Chapter 4: Whispers in the Wind

The tension from the confrontation had barely subsided as the woman led them to a long, battered metal table tucked into a quiet corner of the room, away from the prying eyes of the crowd. The metallic creak of Crystal's chair beneath her weight made her wince, though not as much as the way her nerves kept coiling tighter with each passing second. Her fingers tapped anxiously against her thigh, her gaze flicking between Asus and the woman, who now seemed far more relaxed than she had been a moment ago.

Crystal, on the other hand, could barely breathe.

Her instincts screamed at her to leave, to get out before Asus provoked anyone else into putting a bullet between their eyes. But despite her better judgment, she stayed, feeling the heavy air of unspoken hostility still lingering between them.

The woman leaned back in her chair, arms folding over her chest, and tilted her head with the same smirk she'd worn before, as if the near-brawl had been nothing more than an amusing game. "Alright, let's get this over with," she said smoothly. "You wanted to talk to me? Now, here I am."

Asus shifted slightly in his seat, his posture still confident, still composed, though Crystal could tell he was watching her carefully. He nodded once, voice calm but firm. "Asus Derringer," he introduced, his visor tilting slightly downward, as if assessing her just as much as she was assessing him.

The woman's smirk lingered. "Vira," she returned. "And I'm sure you've already figured out that I don't take kindly to anyone stepping into my territory uninvited."

Crystal felt the air around them tighten.

Asus didn't flinch. "I figured as much," he replied, his voice carrying that smooth, unreadable tone that made Crystal's nerves prickle. "You've got that whole do-not-cross aura about you."

Vira chuckled, low and unbothered. "I'd say it's more of a respect aura," she corrected. "But you're not wrong. I don't like people messing with what's mine." Her smirk faded slightly, her gaze sharpening. "So, what exactly are you here for, Major?"

Crystal's fingers twitched at the sudden change in Vira's tone.

Asus didn't miss a beat. "I'm looking for information," he stated plainly. "Something that'll get me where I need to go."

Vira raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "And you think I can help with that?"

"I think someone here can," Asus countered. His tone didn't shift, but Crystal could sense something underneath it—a quiet, deliberate push. "The Fringe is full of rumors, but I'm after something more substantial. I know this place isn't just a collection of misfits and exiles playing warlords in a rusted-out station. There's structure here. And I'm sure you know exactly how it works."

Crystal stole a quick glance at Vira, expecting her to bristle, to retaliate, but instead, the woman merely smirked, amusement flickering in her expression.

"You're right," she admitted after a moment, leaning back again. "This place does have a way of doing things. And you're right about something else, too. People here don't talk unless they want something." Her eyes darkened slightly, her amusement thinning. "Or unless they're willing to pay for it."

Crystal's stomach twisted. There it is.

Asus remained steady, but there was a sharpness to him now, an edge just barely hidden behind his visor. Crystal didn't like it. He was playing a game, a dangerous one, and the worst part? He knew it.

Vira exhaled slowly, her fingers tapping against the table. "You might want to think real hard about who you're willing to piss off, Major," she said, her voice lower, carrying weight. "Because this place? It's got rules. And breaking them?" She tilted her head slightly, her smirk returning. "That'll get you a lot worse than a death wish."

Crystal couldn't hold back any longer. "What kind of system are we talking about?" she asked, her voice quieter than she would have liked. She cleared her throat, trying to mask her unease.

Vira turned her attention to her, her eyes glinting with something that made Crystal very uncomfortable. "The kind that works," she said simply. She gestured vaguely around the room. "You think this is chaos? Nah. This is order. And the only thing more dangerous than the law?" She leaned in slightly, her smirk widening. "Are the ones who want to tear it down."

Crystal barely managed a nod, swallowing against the tightness in her chest. Her mind raced, trying to piece together what was being implied beneath the surface of this conversation.

Vira exhaled sharply, sitting up straighter. "Now, you've got your information," she said, voice carrying that same weight as before. "But if you want to walk away with it, you'd better make sure you don't burn too many bridges before you leave."

Asus finally shifted, leaning back slightly in his chair. "I'm not the one burning bridges," he said casually. "You're the one running this place, aren't you?"

Vira's gaze narrowed slightly. "That's a dangerous assumption."

"But an accurate one," Asus countered smoothly.

