Sion seals the last holding cell. The lock clicks home, and the corridor finally exhales. Engine rumble rolls through the deck plates, steady and low.
Roma shifts behind the bars, one eye fixed on him. Kestrel settles against the frame with a tight, unreadable stare, his metallic hand resting idle.
Roma
So this is the quiet part. You always make prison look this tidy, officer?
Kestrel
Tidy buys time. Time buys questions.
The Salvage Tech lingers near the corridor seam, shoulders easing as the maintenance lane lights dim back to a calm glow. The Dock Commander watches from a step behind, arms folded, giving Sion room.
Sion
Who hired you? Start there.
Roma
If I say a name, I want to know what it buys me.
Kestrel
Not enough room left for bluster. Better to choose words carefully.
For a moment, the whole ship holds still around the cells, the kind of pause that invites a confession.
“Sion enters Kestrel’s cell alone. He places a heavy box cuff around Kestrel’s metallic arm to keep him from using it.”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +1)
Sion steps into Kestrel’s cell with the cuff raised, the corridor vibration thudding faintly through the deck under his boots.
Kestrel turns his bad arm toward him without a word, jaw tight, metal hand half-lifted and waiting.
The box cuff clamps around the metallic forearm with a solid click, locking the joint dead against the brace.
Kestrel
That’s one way to make a point.
Sion gives the cuff a testing tug. The mechanism holds.
Roma
He hates being handled more than he hates being cornered.
Kestrel
Careful, Roma. You make me sound sentimental.
Roma’s eye narrows behind the bars. The silence after that feels calculated, like she is weighing the price of the next name.
“Sion leaves Kestrel’s cell and enters Roma’s cell. He places a metallic box-like case around Roma’s head to cover her single eye. He handcuffs her 4 arms behind her back.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +0)
Sion clears Kestrel’s cell and crosses to Roma’s door. The corridor’s blue strips shiver with the ship’s lingering vibration as he steps inside.
Roma shifts back from the threshold, one eye fixed on him, then goes still when the metallic case comes up in his hands.
The box clamps over her single eye with a muted hiss. Her shoulders jerk once, then settle, blind and boxed in.
Sion snaps her four wrists behind her back and the cuffs lock tight, pinning all four arms into one rigid line.
Roma
He moves like he’s done this before.
Roma tests the cuffs with a hard twist and finds nothing. The bars catch her breath into a sharp, frustrated sound.
The Salvage Tech
That should keep her honest for a minute.
From the corridor, the dock commander watches the blindfolded pirate angle her head toward the voices, silent now, calculating her next trade.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the prisoners in the holding cells.
“Sion, having detained and placed each prisoner in a cell, moves outside and accesses a computer to lock the cell doors.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Sion steps out into the corridor and reaches the external lock panel. The floor still carries a faint vibration, but the ship is steady enough for his hand to stay sure.
He keys the system, and the holding cell controls light up in a clean blue line across the wall. Roma and Kestrel remain boxed in behind the bars, still and contained.
One command follows the next. The cell doors seal with a heavy mechanical click, then a deeper latch thumps home behind it.
A status strip shifts from amber to solid green, confirming the lockout. No panel alarm sounds, no override chime answers.
The Salvage Tech
Good. Now they have to talk to somebody.
The Dock Commander
If they are smart, they start with a name.
Inside the cells, Roma turns her bound shoulders toward the voices, and Kestrel goes quiet beside her. The corridor hum settles under the plating, waiting.
Quest Complete
Secure the prisoners in the holding cells.