TSD: 3049-10-09 — Local: 18:22
Galatea, Galatea System — Zenith Jump Point (Holding Box Delta / Traffic Control Lane 4)
The JumpShip's stern was still bleeding ice when ComStar finally stopped pretending they had time.
A new controller came on the channel—different voice, clipped and cold, the kind that didn't waste syllables on comfort.
"Leopard Wayfarer," the controller said. "You are assigned berth to JumpShip Saint Halley. Confirm immediate approach."
Mara's head lifted from her tablet. "That's fast."
Sienna's eyes narrowed. "Fast is suspicious."
Kel didn't argue with either. He just asked the right question.
"Traffic lane clear?" Kel said, calm.
A pause. "Clear."
Kel held the silence one heartbeat longer—enough to hear if the controller's confidence wavered.
It didn't.
Kel: "Confirm sail integrity."
"Confirmed."
Kel's gaze moved to Mara. "You have the transponder signatures backed up?"
Mara nodded once. "Three copies. One encrypted."
Kel: "Good."
He keyed internal comms. "All personnel secure. We approach. No one unstraps unless told."
A chorus of acknowledgments—tight, serious.
Elin checked her med crate latches again like ritual. Avery and Jori secured weapons and harnesses. Nadia breathed through her nose and nodded. Rina's hands gripped her tool kit straps like it was a flotation device.
Tessa didn't say much. She was back on the maintenance platform, watching the Zeus clamps and the actuator readouts as if the ship's decision to move could somehow transmit through steel into her machine.
Kel watched her for a moment.
She didn't look at him.
Then she did—quick flick of eyes, almost checking that he was still what she thought he was: steady.
Kel gave her a small nod.
That was all.
---
The Wayfarer eased out of the holding box and slid into the approach lane like a bead on a wire. Outside, the stars felt sharper near a jump point—too bright, too still. The JumpShip ahead was long and skeletal, its sail partially unfurled like a pale fin in the dark.
Saint Halley looked intact.
That didn't mean safe.
Mara ran a passive scan on every ping she could receive, fingers moving in small, precise motions. She didn't glance at Kel often, but when she did, it was quick and purposeful—like checking a compass.
The docking clamps engaged with a dull, metallic thud that vibrated through the Leopard's deck plates.
For a second, everything was still.
Then a low-frequency hum began—the JumpShip's systems acknowledging the new mass attached to its frame.
A dock controller voice came through a direct line. "Berth confirmed. You are attached. Maintain seal integrity. Sail charge cycle underway."
Kel's jaw didn't move. "Copy."
Sienna muttered, barely audible, "Now we wait again."
Kel: "Yes. And we stay alive while we do."
---
TSD: 3049-10-09 — Local: 20:06
JumpShip Saint Halley — Berth Spine (Leopard Dock / External Transfer Tube)
ComStar security arrived the way all authority arrived: too clean, too late, and acting like they'd always been in control.
Two guards in white and gray suits clipped mag boots to the berth spine and approached the Leopard's transfer tube. Their helmets were reflective, faces hidden. They were accompanied by a third figure—civilian cut, but posture too controlled to be a civilian.
Mara watched them through the small internal viewport.
"ComStar," she said quietly. "And someone else."
Kel didn't move fast. He didn't posture. He just walked to the tube hatch and waited.
When it cycled open, the smell of cold vacuum seals hit first, followed by the hiss of equalizing pressure.
The civilian stepped forward. He was older—late thirties or early forties—clean-cut, wearing a simple jacket with no obvious insignia. His eyes weren't cruel, but they were the kind that measured people the way Mara measured data.
"Pilot Harrow," he said, voice polite. "I am Liaison Varr. I represent the merchant consortium funding your corridor contract."
Hess wasn't here anymore. No loud man to argue. No shield of someone else's company.
Just Kel and his crew.
Kel's voice stayed calm. "We're en route to Summer."
Varr nodded. "Your route has been… adjusted."
Mara's stylus stilled. "Adjusted how."
Varr smiled faintly. "You will stage at Summer, as contracted. But your arrival timing will be delayed by ComStar traffic control. You will take a longer lane to avoid—" he paused, choosing a word that sounded less like panic "—instability."
Sienna's mouth twitched. "You mean attacks."
Varr didn't deny it. "Yes."
Elin stood behind Kel, silent, arms folded, eyes sharp.
Tessa was present too—down from the platform now, coveralls zipped, braid tight. She stood on Kel's right without being asked.
Not touching. Not clinging.
Just… placed.
Mara noticed.
Her expression didn't change.
She stepped closer on Kel's left, tablet held against her torso like armor. She didn't mirror Tessa on purpose.
She simply did what felt safest.
Varr's eyes flicked between the women and Kel, then back to Kel's face. "Your unit is small," he said.
Kel: "Yes."
Varr: "Small units die first when things change."
Kel's reply was steady. "Then we adapt first."
That earned Kel a longer look.
Varr's tone shifted to business. "You will receive an additional stipend for delay and risk escalation. MRB will process it. You will also be required to file incident reports at Summer immediately upon arrival."
Mara's eyes narrowed. "How much."
Varr quoted the number, and Mara's stylus moved instantly, logging it.
Kel asked, calm, "What do you want from us."
Varr's smile faded. "Confirmation. Evidence. Survivor statements. Anything that turns rumor into something an organization can plan around."
