The freight access threshold hums with old motors and damp metal. Syn presses into shadow as the ceiling drone drops lower, its red sensor eye jittering across crates and rails.
The scan skates past her, then snaps back. A calm voice cuts through the bay speakers, close and practical.
The Dock Tech
You can come out. I am not here for a fight.
A neutral figure steps from behind a pallet stack, hands open, utility bandolier bright under the strip lights. The drone hovers over their shoulder, eye still twitching but no longer hunting blindly.
The Dock Tech
It latched onto a bad calibration loop. I sent it to look for a missing tag, and now it thinks the whole bay is the tag.
The Dock Tech glances toward Syn’s hiding place, then back to the drone, measuring the distance like someone who would rather solve this quietly.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reveal yourself to the worker
“Syn steps out, showing no sign of threat. "Sorry. I was just trying to leave and avoid an uncomfortable encounter."”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +1)
Syn steps out of the shadow line, empty hands visible and posture loose. The dock bay keeps its low industrial hum, and the drone’s red eye drifts past her without locking on.
The Dock Tech
That works. I prefer honest exits.
Syn
Sorry. I was just trying to leave and avoid an uncomfortable encounter.
The Dock Tech
Fair enough. Most people do one of those things badly.
The Dock Tech lets their shoulders drop a fraction, then tips their chin toward the hovering unit as if it has already become a shared problem. A faint metallic clang echoes from deeper in the tunnels.
The Dock Tech
You’ve got a clean route if you want it. I can also use another set of eyes on this calibration mess.
Syn stands in the open now, neither chased nor ignored, while the drone keeps circling above the pallet stack, waiting for the next instruction.
Quest Complete
Reveal yourself to the worker