Marked for Caution

As soon as the other side's restart completed, the connection was automatically cut off.

With that, I didn't have to do much cleanup afterward, making it a surprisingly easy close.

"With this, I can make us passes to go enter the first cluster zone!" Nyssra cheered from beside me, spinning in her seat with excitement.

"Then get on it," I said. "You can do it here, now, right? I need one extra passkey too, so hand it over once you're finished."

"Ye—wait, what?" She froze mid-spin, clearly confused. "Two separate clearance keys...?"

"Yep." I nodded with conviction, rising to my feet. "We have our tail, remember? If they get blocked at the border, we lose the leverage they provide. We need them moving with us, not stuck behind."

The second passkey would be used by the Shadowless Hawks—our pursuers. Without it, they might hesitate at the boundary, knowing how much resistance they'd face crossing without clearance.