The stars didn't look the same anymore.
Not after Hollow Astrolabe.
Not after Kairos Vant had declined the Prime Trade.
The First Traders had acknowledged the Nexus.
But they'd also unleashed something new.
Something subtler.
Something insidious.
The Awakening of Karma
It began with small glitches.
A merchant from the ice rings of Vellar-9 tried to undercut an allied market on Luxis Prime. His ship's navigation system inexplicably rerouted him into a solar flare, frying both cargo and crew.
A Nexus-linked diplomat attempted to bribe their way into an exclusive auction. They were caught—and somehow every encrypted channel broadcast their confession across twenty systems.
A smuggler ran a bait-and-switch scam.
He vanished.
His ship was found three days later, floating in null-space. No damage. No signs of struggle. Only a message carved into the wall of the command bay:
"TRADE FAIR."
And then the system message appeared for Kairos.
