Page 16

Wolf’s Howl

XANDER

T he borrowed freighter, The Mantle’s Echo , creaked into subspace drift with all the finesse of a dying beast.

Registered under a false transponder code, it was just holding form, its heat signature limping and power output heaving.

Then, like a blunt blade hacking through a veil, it emerged into real space just beyond the shattered ghost rig dock floating in Vessura’s orbital debris ring.

The place was a relic of another era. Once a bustling asteroid-harvest platform for The Accord, it was now little more than a skeletal graveyard of twisted gantries, broken ore spires, and decaying habitation pods.

Long since abandoned after the Great Exodus, it was now a crossroads for smuggled goods, disputed cargo, and silent assassinations.

The sort of rendezvous Xander leaned into.

Inside the cramped, shadow-lit belly of The Mantle’s Echo , the Signet strong guard lounged like wolves in a den, waiting for the signal to hunt their prey.

Xander stood by the forward ops panel, tapping his fingers in slow rhythm against his thigh as the monitors ticked the approach of their quarry.

‘Convoy within range,’ Miral announced, eyes glinting as she manipulated the overlapping scans.

‘About time,’ Kaal muttered, slouched on a bulkhead, legs spread and rifle across his lap. ‘I was starting to think they got wise.’

‘Never,’ Boaz rumbled. ‘They’re too greedy to nurture knowledge or patience.’

‘Which makes them predictable,’ Zev added, checking over a pulse charger with clinical calm. ‘And therefore, as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.’

Santiago cracked his knuckles. ‘Let’s make this quick. I’ve got a scorchin’ date tonight.’

That earned a snort from Kaal. ‘Has Santi gone soft for a girl?’

Xander didn’t turn from the console, but his voice cut in cool and dry. ‘He hasn’t, yet. He’s no longer wasting his energy flirting with you, el loco .’

Santiago grinned. ‘True that. He’s sore because we’ve agreed to keep it casual.’

‘I’m more than, I’m freakin’ wounded, lover.’ Kaal groaned and grabbed his heart in dramatic flair.

‘ Fokk , cabrón. ’ Santiago jested, slapping the back of his friend’s head. ‘Conquer your feels.’

Even Boaz grinned at that.

Next, they sent out a distress beacon, acting like a lame duck in space.

‘The procession is changing course to render assistance,’ Miral announced.

Xander huffed. ‘More like board, strip, and attempt to raid us like they have many distressed ships.’

‘On approach,’ Miral warned. ‘Their lead freighter’s captain just hailed our fake flare.’

‘Here we go,’ Xander murmured. ‘Confound them with some love.’

At his word, Zev punched in the embedded code. The hidden backdoor transmitter in The Mantle’s Echo ’s hull sent a pulse on an encrypted syndicate frequency. A moment later, a thrumming hum bloomed through the cabin.

Miral raised a chin to Xander. ‘They’re flailing. Their hyperdrive is glitching. Nav controls scrambling.’

‘Mine charges are ready,’ Boaz said. ‘We’re threading the needle.’

‘Fire.’ Xander’s command was almost soft.

Outside, a garland of electromagnetic mines along the hyperspace exit vector erupted in tight precision.

Blue spirals of implosion scattered across the convoy’s path, clipping engines and frying targeting systems.

The cartel escort ships, six in total, jerked out of subspace in a rain of panic flares and scrambled comms.

They didn’t even spot the última Sombra ’s stealth Corvettes, auto-piloted by Mirage, until it was too late.

Black and spectral, the Signet vessels flickered into formation around them, sleek fangs bared.

‘Convoy is boxed in.’ Miral’s voice was silken with success.

‘Take us in,’ Xander said. ‘Time to have a chat.’

Just like that, Signet’s grip tightened across the flotilla.

SAVVINE

Savvine’s comm tab vibrated.

Her fingers tapped the receiver. Abby’s face flickered to life, mouth tight, eyes piercing.

‘I’m about to board the Signet Corvette, hon,’ Savvine said. ‘What gives?’

‘You’ll want to hear what I’m about to share before you do. I came across some chatter from yesterday.’

Savvine stared at the holo screen in her hands and inhaled. ‘Tell me.’

‘Signet Co. has struck a deal with the Carvajal and Diaz-Granados cartels.’

‘ Fokk me.’

‘They’re making moves on all fronts.’

‘They must be throwing around some serious money to gain leverage. What’s their fokkin ’ secret?’

‘No idea. Either way, you’re about to find out.’

‘Makes me think twice about why Alexandr-Alexandr Roman moved so fast to meet me. Something’s brewing. Sante Abby, I’ll comm you when I land on the dark side.’

‘Travel safe.’

Abby waved, and her face vanished as the holo screen collapsed.

Savvine tucked her commtab in her carry-all, and adjusting the straps of her duffel bag, she surged forward, gritting her teeth.

She tracked through the corridors of the Bianchi command wing, her boots echoing on the polished floors.

