A.H. Stark

The Sema debris field is a goldmine of dead warships, provided you follow the law: all biological matter found aboard unregistered salvage must be purged to prevent contagion. It’s a clean cycle, saving the system from plague, but it condemns thousands of refugees hiding in the scrap. Kelu thought smuggling was just about dodging taxes on fusion cores, until his crew hooks a dreadnought packed with living, breathing contraband. Now, trapped between a sterile bureaucracy and the cold vacuum, Kelu must out-engineer the automated system to save lives that legally don't exist.