The notification came through in the middle of a report.
Dax was standing at the edge of the dock, floodlights throwing long, broken shadows over stacked containers and the dark, motionless water. Verdan's people were already secured, Morcant's absence noted and filed away for later reckoning, and his commanders were giving him a quiet, efficient rundown of what had been seized and who would be questioned first.
His comm vibrated once.
Then again.
A file transfer from Chris.
Dax's eyes flicked to the display.
For a fraction of a second, he simply stared at the icon, at the unmistakable marker that meant 'media attached.'
Then he opened it. One look at the first frame was enough to awaken the beast in him. The corner of his mouth curved, then spread on his face into a feral grin. The kind of grin that belonged on a man who had just been handed both a promise and a challenge and had every intention of claiming both.
Across the dock, one of his captains faltered mid-sentence.
