Mark V’s workshop glows with bench lamps and scattered instrument readouts, all steel edges and warm dust. He stands half-open on a maintenance frame, chassis humming softly as he calibrates his systems.
Mark V
Sally. Good timing. I was just finishing a systems check.
Sally eases in beside the workbench, the familiar smell of oil and ozone hanging in the air. The metallic clatter of Mark V’s fingers taps a steady rhythm against his chest panel.
Sally
His security habits are usually better than this room looks.
Mark V
The Rose said drinks are still on. Amilia can make it if the paperwork behaves.
He rotates one shoulder joint, then glances toward Sally with a patient, almost amused tilt of his head, as if he knows she is here for more than the social call.
Sally
And the Commission network, how locked down is it right now?
Mark V
Locked enough for honest people, not enough for minefields. I can pull you a cleaner map if you want to compare notes.
Mark V lowers himself off the frame with a quiet hydraulic sigh, then gestures to a stool and a cooling tray with two mugs waiting nearby. The room settles into an easy pause, ready for the next question.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confirm the social gathering with Mark V
“I take a mug and confirm the details for our upcoming gathering.”
SUCCESS (Fair Persuasion, rolled -1)
Sally takes the offered mug, the warm metal brushing her palm, and settles in close to the workbench. Mark V turns one display toward her, letting a tidy network map glow between them like a shared secret.
Sally
So, drinks are set, Amilia’s in if the paperwork holds, and we keep it low key?
Mark V
Exactly. Low key, no capes off, no surprises. I can handle the data side, you handle the people side.
He taps the map with a finger, then slides a second readout beside the first. A few routes flare, clean and bright, while one buried branch comes up tagged and dirty.
Mark V
The Commission leak is not a loose wire. It is a routed access path, and somebody knows how to hide inside it.
Sally
That sounds like the kind of thing I want before we all show up smiling.
Mark V
You will have it. Also, I am coming if only to make sure nobody lets the awkward silence win.
His offer lands with easy humor, but the dirty branch keeps pulsing on the display between them. Sally’s mug steams in the quiet while the workshop hums around a plan that now feels a little less clean.
Quest Complete
Confirm the social gathering with Mark V
+ New Item Acquired
Mug