The watcher remains unconscious beside the secured surveillance van, awaiting pickup. Euran leads Selene through a narrow market corridor, past steam vents and neon noodle menus, toward the clinic hidden behind a stall.
His mismatched prosthetic whines louder with every step. He keeps the hand tucked near his jacket, as if embarrassment can muffle the failing servos.
Euran Cross
I’ve noticed it for years. Repairs that should fail hold together, parts turn up before I need them, dangerous jobs collapse on their own. That kind of luck has fingerprints.
Euran Cross
I want the surgeon to examine the hand before I ask what you altered. If you changed my firmware, I need to know what it’s doing to me.
Behind the noodle stall, an elderly woman surgeon, a compact woman with warm brown skin, a lined square face, and a slim build beneath her coat opens a sterile side door. Her silver braids, amber ocular implant, and white clinic coat stand out against the market’s grime.
The Surgeon
This firmware architecture is not consumer-grade. Whoever wrote it understood adaptive motor control at an unusually deep level.
The surgeon studies the prosthetic interface, then quietly locks the clinic door. The market noise dulls behind reinforced glass as her attention shifts between Euran’s hand and Selene.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine what was altered in Euran’s prosthetic hand
“*I am taken back as his word about the hand I upgraded for him. The implication that I would do any harm to him cuts me deep but I stay silent and let him do what he wants.*”
The implication lands harder than the market noise. Selene keeps her silence, holding her posture steady while the surgeon guides Euran toward the examination chair.
Euran Cross
I’m not accusing you of trying to hurt me. I’m asking what protection looks like when it lives inside my hand.
The surgeon seats Euran beneath a diagnostic arm and unfolds a cable harness from the wall. His prosthetic gives one uneven whine before settling under her scanner.
The Surgeon
Keep the shoulder relaxed. I’m reading the control layer first, then the motor response. No invasive work unless you authorize it.
Thin diagnostic light crawls over the prosthetic housing, mapping old repairs and newer code. The clinic door remains locked, and the market fades to a distant pulse.
Euran Cross
All right. Show me what’s there. Selene stays in the room.
The surgeon nods and begins the scan. Selene says nothing, but the examination proceeds on Euran’s terms, with his safety placed before every unanswered question.
“No. I won’t. Maybe if we’re alone. *I cross my arms over my chest and look at him.*”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Selene Nyx
No. I won’t. Maybe if we’re alone.
Selene crosses her arms and looks directly at Euran. The diagnostic lights continue sliding over his prosthetic while the surgeon waits beside the chair.
Euran Cross
Fair. You’re not giving me the rest in front of an audience, even if she is the safest audience we have.
The Surgeon
I can step outside, but the scan will continue unattended only if he remains still. Otherwise, I stay and hear nothing beyond the medical data.
Euran’s shoulders ease. The surgeon adjusts the diagnostic arm, narrowing its display to motor response and firmware behavior without opening the interface.
Euran Cross
Then we do the medical part now. When we’re alone, you tell me what you can. I’ll take that over a confession dragged out of you.
The scan settles into a clean rhythm, confirming the prosthetic’s control layer is stable. Euran keeps his eyes on Selene, accepting the boundary without surrendering the question.
✓ Quest Accepted
Tell Euran what was altered in his prosthetic hand
− Scene Quest Removed
Determine what was altered in Euran’s prosthetic hand
“I repaired it and swapped out for better materials then calibrated it to suit you. I made it more human and natural. Nothing out of the ordinary. I never wanted to bring that kind of attention to you.. just to make sure it lasted and was working as long as you needed it to.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +2)
Selene Nyx
I repaired it and replaced the worn parts with better materials, then calibrated it to suit you. I made it feel more human and natural. Nothing unusual. I just wanted it to last and keep working as long as you needed it to, without drawing attention to you.
The explanation settles into the sterile room without defensive edges. The diagnostic arm continues its measured sweep, finding the upgraded components integrated cleanly with Euran’s existing control layer.
Euran Cross
You did all that quietly, for years, and called it luck. You made it respond like part of me instead of a machine strapped on afterward.
Euran flexes the prosthetic fingers. Their motion is smooth and deliberately natural, the old whine reduced to a low mechanical murmur beneath the clinic’s equipment.
The Surgeon
The materials are superior, and the calibration is exceptionally conservative. It protects the joint without forcing unnatural motor responses. I find no sign of harmful modification.
Euran Cross
Then I believe you. You weren’t trying to control me. You were making sure I could keep using my own hand without it failing me.
The surgeon records the stable readings and releases the diagnostic harness. Euran remains seated a moment longer, studying Selene with wary gratitude instead of suspicion.
Quest Complete
Tell Euran what was altered in his prosthetic hand