Kaelen looked at the crystal. Twenty million credits sat in his other hand, forgotten.

Until Kaelen found the crack.

Then he thought of a 0.3-second ping. A forgotten valve. A crack that had been left open for thirty years, waiting for the right thief to ask the wrong question.

0.3 seconds.

Kaelen’s hand drifted toward his belt. “Then why am I still alive?”

The woman smiled. “Because I let the crack stay open. On purpose.”

He slid his breather aside and tapped his temple. A cool ripple of code passed through his augments. The maintenance duct shimmered, and the wall became a door.

Kaelen reached for it.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” she said.

“One condition,” he said. “You come with me. No more watching from inside the cage.”

She handed him the crystal. It was warm, alive.