I nodded. I didn't know if I believed him, but I knew he believed in me. That would have to be enough for now. I stood, shook my head, then made my way to the entrance of the dorms. Kaedren stood guard his massive frame blocking the doorway, weapon trained on the horizon. I squeezed his arm as I approached, and mouthed a thank you.
He looked down at me, and something softened in his scarred face. "You honor Jexal's memory by doing this," he said quietly. "Go. Save them."
I felt his grief through the Tether, sending soldiers into battle knowing some wouldn't return. But beneath it, a fierce pride in the mission. In me.
"We've picked up a silent alarm that has been triggered," Vaelix said, his voice distant. "You have thirty minutes before the second colony sends their quick reaction force. If they get eyes on you, it will only take fifteen minutes for the corporate reserve force to arrive."
"So we move fast," I said.
I ran to the entrance, a heavy metal door with rust bleeding down its seams, and threw it open.
The smell hit me first. Human waste, unwashed bodies, despair made manifest. I gagged, stumbling back a step before Lyrin's hand steadied me at the small of my back.
Cones of yellow light bloomed ahead of me, highlighting a walkway. Along each side, metal bars ran from floor to ceiling. The silence was suffocating. If there were women here, they were doing their best not to be noticed.
I took a step forward and fought back the urge to vomit. Lyrin tapped my shoulder and handed me a nasal implant. I placed it on my nose, and the air cleared. I could breathe again.
I stepped forward, and my torchlight swept across the first cell.
Women. Dozens of them, packed into a space meant for maybe ten. They sat on bare concrete, some with their heads between their knees, others pressed against the bars like they'd been trying to claw their way out. Their clothes, if you could call them that, were filthy rags. Their hair hung in matted tangles.
But their eyes. God, their eyes. When my light caught them, they flinched back, blinded, terrified of even hoping.
My chest tightened. These werepeople. Someone's daughter. Someone's sister. Someone's mother. And the corporations had reduced them to this.
I knew these cages.Not these specific bars, but I knew the feeling. The helplessness, the terror, the way hope dies a little more each day. I'd been here. And I'd gotten out.
Now it was their turn.
Rage bloomed in my chest, hot and clean. I felt it echo through the Tether: Lyrin's answering fury beside me, Vaelix's cold calculation from orbit, even Kaedren's grim resolve outside. We were united in this: these women were getting out.
"Get these cages open!" My voice cracked. "Now!"
Three of Kaedren's security team hustled up the hallway, instructed the women to cover their eyes and ears, then blasted the locks off thedoors. The sound echoed through the space, sharp cracks followed by the clang of metal hitting concrete. Some of the women screamed. Others didn't even flinch, too far gone to care.
I rushed into the first cell and knelt beside a woman. I reached out, placing my hand gently on her arm. She pulled back, sliding farther into the cage and huddling with another woman.
"It's okay." I kept my voice soft, non-threatening. "We're here to help. You're safe now. But we don't have much time. Will you come with me?"
Nobody budged. I slowly moved closer and knelt next to another woman. She curled into a ball, trembling. A flash of light on her neck caught my eye, something metallic embedded in the skin. I gently brushed her hair aside, and my stomach dropped.
A chip. Black and circular, embedded at the base of her skull.
"Son of a bitch."
"Vaelix, do you read me?"
"Loud and clear, Kira. What's wrong?"
"These women have been chipped. Even if we evacuate them, the corporation can activate the chips, find us, and subdue these women again. Can you disable them?" I asked.
"One moment, please," he said.
My heart raced. I kept my hand on the woman's shoulder. She was still trembling, but she hadn't pulled away. That had to count for something.
"We are transmitting an override code now. The women shouldn't feel anything, but you will need to confirm that their chips have been deactivated. We can remove them once they're on the Starbreaker."
"Do it!" I yelled.
