Six weeks later, Amber Wing rests at a neutral cartography exchange near the Rim outer approach. Trade beacons blink through the dusty traffic, and every berth keeps its own records sealed.
Veyra Sorn guides a battered salvage skiff into the inspection cradle. She is a lean adult woman with dark skin, close-cropped silver hair, and a weathered green pressure jacket; the skiff’s navigation board has been torn out by hand.
Veyra Sorn
I followed the survey coordinates your crew circulated. Someone is redirecting independent pilots away from one of your targets, and this skiff shows how.
She opens the cockpit compartment without crossing the exchange’s marked boundary. Empty brackets, severed data trunks, and fresh tool scoring surround the missing board; nothing suggests an electronic failure.
Veyra Sorn
The route correction arrived as ordinary guidance, then the board vanished before I could preserve its source. I am not asking you to enter the target’s hazard zone.
Veyra Sorn
Inspect the physical evidence first. If it proves useful, we can discuss a fair price before I sell the coordinates or the record to anyone else.
The exchange’s neutral lights reflect across the stripped cockpit. Veyra waits beside the cradle, wary but still, leaving Lahani’s crew the choice of whether to examine the skiff.
✓ Quest Accepted
Verify the physical evidence of route interference