Chapter 3: The Hunt Begins

Word spread faster than light. Within hours of Mira’s salvage claim hitting the network, three fleets changed course for her coordinates—the Terran Alliance, the Rigelian Compact, and the black-market mercenary armada known as the Ghost Fleet. Mira’s comms lit up with threats, bribes, and ultimatums. Chekk calculated their odds of survival at 2.3%. Sparks suggested they dump the weapon and run. Their gunner, a war-scarred veteran named Tessa who had lost her entire battalion at the Battle of Proxima, just loaded her weapons and said, ‘We didn’t start this war. But we’re the ones holding the biggest gun now.’ Mira made her decision. The Wayfarer wasn’t running.