Vasa spread the armory records across the science ward's long table, leaving each page under a numbered weight. The lines formed a quiet trail from failed sponsor contracts to seven anchor facilities, with Rook's emergency code stamped at every handoff.
Nox stood at the end of the table in the new reinforced coat. It still felt wrong to wear something that had not been patched by Citadel hands, but the fabric did not pull against the tender channels beneath his ribs.
"Show us the first record that cannot be explained as disposal," he said.
"A contracted fire champion defaulted on her patron debt. The sponsor core was classified as unstable, moved from hospital storage, and delivered to the combustion anchor under a calibration permit," Vasa said, tapping an entry dated four months before the Merge.
"That could still be disposal. Maybe anchors use dead cores as fuel," Kendra said, reading the next sheet over Vasa's shoulder.
