Vandar did not send a delegation aboard the Steady Hand.
Not officially.
Officially, it sent an authorized station authority contact group to External Reception Compartment One under restricted protocol.
Athena appreciated the distinction.
Jack appreciated that Vandar cared enough to make one.
The Steady Hand remained at the edge of Vandar's controlled space, still outside full docking permission, still under observation, still obeying every restriction no one could physically enforce. The captured Iron Vow and five escort craft had been moved into Vandar-controlled evidence anchorage under joint telemetry lock. Prisoner transfer was complete. Medical transfer was complete. Salvage review had begun.
No one had fired.
No one had panicked publicly.
No one had tried to be impressive at the wrong time.
For a first contact with a frontier society facing an unknown super-dreadnought, Jack considered that a substantial achievement.
Athena stood beside him in holographic form as they watched the station cutter approach the Steady Hand's external reception collar.
"Delegation composition confirmed," she said. "Administrator Helene Voss. Security Chief Brakka. Registry Officer Kessa Marr. Commander Sarel Dane as naval representative."
"Captain Marrek isn't coming?"
"No. The Shield of Vandar remains at defensive anchor. Sending her captain aboard us would be politically and militarily unwise."
"Good."
Athena's mouth curved faintly.
"You sound approving."
"I am."
"They are continuing to act sensibly."
"Good habit."
"Rare habit."
"Also true."
The station cutter crossed the restricted boundary at low speed. Its telemetry remained open. Engines minimal. Weapons cold. Shields at station-standard transit level. Four life signs aboard matching declared identities. Two security pilots remaining with the cutter. No hidden boarding team. No active scan beyond navigation and safety confirmation.
Professional.
Careful.
Afraid.
Jack did not hold that against them.
Fear was not the problem.
Fear making decisions alone was the problem.
The cutter locked into the reception collar with a dull structural vibration that traveled faintly through the deck.
Athena's eyes shifted.
"Hard seal confirmed. Pressure equalized. Vandar requests permission to cycle inner hatch."
"Granted."
"Granted."
Jack turned away from the command display.
He wore the same dark utility clothing he had chosen since waking. No dress uniform. No armor. No medals. Sidearm present but secured.
Athena had objected to the sidearm for exactly eight seconds.
Then agreed that appearing unarmed aboard his own ship would look performative rather than reassuring.
Security Unit Three waited outside the reception compartment in plain shipboard security attire. No rifle. No helmet. No heavy armor. He stood beside the bulkhead with the exact stillness of someone who had not yet learned how unsettling exact stillness could be.
Jack stopped beside him.
"Status?"
"Reception path secure. No hostile indicators from Vandar delegation. Translation support active. Medical standby available. Emergency isolation doors responsive."
"Good."
Security Unit Three paused.
Then asked, "Should I greet them?"
Jack looked at him.
Athena looked very interested.
"Do you want to?"
The unit processed for half a second.
"I do not know."
"Then yes," Jack said. "Briefly. Professionally."
"Purpose?"
"Courtesy."
Another pause.
"Clarification. Courtesy has tactical value?"
"Yes."
Athena's expression suggested she was recording every syllable.
Jack continued, "But that isn't the only reason to do it."
Security Unit Three turned his head slightly.
"Clarification pending."
"That one takes time."
"Accepted."
The inner hatch opened.
Vandar entered the Steady Hand.
Administrator Voss came first.
That was deliberate.
Jack respected it.
She was human, late forties, gray-threaded hair pinned practically, station authority uniform clean without vanity. She carried no visible sidearm, though Jack assumed at least one hidden weapon and several emergency transmitters were present.
Brakka followed half a step behind and to the left.
Broad, dense, mammalian, gray-furred jaw, security armor marked with Vandar authority lines. She wore a sidearm openly because pretending otherwise would have insulted everyone's intelligence.
Kessa Marr entered third, severe and sharp-eyed, carrying a slim slate and the expression of someone who trusted paperwork more than people because paperwork at least admitted when it had blanks.
