128 Bit Bay -

Kaelen frowned. Most salvage from the bay was transactional: financial ledgers, encrypted military telemetry, old viral media. This was… intimate. She tucked the node into her satchel. Worth something, surely. Memories were currency in the floating slums of the Spindle. But this one felt different. Warmer.

She turned to leave and saw him.

Kaelen reached into her bag.

"Then check." He extended a hand. His fingers were translucent, filled with scrolling hexadecimal. "Place the node on my palm. I'll show you the branch you're in, and the branch that dies without it." 128 bit bay

Kaelen's hand went to her belt knife, a habit born from surviving the Spindle's lower decks. "Everything in the bay is salvage. Old law." Kaelen frowned

"Why does a laugh matter?" Kaelen asked. She tucked the node into her satchel