The suns of Deraxis shimmered dimly behind storm-filtered clouds. It had been four rotations since Kai struck the deal with Rynn Virex. His Vault CU had nearly tripled. But now came the harder part.
Sustaining the loop.
Anyone could make a lucky trade or stumble upon a hidden buyer. But a merchant sovereign? They built systems—networks that self-sustained, even when they slept.
Kai needed to build that system. Today.
Local Expansion
Kai returned to the small Deraxian outpost bazaar, his cart rattling over gravel roads. The locals watched him with a little less suspicion this time.
He had something rare today: energy pulse lanterns. They glowed gently in purple hues, harvested from low-grade crystaltech on a backwater planet he visited virtually through his Vault privileges.
Normally, a single lantern would be dismissed as an oddity.
But Deraxis had been suffering frequent power flickers.
"Off-grid light that runs for 72 hours?" he told the village's quartermaster. "I'll sell you one for 3 local credits—or trade for a decent batch of fermented spice stock."
The quartermaster tested it, blinked once, and snapped his claws in agreement. Trade accepted.
Kai immediately bartered the spice stock with a wandering nomadic caravan, converting it into wild scentroots, a delicacy in a Sector 9 space lounge known for psychoactive cuisine.
One trade. Three flips. Five times the value.
Vault Interface Alert
[New Network Tier Unlocked: Local-Market Integration I]Benefit: Access to passive demand reports in current world.Bonus: 5 CU awarded.
[New Item Flagged for Trade Tier 2: Deraxis Scentroot Bulb]Buyer Detected: Luxar Lounge, Nebula Line—Offering 15 CU for 1 unit (High Quality)
Kai whistled.
For the first time, he was seeing the shape of his sovereign path. Supply, logistics, sale—then resupply, cycle, export. One world feeding another. Earth's relics, Deraxis' herbs, Sector 9's nightlife.
He wasn't rich yet. But now he had traction.
Hiring His First Help
He walked back to his old shack—now upgraded with solar plates and repurposed hover crates—and found Delle, a teenage tech scavenger girl he'd once helped out with a spare battery cell.
"Still owe me?" he grinned.
She narrowed her eyes. "You want me to work?"
"I'll pay. Teach you how to scan, package, and prep goods for low-E transit," he said, showing her a basic Vault terminal. "You run the base while I move between worlds."
She hesitated—but nodded.
New Horizon: Trade Diplomacy
Later that night, the Vault pinged a second notification. This one from a trader-only encrypted feed:
🛰️ [Initiating Invite: Sector Cometary 12 - Trader Exchange Meet]Traders of Rank 3 or above may attend.Buy, sell, or negotiate shared routes. Trust required.Limited slots available.
Kai's eyes widened.
These weren't NPCs. These were other traders like him.
He was about to enter the next phase of cosmic commerce: merchant diplomacy. A battlefield of secrets, greed, and contracts. One wrong move could ruin him—but one right partnership could skyrocket his reach.
And if he played this smart, he might even sell Earth-manufactured power banks to pirates patrolling asteroid belts—or find buyers for Deraxis spice bulbs in noble courts.
He'd have to prepare carefully. But the Sovereign Path had opened.
Status Update:
Kai Zareth had completed his first three-world trade loop:
Deraxis goods exported to high-tier food lounges.
Earth relics sold to an underground collector.
Hub-purchased gear sold to Deraxis enforcers.
He had trained an assistant, secured passive market reports, and received his first invitation to an interstellar trader summit.
Vault Summary:
Current CU: 42
Trader Rank: 3
Delivery Credits: 7/month
Inventory: Scentroot Bulbs (x3), Lanterns (x1), Earth Photoprint (1)
Trade Network Links: 3 Active
Reputation: Minor but Rising
Passive Income (Market Watch): Enabled