Commander Sarel Dane came last.
Coalition Navy. Controlled posture. Uniform immaculate. Eyes immediately measuring corridor angles, hatch thickness, floor vibration, Security Unit Three, Jack, Athena's hologram, and every visible sign that the Steady Hand was not built like any ship he knew.
Good officer.
Nervous.
Also good.
Security Unit Three inclined his head.
"Welcome aboard the Steady Hand."
The four visitors stopped for less than a breath.
Not because the greeting was strange.
Because the speaker was.
Voss recovered first.
"Thank you."
Brakka studied Security Unit Three openly.
Kessa marked something on her slate.
Dane's expression stayed professional, but his shoulders tightened by a fraction.
Jack noticed all of it.
So did Athena.
"Administrator Voss," Jack said.
"Captain Al'Trades."
They did not shake hands.
Not yet.
Different cultures. Different expectations. Unknown contamination protocols. Unknown insult potential.
They both chose not to make the first diplomatic incident a hand gesture.
Excellent.
Jack gestured toward the reception compartment.
"Please."
The room beyond had been prepared carefully.
A reinforced table.
Six chairs.
One wall display showing Vandar's external approach zone with sensitive Steady Hand systems removed.
One sealed observation slit behind transparent armor.
No weapons on display.
No banners.
No trophies.
No throne.
Athena had called the arrangement "professionally non-threatening."
Jack had called it "a room."
Athena had won, because her phrase was more accurate.
The visitors sat after Voss did.
Jack sat opposite her.
Athena remained standing beside him.
That was also deliberate.
Kessa noticed.
Voss noticed Kessa noticing.
Good.
The meeting began without ceremony.
Voss folded her hands on the table.
"Captain, thank you for receiving us under restricted conditions."
"Thank you for establishing them."
That earned the smallest pause.
Voss's eyes sharpened.
"You approve?"
"Yes."
"Most captains dislike restrictions."
"Most captains are not arriving in an unknown jurisdiction aboard a super-dreadnought."
Dane looked at him more directly.
Voss leaned back slightly.
"You accept that classification."
"It is accurate enough."
"Enough?"
Athena answered softly.
"Local classification lacks several relevant subcategories."
Kessa's mouth tightened.
"Such as?"
"Strategic independent vessel. Self-sustaining expeditionary super-dreadnought. Carrier-integrated autonomous fabrication-capable command platform."
Silence.
Brakka gave Jack a look.
Jack gave Athena one.
Athena looked innocent.
Kessa slowly wrote something.
Voss closed her eyes for half a second.
"Captain," she said, "for the purposes of Vandar not developing a collective migraine, we will continue using super-dreadnought-scale strategic asset."
"Reasonable," Jack said.
Athena smiled faintly.
"I accept the simplified terminology."
Kessa muttered, "Generous."
Athena looked pleased.
Jack decided not to intervene.
Not yet.
Voss turned to the first official matter.
"Medical transfer. All seven rescued captives remain alive. Two are stable. Three are serious but improving. Two remain critical but responsive to treatment."
Jack nodded once.
"Good."
"Your medical summaries prevented errors."
"That was the intent."
"Our doctors noted species-specific caution flags included in your packet despite your admitted unfamiliarity with local biology."
"Athena extrapolated carefully."
Athena inclined her head.
"And asked when uncertain."
The reptilian trauma consultant's earlier comment had apparently traveled upward, because Voss's expression shifted slightly.
"Yes," she said. "That was noticed."
Brakka spoke next.
"Prisoners were transferred without incident. No mistreatment indicators so far. Several were more afraid of Ashborn authority than station custody."
Jack did not react outwardly.
"Athena's data suggests the same possibility."
Voss's eyes moved to him immediately.
"Possibility?"
"Not conclusion."
"Good."
Jack approved of the word.
Brakka did too, judging by the grunt.
