Page 23 of Pocket Wife

I open the official case file and project the new classification above the table.

Preservation Review 8-4417. Status amended: contested historical integrity inquiry.

The attorneys stare at it.

Corvek’s polished calm shows strain. “You filed it.”

“I did.”

“On what authority?”

“Mine.”

“Your authority does not include accusing Helix of fraud.”

“I have not accused Helix of fraud.”

“You marked historical integrity.”

“Because historical records appear to have been altered. If Helix did not alter them, the inquiry may benefit you.”

No one answers fast enough.

Beyond the open door, sound shifts in the hall. Footsteps. Murmurs. Someone has noticed Helix entering the records room. Privacy, if Corvek expected any, has already begun to die.

The first attorney lowers her voice. “Withdraw the classification and return to artifact verification. Helix will allow additional transition time and will not oppose ceremonial preservation of selected sites.”

“Burial hills are not ceremonial objects.”

“We are prepared to discuss respectful relocation.”

“You cannot respectfully relocate a claim you have not proven you own.”

Corvek’s eyes harden. “Careful.”

I turn my wrist so the recorder seal glows. “This conversation has been logged since entry.”

The security officer outside shifts his stance.

I hear the faint change in breathing from the hallway. More settlers have gathered. Lucy is among them. I know before I see her, because the hall changes around her; not louder, not calmer, but focused.

Corvek notices too.

He steps closer to the table. “Specialist, consider your career. You have spent two centuries building a reputation for neutrality. Do not waste it on a valley that will forget your name in a generation.”

Anger, suddenly, presents itself as an option.

I decline it.

“My reputation is not the subject of review.”

“It will be.”

“Then file that correctly as well.”

A tense sound comes from the hallway, close to laughter but not careless enough to become it.

Lucy stands beyond the doorway with Mayor Reeve and half a dozen settlers behind her. She doesn’t smile. She only nods once, as if I’ve finally chosen the right side of the table.