“Okay, okay, I admit it. I was wrong. Get me more.”

Scover smiled, and the moment for pressing questions had passed. Only after finishing her second dish of baha did Affie wonder if that distraction had been intentional.

Her opening for the second attempt came as they toured a holographic shipyard. The sales droid tottered along, bringing up images of new freighters, all of them faster and safer than any before but astonishingly affordable, according to its patter.

“As you can see, it does not sacrifice style for function.” The droid enlarged the holo from a whole-ship view that would’ve fit in Affie’s outstretched arms to a life-size image of the bridge. Holographic shimmer masked the shipyard in translucent models of seats, controls, and even a faux star field ahead. “If you would wish to see the crew quarters—”

“Send me the specifications for future study,” Scover said. Many people might’ve snapped at a droid, especially one using hard-sell tactics. But Scover remained polite with everyone at every time. It was a trait Affie both greatly admired and hadn’t yet mastered.

“Right away, madam. I’ll include packets on our special upgrades, as well.” The droid rolled away to transfer the full data packet, leaving them alone amid the holographic image of a ship that did not yet exist.

“Buying freighters in bulk?” Affie began. “Republic freighters? Are we really doing that well?”

Scover always preened a bit when she got to talk about her ever-increasing profit margins. “We have seen a substantial increase in business lately. Yes, the Legacy Run disaster has caused delays, but these are temporary. Many people wish to move cargo soon, rather than after the Republic expansion, for various reasons with which we need not concern ourselves.”

“You’re sure of all our pilots’ loyalty, then,” Affie said. “Cargo isn’t, uh, coming in short?”

That got Scover’s full attention. “Do you have knowledge of dishonesty within the Guild? Is this about Leox Gyasi?”

“No. Leox is clean, totally. It’s just—” The story spilled out of Affie then: the Amaxine station, the lines of strange code, the symbols of the Byne Guild, and the fact that an otherwise empty system had its coordinates preprogrammed within the Vessel’s navigational computer. Scover listened with keen, silent interest, saying nothing until Affie finally took a pause long enough for it to seem plausible that she was done.

“This is not evidence of a corrupt wing within the Guild,” Scover said. “Such written code is occasionally used by pilots in locations where standard messages would be difficult to deliver. The practice is mostly archaic by now, but it lingers in certain locations, including the Amaxine station.” Her explanation was as impersonal as any a droid would’ve offered. That was how Scover always talked, and usually it wouldn’t have struck Affie as odd.

But this felt…off.