Athens Moonglo's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Athens Moonglo stood outside the guild hall, watching the narrow window close. She had one chance to walk through that door and offer the guild master what he didn't yet know he needed. After that, he'd find the skimmer himself, and her trade route would die before it started. She checked the position of the sun. The skimmer would be at the west docks for another hour, loading cargo under false tallies. That gave her time. The envelope under her arm held three weeks of observation — timestamps, discrepancies, witness schedules. She'd watched the pattern until it became predictable. Now she would trade that patience for access to the fabric suppliers she couldn't reach on her own. Inside, the guild master sat at his work desk, eyes fixed on the screen tracking trade numbers. Behind him, the vault stood open. Maps and cargo ledgers lined its metal walls, each route color-coded by region. Athens recognized the northern corridor immediately — the one she needed. The one currently bleeding profit through someone else's hands. She stepped forward and placed the envelope on his desk. He looked up, then at the papers she'd already spread across his keyboard. His finger stopped scrolling. The screen showed the same route she'd documented, the same shortfalls he'd been questioning all week. Athens didn't speak. She'd already made her decision. Now she waited for him to make his.