Chapter Four

SecUnit reunites with Pin-Lee, Ratthi, and Gurathin to plan Mensah's rescue. They devise a fake ransom exchange to force GrayCris to move Mensah outside the main security barrier where SecUnit can track her implant. When GrayCris representative Serrat arrives with a gun and attempts to abort the exchange, SecUnit disables him and learns that Mensah is actually being transported via transit pipe, forcing an immediate scramble to intercept her.

SecUnit books a hotel room and meets with Pin-Lee, Ratthi, and Gurathin to discuss freeing Mensah from GrayCris corporate headquarters. SecUnit explains that direct assault would be suicidal due to GrayCris jurisdiction beyond the main security barrier. The group settles on a plan: offer GrayCris a false ransom and arrange an exchange in the hotel, forcing them to move Mensah outside secure territory where SecUnit can track her via her company implant. SecUnit positions herself in the lobby to monitor security while the others wait upstairs. When GrayCris representative Serrat arrives, he accepts the meeting but quickly recognizes the ransom documentation as fraudulent. Serrat draws a concealed energy weapon and attempts to abort the exchange via comm device. SecUnit, monitoring from the corridor, disables the hotel's communication relays and enters the room, physically subduing Serrat and preventing him from signaling his backup. During the confrontation, Serrat reveals that GrayCris knows about SecUnit's role in exposing their operation at Milu and believes SecUnit is a rogue unit they must eliminate. Before SecUnit can decide whether to kill him, Mensah's implant suddenly pings—she is being transported via transit pipe, alive and mobile. SecUnit leaves Serrat unconscious, orders the humans to flee to their shuttle via alternate routes, and pursues Mensah's signal, shutting down her risk assessment protocols as she moves to intercept.