Galactic Exchange: The Merchant Sovereign-Chapter 95: The Scent of Betrayal

The moment Su Jin stepped out of the warp gate onto the towering megastructure orbiting the red dwarf star, he could smell it.

Opportunity.

And danger.

The massive station—Lacara Prime—hummed with energy. It was a hub of commerce, intelligence, and sin, each corridor filled with merchants, mercenaries, and manipulators. Entire floors were dedicated to alien biospheres and species-specific accommodations. Bioluminescent advertisements in dozens of languages floated above his head, offering everything from high-yield starfuel to genetically optimized concubines.

For Su Jin, it wasn’t just another stop. It was a trap cloaked as a trade negotiation.

And he had walked into it willingly.

The Grand Exchange Hall, where the meeting was set to take place, loomed like a cathedral to greed. Holo-crystals danced along the domed ceilings, replaying historic trades from across the centuries: a rare Arcturian stardust deal that saved a collapsing empire, the infamous Seldran silk embargo that led to the collapse of five planetary economies, and more. Now, it was his turn to make history—or survive it.

Su Jin walked in alone, wearing a dark cosmic-thread robe tailored with armor-grade nano-fibers. His movements were measured, eyes sharp. Every sensor node on his body suit was active. He had no intention of trusting anyone—not here.

Waiting at the center of the hall was a woman with shimmering silver-blue skin, her body adorned with translucent data-veils that pulsed with encrypted information. Her name was Irelia of the Vey’kar, a negotiator, weapons broker, and rumored to be a shadow asset for the High Nexus Conglomerate.

"Trader Su Jin," she said, her voice layered in six harmonic tones. "The Sovereign Merchant of the Vortex Route."

Su Jin stopped a few paces away, watching her. "Let’s skip the flattery. You called me here for a proposal. Let’s hear it."

Irelia smiled with thin lips. "Straight to the void, I see. Very well."

She waved her hand, and a massive starmap lit up around them in a translucent sphere. It depicted a region of space known as the Dark Fringe—a volatile sector riddled with gravity wells, shattered moons, and drifting black-market installations.

"We have discovered an ancient Sarnathi Vault," she began. "Intact. Unpillaged. Located here." She pointed toward the core of the map, where a pulsating red dot appeared. "We’re offering you first access."

Su Jin narrowed his eyes. "Why me?"

"You’ve survived six assassination attempts in the last two cycles. Outsmarted both the Crimson Guild and the Drekk Syndicate. You’ve even bartered a truce between warring noble clans on Arverion-5 using only ten crates of honeyed starlilies."

Irelia stepped forward. "You’re... a trader who doesn’t fear death. That makes you valuable. It also makes you expendable."

There it was—the scent of betrayal. Honest, cold, and calculating.

Su Jin smirked. "And what’s your angle?"

Irelia’s voice dropped. "We need someone with your clearance to bypass the vault’s ancient AI protocols. You get in, you get the loot. We get the data cores. It’s a clean split."

"And if I say no?"

The doors to the Grand Exchange sealed with a hiss. Around the perimeter, holographic statues suddenly flickered, revealing combat droids with plasma-etched blades.

Irelia’s smile widened. "Then we conduct a different transaction. One where your remains are sold to necrotechs."

Su Jin’s trading interface bloomed in front of him, silently pulsing.

[Cosmic Trading System Activated]Threat Level: High.Options available: 3

Barter for time using information.

Call in a favor from Rak’Shal the Reclaimer.

Trade the AI core of the Exiled Prophet for instant teleportation.

He chose Option 2.

Moments later, the temperature in the hall dropped ten degrees. A rumble, low and ancient, echoed through the chamber as a swirling vortex of void-colored mist coalesced behind Irelia. From within it stepped a hulking figure—armor made of sun-shards, a blade forged from forgotten oaths. Rak’Shal.

"I owe this human three favors," Rak’Shal intoned. "Do you wish this to be one?"

Irelia’s smug expression faltered, then vanished altogether.

Su Jin nodded. "Yes. Protect me. Break the rest." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The next ten seconds were a blur of destruction. Combat droids were reduced to smoldering scrap, and even the air itself seemed to flee as Rak’Shal carved through space like a god of war. When silence returned, only Su Jin, Irelia—injured but alive—and the still-pulsing starmap remained.

"You could’ve killed me," Irelia whispered, blood dripping from a gash along her cheek.

"But I didn’t," Su Jin replied. "That’s my trade. Risk and mercy."

He leaned close. "Tell your Conglomerate: I’m not just a trader anymore. I’m building an empire."

Then he turned and walked out, Rak’Shal silently following.

Back on his ship—the Void Serpent—Su Jin paced across the command deck, his mind whirling.

The Sarnathi Vault wasn’t just a rumor. It was real.

And it wasn’t about treasure.

It was about something else.

Legacy.

Knowledge.

Power older than recorded time.

He activated his comms. "Echo, prepare a crew. We’re heading for the Dark Fringe."

Echo, the ship’s sentient AI, replied with her usual dry tone. "Very well. Shall I inform the planetary authorities of our imminent disappearance?"

"Make it look like we’re heading for the Golden Belt sector instead."

"And the team?"

"Call in the best," he said. "And by best, I mean the ones who owe me."

Hours later, in the dim glow of the command lounge, Su Jin met with the hand-picked crew. Among them:

A blind Korlari engineer with an echolocation cybernetics rig.

A former pirate queen turned security expert.

A clone assassin with a defect—conscience.

A mute technomancer whose fingers glowed with data runes.

Each of them had been part of trades gone wrong—or right—where Su Jin had saved their lives. Now, they returned the favor.

"The Sarnathi Vault," Su Jin began, showing them the starmap. "It’s older than galactic law. Older than the system. It contains archives and relics no civilization has touched in over a million cycles."

He paused.

"But it’s not unguarded."

No one spoke. They knew the risks. The payoffs. The possible oblivion.

"I won’t lie," he said. "We may not return. But if we do... we return with something that could reshape the cosmos."

The assassin raised a hand, two fingers forming a silent V. Agreement.

The rest nodded, their fates sealed.

Su Jin stared out into the void.

His journey was no longer just about trade routes, credits, or even survival.

It was about reaching into the unknown...

...and coming back with fire.