“Not if it gets out,” I say.
She looks up at me.
“Then we get it out,” she says.
“Off-world,” I reply immediately.
She doesn’t argue.
Good.
“We can’t push this through internal channels,” I continue. “It’ll get flagged, intercepted, wiped before it reaches anything that matters.”
“External broadcast?” she asks.
“Too exposed,” I say. “We need distance first. Somewhere outside their control grid.”
“Which means getting off Myrza,” she says.
“Yeah,” I nod. “Fast.”
She exhales, her shoulders tightening slightly.
“That’s not going to be easy,” she mutters.
“No,” I agree. “It’s not.”
Footsteps echo from the corridor behind us.
Closer.
“Then we stop talking about it and start moving,” she says.
“Agreed,” I reply.
I take point again, angling us toward the alternate access route, the path narrower, less maintained, but exactly what we need right now.
“You good to keep up?” I ask.
She shoots me a look.
“I’ve made it this far,” she says. “Don’t start doubting me now.”
“I’m not doubting,” I reply. “I’m accounting for variables.”
“Add ‘stubborn’ to the list,” she mutters.
“Already did.”
We push deeper into the tunnels, the air growing heavier again.
“You really think this changes anything?” she asks after a moment.
I glance back at her.
“It changes everything,” I say.
Her gaze holds mine for a second longer than it should.
