Credence
Dust-Broke – Poor in money and prospects
“Ain’t just broke. Dust-broke.”
Sun-Mean – Heat that makes people violent
“Careful today. Sun’s mean.”
Dry Oath – A promise made when survival’s on the line
“That’s a dry oath. Don’t break it.”
Grave-Fresh – Recently dead; trouble likely nearby
“Ship’s grave-fresh. Guns ready.”
Credence Clean – Honest by necessity, not law
“I don’t cheat partners. Credence clean.”
Spine-Tested – Proven under pressure
“You’re spine-tested? Then you ride.”
Helios Reach Station
Dock-Slick – Politely dishonest
“Sounds dock-slick. Check the fine print.”
Credit Air – Artificial wealth that feels unreal
“Too much credit air in this deal.”
Station-Pale – Someone who never leaves orbit
“You look station-pale. Touch dirt.”
Ring Rush – Peak trade hours
“Wait till after ring rush.”
Helios Quiet – Unnatural silence; alarms imminent
“That’s Helios quiet. Something’s wrong.”
Trade-Blessed – Fortunate without effort
“Lucky bastard’s trade-blessed.”
Iron Pass
Hardspar
Cindermere
On-Brand – Cruel but efficient
“Yeah, that firing was on-brand.”
Compliance Smile – Forced politeness
“Give ’em the compliance smile.”
Iron-Tight – No flexibility, no mercy
“Security’s iron-tight today.”
Sparred – Overworked or burned out
“I’m hardsparred to hell.”
Cinder-Clean – Evidence erased via extreme measures
“That site’s cinder-clean.”
Bottom Clause – The hidden line that ruins lives
“Read the bottom clause.”
Zephyria
Wind-Owned – Under cartel control
“That dock’s wind-owned.”
Soft Storm – Negotiation before violence
“We offer a soft storm first.”
Feathered – Marked for death
“He’s feathered. Time’s ticking.”
Clean Sky – No witnesses
“We leave a clean sky.”
Borrowed Air – Living on cartel mercy
“You’re breathing borrowed air.”
Zephyr Oath – Promise enforced by reputation alone
“Break it, and the wind remembers.”
Free-Flying – Truly independent
“No contracts. Free-flying.”
Crew-Fit – Trustworthy
“She’s crew-fit.”
Rust-Lucky – Surviving through bad ships and worse odds
“Still alive? Rust-lucky.”
Share the Burn – Everyone takes risk equally
“No heroes. Share the burn.”
Ghost-Family – Former crew, scattered or dead
“I fly with my ghost-family.”
Wide Horizon – Freedom, opportunity
“Chasing a wide horizon.”
Reach Marshals
Badge-Heavy – High authority presence
“Area’s badge-heavy.”
Paper Kill – Ending someone legally without violence
“We’ll paper kill the syndicate.”
Gray Call – Morally unclear decision
“That was a gray call.”
Cold Serve – Arrest without mercy
“Serve it cold.”
Line-Held – Law maintained under pressure
“We held the line.”
Badge Burn – Career-ending incident
“One more mistake’s a badge burn.”
Azure Sprawl
Neon-Broke – Poor but pretending not to be
“You look neon-broke.”
Sprawl-Tired – Mentally exhausted from overstimulation
“I’m sprawl-tired. Lights hurt.”
Signal-Rich – Connected, influential
“That fixer’s signal-rich.”
Ghost Crowded – Surrounded but alone
“City’s ghost crowded tonight.”
Blue Noise – Constant background chaos
“Ignore it. Just blue noise.”
Fade Down – Lay low digitally and socially
“Fade down till morning.”