The blast doors slam shut behind them. Steam hammers out of vents, and the dead-end decon chamber flashes red with a biometric warning.
The Hunter Captain staggers back, eyes wide as the purge countdown keeps ticking. She has no clearance, and the facility does not care.
Mara
No, no, that should still recognize me.
Buster stands between her and the sealed exit, the only barrier left in a room that is filling with pressure and white heat.
Mara
If this cycle finishes, it wipes the corridor. Everything in it. We need the override, now.
On the wall beside the lock, a cracked service panel spits sparks. Its manual reset is exposed, and the route to the purge core is clear at last.
For Buster Jones, this is the opening, force her to answer for the people she made and the past she helped burn, or let the facility bury both of them.
✓ Quest Accepted
Force the Hunter Captain to reveal the override code
“Grab the Captain by her collar and demand the override code before the heat kills us.”
FAILURE (Legendary Strength, rolled -4)
Buster lunges for her collar, but the slick heat and steam steal his grip. His hand catches fabric for a heartbeat, then the Captain twists free against the wall, coughing hard.
Mara
Careful. The chamber wants a mistake.
She slaps a palm to the sparking service panel, then stops short, glaring at the dead reader like it has betrayed her too.
Mara
The override code is not stored here. It is chained to the purge core, and only I was meant to reach it.
Buster Jones
So she is not carrying the answer.
Steam surges between them. The Captain steadies herself, one shoulder against the wall, her fear turning sharp and professional.
Mara
If the purge finishes, this chamber vents, seals, and cooks the corridor clean. If you want out, you have to follow the maintenance route with me.
The red lights pulse over both of them, trapping them in the hiss and glare, with the broken panel still sparking beside her hand.
“I follow her maintenance route”
SUCCESS (Legendary Athletics, rolled -1)
Buster falls in behind her instead of the wall, taking the maintenance route at her heel as the purge alarm keeps thudding through the steam.
Mara
Stay close. One wrong door and the chamber seals behind us.
She peels away from the sparking panel and leads him to the exposed service lane, one hand braced on the frame while the other shields her face from the heat.
Buster Jones
The route is marked, but the lights are dying.
Buster matches her pace through the hissing haze, and the chamber gives them no choice but forward.
Mara
The core is ahead. If the code is anywhere, it is there.
They reach the maintenance threshold together, red light flashing off wet metal as the purge timer keeps counting down behind them.
“I press her for the override code”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Buster leans in and corners her with the only thing the chamber cannot ignore, the truth. The Captain swallows hard, then spits out the code in a ragged rush, voice shaking under the purge alarm.
Mara
Override code, purge core. Echo, seven, nine, zero. Take it and move.
A burst of steam blasts from the seam above them, and the Captain flinches as the heat brands her sleeve. She has to wipe condensation from her visor with a trembling hand.
Mara
If he hesitates, we both burn. If he uses it, the chamber may still take me.
Buster Jones
Buster does not answer with words. He gets the code, and the price lands at once, a hot splash from the vent kissing his forearm as he reaches through the steam.
The Captain presses herself to the frame, pale and cornered, watching him with fear and bleak relief. The purge timer keeps pounding somewhere beyond the service lane.
Mara
Now choose fast, Buster. The core is open, but the chamber is not done with us.
Quest Complete
Force the Hunter Captain to reveal the override code
New Gift: Tactical Interrogator