On the bridge, Jalen leaned against the console. “Do you think it will listen to us again?”

“If,” Jalen finished. He filtered the encryption. “It’s a distress loop. Not from the outpost; from an object three light-hours off the new gravity well.”

Mira steadied herself against the console. “Plot an intercept. Keep it quiet. If UPD has an emergency, we don’t want a fleet following.”