Galactic Exchange: The Merchant Sovereign-Chapter 99: The Whisper Auction

The auction chamber’s silence was deafening.

It wasn’t that no one was speaking. In fact, the attendees of the Starborn Consortium’s underground auction were as animated as any group of political predators and economic tacticians might be. But voices were low, murmured in cryptic languages, shielded by personal silencers or neural encryption fields. Everyone had something to hide—and something even more valuable to gain.

Raidan stood in the private observation deck assigned to him by the Nova Merchant’s Circle—a subtle but public recognition of his status as one of the most promising sovereign traders in the new galactic quadrant. It was a power move from the consortium, no doubt. They were acknowledging his rising influence, while simultaneously placing him under the scrutiny of the upper echelons of galactic economics.

Behind the reinforced one-way plasteel window, the auction floor stretched like a gladiator’s arena of commerce. Each item rested on a central display platform surrounded by four concentric rings of seats, separated by security drones and time-dilation bubbles. No single bidder could interfere with another’s mind-field. Everything was controlled, sterile, and calculated.

But power? That bled through every inch of the place.

Yena stood to Raidan’s left, arms folded, scanning the attendees through her bio-oculars. "At least five war profiteers. Two empire-endorsed privateers. And... damn, that’s a psychic from the Mardok Syndicate."

Raidan followed her gaze. A tall, expressionless woman floated inches above her seat, fingers splayed, her eyes faintly glowing blue. The Mardok Syndicate didn’t show up for minor prizes. That alone made Raidan’s gut tighten.

"She’s here for the stasis core," Erix muttered from the console. He was interfaced with the observation deck’s AI, pulling live data from transactional feeds, heart rate sensors, and nano-psych profiles.

Raidan frowned. "I thought the stasis core was just a prototype."

"It is," Erix said, "but it’s not the tech that matters. It’s where it came from. The Mardok want it because it originated in the dead zone."

Yena snapped her fingers. "The one near the Aetherium Rift?"

"Exactly. Nothing survives there. But this thing did."

Raidan’s eyes narrowed. The auction hadn’t even started, and already the stakes were climbing to dangerous heights.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed. A silence even more profound than the previous one fell across the chamber as the auctioneer emerged—a humanoid AI in gilded black, its voice a calm, synthetic whisper that vibrated inside the minds of everyone present.

"Welcome, Sovereigns. Tonight’s offerings are beyond material. They are paradigm shifts. Let us begin."

A blue ripple of light bathed the central platform. The first item hovered silently: a black cube, humming softly, covered in indecipherable glyphs. The AI continued:

"Item One. An intact AI fragment believed to predate the Fourth Collapse. Conscious. Untamed. Noncompliant. Estimated value: ∞."

That symbol—a sideways 8. Infinite value.

The first wave of psychic bids crashed in almost instantly. Several bidders winced as the cube responded with tendrils of electromagnetic noise, whispering into their skulls. One collapsed outright and had to be teleported out.

"Too soon," Raidan said grimly. "They don’t even know what it is."

"They don’t care," Yena replied. "It’s not about the tech. It’s about having it before anyone else does."

The bid kept rising. A single pulse from the Mardok psychic swept across the room and silenced every other bidder. Her offer was accepted without verbal confirmation. The cube disappeared into a shielded vault.

"One down," Erix murmured. "Next one’s the weaponized time filament."

Raidan leaned forward. "That one’s ours."

He’d spent three weeks securing that item through a third-party broker in the Obsidian Exchange. A nanothread laced with temporal particles capable of slowing down time within a ten-meter radius. It could shift the balance in skirmishes, infiltrations, or even elite duels.

The moment the filament appeared, three seats lit up in crimson.

Raidan’s HUD identified them instantly:— Fleet Admiral Korr, Outer Meridian Conglomerate— Blacksite Director Vezz of the Polaris Directive— And... Cassien Vel Thorne.

Raidan felt his pulse spike. Cassien Vel Thorne wasn’t just a sovereign trader—he was the trader. A legend. A myth. He hadn’t been seen in person for over a decade. His appearance in the auction meant that everything was suddenly different.

Yena hissed under her breath. "Vel Thorne’s here? Damn it. Do we withdraw?"

"No," Raidan said, standing up. "We double down."

On the bidding floor, things escalated fast. Vezz threw down a compressed star core as collateral. Korr offered partial dominion over three border moons. Vel Thorne simply raised a finger.

And the bidding ended.

The AI confirmed: "Item transferred to Sovereign Vel Thorne. Payment: Void-class Trade Credit. Value unmeasurable."

Raidan’s jaw tightened. "A Void credit?"

Yena turned to Erix. "Is that even legal?"

"It’s not about legality," Erix said. "Void-class credits are issued by the Arcane Treasury. They’re backed not by value—but by influence. That credit note alone could collapse a starbank."

Raidan sat down heavily. "This auction’s spiraling beyond high-tier commerce. This is prelude to war."

The next item came out—and this time, the AI hesitated.

"Item Three: The Aether Shard. Origin—undocumented. Contains living code. Conscious. Rejects unworthy owners. Warning: three previous claimants failed initiation and were disintegrated."

The lights dimmed further as the shard floated midair. It gleamed in spectral hues, impossible to describe. Raidan could feel it looking at him.

No one moved.

No one bid.

Until the Mardok psychic raised both hands.

Then Vel Thorne stood up.

And Raidan—against all logic—stood as well.

From their platform, the bidding protocols switched to a Trinary Challenge. Rare. Risky. And deadly.

The AI explained, "This item will select its wielder. Three claimants may attempt resonance. Failure will result in rejection. Proceed?"

Vel Thorne gave a small nod. The psychic hovered forward silently. And Raidan, pulse racing, walked toward the teleport pad.

Yena yelled behind him, "What are you doing?"

"Answering a call," Raidan muttered. "This isn’t about trade. It’s about destiny."

The platform rematerialized into a sealed chamber of absolute silence. The shard hovered at the center, pulsing.

First, the Mardok psychic stepped forward. She reached toward the shard. It shimmered... then howled in a frequency that made Raidan’s brain bleed. In an instant, she disintegrated into molecular mist.

The chamber dimmed. A single tone rang out.

One rejected.

Vel Thorne stepped up. Calm. Collected.

He touched the shard.

And for a moment—it responded. Glowed bright.

Then it went dark.

Vel Thorne frowned for the first time in decades. He stepped back, face unreadable.

Two rejected.

Now it was Raidan’s turn.

His fingers trembled slightly as he reached out. The shard waited. No sound. No flare.

And then... it pulsed.

Not violently. Not dramatically.

But warmly.

It slid into his palm, weightless, humming softly in tune with his thoughts.

The AI’s voice whispered into the chamber:Item accepted. Resonance confirmed. Owner: Sovereign Raidan Vallis.

Back in the main chamber, the stunned silence broke into frenzied whispers. Raidan reappeared on the observation platform, the shard hovering obediently behind him like a loyal pet.

Yena stared at him like he’d grown a second head. "You... actually claimed it?"

Vel Thorne turned slightly toward Raidan and smiled—not with arrogance, but with something like... recognition.

"You’re early," he said, his voice like gravel wrapped in silk. "But maybe that’s what we need."

And then he vanished, teleporting out of the chamber without another word.

Raidan slumped into his chair, sweat soaking through his coat. "What the hell just happened?"

Erix’s voice was quiet. "You didn’t just win an auction. You stepped into the endgame."