Crystal's stomach clenched. The conversation was flowing too well, too sharp—like blades sliding past one another in a slow, deliberate dance. She had no idea how the hell Asus was managing to provoke someone while keeping the conversation moving so fluidly.

Vira studied him for a long moment before letting out a quiet, almost approving laugh. "You're something else, Major," she mused. "I'll give you that. You've got guts, at least."

"And you've got the answers I need," Asus replied. "So let's not waste each other's time."

Vira tilted her head slightly before smirking again. "Fine." She pushed her chair back and stood up, motioning toward the far end of the room. "If you really want to talk, meet me in the back." She let her hand rest on her hip, her fingers close to the knife strapped to her belt. "But just remember—some deals around here cost more than just your time."

Crystal forced herself not to react, her pulse hammering as Vira turned and walked away. Just before disappearing into the back of the room, she cast one last glance over her shoulder—directly at Crystal—her expression unreadable.

Crystal inhaled slowly, barely keeping herself together as her gaze darted to Asus.

He didn't move, didn't shift, didn't so much as acknowledge the fact that the conversation had just teetered the line of friendly hostility for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Instead, he simply stood up, adjusting his gloves.

"Let's go."

Crystal exhaled sharply, pushing herself up, her nerves still buzzing.

She had no idea what they were walking into.

But she was beginning to suspect that Asus did.

The walk to the back of the room was slow, deliberate. Vira led the way, her boots clanking softly against the worn metal floor. Asus followed closely, his pace unhurried, while Crystal kept just behind him, her every nerve still frayed from the prior exchange.

The further they went, the quieter the room became. The sounds of murmured conversations, shifting chairs, and low laughter faded, replaced by a stillness that made Crystal's skin crawl.

Vira reached a door at the far end of the space and pushed it open, revealing a small, dimly lit room with a single table and three chairs. A thin metal panel covered the back wall, likely a concealed storage space, while a single, flickering overhead light cast their shadows long and uneven.

She gestured for them to sit.

Asus settled into his chair with the same casual ease as before, while Crystal hesitated for half a second before doing the same.

Vira remained standing for a moment, rolling her shoulders as if shaking off the weight of the conversation before finally dropping into her chair. She leaned back, stretching her arms over the top of the chair before letting them fall to the table with a soft thunk.

Then, silence.

It lingered between them, thick and pressing.

Vira tilted her head slightly. "Alright, Major. You got me curious. What kind of information does a Primordial soldier find himself digging for in my territory?"

Asus didn't hesitate. "I need details on an abandoned Primordial outpost."

Vira's expression remained unreadable, but her fingers tapped against the table in slow, rhythmic movements. "A Primordial outpost, huh?" She let the words hang, watching him. "That's interesting. Considering how your kind doesn't leave much behind."

Asus tilted his head slightly. "That's because we don't intend for anyone to find what we leave behind."

Vira smirked faintly. "And yet, here you are, looking for one."

Crystal stiffened slightly at the tension simmering beneath their words.

Asus leaned forward just slightly. "I assume you know the one I'm referring to."

Vira's fingers stilled. "I know of a place," she admitted, her voice smooth but careful. "But abandoned?" She let out a quiet chuckle, shaking her head. "That's a funny way to put it."

Crystal swallowed. "Meaning?"

Vira's dark eyes flicked to her before returning to Asus. "Let's just say… nothing the Primordials leave behind is ever truly abandoned."

Asus remained still, absorbing her words.

Crystal, however, felt her stomach knot.

Vira leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table as she studied Asus. "Let me guess. You were under the impression that you could just waltz in, poke around, and get whatever it is you're after?"

Asus didn't move. "I don't waltz."

Vira grinned. "Good. Because if you went in thinking you could, you wouldn't be coming back out."

Crystal really didn't like that answer.

Vira exhaled slowly, her amusement dimming just slightly. "Look, Major. If you're serious about this, then you need to understand what you're dealing with. That place? It isn't a graveyard. It's a warning."

Asus remained silent for a moment before finally speaking. "How much of it is still intact?"

Vira's smile faded. "Enough."

Crystal felt her pulse pound.

Asus's visor tilted ever so slightly. "And the security?"

Vira let out a slow breath. "Let's just say… no one who's gone sniffing around has ever come back talking."

Crystal's stomach churned. "Ever?"

