Chapter 435: Outer Recovery Cooperative 3

The unknown ship made no further transmission.

Rhoswen’s scout followed it until the vessel crossed the outer edge of the observation area, then stopped as Aurelian had ordered.

The ship continued outward for several minutes before changing course toward one of the older routes leading away from Valeris Reach.

Nobody tried to stop it.

Aurelian wanted answers, but chasing an unidentified vessel into open space the night before the conference was exactly the kind of distraction he wanted to avoid.

"Did the scout get anything useful?" he asked.

Eirenne enlarged the sensor record. "Some. The ship is old, but the engine output is better than the hull suggests. Several external weapon mounts appear functional, although none were powered while it was inside the observation area."

"Registration?"

"Nothing reliable."

"Where did it come from?"

"That’s harder. It entered through the mining debris field, so we don’t have a clean route trace."

Aurelian looked at the message again.

Orison delegation compromised. Do not allow the transport to dock.

It was specific enough to be worrying and vague enough to be almost useless.

"What exactly does compromised mean?" Astra asked.

"That’s the problem," Aurelian replied. "It could mean anything."

A member of the delegation could be working against the negotiations. The transport itself could be carrying something dangerous.

Someone might have learned about a threat inside Orison and sent the warning without being able to explain more.

Or the entire thing could be false.

Aurelian had no intention of canceling the conference because an unidentified ship had sent seven words and disappeared.

He also had no intention of ignoring it.

"Contact Orison," he told Eirenne. "Tell them we’ve received an anonymous security warning concerning their delegation. Don’t accuse anyone. Ask them to confirm the identities of everyone aboard the transport and provide the final passenger and cargo records before departure."

Eirenne nodded. "And Valeris?"

"They already know about the warning. Have them increase the inspection level when the transport arrives."

Astra glanced at him. "You are still allowing it to approach?"

"If Orison agrees to the additional checks."

That decision did not please everyone.

The Valeris council held an emergency meeting within the hour.

Two members wanted Orison’s delegation barred from entering the system until they identified the sender of the warning, while others argued that canceling the conference would hand control of the negotiations to whoever had sent the message.

Aurelian joined the discussion remotely but did not tell them what decision to make.

It was their station.

Their invitation.

Their risk.

In the end, the council voted to continue under tighter security.

Orison accepted the new conditions.

Its response arrived shortly before midnight.

The delegation would travel aboard a single civilian administrative transport with eight people aboard.

Three were official delegates, two were pilots, two were technical staff, and the final passenger was a security officer.

No escort would enter the conference station’s immediate area.

Orison also agreed to a full external scan before docking and an inspection of the transport’s cargo compartments.

That was encouraging.

It did not prove the warning was false, but anyone planning something obvious would probably object to having their ship searched.

Aurelian stayed at Helion.

Rhoswen was already in position, and there was still no reason for him to spend more than two days traveling to Valeris when he could participate through a secure channel.

By morning, the conference station had become one of the most closely watched civilian structures in Valeris Reach.

Crimson Bulwark held position several thousand kilometers away.

Two Valeris patrol ships watched the Orison approach, while another covered the cooperative route.

Rhoswen’s scouts monitored the outer approaches, including the mining debris field where the unidentified vessel had appeared.

Nothing unusual showed up.

The Outer Recovery Cooperative arrived first.

Dalia Renn’s transport passed inspection without trouble and docked on the station’s western side.

Three hours later, Orison’s delegation appeared.

Aurelian watched the sensor display from Black Crown’s command room at Helion.

The Orison transport was smaller than he expected.

It looked like an ordinary administrative vessel, with a broad central hull and two engine sections attached behind it. There were no visible heavy weapons.

Rhoswen contacted him as soon as the ship entered the inspection zone.

"They’re here."

"I can see that."

"Still no suspicious ships."

"Good."

"Do you want me to move closer?"

"No."

There was a short silence.

"You knew I was going to ask."

"Yes."

Rhoswen sounded disappointed.

The Orison transport slowed exactly where instructed.

A Valeris inspection shuttle approached.

For the next twenty minutes, nothing happened.

Aurelian watched the inspection team move through the vessel’s compartments while Eirenne received the scan results.

The hull was clean.

No hidden missile racks.

No unusual reactor devices.

No military drones.

The cargo section contained personal equipment, sealed archive cases, and several portable terminals.

Then the inspection team found something.

Rhoswen’s expression changed.

"Aurelian."

"What?"

"One of the archive cases doesn’t match the cargo declaration."

He straightened.

"What is it?"

"They’re checking."

They removed the case from the transport and placed it in the inspection shuttle’s isolated storage compartment.

Orison’s delegation immediately protested.

Not violently.

Not even angrily.

They simply insisted their delegation had not loaded the case.

That made the situation worse.

Aurelian opened the direct channel to the inspection team.

"Do not open it aboard either ship. Move it to an isolated platform and scan it there."

The Valeris officer acknowledged.

They moved the case away from the transport.

Its outer shell looked ordinary.

The internal scan did not.

Eirenne examined the readings.

"It contains a compact transmitter, a power cell, and what appears to be a navigation beacon."

Aurelian frowned.

"Explosive?"

"No indication of one."

"What kind of beacon?"

"I need a closer scan."

The answer arrived several minutes later.

The device was designed to remain inactive until it received a specific signal.

Once triggered, it would begin transmitting a powerful location marker.

Rhoswen understood immediately.

"Someone wanted to mark the conference station."

"Looks that way."

"For what?"

"That’s what we need to find out."

The warning suddenly made more sense.

Orison delegation compromised.

Not necessarily the people.

The transport.