The champagne in the Helios Division boardroom was flat. Two days had passed since the Omni-Stellar data bomb had detonated across the galactic net, and the initial glee had curdled into frustrated ambition.
Kael Renick, the executive who had initially toasted Omni-Stellar's demise, now paced before a floor-to-ceiling star chart. His assistant, a young man named Finn, watched nervously from his seat.
"The stock plunge is holding. Their public trust rating is in the gutter. We've secured three of their minor mining contracts already," Finn reported, scrolling through his datapad. "It's a solid win, sir."
"It's a start, Finn. A start," Renick snapped, stopping his pacing. "But we're scratching the surface. The real prize is the source. The ones who did this."
