Author: Stargrace

I hesitated before plugging in, hovering over the comms for a second longer than necessary. Leadership Fireside Chat. I’d heard people talk about it, but this was my first time actually listening in. I set my ship to idle and let the channel open, unsure what to expect.

The voices came through warm and easy, far less formal than I’d imagined. Each head of the Signal Cartel departments took their turn, talking about the year—what they’d worked on, what they’d learned, where things were headed. It felt less like a briefing and more like sitting in on a conversation I was being quietly invited into.

There were jokes almost immediately. Someone teased Xalyar about how much they liked to talk, and the laughter that followed felt familiar even though I’d never heard it before. When Vega came up, there were comments about them always having a Signal Cartel wiki link ready to go at a moment’s notice. I didn’t know all the context yet, but I laughed anyway. The tone made it easy.

Then came the numbers. Wormholes tended. Signatures watched over. Routes maintained. And the rescues—how many pilots the 911 program had pulled back from places they thought were the end. Hearing it all out loud made it real in a way that reading reports never quite does. So much quiet effort, spread across so many systems, all adding up to something that mattered.

When Anoikis Division came up, I found myself leaning closer to the speakers. Tamayo spoke about it carefully—about redacted, about more redacted after the eviction, about patience (which we all know I lack). AD recruitment was still paused, still finding its footing again, and there were hints that some things would change once it returned, including the requirements to join. I didn’t know what those might be and that uncertainty sat heavy in my chest. But underneath it was excitement, too. AD has always been something I’ve quietly dreamed about, and just hearing it spoken aloud made it feel closer… even if the path there might shift.

What surprised me most was how light the whole thing felt. Between the statistics were little side comments, laughter, the occasional overlapping voices or forgotten mute. No one rushed. No one postured. Just people who cared, talking about work they were proud of.

I sat there longer than I meant to, listening, absorbing it. Feeling, for the first time, like I could really hear the shape of the corporation I’d joined.

When the channel finally went quiet, I stayed plugged in for a moment, staring out into space.

I think I finally understood.