Rohan bowed his head slightly, the way Bryan had drilled into him.
"Captain Odris, I am seeking single-passenger outbound berth consideration during this Tradefall. I have prepared external-value materials, standing witnesses, and supporting documentation for formal review."
Bryan would be proud.
Assuming he did not faint from hearing the phrase delivered without visible stabbing intent.
Odris placed a hand over his heart.
"Very well spoken. I look forward to reviewing your petition with the care it deserves."
Care.
Rohan heard the trap inside the kindness but could not yet see its shape.
"Thank you," he said.
Liora’s fingers brushed his sleeve once, a brief grounding touch.
Then Tradefall began.
The landing flats became a temporary city within two hours.
Merchant pavilions unfolded from compact crates into elegant structures of pale fabric and metal ribs. Scanning arches rose near the cargo lanes. Guard posts were established with portable barriers. Weighing platforms hummed. Translation pylons clicked and adjusted. The shuttle returned to orbit and another descended, then another, each bringing more goods, people, and equipment.
Veyrhold’s carts were directed into holding lanes.
The first insult came before midday.
A merchant assessor declared three tubes of storm-silver "atmospherically unstable" and offered half the projected rate. Bryan did not shout. He simply rolled forward, produced records from the last four Tradefalls, cited Odris’s own previous purity standards, and asked whether the Gilded
Heron was declaring its past assessments fraudulent.
The assessor paled.
The rate improved.
Bryan looked deeply disappointed that the man did not fight harder.
The second insult came at the medical exchange pavilion, where a clerk attempted to bundle fever draught components with luxury dye lots, insisting the supply categories had changed due to "route scarcity adjustments." Iri smiled so calmly that Rohan feared for everyone nearby, then explained in a voice like a knife wrapped in cloth that fever draught components had been listed as survival goods under the standing ash charter for sixty-eight years.
The clerk checked three slates and discovered an error.
Iri did not thank him.
Throughout the day, Rohan watched.
He watched merchant guards rotate between pavilions every two hours. He watched empty containers move from the raw resource lane back toward the shuttle staging area. He watched waste reclamation crates sealed with red bands and loaded separately. He watched private crew stores arrive in smaller grey cases that passed through lighter scans than Veyrhold cargo.
Bryan’s list became a living thing in his mind.
Empty container return: high access difficulty, moderate scan, low Veyrhold trace if reached from merchant side.
Guard rotation: impossible without uniform, high identification risk.
Waste reclamation: low desirability, possible biohazard, strong sealing.
Private crew stores: lighter scans, heavy guard familiarity.
Damaged equipment transfer: irregular schedule, technical access required.
Medical quarantine: morally unacceptable, high risk to Veyrhold medical supply.
Atmospheric shuttle maintenance: possible during night cycle, high mechanical hazard.
He did not act.
He observed.
The Great System rewarded observation in the most unnerving way possible.
[Approach Analysis Updated: Alternative Boarding]
[Information Acquired: Merchant Cargo Rotation]
[Information Acquired: Scan Arch Placement]
[Information Acquired: Guard Shift Pattern]
[Warning: Current Success Probability Unknown]
Unknown.
Not low. Not impossible.
Unknown.
That was somehow worse.
On the second day of Tradefall, Rohan’s passage petition was accepted for preliminary review.
The central pavilion smelled faintly of citrus and clean fabric.
That alone made Rohan uncomfortable.
The interior was absurdly pleasant compared to anything in Veyrhold. Pale rugs covered the black glass floor. A heating unit kept the air warm without smoke. A refreshment tray held sliced fruit in sealed glass cups. The merchant clerk seated across from Rohan wore a soft blue coat and an expression of professional sympathy.
Captain Odris attended personally.
So did Bryan, Elder Sava, Maerin, and Liora as witness escort.
Rohan appreciated their presence more than he could say.
Odris reviewed the petition on a glowing slate.
For several minutes, no one spoke.
Rohan kept his hands still on his knees.
At last, Odris looked up.
"Mr. Roy, this is a remarkable file. Truly remarkable. In only a handful of local months, you have gathered external-value assets, contributed to high-risk expeditions, and earned formal support from Veyrhold’s leadership. I do not often see such determination."
Rohan inclined his head.
"Thank you, Captain. I have had strong reasons to work quickly."
"I can imagine. Your circumstances are listed here as unusual. Non-native arrival, no shipblood lineage, unclear point of origin." Odris’s eyes softened theatrically. "It must have been frightening to find yourself here."
"It was."
"And yet you adapted. Admirable."
Bryan’s pen moved softly.
Odris continued.
"Now, as to outbound berth consideration. The Gilded Heron does sometimes provide humanitarian passage under special cases, and your petition certainly qualifies as special. However, there are several complexities."
There it was.
Rohan felt everyone in the room tense.
He kept his voice steady.
"What complexities?"
"First, identity verification. You possess no recognised interstellar citizenship record, no origin registry, no compatible biometric archive, and no sponsor from a lawful receiving station. Transporting an unregistered person into civilised lanes can create legal complications."
"I understand that," Rohan said. "Would provisional transit status solve that issue?"
Odris’s brows lifted slightly.
Bryan had taught him that phrase too.
"It can, under specific circumstances. But provisional transit requires bond coverage, medical clearance, and receiving authority approval."
"Can the Gilded Heron request receiving authority approval while in orbit?"
"In theory, yes."
"In practice?"
Odris smiled gently.
"In practice, response times can be unpredictable."
Meaning no.
Rohan kept breathing evenly.
"What is the next complexity?"
"Payment structure. Your assets are impressive, but much of their value is locally derived and would require conversion."
Bryan spoke before Rohan could.
"External grade storm-silver, glassmaw jawbone, and sealed skarn cores are not locally derived in the sense your clerk used that term last cycle. They are recognised resource categories under your own tariff appendix."
Odris turned his smile toward Bryan.
"Master Bryan, always a pleasure. Your memory remains formidable."
"My ledgers are better."
"Indeed. Still, market fluctuations are significant this route. Storm-silver has softened in value."
"Since yesterday?" Bryan asked. "Your assessor accepted three tubes at full appendix rate after review."
His words caused the whole room to pause.