Chapter 18: Grim And The Ghost

  “I’m tellin’ you, it’s true,” said Alrex, jabbing a grease-stained thumb at the half-dead comm pad playing an encrypted newsreel. “He hacked an AI with a wrench. A wrench.”

  “You’re an idiot,” hissed Mina, slicing dried meat behind the counter of their barely licensed food stall. “CAPRA ain’t a fuse box, Alrex. You don’t just bang on it until it purrs.”

  “Didn’t say he banged on it,” Alrex muttered. “Said he spoke to it. Real words. Like prayer. And boom, whole station system rerouted itself to protect his crew.”

  “Sounds like Dominion propaganda,” said a third voice, dry and sharp. A passing courier in a patchy long coat barely paused, but the glint in his eye lingered. “Or a new Velstrat loyalty sim.”

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  “You think they make sims of him?” Alrex blinked. “Kaelar Valtor? With that beard?”

  Mina chuckled. “Please. The real sim monies on Jules Carter. The hacker who stole a star map using a coffee filter and a pair of drone legs.”

  “Yeah, but CAPRA’s the wildcard,” the courier added. “Didn’t she try to delete herself and start a religion?”

  Everyone paused.

  “...Wait. Is CAPRA a she now?” Mina asked.

  “Not important,” Alrex said, leaning in. “The point is, they’re building a rep. Quietly. People are watching. Even the Dominion’s spooked.”

  He tapped the side of his nose. “Mark my words, we’re lookin’ at a new faction.”

  The courier just smirked. “Or a future obituary.”

  The crowd moved on. The smell of sizzling protein lingered. So did the rumor.