“Talk.”
“You been paying attention to the encrypted chatter lately?”
“No,” I admit. “I’ve been a little… preoccupied.”
He grunts. “Thought so. You might want to check the latest packet. I’ve flagged it to your terminal.”
I tap a few keys on the side wall, and the holopanel lights up. Streams of scrambled data cascade across the screen. I let the onboard decryptor chew through it while I stretch my neck and prepare for the worst.
Lazarus clears his throat. “Tugun’s name just got mentioned in a few new chains. Quiet ones. Deep net level encryption. The kind we only pick up when we bribe smugglers with better chocolate rations.”
“What kind of mention?”
“Probable movement. No coordinates yet. But the tone’s different. Less idle chatter, more operational readiness. The Nine are twitching.”
“Planning something?”
“Feels like it. Can’t confirm. But it’s no longer a matter of if. It’s when.”
I stare at the data scroll, jaw tight. “And he’s still on-world?”
“Far as we know.”
“Shit.”
My eyes flick to the door of Sable’s bedroom. Closed. Quiet.
Safe. For now.
But for the first time since this assignment started, I feelexposed. Like she’s not a charge anymore—she’s atarget. And I’m not a soldier—I’m a shield.
And shields break.
“You want more backup?” Lazarus asks.
I shake my head. “No. He’d smell them a klick away. Too much movement and we spook him. No… we wait. We stay close.”
“You sure you’re up for this?”
I look back at the holopanel, then at the half-moon shadows playing along the ceiling. I think about Sable’s lips. Her voice. Her laugh when I choked on algae.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
“Alright,” Lazarus says. “Then rest. We’ll need you sharp.”
I end the call but don’t move.
Rest. Right.
How the hell am I supposed to rest with this war inside my chest?
A war I can’t shoot my way out of.
But I’ll figure it out.
Because this time? I have something to lose.
CHAPTER 11
