Story code: ST-001201
Part 4: The Neutral State Seal
Vance’s threat hung in the air at Counter Three. He stood straight again, smoothing his vest, though his knuckles remained white. Near the lobby exit, two of his corporate security guards appeared, standing by the sliding glass doors with their hands resting near their utility belts.
The crowd noticed the guards. The whispers began again, but now the prospectors were backing away from the counter, clearing a wide space around the Hendersons. No one in the lobby wanted to be caught near a corporate enforcement action.
“We have a choice to make, Nate,” Elena said. Her voice was steady, though her shoulders were rigid as she kept her back to the guards.
“I am listening,” I said, keeping my hands visible on the desk.
“If we register this claim to our name right now,” she said, looking at the terminal screen, “we can’t mine it without fuel. And we won’t make it past the docking bays if the transport lines are closed to us.”
Mark Henderson reached out and touched the brass token. His rough skin scraped against the scratched metal. He looked at me, then spoke for the first time since the accusation began. “Register it to the state pool.”
Vance stiffened, taking a half-step forward. “You’d throw away a high-yield claim?”
“If it goes to the state pool,” Elena explained to the room, her voice carrying to the back rows, “the registry locks the sector for five years. No private corporation can touch it, and no independent can mine it. It becomes public research territory.”
“You’re bluffing,” Vance said. “You’ve spent three years prepping that site.”
“Process the relinquishment, Nate,” Mark said, his voice quiet but resolute.
I pulled up the state pool transfer form on my screen. “This action is irreversible, Mr. Henderson. Once the brass token is stamped with the neutral state seal, the sector V-309 registry is locked. You will lose all personal mining rights to the sector.”
“Do it,” Elena said.
I positioned the heavy metal stamp over the brass token inside the scanner cradle. With a firm downward push, the stamp clicked, engraving the neutral state seal directly over the old sector numbers. The green lights on my monitor turned a solid, flat grey. The database updated instantly: *Sector V-309: Relinquished to Vesta-4 Public Pool.*
Vance stared at the screen, his face pale. He looked at the token, then at the Hendersons. Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked toward the lobby doors, gesturing for his security guards to follow him. The crowd parted quickly to let them through.
“The transfer is complete,” I said. I unlocked the security gate beside Counter Three and pointed toward the door behind me. “You can use the private side-exit corridor. It leads directly to the public tram line.”
Elena picked up the stamped brass token, its high-yield value now completely erased by the grey seal. She slipped it into her coat pocket. Mark nodded to me once, his shoulders slightly hunched. They walked through the gate and into the quiet corridor, their footsteps echoing off the metal walls as the heavy security door slid shut behind them, leaving them free but without a claim to their name.