Vira shrugged. "Maybe one or two. They didn't talk, but their bodies told enough of a story."

Silence.

Crystal clenched her hands into fists beneath the table, trying not to let the tension coil too tight around her ribs.

Asus sat back slightly. "So it's not a place someone just… strolls into."

Vira chuckled. "Not unless they have a death wish."

Asus nodded slightly, mentally acknowledging what he already suspected. This wasn't going to be easy.

Vira tapped her fingers again. "But since you seem so interested, tell me this, Major—why? What's so damn important that you're willing to put your head in a guillotine for it?"

Asus tilted his head slightly. "Let's just say… I have unfinished business."

Vira raised an eyebrow. "That's a vague way of saying you're walking into a trap."

Asus's voice was calm. "I like to think of it as walking into a challenge."

Vira snorted. "Call it whatever you want, but if you go in blind, you will die."

Crystal tightened her grip on the chair. "Then maybe we shouldn't go at all," she muttered, but neither of them acknowledged her.

Asus nodded once. "Then I won't go in blind."

Vira studied him for a moment before exhaling, rubbing her temple. "Hells, you Primordials really don't know when to quit, do you?"

Asus smirked slightly. "Quitting isn't part of the training."

Vira let out a sharp laugh at that, shaking her head. "Yeah, I figured as much." She leaned back again, watching him closely. "Alright, Major. If you're that dead-set on this, I'll give you what I know. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Asus gave a small nod, but Crystal barely processed it, her mind still racing.

Because if even someone like Vira—a woman who exuded confidence and control—was saying this place was suicide to enter…

Then what the hell were they about to walk into?

Vira exhaled deeply, rolling her neck as if deciding whether Asus was even worth the trouble. Her fingers drummed against the table again, slow, methodical, before she finally leaned forward, resting her arms on the metal surface.

"You know what, Major?" she said with a smirk that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'll be generous. This one's on the house."

Crystal blinked in surprise, but Asus remained perfectly still.

Vira's expression darkened slightly. "Not because I like you, or because I owe you anything—but because I don't think even you are making it out of that place alive."

Crystal stiffened at the bluntness of her words, but Asus gave only a slight tilt of his head, his body language signaling nothing but patience.

Vira tapped her temple. "You Primordials think you're untouchable, don't you? Unkillable." Her smirk widened slightly. "Well, here's your reality check—every single raid, every attempt, every poor bastard who thought they were smart enough to crack that place open? Gone. The ones who didn't die outright were never the same again."

Crystal's stomach twisted. "What do you mean?"

Vira didn't look at her. She was locked onto Asus, as if she was waiting for the moment he reconsidered.

But he never did.

She sighed, shaking her head. "Alright. Listen up, because I'm only saying this once."

She leaned in slightly, voice lowering.

"There's not much I can tell you, because there's not much to know. The outpost itself? Deep in a system that doesn't officially exist anymore. No name, no records. It got wiped from the logs a long time ago."

Crystal furrowed her brow. "Then how do you even know it exists?"

Vira gave a humorless chuckle. "Because idiots keep trying to get in."

She ran a hand through her short hair, her expression tightening. "Here's what I do know. The outpost was a Primordial facility. Not military, not a base of operations—something else. And whatever it was, it was important enough that even after you lot were wiped off the map, the damn place stayed locked down."

She tapped her finger against the table. "No one—not smugglers, not mercs, not even ex-military—has ever been able to breach it. The exterior defenses? Still active. No one knows who's running them, or what's running them, but those systems aren't on autopilot. They react. No set patrol routes, no timed triggers—just instinct."

Crystal swallowed hard. That was… unsettling.

Vira continued, "There's been dozens of attempts to crack it over the years. I've personally seen at least three major efforts, all of them backed by serious firepower, all of them led by people who thought they were smarter than the ones before them."

She leaned back in her chair, shaking her head. "You wanna know what happened?"

Asus didn't blink. "They failed."

Vira let out a sharp laugh. "Failed is putting it lightly. The first crew never even made it to the structure. Got clipped before they breached orbit. The second team? Actually landed—not that it did them any good. Got inside the perimeter, tripped something, and then? Poof. Gone. No bodies, no comms, no traces."

Crystal felt her heart sink further with each word.