Voss continued, "You recovered data from the Iron Vow."
"Yes."
"How much?"
Athena answered. "Enough to indicate the Iron Vow was not operating as an isolated pirate vessel. Fuel routes, repair access, false salvage claims, courier drops, and encrypted identifiers suggest external support or network dependency."
Dane leaned forward slightly.
"External support from whom?"
"Unknown," Athena said.
Brakka's eyes narrowed.
"Ashborn?"
"Possibly. The term appears in recovered identifiers and prisoner language. However, current confidence is insufficient to distinguish ideology, faction name, historical label, threat marker, or coerced affiliation."
Kessa looked up from her slate.
"That is unusually cautious."
Athena's pale eyes shifted to her.
"Incorrect certainty is inefficient."
Jack almost smiled.
Almost.
Voss did not smile, but something in her expression approved.
"Vandar has Ashborn-linked criminal files," Voss said. "Most are fragmentary. Some contradict each other. Some are political garbage with official formatting. Some are probably true."
"That matches our current uncertainty," Athena said.
Jack looked at Voss.
"You do not treat the term casually."
"No," Voss said. "Because casual labels kill people."
The room settled around that.
Another mark.
Another datapoint.
Voss was not simply competent.
She was careful where care mattered.
Dane shifted the conversation.
"Captain, Naval Defense reviewed the sanitized telemetry you released."
"I assumed."
"Your vessel disabled the Iron Vow and its escorts with extreme precision."
"Yes."
"You redacted weapon details."
"Yes."
"Your right."
"Yes."
The naval commander's jaw tightened briefly.
"Captain Marrek asked me to convey that the redactions were professionally infuriating."
Athena smiled.
"Please convey that his frustration is understood and appreciated."
Dane stared at her.
Brakka made a low sound that might have been amusement.
Jack looked at Athena.
She ignored him.
Dane continued, "He also asked whether your vessel carries a spinal anti-capital weapon."
"No," Jack said.
Dane blinked.
He had not expected a direct answer.
Then Jack added, "Not in the way you mean."
Dane became very still.
Voss turned her eyes toward Jack.
Kessa stopped writing again.
Athena's expression did not change.
Dane spoke carefully.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning your question assumes local naval architecture."
"And yours does not."
"No."
Dane absorbed that.
The room's temperature seemed to drop.
Jack did not elaborate.
He had answered truthfully.
That was enough.
For now.
Voss intervened before curiosity became stupidity.
"Commander, we are not here to extract weapons schematics."
"No, Administrator."
She looked back to Jack.
"Captain, Vandar does not require your classified weapons data as condition of restricted status. However, if your vessel deploys major systems inside our perimeter without warning, we will respond as if under existential threat."
"Understood."
"Will you provide prior notification before any major system activation?"
"Yes, unless immediate defense of life prevents it."
"That exception is broad."
"Yes."
"Necessary?"
"Yes."
Voss studied him.
Then nodded once.
"Accepted as provisional wording."
Kessa marked it.
The registry officer's turn came next.
"Restricted Provisional Independent status has been approved. Public administrative handling will use Independent Heavy Vessel to avoid civil instability. Restricted internal classification remains SDN-scale strategic asset."
Jack nodded.
"Accepted."
"You may not accept open contract board work. You may not solicit station personnel. You may not provide third-party military repair services. You may not deploy armed craft inside Vandar control without authorization except immediate defense of life."
"Understood."
"You keep agreeing."
"They are reasonable restrictions."
Kessa looked at him sharply.
"You understand they are largely unenforceable."
"Yes."
"Then why agree?"
"Because jurisdiction matters even when enforcement is difficult."
Kessa's expression shifted.
Not trust.
Not warmth.
Assessment.
"That is either principled or very sophisticated manipulation."
"Yes."
Brakka gave a short laugh.
Voss looked almost pained.
Kessa stared at him.
"That was not comforting."
"It was accurate."
Athena looked delighted.
"He does that."
