Night fell while they walked the grounds.
Mira kept the tour narrow—no tech hubs, no civic chambers, only the outer corridors and false-facade workshops. Solari asked polite questions. Not one of them neutral.
"Do you have orbital defense capability?""How far does your supply chain extend?""Do you mine local ore or import?"
Each one measured something.
Not knowledge.
Reaction.
Tarn stayed at the envoy's side, reading every pause, every shift of his eyes. The man noticed everything. Soil acidity. Architectural design. Power grid redundancies.
They ended the meeting on the western overlook.
Stars above. Jungle below.
"It's a rare thing," Solari said softly. "A world like this. Unclaimed. Unseen."
Mira folded her arms. "Some things are better left unseen."
Solari smiled. "And some lights are too bright to stay hidden forever."
He bowed once more. "We will leave in peace. For now. But I suspect the galaxy may come calling whether you answer or not."
Tarn didn't speak.
He just stared after the man as he walked back toward his ship.
Hours later, on the edge of known space—
A shadow node blinked to life.
A tightbeam pulse flickered into the dark.
Location Confirmed: Aurex.
Classify: Strategic InterestFlag: Outer Rim Subsection – INTEL DIVISION SIGMA
Forward to: Coruscant / Director's Office – Bureau of Imperial Intelligence
The signal vanished.
But the mark was made.
Aurex was now on the map.