Chapter 8: Casualty Figures from Sector 7-Aurek

The new case appeared in his queue at 1347.

He had just closed a class one — an agricultural output report from a southern colony cluster, figures within established tolerance — and the queue refreshed with the standard two-second delay before the next assignment populated. He pulled it open.

Case PVB-5503-A. Classification pending. Source material: two civilian field testimonies, one regional administrative summary from a colonial aid organization, cross-referenced against Imperial HoloNet broadcast record, Sector 7-Aurek, dated nineteen months prior.