The planning session was held in Sera's quarters—the only place Elara could safely be.
Jax, Finn, Sera, and Elara sat around the small table. The tension was thick enough to choke on.
"Walk us through it," Jax said. All business. No emotion.
Elara pulled up holographic schematics on a stolen tablet. "SSS Headquarters, Level 1. Genetic database is in sublevel 3, high security zone. Biometric scanners every ten meters, AI surveillance, armed guards."
"Impossible," Finn muttered.
"Difficult," Elara corrected. "But Dr. Chen has clearance to access database for 'maintenance.' If we can get him to grant us remote access during his legitimate session, we can inject the virus without ever entering the building physically."
"And you trust this Chen?" Jax asked.
"No. But I trust his desperation. He owes 200,000 credits to the Wong Syndicate. They're threatening his family. We pay that, he gives us access."
Sera nodded slowly. "How long do we need?"
"Thirty minutes. Virus needs time to replicate through the system, corrupt all records simultaneously."
Finn leaned back. "And when Authority notices the corruption?"
"They will. Immediately. But by then it's done. Can't undo without rebuilding the entire database from scratch, which would take months. And they don't have clean backups—I made sure of that when I had access."
Jax's eyes sharpened. "You sabotaged their backups? When?"
"Six months ago. Small corruptions, spread over time. They won't realize until they try to restore." Elara met his gaze. "I've been preparing for this longer than you know. Even before the exposure, I was building contingencies."
"Why?"
"Because I knew I'd eventually have to choose. And I knew which side I'd choose."
Finn scoffed. "Convenient story."
"Finn," Sera warned.
"No, they're right to be suspicious," Elara said. "I'd be suspicious too. That's why I'm giving you this." She pulled out another data chip. "Full access to my SSS files. Everything I know, every contact, every security protocol. Use it to verify my claims. Use it to find flaws in my plan. Use it however you want."
Jax took the chip. "We'll vet everything. If we find inconsistencies, if anything smells like a trap, we walk away."
"Understood."
They spent three hours going through the plan. Elara answered every question with precise detail. Finn poked holes, Jax stress-tested assumptions, Sera asked about consequences.
By the end, even Finn had to admit it could work.
"We'll need a team," Jax said. "People we trust. Each with specific skills."
"I have a list," Elara offered.
"No. We choose the team. People who've earned our trust." The implication was clear: not you.
Elara nodded. "Of course."
The meeting ended. Finn left first, then Sera. Jax and Elara remained, separated by three feet and an ocean of broken trust.
"This doesn't fix anything," Jax said. "You know that, right? Even if we succeed, even if we free every Gamma on this station—it doesn't undo what you did."
"I know."
"Then why do it?"
"Because it's right. Because I can. Because—" She stopped, started again. "Because I loved you enough to lie to the SSS for two years, I can love you enough to give you freedom even if you hate me forever."
Jax stood. "I don't hate you. That would be easier. I just... I don't know what I feel. Except angry and betrayed and somehow still—" He cut himself off. "It doesn't matter. We have work to do."
He left before he could finish the sentence.
Before he could admit that somehow, impossibly, stubbornly—he still loved her too.
Even broken. Even lying. Even now.
And he hated himself for it.