The Carvajal and Diaz-Granados cartels were notorious, ruthless, and volatile, incapable of playing nice with anyone except for themselves. How had Signet managed to persuade them to sign on the dotted line?

She didn’t like it. Not one bit.

A matte-black Corvette glided into the hangar like a phantom when she reached the Eterna’s rear docking deck.

Its call signal, the última X , matched the one shared in an earlier message with details of her trip.

It was her escort into the Signet Company’s murky world.

She shivered as she checked her chrono.

14:58.

Her ride was also early.

Sleek, angled hull plates glowing with subtle kinetic shielding.

It appeared similar to the one her mystery knight rode on; if not the same, then it was its twin.

As the gangway extended with a hiss, she stiffened in anticipation.

The ship’s door peeled open, and a figure appeared beneath the ramp lights.

Savvine’s eyes widened as she took in the tall, ebony-skinned silhouette with a glittering dermis that somehow merged with her clothing.

Glyphs, shifting like smoke beneath glass, glided across her arms and collarbones.

Her smile was radiant and amused, yet her gaze was penetrating and omniscient.

‘Chief Bianchi,’ the radiant humanoid creature called out, voice husky and deep. ‘Welcome aboard. My name is Miral.’

Savvine blinked.

Miral?

So this was the infamous synth-AI, the Signet scuttlebutt whispered about in every obscure corner of the Wildlight. Also, the possible reason Signet was growing in power exponentially.

‘You’re the pilot?’

‘I’m everything,’ Miral intoned, stepping aside and gesturing into the ship with a flourish. ‘Come in. I’ve prepared a little drink and repast for the journey. No need to suffer thirst and ration paste on this jaunt.’

Savvine stepped through the airlock and raised a brow.

It was the same Corvette her wolf knight had taken her into after the mine field blast.

Instead, it was quiet, smooth, and elegant, reminding her of old-world ships, dark stone flooring, ambient lighting, and sound-dampened corridors.

‘Please take a seat,’ Miral intoned, pointing to a luxurious crash couch in a lounge behind the pilot’s seat.

Savvine placed her bags in a locker and sat as a series of seat restraints wrapped around her.

A tray of sealed water flasks, dried fruit, finger food, small honey cakes, and a real kahawa pot sat on a floating platter next to her.

She huffed. ‘Are you trying to butter me up?’

‘Of course,’ Miral replied, her smile teasing. ‘You’re more useful to us when you’re calm, fed, and comfortable.’

Savvine gave a short, dry laugh but took the cup Miral poured and offered regardless.

She let the silence settle around her as Miral settled into the pilot’s seat.

Glyphs from her arms extended into the console as she appeared to merge with the craft’s controls.

Screens lit up, thrusters purred, and the Corvette lifted off, clearing the Eterna’s deck and heading into black space.

Savinne relaxed, head back, as the thrum of the Corvette’s flight, gentle, almost nonexistent, lulled her.

She pulled up her comm tab, sipped the excellent beverage, nibbled a little, and scanned security reports. Relaxing into what she expected to be a three-hour journey.

Forty-five minutes later, a pulse ran through the vessel.

Savvine straightened.

Outside the viewport, the stars shimmered as a giant silhouette moved in the dark.

The dark beside her window shivered, light warping, bending like glass about to crack.

With terrifying elegance, an enormous Executor-class capital ship slid out of stealth and into the visible spectrum, vast, monstrous, and proximate.

Too fokkin ’ close.

Savvine knifed up, her kahawa forgotten.

‘Is that the -?’

‘Tis the última Sombra ,’ came Mirage’s half-amused reply.

Savvine gaped. ‘The last I checked, the Signet dreadnought was millions of klicks away. I was expecting a three-hour journey at the very least.’

‘We always like shaking things up. My captain wanted a closer look-see, to get a lay of the land before letting you onboard.’’

‘ Fokk , how did a capital ship that size slip so near, in range of our Bianchi safety perimeter and defense nets?’ Savvine murmured, amazed. ‘How the hell are you not lit up by every drone?’

Miral glanced at her, unbothered.

‘Because we’re not here to threaten. Also because, Commander, your drones never saw us coming.’

Savvine’s gut twisted. She stared at Signet’s destroyer, un-stealthed, less than an hour’s drift from the Venantia Eterna , and realized she had no idea how much power this company wielded.

Only that it was immense, and it wasn’t just their technology or their ships.

The Signet Group’s scope, deep pockets, and unbelievable tech made them truly dangerous, triggering Savvine’s pulse and tightening her throat.

Add to that their growing reputation for eliminating threats before they even rose to the surface.

These kinais were more deadly than the families and cartels now.

Somehow, their influence slipped through the cracks, making her question herself. Did she have what it took to stand up to them?

She sensed the Signet Company would overwhelm the Bianchi clan’s influence in time, if she let them.

It was inevitable. If she didn’t use all her cunning and wiliness, they wouldn’t just eclipse her family’s power.

They’d devour it, piece by piece, until nothing remained but a name whispered in the shadows of Signet’s dominance.