Vira exhaled. "The third?" She clicked her tongue. "That one was ugly. They got in—barely. Don't know how, but they did. Managed to transmit a partial log before things went to hell."

Crystal's breath caught. "What did it say?"

Vira's expression grew unreadable. "It didn't make sense. Half of it was corrupted, and what little we got…" She hesitated. "Let's just say it sounded less like a report and more like rambling."

Asus's visor tilted slightly. "Rambling?"

Vira met his gaze, her expression serious. "The kind you hear when someone loses it. The guy was panicked—not scared of something chasing him, but of something that had already gotten inside his head."

Crystal really didn't like the sound of that.

Vira leaned forward, her voice quiet now. "The last thing he said before the comm cut out?" She tapped the table once.

"The walls have eyes."

Silence.

Crystal's blood ran cold.

Asus remained unreadable, but she knew him well enough now to sense the way he absorbed the information. His fingers had stopped moving. His posture had shifted just slightly. He was considering, calculating, processing.

Vira sat back, exhaling. "So, there you go, Major. That's what you're walking into." Her gaze sharpened. "And if you still think you're getting in and out of there like it's just another day in the field?"

She gave him a slow, knowing smirk.

"Then you're either the dumbest Primordial I've ever met, or the craziest."

Crystal wanted to scream at Asus to reconsider, to at least pause and think about it. But she already knew.

He wasn't going to stop.

Asus let the silence linger for a moment longer before finally, calmly nodding.

"Noted."

Vira exhaled, shaking her head. "Anyway. That's all I've got. You wanted the basics? There you have it. Doesn't mean a damn thing if you're still stupid enough to try."

Crystal sat stiffly, her throat dry.

Vira tapped the table once. "Now, take a minute. Think about whether you actually want to keep breathing before you go chasing ghosts."

With that, she sat back, arms crossed, watching as Asus digested every word in complete silence.

Asus let out a slow, deep sigh, the kind that carried weight—thoughtfulness, calculation, and something Crystal hoped was resignation.

Then, he stood.

Vira's lips curled slightly in a victorious smirk, her arms folding across her chest as she leaned back in her chair. "Smart man," she murmured, her tone practically dripping with satisfaction.

Crystal, barely realizing she'd been holding her breath, exhaled in relief. Finally. He was giving up. He was walking away. She wasn't going to have to watch him throw himself into some Primordial death trap.

But then—

Asus reached into a small pouch at his waist.

Crystal's relief froze in her chest.

With practiced ease, he flicked something between his fingers—a coin, smooth and silver, gleaming even under the dim, flickering light. Then, with a sharp flick of his thumb, he sent it flying toward Vira.

She reacted on instinct, her hand shooting up to snatch it out of the air. The clink of metal against her palm was sharp, the impact making her fingers curl around it automatically.

For a brief moment, her expression was pure surprise.

Then, she opened her hand and saw what it was.

The smirk on her face faded instantly.

Crystal, still standing beside the table, watched Vira's brow furrow, her lips pressing together as her fingers turned the coin slightly, the pristine silver surface catching the dim light just enough to reveal the faint, intricate engravings.

Even without knowing exactly what it was, Crystal knew.

It was important. It was valuable.

And judging by the way Vira's expression shifted, it was far more than she had expected.

A beat of silence passed before Vira let out a sharp, amused huff. "Well, well…" she murmured, turning the coin between her fingers. "Didn't peg you for the generous type, Major." Her voice had shifted—less victorious, more intrigued. "Pratimuum. Damn. You don't see these floating around often."

Crystal's stomach dropped. The highest value coin in the Primordial currency.

She had no idea how much it was worth, but if it had Vira caught off guard, it wasn't just a lot—it was enough to matter.

Vira cocked her head, a slow grin creeping back onto her face, but this time, it wasn't smug—it was calculating. "Alright," she drawled. "I'll bite. What exactly are you trying to buy, Major?"

Asus's voice was steady, unshaken. "I'm not asking for your help getting in," he said simply.

Vira raised a brow. "No?"

He shook his head. "I can handle that part."

Crystal stiffened beside him, her chest tightening. Oh, you absolute reckless idiot.

Asus continued, his tone darkening slightly. "What I can't do," he said, "is protect her."

Vira's grin faded slightly.

Asus nodded once in Crystal's direction, his visor tilting toward her, but his posture remained firm.

"I know you and your crew can."