"I noticed," Kessa said.
The conversation moved through salvage, escrow, evidence holds, temporary identity file creation, communications protocol, and berth restrictions. It was tedious. It was necessary. It was exactly the kind of work that made civilization possible while everyone else complained about boredom.
Jack answered what he could.
Athena clarified what he missed.
Voss watched both of them.
By the end of the administrative section, the visitors had learned several things.
Jack did not bluff when he did not need to.
Athena was not a passive interface.
The Steady Hand's restraint was deliberate doctrine, not weakness.
And no one in the room had enough categories for what had arrived at Vandar.
Then Voss asked the question she had been holding.
"Captain Al'Trades, what do you want?"
Jack did not answer immediately.
Good question.
Necessary question.
Difficult question.
Athena turned her head slightly toward him.
He looked toward the sealed observation slit. Beyond it, Vandar's lights were distant, layered, and fragile.
"I want information," he said.
Voss waited.
"I want lawful status sufficient to operate without destabilizing your station. I want to understand the region, its laws, its conflicts, and its people. I want the recovered captives safe. I want the Iron Vow's data analyzed properly. I want to know whether the network behind it is an immediate threat to civilian traffic."
Kessa watched him over her slate.
Brakka's expression had gone still.
Dane listened like a man filing each word for future naval review.
Voss asked, "And after that?"
Jack looked back at her.
"Then I decide what responsibility requires."
The answer was quiet.
It did not make the room more comfortable.
Voss's eyes stayed on him.
"Responsibility to whom?"
"To the people affected by what I choose."
No one spoke.
For a moment, even Athena seemed stiller than usual.
Then Brakka said, "That is a dangerous answer."
"Yes."
"You know that?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Voss leaned back slowly.
"I believe you mean it."
Jack said nothing.
"I also believe that may create larger problems than if you were lying."
Athena smiled faintly.
"You may be correct."
Voss looked at her.
"That was not reassurance."
"No," Athena said. "It was precision."
Kessa muttered, "I am beginning to hate that word."
The meeting ended with no handshake, no oath, no grand agreement, and no trust.
It ended with structure.
Restricted status confirmed.
Prisoners under Vandar custody.
Evidence under shared review.
Medical cooperation established.
Telemetry channels defined.
Future meeting authorized.
When the Vandar delegation stood, Security Unit Three waited outside the compartment.
As they passed him, Brakka stopped.
The mammalian security chief studied him openly.
"You stopped your unit when the prisoner spat near the hatch."
Security Unit Three turned his head.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Escalation was unnecessary."
"Who decided that?"
"I did."
Jack, standing behind them, did not move.
Athena's expression softened.
Brakka stared at the unit for another second.
Then nodded.
"Good call."
Security Unit Three paused.
"Assessment acknowledged."
Brakka's ears shifted slightly.
"Not assessment. Compliment."
Another pause.
"Compliment acknowledged."
Brakka looked at Jack.
Jack said nothing.
She looked at Athena.
Athena looked unbearably pleased.
Brakka grunted and continued toward the hatch.
After the delegation departed, the reception corridor fell quiet.
Security Unit Three remained beside the sealed collar.
Jack stopped next to him.
"You did well."
"Assessment?"
"Also compliment."
The unit processed.
"Compliment acknowledged."
Athena's voice was softer than usual.
"We may need to teach him how to say thank you."
Jack looked toward the sealed hatch where Vandar's cutter had been.
"Yes."
"Soon?"
"Soon."
Outside, Vandar Station continued turning through the dark.
Inside, reports began moving again.
Administrator Voss would write hers.
Commander Dane would send his to Marrek.
Kessa Marr would update a registry category that still did not fit.
Brakka would mark Security Unit Three as a person-shaped question.
And somewhere in the Gold-tier channels, Aria Vale and Nessa Elion were about to receive enough telemetry to make boredom impossible.
Law had become contact.
Contact had become conversation.
Now conversation would become attention.