They hadn’t stopped working entirely, but the room had gone quiet in the way it did when everyone was waiting on sothing they couldn’t force. Rin had leaned back in his chair, boots hooked under the table, eyes half-closed but listening. Klatos stood near the window, arms folded, watching traffic lanes shift in the distance. Arlen sat on the edge of the table with her device resting against her thigh, scrolling without really seeing any of it.
Xavier was standing near the projection, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the frozen map.
The device chid.
He checked it, didn’t say anything, and answered.
Angel’s voice ca through first, irritated and rough with sleep. "You are officially banned from calling during my night cycle."
"Hey, you are the one who called ." Xavier exhaled through his nose.
"I can’t fully reconstruct it," Angel said finally.
Arlen shifted closer. "aning?"
"aning whoever sent it didn’t actually an to send it like this. It’s an error."
Rin straightened slightly. "And the location?"
Angel let out a slow breath. "That part survived. Ashfall Verge."
Klatos nodded once. "That tracks."
Angel continued, "If they sent anything else, it’s gone. Burned or overwritten before the packet collapsed. Even if soone else intercepted it, it wouldn’t tell them anything useful."
Xavier didn’t relax. "So we’re not late yet."
"No," Angel said. "But you’re not early either."
She paused, then added, "There’s more."
Xavier waited.
"The ship parts and mods I ordered," Angel said. "My contacts followed up. I gave them the docking location and full authorization. Permits, access layers, everything."
Rin blinked. "You gave strangers access to our ship."
"They’re not strangers," Angel replied. "And it’s my ship too, last I checked."
Xavier smiled faintly. "What’s getting upgraded this ti? I am still salty that I spent so much and I haven’t seen the ship in person yet."
"Quiet things," she said. "Structural reinforcent, internal routing, power smoothing. Nothing flashy. Let’s just say the foundation of the ship that will allow future and further mods and supports."
"That’s expensive," Arlen said.
Angel laughed once. "Good thing money isn’t a problem."
Xavier shook his head slightly. "I owe you."
"You owe a week without calling," Angel replied. "Which you won’t do."
She continued before he could respond. "I’m also dropping your hover at Ashfall Verge. It might actually have arrived there already, I am not sure."
Arlen looked at Xavier. "You didn’t ntion that part."
"I literally had no idea," he said.
Angel snorted. "First ti?" She asked them. "Get used to this."
There was a short pause, then Angel added, "And Xavier."
"Yeah."
"You did a good job on the stream," she said. "The innocent routine. The law-abiding hero thing. Your fans ate it up."
Arlen crossed her arms. "That’s one way to describe it."
Angel laughed softly. "You should’ve seen the trics. People are ready to riot for him."
Xavier shrugged. "I didn’t tell them to."
"No," Angel said. "You never do."
The line went quiet for a beat. "Be careful," she added, voice lower now. "Ashfall isn’t that safe either.."
"I know," Xavier replied.
The call ended.
No one spoke imdiately.
Rin broke the silence first. "So Ashfall is confird."
Xavier didn’t dismiss the map when the call ended. He stayed where he was, eyes on the projection, fingers resting against the table like he was feeling for sothing beneath the surface.
"The ssage wasn’t clean," he said. "Angel said that herself. We only got one location because that part survived."
Arlen looked up from her device. "And you think there was more?"
"I think there’s a chance," Xavier replied. "If Reva tried to send redundancy, or if the ssage broke mid-push, there could’ve been another location in there. We just don’t know."
Rin frowned. "You’re saying Ashfall might not be the only place."
"Exactly," Xavier said. "Which ans Glassreach Basin is still in play."
The room went quiet for a mont.
Klatos nodded slowly. "That makes sense. If they were unsure which route would hold, they could’ve split intent. Ashfall for cover. Glassreach for movent."
Arlen crossed her arms. "So what are you suggesting?"
"We split," Xavier said. "We cover both."
She stared at him. "You’re serious? After what you just said about moving together."
"Yes," he nodded. "But I will take one of you with ."
"I’m coming with you," Arlen said imdiately.
Xavier didn’t respond right away. He looked back at the map, eyes moving between Ashfall Verge and Glassreach Basin, like he was weighing more than routes.
Rin spoke before the silence stretched. "I’ll go with you."
Xavier shook his head. "No."
Rin straightened. "Why not?"
"Because if sothing goes wrong on the other end, they’ll need soone who can fight their way out without thinking," Xavier pointed at him. "That’s you."
Rin clicked his tongue, annoyed, but didn’t argue further.
Xavier turned toward Klatos and Arlen. "Either of you have ground familiarity with Ashfall or Glassreach? Real familiarity. Not maps."
Klatos answered without hesitation. "Ashfall Verge. I lived there before AIL burned half of it out. I know how people move. I know where you don’t ask questions."
Xavier nodded and turned to Arlen.
She held his gaze for a second, then shook her head. "No connections. No history. I’d be walking in blind."
That settled it.
"Klatos cos with ," Xavier said. "Ashfall Verge."
He shifted his attention to Rin and Arlen. "You two go to Glassreach Basin."
Arlen’s jaw tightened. She clearly wanted to push back, but she stopped herself. This wasn’t the mont to turn it into sothing else.
"Fine," she said. "But don’t disappear."
Xavier t her eyes. "I won’t."
They didn’t linger after that.
Klatos and Xavier booked ground transport within minutes, nothing flashy, sothing that blended into Ashfall’s industrial traffic. Rin and Arlen took the transit line toward Glassreach Basin, a freight-adjacent rail that moved fast
They separated at the lower concourse without dramatics.
No goodbyes or hugs. Just a nod, a look, and four people moving in two directions, each knowing that if they guessed wrong, soone else would pay for it.
User Comments
0 comments from readers