Rain continues to stripe the kiosk’s translucent screens as Mara closes the settlement interface. The contractor credential remains active, glowing beneath her signature in Ana’s public-band display.
Mara Venn
The venue is a corporate after-hours lounge in the Meridian Spire. Tomorrow, twenty-one hundred hours. You’ll report to the service entrance under your temporary credential.
Mara rotates a compact contract window toward Ana. Its terms show six hours of coverage, a fixed hazard premium, and a payment large enough to eclipse the settlement.
Mara Venn
Base compensation is three thousand credits, paid half on arrival and half at completion. Verified incident response adds bonuses. Medical treatment is covered up to twenty thousand.
Mara Venn
Your liability ends at reasonable protective action. Do not access restricted systems, pursue fleeing guests beyond the property, or damage corporate infrastructure without authorization.
Her silver optic flickers toward the borrowed stilettos, then returns to Ana’s face. Traffic hisses beyond the awning while the open contract waits without a countdown.
Mara Venn
The insurer expects you to deter trouble, protect designated clients, and document anything unusual. You can review the venue file before deciding. No immediate acceptance is required.
✓ Quest Accepted
Accept Mara's corporate security contract
✓ Quest Accepted
Report for the corporate security assignment
Director's note
I show up to work
The next evening, Ana reaches Meridian Spire’s service entrance beneath towers of mirrored glass. Rain beads on their white braids as the temporary credential scans green.
A young adult woman with a compact athletic build waits beside the security desk. Her copper-brown skin, shaved temple, cobalt blazer, and bright throat implant mark her as venue staff.
The Venue Coordinator
Ana Cow? Credential verified. I’m Imani Vale, venue coordinator. You’re early enough to receive the first payment and a proper briefing.
Imani projects the contract above the desk. Three thousand credits split across arrival and completion, with the hazard premium and medical coverage highlighted in clean corporate blue.
Imani Vale
The lounge occupies floors seventy-two through seventy-four. Tonight’s designated client is Helix Arcology’s chief negotiator. Keep them alive, keep the guests calm, and log anything abnormal.
Imani Vale
No weapons are permitted inside, but the building’s drones respond to my authorization. If trouble starts, move the client to a secure lift and call me before improvising.
A payment chime confirms fifteen hundred credits entering Ana’s account. Beyond the checkpoint, elevator doors open onto muffled music, filtered air, and the polished glow of corporate nightlife.
Quest Complete
Accept Mara's corporate security contract
Quest Complete
Report for the corporate security assignment