The city smelled different at dawn. It was a cleaner air than the choke of the lower districts, tinged with the metallic crispness that came when the maglev lines began their morning surge. From his suite's high window, Jarek watched the first pulse of traffic streaking like veins of light across the city's sprawl. Havenlock Security's logo glimmered on one of the patrol skiffs passing below. His patrol skiffs.
It still felt strange to think of them that way, but the truth was in the paperwork—or, more accurately, in the encrypted contracts now resting deep inside the System's secure storage. He hadn't just bought businesses. He'd bought reach, and reach was the one currency the Spires couldn't fake.
Kael was already up, running diagnostics on a holoscreen, her hair still wet from the shower. She didn't look at him when she spoke. "I've been tracing chatter. Your acquisitions hit every corner of the city in less than an hour. Even the underground markets are talking."
"That was the point."
"It's one thing to send a message," she said. "It's another to paint yourself in neon for every predator in Aurora Prime. They're watching you now, and not all of them will come at you head-on."
He smiled faintly. "Then we make them think twice before they even take the first step."
The System pulsed in his vision, not with a menu, but with a single line of text.
> [Proposed objective: Expand operational network. High-value target detected.]
A schematic unfolded—one of the largest private communication arrays in the outer sectors. Not a corporate asset, not government-owned. Independent. Barely holding its own against regulatory fines and maintenance costs. SableNet.
Communications weren't glamorous, but they were power. Whoever controlled the flow of information could choke or flood the city's arteries at will.
"How much?" Jarek murmured.
Kael glanced over. "What?"
He tapped the side of his temple. "SableNet."
She froze for a moment, then stepped closer, pulling the feed onto her own screen. "That's… bold. You'd have access to a third of all encrypted private channels in the sector. The other two-thirds would be watching every move you made."
The System fed the numbers:
> [Acquisition path calculated: Purchase operational debt from creditors, assume controlling stake. Expenditure: 1,200,000 credits. Estimated multiplier: 3.8×. Net credit return after rebate: +3,360,000 credits.]
He didn't need to think twice. The transfer initiated with a silent mental confirmation. Seconds later, a new block of encryption keys unlocked in his HUD, giving him unrestricted access to SableNet's network.
The effect was immediate. Across the city, encrypted lines rerouted through Jarek's new infrastructure. He could listen. He could disrupt. He could plant stories, bury them, or twist them before they even reached their intended audience.
Kael whistled low. "You've just stepped into god-tier surveillance. The Spires will hate you for this."
"Let them."
They didn't have to wait long for retaliation. By midday, the attack came—not on him directly, but on Lumen Haulage. A fire in one of the docking bays, sabotage in the fuel lines. Havenlock's patrols responded in minutes, but by then the damage was done: one freighter offline, two injured crew, and a sudden spike of rumors that Lumen was unstable under new management.
It was surgical. The kind of play meant to shake investor confidence without leaving obvious fingerprints.
Jarek was in the operations hub when Havenlock's commander patched in, her voice tight with barely suppressed anger. "We've got witnesses saying a Spires contractor was on-site an hour before the blast. No proof, but I can put her face through recognition."
"Do it," Jarek said.
The System overlaid the face across his vision, mapping its connections across city data streams. The woman—Thara Voss—had ties to three different shell companies, all with indirect ownership tracing back to the Spires' holding branch.
> [Recommendation: Acquire shell company "Cairn Logistics." Expenditure: 300,000 credits. Estimated multiplier: 4.0×. Net credit return: +900,000 credits.]
He laughed under his breath. "We're going to own the knife they tried to stab us with."
The purchase went through before Kael even asked what he was doing.
By evening, Jarek not only controlled the shell company but also had access to the Spires' own covert supply network. He rerouted one of their shipments—small, discreet, a collection of high-grade weapons components—into a Havenlock depot.
A quiet message followed, sent through SableNet's channels: Next time, you lose something bigger.
The city didn't feel quite as hostile that night. Still dangerous, yes, but the kind of danger Jarek could lean into, push against. The System pulsed once more before going still:
> [Operational expansion successful. Threat deterrence rating increased.]
Kael poured herself a drink and handed him one without looking at him. "You're playing a dangerous game."
He took it, clinking his glass against hers. "It's only dangerous if I lose."
Outside, Aurora Prime glittered in the dark like it was daring him to try.