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‘A shadow contact?’ Savvine asked. ‘Who?’

‘It’s not from anyone in the flotilla or an Accord supplier. It’s alien. Unregistered. Beyond anything in our flotilla’s databases.’

Savvine straightened. ‘Who is it?’

Miral shook her head. ‘Still unclear, but whoever they are, they’re organized. They’re arming the Lombardis and pressuring them to destabilize your house, and ours. Eugene’s a key player.’

‘Why?’ she asked.

Xander met her eyes. ‘I suspect because they want him to join a secret coalition that’s nefarious asfokkin their motives. They’re turning the screws and while we presume we are in their crosshairs. We don’t know how far they will go to meet their aims.’

The strong guard exchanged glances, and she suspected they were also fed up with being the Lombardis’ target practice.

She let it go, waiting to see what offer was on the table.

Her jaw clenched.

‘Savvine, it’s clear to us that Eugene is scrambling,’ Xander added. ‘Trying to commission a new frigate, pushing contractors, bleeding credits. It’s slow, inefficient, and exposed. He needs more than a new gunship to maintain order.’

‘So you want us to join you,’ she muttered.

Xander didn’t blink. ‘It’s not about want, Commander. It’s about survival. The Signet Company has the resources, the infrastructure, and the reach to match this rising threat. We’ve already intercepted three Lombardi shipments and fought their capos, who’ve blindsided us in attacks. We can intercept more. We also have the support of Pedro Carvajal and Don Caluccio Diaz Grandos.’

‘I heard about that,’ Savvine muttered. ‘How did you pull it off?’

Xander smirked. ‘We blew up one of their salami and pastrami supply vessels before their eyes. The craft was empty, but you’d have thought we murdered their grandmothers.’

‘The hell?’ she breathed, choking back laughter.

The pack exchanged amused glances, and she shook her head in disbelief.

‘Y’all are savage, but I need to speak to my people,’ she said at last. ‘This isn’t a solo decision, neither is the sign off on the frigate build.’

Xander nodded once, understanding. ‘I expect nothing less. When you’re ready.

Still, his gaze lingered, and in that look, between the fire and the steel, he wasn’t just offering her an alliance.

He was extending a place for her at his table.

Xander’s office sat on the uppermost level of the Signet command wing.

It was sleek, quiet, and wrapped in layers of security insulation so thick even Miral couldn’t listen in without permission.

‘Use it,’ he told her, gesturing to the central console. ‘It’s encrypted, neural-synced, and private.’

Reinforced glass lined the room, affording a breathtaking view of the ship’s central atrium.

The desk, carved from black wood, a rare, now extinct material, was extraordinary.

A warm light glowed along the under edge of the table, and his chair was redolent of a synth cigar, cedar, and him.

It contained a holo interface, which Savvine activated with her neural imprint, exhaling as the holo-link synced.

After a beat, the shimmering sigil of theVenantia Eternaflickered to life, stabilizing into a call matrix.

She reached out across the connection. ‘This is Commander Savvine Bianchi, requesting direct relay to Abby Noxana, Tactical Control. Priority status.’

The signal pinged once, twice.