Relay Assembly
A council empowered to maintain passage, never to own it.
Each habitat appoints one delegate, but votes on emergency levies are weighted toward the communities supplying rescue ships and shelter. The Assembly publishes minority reports beside its decisions. A route closure must name a reopening test and the resources needed to meet it; indefinite emergency powers are forbidden.
The advance signal has exposed a flaw in that charter. A credible warning might justify closing every route, yet doing so would interrupt medical deliveries within days. Delegate Mara Sen proposes a limited test route with independent observers, guaranteed return berths and compensation for everyone whose journey is delayed.
Five inhabited systems share a network that has begun receiving tomorrow’s distress calls.
Archivists who certify which version of a message actually arrived.
An armed service whose charter puts recovery ahead of pursuit.
A transit mediator who trusts public records more than confident forecasts.
Five habitats agreed to pay for passage they could not individually guarantee.
A terraced ocean city whose public transport timetable doubles as its constitution.