"And the wormhole's residual energy creates sensor interference that makes navigation dangerous at best, suicidal at worst."
"Yes, sir. But there are people out there. Our people. Liberty survivors who've been waiting six months for rescue while we had the resources to find them and chose not to look."
The words came out harder than I'd intended, but I couldn't pull them back. Couldn't soften the accusation embedded in them.
Vaxon's markings went very still. "That's not fair."
"Isn't it? We've been flying around Shorstar Galaxy for six months, rescuing stranded vessels, bringing beings home. But we never looked for more Liberty survivors. Never scanned for our own people."
"Because we had no reason to believe there were more survivors. The initial search found nothing."
"The initial search was limited to a small radius. I extended the search parameters and found them in three days."
"Using illegal access to restricted systems."
"Does the legality matter if it saves lives?"
"Yes." His voice was sharp enough to cut. "It matters. Because the next time someone decides rules don't apply to them, it might not be for rescue missions. It might be for sabotage. Or espionage. Or any number of reasons that compromise this ship's security."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to throw his protective instinct back in his face, point out that he'd physically shielded me from an exploding relay just last night, that his whole existence was built around breaking rules when lives were at stake.
But Captain Tor'van spoke first.
"The Engineer's methods were problematic. Her findings are not." He turned that cybernetic eye on me, and I resisted the urge to squirm. "We'll investigate. Full tactical team, standard security protocols. Vaxon will lead operations."
"Er'dox will assess structural integrity of the derelict. We'll bring medical support in case there are survivors requiring immediate care." Captain Tor'van's gaze swept the room. "And Engineer Vasquez will accompany the mission as technical specialist. She knows Liberty's systems better than anyone on Mothership."
My heart jumped into my throat. I was going. I'd actually convinced them.
But then I saw Vaxon's expression, that careful, controlled neutral that meant he was absolutely furious but too disciplined to show it in front of the Captain.
"Sir," he said quietly, "I have concerns about including Engineer Vasquez in a tactical operation."
"Noted. She goes anyway. We need someone who can identify what we're looking at." Captain Tor'van stood, and everyone else automatically rose as well. "Departure in six hours. Prep your teams. Dismissed."
The others filed out, but Vaxon caught my arm as I moved toward the door. His grip was gentle despite his size, despite the anger I could feel radiating from him.
"We need to talk."
"I have to prepare for the mission?—"
"Now, Elena."
The use of my first name stopped me cold. He never used my first name. It was always Engineer Vasquez or just Vasquez, professional distance maintained at all times.
The conference room emptied. The door sealed behind the last person, leaving us alone with the viewscreen showing that debris field hanging in space like an accusation.
Vaxon's hand dropped from my arm, but he didn't step back. Didn't give me space to escape.
"You could have died last night," he said quietly. "That relay was unstable. You knew it was unstable. You went in anyway."
"It's my job."
"Your job doesn't include taking unnecessary risks. Your job doesn't include operating alone without proper support protocols."
"I had Krev monitoring?—"
"Krev'al is a junior engineer who panicked the second that relay sparked. If you'd been seriously injured, he wouldn't have known what to do." Vaxon's markings pulsed, controlled but visible. "And now you're telling me you've been hacking restricted systems for days. Running unauthorized scans. Building a case for a mission into the most dangerous region of contested space."
