Rainwater streams over the transit kiosk, turning neon advertisements into broken ribbons. Ana stands alone beneath the awning, chrome stilettos still borrowed from the club.
Mara Venn approaches, a middle-aged woman with a lean build and close-cropped black hair. Her charcoal smart-fabric coat sheds rain in shifting geometric patterns, while a silver optic implant glows at her left temple.
Mara Venn
Ana Cow? Mara Venn. I contract for the club’s insurer. We should discuss tonight’s incident before their legal department discovers how expensive the floor was.
A translucent damage report unfolds beside Ana’s payment record, itemizing the rescue transfer, the revised two-thousand-credit fee, and the shattered dance-floor panel.
Mara Venn
Fortunately, the rescue is defensible. My consultation fee is generous, and I can make the claim disappear into a favorable settlement.
Mara’s coat collar catches the rain, but her hidden sensors remain active. A narrow scan passes over Ana’s body, searching for unregistered cyberware without announcing itself.
Mara Venn
You have unusual physical specifications for an unlicensed club patron. Let’s keep this simple, shall we?
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure a favorable insurance settlement
“Let me guess you need my strength for work? Sure that’s a settlement”
SUCCESS (Legendary Conversation, rolled -1)
Ana
Let me guess. You need my strength for work? Sure. That’s a settlement.
Mara’s silver optic narrows, parsing the blunt offer while rain ticks against the kiosk. The damage report reorganizes itself around a new contract template.
Mara Venn
Exactly. A short-term physical security contract, properly licensed and generously paid. The settlement covers the club’s repairs, with credits left over for you.
She flicks two clauses into the air: liability protection for Ana, and a non-disclosure agreement protecting the insurer. The payment figure rises beside them.
Mara Venn
I’ll classify tonight as emergency intervention. You accept the work, the claim disappears, and the club’s legal department receives a neat explanation instead of your identity.
Ana’s public-band interface chimes. The settlement transfer clears into their account, and a temporary contractor credential activates beneath Mara’s signature.
Mara Venn
There. Settlement accepted and funded. Tomorrow night, you report to a private venue. Bring those muscles, and leave the stilettos wherever you found them.
Report to the private venue
Quest Complete
Secure a favorable insurance settlement