Beneath the freight exchange, the sealed command node thrums behind layered alloy. Euran plants himself between Selene and the door, gripping the drone beneath his oil-stained jacket.
Euran Cross
You knew the clinic architecture, the permissions, the evacuation system. How?
The drone receiver crackles before the silence can answer. Its projector spits a district map across the tunnel wall, highlighting the clinic and a fast-moving route through the rain grid.
Euran Cross
Wait. That’s a command burst. Collectors are moving on the clinic now.
Three red markers converge on the clinic’s rear access. The node offers a second coordinate beneath the exchange, but the route will take time they may not have.
Euran Cross
We can chase the source, or we can keep those people alive. I need to know what you’re choosing, Selene.
Far behind them, the watcher remains unconscious beside the secured van, while the false report continues transmitting. The clinic alarm feed begins pulsing again, waiting for intervention.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the clinic from the collectors
“Because.. I am.. an .. *I cough.* I’m.. god this is really hard. You have to know it’s one of those occasions where if I tell you then I have to kill you and.. I just.. I can’t do that Euran.. I can’t kill you.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Selene Nyx
Because... I am...
Selene Nyx
I cough. I’m... god, this is really hard. You have to know it’s one of those occasions where if I tell you, then I have to kill you, and... I just... I can’t do that, Euran. I can’t kill you.
The command node hums behind its alloy seal. Euran’s prosthetic hand tightens around the drone, but his guarded posture loosens as the meaning lands without demanding the secret itself.
Euran Cross
All right. I heard you. I’m not going to make you explain the part that gets me killed.
Euran Cross
We handle the clinic first. Whatever this is, you’re not choosing my life over theirs, and I’m not asking you to.
He turns the drone toward the red markers. The command burst resolves into a route and timing window, enough to guide them back toward the clinic without exposing Selene’s hidden answer.
Euran Cross
Lead. We save the people, then we come back for the source. And later, when you can say more, you tell me what you can.
The sealed node waits behind them, its access route preserved in the drone. Euran starts down the tunnel toward the rain grid, staying close enough to cover her without pressing for another word.
“*I let out a breath.* The.. no.. I can’t say that either.. I promise no matter what.. I will never hurt you. You believe me right?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Selene lets out a careful breath beneath the command node’s alloy hum. The words catch once, then she makes herself meet Euran’s guarded grey eyes.
Selene Nyx
No. I can’t say that either. I promise, no matter what, I will never hurt you. You believe me, right?
Euran studies her in the tunnel’s cold light. The tension leaves his shoulders, and his prosthetic hand loosens around the drone.
Euran Cross
Yes. I believe you. I don’t know what you’re carrying, Selene, but I know you won’t turn it on me.
He steps close enough that his jacket brushes hers, then turns toward the route back to the rain grid. His trust is quiet, but complete.
Euran Cross
Come on. The clinic first. We save them, then we return for whatever is waiting under this exchange.
“Is the clinic’s rear access still secure?”
YES, BUT (Unlikely, rolled 33)
The drone’s route locks onto the clinic’s rear access. Its status remains green, but the feed shows the security seal cycling under repeated external authentication attempts.
Euran Cross
It’s still holding. Barely. Those three are hammering the door with credentials they shouldn’t have.
A second status window opens across the drone’s projection: the rear lock has entered defensive cycling. It will deny the collectors, but each failed attempt drains the clinic’s reserve power.
Euran Cross
So the people inside are safe for now, and the door is buying that safety with the clinic’s emergency power.
The route back resolves through the rain grid, fast enough to reach the clinic before the reserve falls below its safe threshold. Behind the seal, the collectors’ attack continues.
Euran Cross
Then we move now. We keep that access closed, keep the patients breathing, and deal with the source afterward.
Euran turns into the tunnel, drone in hand, and breaks into a hurried stride. The command node remains behind them while the clinic’s shrinking power reserve counts down.
“I spoof the collectors’ credentials remotely”
SUCCESS (Legendary Hacking, rolled -3)
“I spoof the collectors’ credentials remotely”
SUCCESS (Legendary Hacking, rolled -1)
Selene folds the clinic’s defensive handshake into the drone’s return channel, isolating the collectors’ credentials from the reserve-power countdown. Her spoof blooms across the route, precise and silent.
The three authentication attempts accept new authorization tokens. The rear lock stops cycling and seals hard, while the clinic’s emergency draw drops back to a stable level.
Euran Cross
You just made their credentials bless the door instead of break it. That is an aggressively elegant solution.
On the drone’s projection, the collectors’ red markers halt outside the rear access. Their command channel flashes a rejection, then reroutes their own authentication trail toward a dead municipal relay.
The Collectors
Access revoked. Reconfirm at the secondary entrance.
The clinic feed steadies: locked doors, breathing monitors, and restored reserve power. Selene’s forged credentials remain embedded as a maintenance authorization, giving the patients a clean window of safety.
Euran Cross
They’re off the rear door. We can reach the clinic before they understand what happened, and then come back for the node.
Quest Complete
Protect the clinic from the collectors
Skill Upgrade: Streetwise Mediocre→Fair