Mara's voice was flat. "You want proof of 'disciplined unknowns.'"
Varr's eyes didn't blink. "Yes."
Sienna muttered, "And if we find it?"
Varr's answer was simple. "Then you will be paid. And you will not be the only ones watching that corridor anymore."
Kel's voice stayed calm. "We already have proof."
Mara lifted her tablet slightly. "Transponder signature. Partial. Spoofed. But consistent."
Varr nodded as if he expected it. "Good. Keep it. Deliver a copy at Summer under seal."
Elin spoke for the first time, blunt. "Are you going to warn the people out there."
Varr's expression tightened by a millimeter. "Warnings without verified attribution create panic. Panic kills more than bullets."
Elin's eyes went hard. "Bullets still kill."
Varr didn't argue.
He turned slightly, checking something on his own slate, then looked back at Kel. "One more thing."
Kel: "Say it."
Varr's voice remained polite. "Your unit will be flagged for observation."
Mara's posture stiffened. "By who."
Varr didn't answer directly. "By parties who prefer to know what is happening before it happens."
Sienna's voice was dry. "ComStar."
Varr's eyes flicked toward her. "Possibly."
Kel didn't take the bait. He simply nodded once. "Understood."
Varr stepped back, and the ComStar guards moved with him.
Before the tube hatch cycled, Varr added, almost casually, "Do not attempt independent pursuit operations in jump space."
Kel's tone didn't change. "We weren't going to."
Varr looked like he didn't believe him.
Then the hatch sealed, leaving Kel and his crew with the hum of the JumpShip's spine and the knowledge that the universe had started paying attention to them in a way that had nothing to do with a dead man's inheritance.
---
TSD: 3049-10-10 — Local: 02:18
JumpShip Saint Halley — Leopard Dock (Internal Bay / Pre-Jump Drift)
The hours before a jump always felt like a held breath.
Crew slept in bursts. Someone always woke too early. Someone always checked straps twice. Superstition didn't require belief—only repetition.
Kel moved through the bay quietly, checking harnesses and seals. He paused near the Zeus cradle, eyes on the actuator housing, and nodded once at the stable readout.
Tessa was there too—leaning against the cradle strut, arms folded. She'd changed again: coveralls tied at the waist now, fitted shipboard top underneath. Her braid loosened slightly, not messy, just less armored.
"You did good work," Kel said calmly.
Tessa's eyes flicked to him, then away. "I know."
It wasn't arrogant.
It was how she protected herself from needing praise.
Kel accepted it. "Good."
Tessa hesitated—then spoke quietly, rough around the edges. "You keep picking the right calls."
Kel: "So do you."
Tessa snorted softly, but it wasn't mocking. It was… warmer.
Behind them, footsteps approached—soft.
Mara stopped at the edge of the cradle lane with her tablet hugged to her chest. She didn't interrupt immediately. She just stood there, eyes on Kel, then flicking to Tessa for half a heartbeat.
Short. Controlled. Gone.
"Kel," Mara said, voice professional. "I finished the packet draft. If ComStar tries to bury it, I can transmit to MRB at Summer within two minutes of landing."
Kel nodded. "Good."
Mara's gaze lingered on him for a beat—then she looked away and added, "Your crew… they're responding to you."
Kel: "They're responding to structure."
Mara's mouth tightened like she wanted to say something else, then decided not to. "Still. They're responding."
Tessa pushed off the strut. "If you're done talking paperwork, I need him for one more actuator check."
Mara's eyes sharpened—briefly—then went flat again. "It can wait. We're about to jump."
Tessa's voice stayed casual. "It takes thirty seconds."
Kel ended it without heat. "We'll do it after the jump."
Tessa looked like she wanted to argue.
Then she nodded once and backed off, because Kel's calm authority was a wall she didn't resent.
Mara didn't look triumphant.
She just exhaled slightly, like she hadn't realized she'd been holding tension.
Kel didn't comment on either reaction.
He simply returned to checking straps.
Because whatever this was between them—whatever it was becoming—it couldn't be allowed to fracture the unit.
Not now.
Not when the corridor ahead was sharpening into something violent and organized.
---
The JumpShip's voice came over internal comms, deep and even. "All attached vessels. Prepare for translation. Ten minutes."
Everyone secured.
Harnesses tightened.
Hands stilled.
Breath held.
Kel stood where he could see his crew and be seen.
Not because they needed him to be heroic.
Because they needed him to be steady.
And when the jump came, it came like always—an instant of wrongness, a brief sensation of the universe folding, then—
A new starfield.
A new system.
A step closer to Summer.
A step closer to the edge of history.
---
Unit Ledger — Iron Inheritance (Running C-Bill Log)
(Maintained by Mara Saito; updated end of TSD 3049-10-10, 02:18)
Liquid on hand (prior): 67,650 C-bills
Minimum reserve floor: 60,000
New income (contract delay/risk stipend — credited by consortium via MRB):
Risk/delay stipend (partial credit posted): +15,000
New expenses:
JumpShip berth surcharge (post-attack scarcity pricing): −3,200
Decon / filter replacement (post-evac biohazard): −1,100
New liquid total: 78,350 C-bills ✅ (above reserve)
Operating liquid above reserve: 18,350 C-bills
Restricted/held: 25,000 C-bills (not accessible)