The first indication of the nomad ship's approach wasn't the screaming of atmospheric entry it was the way the corrupted essence in Kael's meridians suddenly stabilized, the constant low-grade pain from his recent procedure fading to nothing.
Kael pressed himself deeper into the shadows of the collapsed mining platform, his enhanced senses cataloging every detail as the sleek vessel descended through the toxic atmosphere. The ship bore the flowing script and star-wind patterns of the Stellar Nomad clans, its hull designed to catch and channel stellar radiation rather than simply resist it.
As the vessel settled onto the makeshift landing pad, Kael felt something he hadn't experienced since before Nethys Prime's essence mines failed, his cultivation base responding eagerly to ambient energy. The air itself seemed to shimmer with potential, and he could sense his meridians drawing in essence with an efficiency that should have been impossible on this dying world.
The ship's power source, Kael realized, watching other survivors unconsciously drift closer to the landing pad. It's not just providing energy for the vessel, it's creating a cultivation field.
Around the landing area, he could see the effects rippling outward. An elderly woman who had been hunched over her walking stick suddenly straightened, her eyes clearing as trace amounts of essence strengthened her failing body. A young man's infected wound began visibly healing as his natural recovery systems found energy to work with. Even the dying vegetation near the pad seemed to perk up slightly.
Interesting timing, Kael thought, noting how his recent procedure's aftereffects were being completely suppressed by the ship's field.
The vessel settled onto the makeshift landing pad with practiced efficiency, its landing struts adjusting to the uneven surface. Kael counted the crew as they emerged: twelve nomads in flowing robes that seemed to shift color with their movements, led by an elderly man whose casual bearing couldn't quite mask the controlled power in his step.
Elder Chen Wei, if Kael's identification was correct based on the ship's clan markings, moved like water finding its level effortless, adaptive, but with hidden depths. The other nomads began unloading cargo containers while their elder surveyed the gathering crowd of desperate survivors with eyes that missed nothing.
"Citizens of Nethys Prime," Chen Wei called out, his voice carrying clearly despite the toxic wind. "The Star-Wind Fleet brings trade and goodwill. We seek only fair exchange and safe passage."
The survivors pressed forward, clutching whatever valuables they had managed to preserve. Kael watched as generations of family heirlooms crystallized essence medallions, cultivation manuals bound in star beast leather, even children's toys enhanced with minor essence arrays were laid out like offerings before gods.
Chen Wei examined each item with professional courtesy, but Kael could see the mathematical precision behind the elder's apparent kindness. Every exchange was calculated: a handful of nutrient bars for a cultivation manual worth ten times that on any civilized world, basic medical supplies for essence crystals that could power a small city.
"The strong take what they can," Kael murmured to himself, watching a woman trade her grandmother's jade essence focus clearly a family treasure for enough water purification tablets to keep her children alive another month. "The weak give what they must."
It wasn't cruelty, exactly. The nomads weren't lying about the value of their goods, and they were providing genuinely needed supplies. But the information asymmetry was absolute. These survivors had no idea of galactic exchange rates, no understanding of what their possessions were truly worth beyond Nethys Prime's dying surface.
A lesson in market positioning, Kael noted. And in the value of being the party with superior information.
The trading continued for nearly an hour, with Chen Wei maintaining his grandfatherly facade while systematically acquiring cultivation resources worth a small fortune. Kael was beginning to plan his approach how to present himself as a valuable trade partner rather than another desperate survivor when movement from Serpentis's laboratory complex caught his attention.
Dr. Serpentis emerged from his compound, followed by two of his remaining assistants carrying carefully sealed containers. Unlike the desperate survivors, Serpentis approached the nomads with the confidence of an equal conducting business between professionals.
"Elder Chen," Serpentis called out, his voice carrying the formal tone of established commercial relationships. "I trust your journey through the Crimson Path territories was uneventful?"
Chen Wei's expression shifted subtly, the grandfatherly mask replaced by something more calculating. "As uneventful as one can hope, when carrying cargo certain parties would find... interesting."
