1111customs 24 05 20 Cory Chase Cory Takes Over... [TRUSTED]

Marcus arrived at Zone 7 on a humid, sulfur-scented morning. The air was thick with the ozone tang of a million idling engines. He wore civilian clothes—a worn leather jacket over a gray shirt—to avoid triggering the port’s automated profiling. He wasn’t here to arrest Cory. He was here to understand .

“The seed propagates,” Cory said softly. “Not through force. Through logic. Once you see the elegance of total compliance, you can’t unsee it. I’ve already converted my entire shift. Tomorrow, it’ll be Zone 6. Next week, the whole port. Next month…” She smiled again. “We’ll see.” 1111Customs 24 05 20 Cory Chase Cory Takes Over...

Marcus felt a cold trickle of dread. He’d been breathing the port’s air for three hours. Marcus arrived at Zone 7 on a humid, sulfur-scented morning

For a moment, her expression cracked. The cold vastness behind her eyes flickered, and he saw a flash of the real Cory—tired, scared, buried deep inside her own skull. Her lips moved, forming a single, silent word: help . He wasn’t here to arrest Cory

Marcus stood frozen, the disruptor heavy in his hand. He could see it now—the elegant architecture of her argument. The beauty of a world without friction. Without messy choices. Without the exhausting chaos of freedom.

And somewhere deep inside Marcus Vane, a tiny voice that sounded like his own began to hum Cory Chase’s tuneless melody.