His attention stayed on posture, on balance shifts, on the minute, involuntary adjustments that preceded decision. The traders' eyes were the tell, golden and restless, never settling for long, returning again and again to the gemstone case suspended behind Raveth.
The traders were Khelar.
Slender and long-limbed, their frames adapted for fluid environments rather than dense gravity. Their skin was a pale grey, carrying a faint moisture sheen that caught the chamber's light. White striations traced their throats and flanks in irregular patterns, more pronounced where circulation ran close to the surface. Their fingers were webbed with fine membrane, translucent and delicate, folding and unfolding as they spoke, emphasizing points with restless precision.
Their clothing was form-fitting and sealed, designed to trap moisture against their skin, attire suited to extended time away from the humid, water-heavy world of Tak'rut. To Makrath, it read as constraint disguised as refinement.
They had traded honestly before. That history had bought them access to this room.
The lead negotiator stood apart from the others.
Togar.
Among the Khelar, wealth announced itself quietly. Where the others wore unadorned grey fabric, Togar's attire was threaded with gemstone settings that caught and refracted light with deliberate control. The adornments were not decorative. They were markers—of reach, of accumulation, of influence purchased through leverage rather than force.
Makrath could not determine Togar's sex. The species did not offer that information easily, and the ambiguity appeared intentional. It did not matter. Authority was apparent regardless.
Integration-grade lattice stones: energy-dense and biocompatible under continuous load, prized across systems where power could not be allowed to poison living infrastructure. Among the Hyrakki, they were essential: capable of interfacing with grown systems without disrupting cellular function, bioelectric signaling, or structural regeneration. Without them, Ythran's tech-biosphere degraded under its own output, adaptation slowing until failure cascaded through living networks.
They were stable, rare, and valuable enough to invite violence from those who misjudged cost. And the primary driver of Ythran's economy, bringing in trillions of Universal Credits per cycle.
The negotiation stretched beyond forecast.
Clarifications repeated without adding substance. Delays were introduced where none were required. Outside noise pressed faintly through the sound dampening, a low, persistent pressure against the chamber walls.
Makrath didn't like it.
He registered irritation and suppressed it.
The effort took longer than it should have.
The sensation did not disperse as cleanly as it once had. It lingered beneath his awareness, a tightness that refused tosettle, pressure building where release was delayed. He adjusted his stance by a fraction, his tail making a small correction behind him.
It returned anyway, something lower and more persistent, like heat accumulating under constraint.
His attention narrowed.
Togar's gaze shifted—not openly, not long enough to draw comment—but each time the gemstone case drifted into peripheral view, the Khelar's pupils tightened, focus sharpening with something that did not belong to negotiation; calculation. Makrath logged it.
Something in the room had moved out of alignment.
The administrator leaned back, hands steepled. "Your terms are stringent."
Raveth's eyes flicked toward the walls. The lighting. The glass.
He swore under his breath in Hyrakki. A Sa'keth curse, old and precise. The Khelar didn't hear. Only Makrath, with his enhanced Kha'Ruun senses, did. Raveth knew it. He turned and looked at Makrath.
Makrath did not move. He held Raveth's gaze through the smooth mask and gave nothing… except a single, subtle, confirmatory flick of his tail.
Raveth swallowed.
The lighting flickered.
Suppression fields activated in a broad wave designed to destabilize. The pressure swept across Makrath's systems like deep water, almost pleasant in its weight before his armor responded, the internal lattice tightening, redistributing load, isolating targeted pathways. His tail anchored hard, coiling against the deck to absorb the force shift.
Weapons came up. One from a trader. Two from concealed wall ports. The administrator lunged for Raveth's throat.
Makrath moved.