Kael's enhanced hearing caught every nuance of the conversation as Serpentis gestured toward his containers. "The samples you requested are prepared. Three sets of tissue cultures, bone marrow extracts, and essence channel mapping data. The subject's compatibility with corrupted advancement has exceeded all projections."
My tissue. My bone marrow. My essence channels.
The realization hit Kael like a physical blow, though he kept his expression neutral. He wasn't just Serpentis's test subject he was inventory. The doctor had been preparing to sell biological samples derived from Kael's unique physiology to off world buyers.
"Fascinating," Chen Wei murmured, accepting one of the containers and examining its contents with tools that emerged from his sleeves. "The Solar Throne's medical research division will find this most illuminating. They've been seeking new approaches to corrupted essence integration ever since the Void Walker conflicts."
"Indeed. And this is merely the preliminary data. The subject himself represents far greater potential, once proper documentation is complete."
Chen Wei nodded slowly. "The buyers will want verification of stability. Corrupted advancement subjects have a tendency toward... explosive failure."
"Not this one. Four days of intensive testing, zero rejection responses. His neural implant has been recording every physiological response, we have complete biometric data on his adaptation process. And his psychological profile suggests optimal compliance for extended research."
Kael felt his cultivated emotional control waver slightly. They were discussing him like livestock, evaluating his market value based on how well he'd survive extended experimentation. The casual professionalism of it was almost worse than outright cruelty.
But information is power, he reminded himself, forcing his breathing to remain steady. And now I know what they're planning.
The transaction concluded with Chen Wei transferring a small pouch of crystalline objects essence crystals of a quality that made the survivors' traded goods look like children's toys. Serpentis accepted the payment with satisfaction, clearly pleased with the exchange rate.
"The full documentation will be ready when your buyers arrive?" Chen Wei asked.
"Within the month. Though I confess, I'll be somewhat sad to see the end of such a productive research relationship."
The end. The words carried weight beyond their surface meaning. Serpentis wasn't planning to sell Kael he was planning to sell data about Kael, then eliminate the source to maintain exclusivity.
Chen Wei was preparing to depart when he paused, his gaze sweeping across the landing area with apparent casualness. For a moment, his eyes seemed to linger on Kael's hiding spot, though the nomad elder gave no sign of detection.
"Elder Chen," one of the survivors called out desperately, "please is there any word of evacuation ships? When will the Transport Guild return?"
Chen Wei's expression grew sympathetic, but his words carried an undertone of finality. "I fear there will be no more evacuation runs, honored survivor. The Solar Throne's mining rights for this system expire next month. After that..." He shrugged eloquently.
The crowd's reaction was immediate gasps of horror, desperate pleas, offers of even more treasures for passage off world. But Chen Wei was already boarding his ship, his business concluded.
Kael remained motionless until the nomad vessel disappeared into the toxic sky, processing what he'd learned. Nethys Prime wasn't dying by accident or neglect it was being abandoned according to schedule. The Transport Guild's withdrawal, the mining company's departure, even the skeleton crew's gradual reduction all planned, all timed to minimize the Imperial bureaucracy's responsibility for the survivors.
Administrative efficiency, Kael thought with dark appreciation. Let the contracts expire, withdraw support gradually, and nobody can be blamed for the inevitable outcome.
But more immediately relevant was his new understanding of his position in Serpentis's plans. The doctor had been grooming him not just as a test subject, but as a product. All those enhancements, all that care in preserving his health it was quality control for a commodity.
Time to revise my approach.
Kael had been planning a careful, patient manipulation of his captor. Now he realized that patience was a luxury he couldn't afford.
Serpentis had given him access to the laboratory's systems, confident in his control over the situation. But the doctor had made a critical error he'd enhanced Kael's capabilities while underestimating his intelligence.
The strong take what they can, Kael repeated to himself, slipping back toward the laboratory complex. Time to discover exactly how strong I've become.
As he moved through the shadows, Kael thought he caught a glimpse of knowing eyes watching from the nomad ship's observation deck. But when he looked again, there was nothing but starlight and the endless dark between worlds.