Bounty crew.
My pulse spikes. I slide off the crate, blocking Nessa from view.
“Mom?” she whispers.
“Stay behind me.”
Her small hand finds the back of my jacket. I force my breathing steady.
The first bounty hunter steps forward — tall, bald, heavy frame. His voice booms in the echoing hangar.
“Rynn?Sorala.”
He says my name like a weapon.
I don’t answer.
“We can do this easy,” he continues. “You and the kid come quiet, no one gets hurt.”
I laugh. Can’t help it. The sound’s brittle. “That’s a lie even you don’t believe.”
He grins. “Worth a shot.”
Another steps out, rifle half-raised. “Don’t make us earn it.”
Nessa presses into my back. “Mom?—”
“It’s okay, starling,” I whisper, though my heart’s slamming so hard it hurts. “Keep your eyes closed.”
The third bounty twitches — nerves or trigger discipline, I can’t tell. The smallest mistake here and someone dies. Probably me.
“I’ve got a ship coming,” I say, stalling. “If you want credits, we can talk.”
“Not interested,” the bald one says. “The bounty’s personal.”
“Tarek,” I breathe.
He smirks. “Told us you’d say that.”
I step back, slow, pushing Nessa further behind me. My palms are slick. My mind’s already mapping exits — there aren’t any. The door behind them’s sealed. The one behind us opens straight to vacuum. We’re boxed in.
Then I see the flicker of movement in the rafters.
Shadows shift.
The air changes.
A sound — low, heavy, rhythmic.
Bootsteps.
The bald man frowns, glances upward. “What the hell?—”
Something hits the floor behind him with a metallic thud.
The hunters spin. Weapons raise.
And then everything happens at once.
