# **Chapter 17 – Sabotage and Shadows**
*(\~2,000 words; covert infiltration, Nerissa's visions, the empire's first crack)*
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**Citadel – Tactical Command**
Talia swept into the room at a near-run, her cloak flaring behind her.
"My lord," she reported, voice clipped. "We have a breach."
Shawn lifted his gaze from the holographic campaign map, Sharingan flickering.
"Explain."
"Clone Recon Post Sigma-12, orbiting the Arkhon refinery. Multiple systems disabled simultaneously—no sign of an external assault."
Venom's voice, low and amused, cut in from the shadows.
"Sabotage."
Shawn nodded.
"Earth's answer. They cannot confront me openly…so they will gnaw at the edges."
Talia inclined her head.
"Shall I deploy the Huntsmen?"
"Not yet," he said. "We will make an example first."
---
**Arkhon Refinery – Orbiting Supply Hub**
The station's corridors were dark, red emergency lights pulsing against steel bulkheads.
A S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltration squad moved in disciplined formation, weapons scanning each intersection.
Their leader, Agent Callahan, tapped his earpiece.
"Extraction window in twenty minutes. Plant the charges."
Two operatives split off, unspooling demolition packs along fuel conduits.
*Tick. Tick. Tick.*
Above them, in the darkness between the conduits, a lone clone Huntsman watched through slit-pupiled eyes.
He did not attack.
He merely transmitted everything.
---
**Citadel – Observation Deck**
Nerissa stood pressed against the glass, watching distant stars.
Her small hands were splayed on the viewport.
Venom drifted closer, regarding her silently.
"I can see them," Nerissa whispered.
"Who?"
"All of them," she murmured. "The men in black. The broken ships. And farther…things father hasn't noticed yet."
Venom's expression grew still.
"What do you see?"
Nerissa's voice dropped to a tremor.
"Fire. On Earth. A woman in red. A man of iron. And…"
Her dark eyes brimmed with something ancient and terrible.
"…himself."
Venom gently took her hand.
"Show your father later. For now…stay safe."
---
**Saboteurs' Extraction**
Agent Callahan keyed his comm.
"Charges set. Pulling back to egress point—"
A cold, synthetic voice crackled across all frequencies.
**"You will not leave."**
The clone Huntsman dropped from the ceiling, blaster in each hand.
Red bolts flared.
The corridor exploded into chaos.
---
**Citadel – Tactical Feed**
Shawn watched the firefight unfold in perfect clarity.
Every round fired. Every heartbeat. Every death.
His Sharingan recorded it all.
When the last saboteur fell, he turned to Talia.
"Retrieve what remains. Display it publicly. The galaxy will learn the cost of defiance."
Talia's gaze was like a blade drawn.
"At once."
---
**Arkhon System – Public Broadcast**
Across a hundred star systems, civilian and military channels alike were hijacked by a single transmission:
A row of bound saboteurs, faces bruised and bloody, flanked by clone soldiers.
Shawn appeared beside them, armored, his voice carrying a terrible calm.
"These operatives were caught infiltrating my supply lines," he intoned. "They were given the choice to surrender or resist. They chose poorly."
He raised one gauntleted hand.
"Let this be clear: sabotage against my empire is an act of war. There will be no further warnings."
His Sharingan ignited scarlet.
The broadcast ended in silence.
---
**Earth – S.H.I.E.L.D. War Room**
Fury slammed a fist against the table.
"He's escalated."
Tony's face was hollow.
"We gave him an excuse."
Natasha's voice was quiet but implacable.
"We were never going to avoid this forever."
---
**Citadel – Throne Room**
Venom circled Shawn slowly, her expression speculative.
"You handled them decisively," she purred.
He did not look at her.
"It won't be enough. Earth's heroes will keep probing."
Venom's smile was sly and dangerous.
"Then perhaps it is time we showed them what we are truly capable of."
Shawn closed his eyes, steadying his breathing.
"You mean—"
"Full-scale demonstration," she whispered. "Let them taste fear before they dare to strike again."
His hand curled around the armrest.
"…Perhaps."
---
**Private Quarters**
That night, he sat beside Nerissa as she slept, her small hand curled in his.
He thought of the woman in red—the one she had seen in her visions.
The Scarlet Witch.
And for the first time in a long while, he wondered whether he was walking toward something even he could not control.
---
**END OF CHAPTER 17**