The server bay of the Orbital Grid Annex shudders under emergency lights. Heat crawls up the walls, and a coolant line hisses somewhere behind the racks.
Rosa Lewis crouches beside an open diagnostics panel, portable scanner in one hand, multi-tool in the other. The cabinet is warped, the readout flickering in angry red.
Gal Incognito
You fix that relay now, engineer. I am not dying in this dump because the power budget collapsed.
At the far end of the aisle, Gal Incognito paces in her charcoal trench coat, posture bent, voice crackling with strain. Her disguise keeps slipping under the strobing lights, more silhouette than certainty.
The server stack is spiking past tolerance. One more surge and the whole bay will dump.
Gal Incognito
Rosa, talk to me. Can you stabilize it, or do I start pulling breakers?
A warning klaxon rises a half-step higher. The rack doors vibrate. Something in the overheated core is seconds from giving way.
✓ Quest Accepted
Stabilize the failing server bay
“Tell Gal Incognito that "From now on you and the other women will have to use either Rosemary or myself as a reference for character creation".”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Rosa Lewis
From now on, you and the other women use either Rosemary or me as a reference for character creation.
Gal Incognito
Rosemary, huh? That is a strange little rule.
Gal Incognito
But fine, Rosa Lewis. If you are asking me to anchor the others to a steadier face, I can work with that.
Gal Incognito
She steadies herself on the rack, eyes narrowing at Rosa, then at the trembling cabinet.
The server bay hum settles from a shriek to a rough, contained buzz as Rosa's words land. The warning lights keep flashing, but the rack vibration eases a fraction.
Gal Incognito
You picked a bad time to become memorable, engineer. Still, I hear you.
A sharp cough of hot vapor bursts from the ruptured coolant line, stinging the air and forcing both women to blink. Gal lifts a hand to her mouth, then lowers it, waiting on Rosa's next move.
“I ask Gal to reroute the power draw”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Rosa Lewis
Rosa asks Gal to reroute the power draw.
Gal Incognito
Gal snorts once, then nods toward the main bus. “Yes. Give me the load map, and I will shave the nonessential bays down before this whole annex cooks itself.”
Rosa angles the scanner display toward her, and the cabinet’s vibration ticks down another notch as Gal leans in beside her instead of hovering back in the aisle.
Gal Incognito
Gal watches the numbers with a thin, practical focus. “You do not waste motion, do you? That is a rare sort of mercy in a crisis.”
She reaches past Rosa, taps the amber-lit relay order, and the server bay answers with a steadier hum. The steam thins to a drifting veil over the floor grating.
Gal Incognito
“I can keep the rack alive if you keep feeding me honest readings,” she says, mouth quirking beneath the disguise. “Between us, that is almost a decent team.”
For a beat, the warning lights still flash, but the room stops feeling like it is falling apart. Gal holds Rosa’s gaze, waiting to hear what line she wants rerouted next.
Quest Complete
Stabilize the failing server bay
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Great→Superb