The muddy, exposed ocean floor smelled of sulfur, rotting kelp, and flash-vaporized salt.Without the immense weight of the sea to stabilize them, three of the Leviathan Syndicate’s primary oil platforms had completely collapsed onto their sides. Their massive steel girders buckled like brittle twigs against the jagged basalt rocks below. Mercenaries, stripped of their naval advantage, scrambled wildly across the exposed, slime-slick sea floor, their boots sinking deep into three feet of black coastal sludge.Directorship shock troops, clad in vacuum-sealed tactical suits, poured down the dreadnought ramps in disciplined, lethal lines.At the head of the assault force walked Vivian Vance.Her slate-gray mantle snapped lightly against the cold ocean draft, its hem remaining remarkably clean above her polished leather boots. Her right hand rested inside her mantle pocket, her small fingers curved around her father's copper key. Her blue eyes were cool slates of pure calculation, ob
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