hiss of the blade echoing off the metal walls.
He collided with garbage bins and loose rocks as he charged Santi.
Santi darted inside the arc of the weapon, slammed his calloused hand to the attacker’s chest, and drove him back against the wall.
The laser sword fell from the man’s grip, clattering to the floor as the Santi’s massive strength stilled thekinai’sframe.
With a grunt, Santi secured him with energy cuffs, as the manic aggression drained out of the befuddled stranger, reduced to sobs and incoherent murmuring.
Kaal and Xander arrived moments later, coming to an abrupt halt in the alleyway.
Xander was the sinewed and muscled Alpha, while Kaal was the powerhouse Gamma to Santi’s more lean, sculpted Omega physique.
Xander’s eyes surveyed the passage, then settled on Santi crouched over the restrained man.
‘Took your time arriving,’ Santi muttered.
‘Congestion. Flyer and foot traffic,’ Kaal returned. ‘Any civilians injured?’
Santi shook his head. ‘Nada, but if I hadn’t intervened, he might have shot someone. Thekinaiwas unhinged.’
‘You showedfokkin’ daring, brother,’ Xander growled. ‘You stopped a tragedy.’
Santi stood, fangs and claws retreating. ‘Did what I could, but these incidents are on the up and up,’ he noted, his gaze resting on the subdued man twitching in his restraints. ‘Our sec-teams are putting out countless crises daily. We’ve had too many personnel injuries from calls like this.Koko’sflooding this flotilla, and we need to track every single supplier down and dismantle their operation.’
Xander nodded. ‘Fokkyeah.’
The two men locked eyes, an understanding flowing between them, one forged years ago.
When Xander enlisted Santi into his rebellion, Earth was still clinging to a facade of political unity.
Following a series of terrible world wars, the Eden Military rose as a defense force, but its aging commanders and slow committees hampered its efforts.
Frustrated, Xander left the ranks, earning his cousin Kainan’s wrath, and created a rebel cell to challenge the United Earth Government’s harsh control.
He recruited former soldiers, hackers, and cartel defectors, including Santi, and anyone hungry for the fight, forging them into combatants more lethal than Eden’s generals imagined.
