Spark whistled a low, mournful tone. The file wasn't an upgrade. It was a digital skeleton key—a "Rebel Outlaw" bypass—capable of unlocking the high-security gates of the Charon Rift. Whoever possessed this could bypass every customs sensor in the sector, moving illicit cargo right under the Militia’s nose.

Suddenly, the Sand-Wasp groaned as three red blips appeared on the long-range radar. Militia Interceptors. They weren't there for a routine scan; they were hunting the signal.

"Download it," Jax commanded, his hand hovering over the thruster lever. "If we're going to be outlaws, we might as well be fast ones."

Jax adjusted the flickering monitors of the Sand-Wasp , a ship held together more by stubbornness than by bolts. He was deep in the Dodge Sector, a lawless stretch of stars where the only thing cheaper than a life was the fuel to leave it behind.