"So here's how we move forward. My presence is now a tactical factor, and we'll treat it as one. Routes, docking protocols, supply runs, all of it gets recalculated. We don't waste time on emotions." I looked back at the crew. "We focus on our new strategy. Nothing more."
Lyrin's voice came through the Tether, private and warm.Well done.
I ignored it. We all needed to focus on the task at hand.
"The mission hasn't changed. The Corporate Council is still exploiting the galaxy. We're still the ones fighting back. The onlydifference is that I've become more expensive to keep around." I smiled, but there was no humor in it. "Let's make sure I'm worth the price."
I turned back to my station and pulled up the revised route calculations. Behind me, I heard the crew returning to their work, conversations resuming at normal volume.
Torvyn appeared at my shoulder, his voice low. "That was leadership."
"That was necessity," I said. "Now let's figure out where we can actually go."
Chapter 15
Another refusal notification popped up on the screen.
I don't think people like us very much.
Not us. Me.
I still like you.
Thanks, self. I like you too.
You have to, cause if you didn’t, I would probably go a little crazy!
I shook my head. I really need to talk to a professional.
Vaelix stood close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from his body, his attention fixed on the data we'd been reviewing for the better part of an hour. The astro lab was quiet. Its lights dimmed, and the door sealed. Nothing but the soft hum from the viewscreens and the occasional brush of his arm against mine as he reached past me to manipulate the interface.
"Pulsar Station," I said, pulling up the message. "Same language as the others.Due to temporary instability in the sector, we regret that docking privileges cannot be extended at this time." I scrolled through the formal rejection, my jaw tight. "That makes nine independent stations, nine supposedly unaffiliated ports, all using the same phrase within the same twelve-hour window."
"They are coordinating with each other." Vaelix's voice was low, thoughtful. His hand settled at the small of my back as he leaned in to examine the message more closely. The touch was casual. Familiar. "Show me the response from Gamma Station again, please."
I pulled it up without comment, our hands crossing as I transferred control. His fingers grazed mine, warm and calloused, and I didn't pull away. Instead, I shifted closer, letting my shoulder press against his chest while he manipulated the display.
"There." He highlighted a section. "Temporary instability.Gamma used it three days ago. Valkery used it yesterday. Now Pulsar." His thumb traced an absent pattern against my spine, and I felt the tensionin my shoulders ease slightly despite myself. "They are working together."
"No." I pulled up another window to cross-reference the stations' communications signals. My anger sat just beneath the surface, simmering, but it wasn't the kind that affected my critical thinking. It was the kind that made me thorough. "Someone sent them a template."
We worked in silence, analyzing the data patterns and communication relays. Every few moments, we'd shift—me adjusting my shoulders, him reaching around me to highlight an anomaly, and each time, the contact felt less incidental and more deliberate. I was hyperaware of how close he was without being distracted by it. If anything, it sharpened my focus and channeled my frustration into something productive.
"Let’s look at the insurance registrations," I said. "I want to see if there's overlap in their coverage providers."
Vaelix's hand left my back long enough to input the query. The results populated instantly, and we both went still.
Seven of the nine stations shared the same underwriter. A shell company with ties to the corporation's financial networks.
"Not independent at all," he murmured.
Another notification pinged. I exhaled sharply then opened the new message: "That makes ten."
We shifted our approach after that. There wasn't a need to catalogue these responses anymore; we already knew what they would say. Now we needed to map them and identify who they worked with to avoid them. No reason to let them call in the bounty that easily.
Our display now showed a web of connections: shells nested inside shells, insurance cross-links that traced back to the same handful of investment groups, legal language that appeared in filing after filing with suspicious consistency. Vaelix had pulled additional data from public trade registries, and I'd contributed what I could access through less official channels. The picture that emerged was damning.
"These aren't independent decisions," I said. "This is coordination without attribution. Voss has them by the short hairs. I bet he told them to close their doors to us, and they were all too happy to comply."
