Word spread faster than formal channels.
The open exchange between Sera and Tohu had not been announced, but it had not gone unnoticed, either. In the Outer Continuum, when two of their standing ceased to use intermediaries and spoke their own names over residual authority, the surrounding layers noted the shift in pressure. The intermediaries logged the change. The minor Houses adjusted their attention maps. And at least one opportunistic interest decided that contested inventory was only contested until someone faster put their hand on it.
That interest came from the Grey Veil Compact – a loose, acquisitive coalition which specialized in claiming unattended anomalies before stronger powers had resolved their arguments. They did not care for Tohu's old assignment, not for Sera's pride. They cared that nine coherent survivors of a concluded lower design sat under disputed coverage while their two primary claimants measured each other.
