He didn't answer immediately. His eyes stayed fixed on the main display.
"I knew someone," he said finally. "In a colony like that. A long time ago."
I didn't ask what happened. Through the Tether, I already knew the answer was nothing good.
I moved to stand beside him. Not touching, not pushing. Just present.
"Then we make sure this time is different," I said.
He looked at me. Something in his expression shifted. Gratitude, maybe, or recognition that I wasn't trying to fix his pain. Just acknowledge it.
"Yeah," he said roughly. "We do."
"Could this be a coup?" I asked, turning back to the group.
"That seems likely," Torvyn said with a nod. "Some form of coordinated uprising. What are the corporate security forces saying?"
"They have not officially acknowledged any issues on Kappa-7," Vaelix said.
My eyes widened. "If they attack it or wipe it out, they risk making things worse. They can't blame the Starbreaker for this. We aren't anywhere near Kappa-7, and they can't spoof our signals. The only other groups with comparable firepower are the corporate frigates, and everyone knows it."
"It seems," Lyrin said quietly, "we may have started a revolution."
"We've also received a broadcast from the colony," Vaelix added. "It's transmitting on all channels, though corporate forces are attempting to block it from the core worlds and stations."
He pulled the feed up on the main viewscreen.
The image flickered, grainy at first, then resolved into the face of a young woman. Dark circles ringed her blue eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, wrinkles already etched at the corners of her mouth. She was far too young to look that old and tired.
"We have claimed this colony in the name of the resistance," she said. "For too long, we have been ground down under the heel of corporate authority. Our lives and well-being traded for credits we were promised, but never paid. We are the sisters of Sigma-9, and we will no longer be silenced."
She lifted her chin.
"We call on Doctor Kira Vale and the ship Starbreaker to continue the fight and spread the fire of freedom across corporate space. The captives of Kappa-7 are ready and willing to stand with you. Long live the revolution."
The transmission cut out.
"The message has been on repeat for ten days," Vaelix said.
Heat crept up my neck. I had barely recovered from the panic of my first combat mission, of getting people killed, and now I was being named as a symbol of a galaxy-wide resistance.
I stared at the frozen image on the viewscreen. That woman, exhausted, defiant, broadcasting to the entire galaxy, was fighting because she believed rescue was possible. Because of what we did.
I took a slow breath.
This isn't about you.
Oh good. My psychosis is back.
Drama doesn't suit you. Don't take my word for it, ask your lover boys.
Can you crawl back into your little box and stay there?
"Kira?" Lyrin asked gently. He already knew the answer through the Tether, and I could feel his steady presence anchoring me, but he asked anyway. Giving me the choice of how to respond. "Are you okay?"
I looked down at my hands.
Was I?
