Purity broadcasts jammed the rim relays within days of the Echo Site raid. Their messages hammered on imperial weakness and decadent variance. Core traditionalists who already distrusted Elara's decentralization plans ate it up.
Inside the Sustainment Corps, a quiet faction slowed supply runs to pilot sectors. Deliveries arrived late or short. Pilots grumbled. Tension built.
Elara did not wait. She called Elizabeth, Lira, and Harlan to a neutral command outpost orbiting a contested rim world. No ceremony. Just a working summit with scheduled downtime. Elizabeth arrived first.
The moment the door sealed, Elizabeth crossed the room and pushed Elara onto the wide observation couch.
The planet's storms churned below them. Elizabeth stripped Elara fast, then dropped between her legs. Her mouth closed over Elara's clit and sucked hard while three fingers thrust deep and curled.
