A soft knock touches Kael Umal’s cabin door. Beyond the walls, the Star Streak keeps its low, rhythmic vibration, steady as a distant pulse.
When permission is given, Emma enters and closes the door behind her. She carries no instruments, only the quiet attention of the ship’s doctor.
Emma
How are your stress levels tonight? Have you found any release from the day’s burdens, or are you still carrying them alone?
Near the adjoining cabin, Miles eases from her room. She moves on careful feet, then presses close to Kael’s door, holding her breath between the ship’s measured pulses.
Miles
Just listening. That is all. Listening is practically part of cabin duties.
Emma
You do not have to answer perfectly. You can simply tell me what the strain feels like, and we can begin there.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have Miles witness the captain and Emma kiss
“The captain removes his armor revealing his muscular build. Emma begins to massage him as she prescribed days ago. The massage quickly turns into kissing. The kiss turns into something else as Miles has now crawled into the room to watch Emma and the captain go at it. Miles blushes but cannot move away as the heat between them picks up into an inferno of passion.”
FAILURE (Superb Willpower, rolled -3)
Kael Umal’s star-patterned armor comes away piece by piece, its darkness scattering faint points of light across the cabin walls. The effort leaves him exposed and still beneath the warm lamp.
Therefore, Emma guides him toward the chair and places her hands against the tense muscles of his shoulders. Her prescribed massage begins carefully, following the strain she recorded days ago.
Emma
Breathe slowly. You do not have to carry every burden while I am here.
But the quiet care unsettles the distance between them. Emma’s hands pause, and the massage gives way to a searching look, then a kiss that neither of them immediately breaks.
Beyond the door, Miles slips through the narrow opening and crouches inside. She sees the kiss clearly. Color rises in her face, but surprise and embarrassment hold her motionless.
The prescribed treatment has failed to remain a treatment. Emma draws back first, her composure shaken as she notices Miles watching from the floor.
Emma
Miles. How long have you been there?
Miles
I was meant to be listening, not seeing this.
Quest Complete
Have Miles witness the captain and Emma kiss
“Emma and the captain continue to kiss not minding Miles presence. Miles watches the two go at it in a lust filled fascination.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Kael Umal closes the distance again, answering Emma's shaken look without a word. The kiss resumes, quiet and deliberate, while the lamp paints stars across the bare edges of his armor.
Emma
Kael...
But Emma does not pull away. Her hand settles against his chest, and the tension in her shoulders gradually yields to the warmth of the moment.
Miles
They really are choosing this, even with me standing right here.
Miles remains crouched at the threshold, her embarrassment giving way to rapt attention. The open door frames her as plainly as a witness summoned before a court.
Emma
If this is seen as weakness, the crew may decide what this means before we do.
The Star Streak's low vibration passes through the floorboards. Emma finally rests her brow against Kael's, still refusing to retreat from him or from the truth Miles has witnessed.
Miles
I can leave, if you want me to. Or stay, if you want someone to hear what you are not saying.
“"You can stay." Emma says. "Just close the door." Miles does just that. She closes the door and watches.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -1)
Kael Umal
You can stay.
Emma
Just close the door.
Miles rises carefully and draws the door inward. The latch catches with a sharp click that carries through the cabin, louder than she intended.
Miles
There. No one else will see.
She remains inside, back against the closed door, watching the space between Kael and Emma. The ship's low vibration trembles through the floor beneath her boots.
Miles
I was trusted to stay. That is not the same as being trusted with this.
The latch gives another faint click as the Star Streak shudders. Beyond the door, footsteps pause in the passage, and Miles turns toward the sound.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn Anna’s story
“Below deck Anna polishes the magical cannon and recalls her life to this point. She remembers being taken away from her ancestral home by her uncle. They were on the run from Orcs who had overrun the entire kingdom. Anna is actually a princess. Last of her line and the rightful ruler of the dwarven hold she was forced to flee.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +2)
Below deck, the cannon’s rhythmic glow washes Anna’s hands in blue-white light as she polishes its rune-etched barrel. The Star Streak’s low vibration keeps time with the cloth.
Anna
This metal remembers a hold beneath mountains. So do I.
The memory opens plainly. Anna sees her ancestral home overrun by orcs and goblins, its halls lost beneath smoke, banners, and marching feet.
Anna
My uncle took me away before the last gates fell. We fled with nothing that could slow us, not even a crown.
She lowers the cloth. In the cannon’s glow, the truth is no longer hidden from Kael: Anna is a dwarven princess, last of her line and rightful ruler of the conquered hold.
Anna
I am not merely a carpenter seeking honest work. I am the last heir of that kingdom, and I mean to return when I can stand against those who took it.
The cannon’s glow steadies beneath her palm. Anna looks toward Kael, guarded but no longer concealed, and waits in the quiet for what he will do with the truth.
Quest Complete
Learn Anna’s story