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‘Floating on that damn luxury yacht port side,’ she clipped her tone laced with bitterness, ‘snortingkokoand pretending he didn’t abandon us to the expanse.’

‘Not a bad problem to have. He’s the last man I want holding a detonator or a strategy plan,’ Arasteh quipped.

Savvine’s eyes narrowed. ‘Do I need his permission to hunt the Lombardis?’

The commander focused on her with a grim look. ‘Nada. Do it. I’ll take the heat if any comes down the pipe. Make it clean, no civilian casualties. No evidence. We’re not giving the Syndicate a reason to audit us again.’

She smirked, then glanced across the crowd.

Her father, Enrico, gave her a subtle nod from beneath the glowing sculpture of twin rings.

Savvine lifted her chin, just once, in acknowledgment.

Then she tapped into her neural node.

:: Command to Team Alpha. We’re heading out to follow the ripple path from the shockwave. We’ll be all over each docking line and every long-range scanner. To track any Lombardi ship in the vicinity before they slip away. ::

She moved to the exit, the music dimming behind her as the door hissed open. She didn’t look back.

‘Let’s go hunt down some Lombardi ass.’

4

Of Wolf and Man

XANDER

TheÚltima Xfloated in the star-pierced dark, cloaked, silent, and bristling, a predator waiting for passing prey.

Its lethal hull resembled a rapacious predator, matte black with slashes of deep violet parallel to its angular spine.

It was a ferocious beast carved in savagery and design mastery.

Larger than most gunships, it was both fast and roomy, designed for a seasoned crew yet streamlined enough to be run by a pilot and co-pilot alone.

Three potent thrusters formed a tri-fin array at the rear, paired with a hyperdrive allowing swift, silent jumps across sectors.

A series of streamlined protrusions, often mistaken for aggressive ornamentation, were, in fact, high-efficiency solar collectors that gave it an edge over the fighters it outpaced and outgunned in dozens of skirmishes.

Armed to the teeth, the vessel boasted dual heavy laser cannons beneath its forward wings.

As well as hull-embedded ion blasters, a missile rack capable of launching focused concussion strikes, and turbo lasers that punched it well above its weight class.

A compact hangar on the starboard flank could house two small flyers, ready for recon, pursuit, or escape. It wasn’t just a warship; it was a warning, and when Commander Xander Roman piloted it, the expanse listened.

The cockpit of the stealthed Viper Corvette glowed dim violet.

Xander sat motionless inside, his muscled frame sinking deep into the chair.

Gloved hands rested on the armrests, and the distant bloom of explosions lit up his amethyst eyes.

His reflection on the polished console showed a man in coiled waiting, a seeker before the hunt.

He sensed the attackers on approach, scenting them with his robust spectral nanoids.

He also detected their fury. This was pure revenge, and he was ready for it.

Without hesitating, he rose, leaped, and glimmered through the plexiglass to the vacuum of space outside just as movement cracked the black.