Elara met Dr. Chen in a maintenance corridor on Level 3, neutral territory where neither SSS nor Free Level had eyes.
He arrived nervous, glancing around like a trapped animal.
"Elara Quinn," he said. "You're wanted for treason."
"I know. You came anyway."
"You said you could help my sister."
"I can." She pulled out a medical vial. "Serenex-7. Three months' supply. Enough to stabilize her condition."
His hands shook as he reached for it. She pulled it back.
"After we talk," she said.
Chen's face hardened. "What do you want?"
"Thirty minutes of database access. During your next authorized maintenance window."
"That's treason. They'd execute me."
"They'd execute you if they found out. But they won't. I know the security protocols better than anyone. I designed half of them. I can make sure there's no trace."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm giving you this first." She handed him the vial. "For your sister. No strings. She's dying, and the system you serve denies her treatment. We don't. We give first."
Chen stared at the vial. At her. "This is real?"
"Real medication, real cure. Give it to her today. When she improves, you'll know we deliver on promises."
"And if I refuse to help you after?"
"Then your sister lives and we find another way. I'm not going to let an innocent woman die to pressure you. That's what Authority does. We're better than that."
Chen's eyes filled with tears. "They're letting her die because she's not important enough. Not Alpha enough. And I have to watch, helpless, because following the rules means watching my sister suffocate slowly."
"I know. I'm sorry. But we can change this. Not just for your sister. For everyone who's been denied care because of genetic markers. Help us break the database, and the caste restrictions fall. Everyone gets treatment. No more death sentences for being born wrong."
"You're asking me to betray everything I've sworn to protect."
"I'm asking you to betray a system that's already betrayed you. Your sister. Every person denied humanity because of genetics." Elara met his eyes. "You're not a bad man, Chen. I worked with you. I know you care. But you've been serving evil people. You can stop. You can help us burn it down."
Chen clutched the vial. "If I do this—if I help you—they'll know it was me eventually. I'll lose everything."
"Maybe. Or maybe you'll be part of the revolution that frees this station. Maybe you'll be a hero instead of a bureaucrat who watched his sister die." She paused. "Either way, she lives. That's what matters, right?"
Chen was silent for a long moment.
Then: "Next maintenance window is in five days. I'll give you remote access, but only thirty minutes. After that, I lock you out and claim the system was compromised before my session."
"Deal."
"And Elara?" He looked at her with something like respect. "Whatever you're doing, whatever this is—I hope it works. I hope you burn it all down."
She left him there with the medication and the weight of treason.
Five days until the heist.
Five days until everything changed.
She reported back to Jax: "We're in."
He nodded. No smile. No relief. Just acknowledgment. "Good work."
It wasn't forgiveness.
But it was something.
Progress, maybe.
Or just two broken people using each other to break something bigger.
Either way, the heist was on.
Freedom or death.
Five days away.