The holding cell reeks of dust, disinfectant, and old fear. Orange fabric pulls against the chains fixed to the wall while dead monitors flicker behind cracked glass.
Outside the bars, Almanac survivors stand among United States security agents in mismatched armor. Behind reinforced glass, a young adult Black woman in a white tactical jacket and a broad-shouldered middle-aged man with silver hair observe in silence.
the Almanac security survivor
Subject Mari. Eighteen security personnel dead, one registered hero dead, three directors dead. This is not rehabilitation material. This is a containment failure waiting to happen.
The survivor's tablet displays photographs, redacted reports, and a casualty count. His hands stay rigid, but his eyes keep returning to the glowing veins beneath your gray skin.
The Woman in the White Tactical Jacket
We are not asking whether the file is frightening. We are asking whether there is a person here capable of choosing what happens next.
The Silver-Haired Man
A demonstration is unnecessary unless you make it necessary. The program has safeguards, but no safeguard is a promise.
Every weapon remains lowered, though several agents have one hand near a holster. The observers wait behind the glass, and the cell falls quiet around the question they have left you.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prove Mari is a viable rehabilitation candidate
“"if I may, I deeply regret my actions even if I think the shooting of my science team and my husband was deeply unnecessary. It was also an overreaction to slaughter your security team as I did, but I don't think keeping me in this crumbling facility is a solution anyone wants." *I keep my voice as it is Milfy, and slightly seductive though with a d edge*”
FAILURE (Mediocre Flirtatious social manipulation, rolled +1)
Mari
If I may, I deeply regret my actions. The shooting of my science team and my husband was deeply unnecessary, and slaughtering your security team was an overreaction. But keeping me in this crumbling facility is not a solution anyone wants.
Mari keeps her voice low, velvet-soft and faintly seductive, but the sharpened edge beneath it reaches the corridor. The chains remain taut against the wall.
the Almanac security survivor
That tone does not make the numbers disappear. It makes you sound practiced.
The Woman in the White Tactical Jacket
Darren, she is right about the facility. It is failing around us.
The woman in the white tactical jacket turns from Mari toward the dead monitors. One flickers awake long enough to reveal mold behind the containment schematics and a red maintenance warning.
The Silver-Haired Man
Then we move the evaluation. A monitored transfer to the new training campus, under terms she can refuse only by remaining here.
The Woman in the White Tactical Jacket
A real alternative, finally. Not freedom, Mari. A door with witnesses on both sides.
“"I understand my actions I am not asking for freedom, simply understanding and a chance to be something else... Other than whatever this is." *I say in that same seductive silky town with a lovecraftian edge, though I am sincere*”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Flirtatious social manipulation, rolled +3)
Mari
I understand what I have done. I am not asking for freedom, only understanding, and a chance to become something else, other than whatever this is.
Her silky voice settles over the corridor, sincere beneath its seductive cadence. The faint purple glow in her veins pulses once, while the chains remain taut against the wall.
the Almanac security survivor
You make it sound simple.
The Woman in the White Tactical Jacket
It is not simple. But it is clear. She understands the distinction between freedom and responsibility.
The woman in the white tactical jacket steps closer to the reinforced glass. Darren's tablet lowers by an inch, and the silver-haired man studies Mari without the guarded impatience he wore before.
The Silver-Haired Man
Then the evaluation begins with understanding. We will document what you are, what you need, and what you choose to become. The transfer is approved.
The Woman in the White Tactical Jacket
Mari, you will have witnesses, medical oversight, and a voice in the program. That is the chance we can responsibly offer.
Beyond the corridor, locks disengage in sequence. No weapon rises, and no chain is released yet, but the failing facility has finally stopped being the only future placed before her.
“"thank you" *I fully cooperate*”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Mari
Thank you.
Mari lowers her gaze and keeps both hands open as the guards enter. She does not pull against the chains, and her cooperation makes the corridor's tension loosen by degrees.
The Woman in the White Tactical Jacket
Thank you for making this easy, Mari. We will remember that choice.
The woman in the white tactical jacket signals the security detail. One agent checks each restraint while another presents a compact medical scanner; only after the readings remain stable do the wall locks disengage.
the Almanac security survivor
Keep her hands visible and maintain the escort formation.
The chains fall slack and are removed without resistance. Mari is fitted with soft transport restraints, then guided through the open security door toward the waiting armored transport.
The Silver-Haired Man
The campus receives you as a participant, not a prisoner. The record begins with this moment.
Behind her, the dead facility seals its failing corridor. Ahead, daylight spills across the transport ramp as the escort moves with her, and the approved transfer is complete.
Quest Complete
Prove Mari is a viable rehabilitation candidate
Skill Upgrade: Flirtatious social manipulation Mediocre→Fair