Buster forces through the blast doors into the command hub. Red alarms pulse over dead consoles, and the self-destruct timer beats on the far wall like a warning pulse.
Ahead, the Hunter Captain is boxed in behind a thick glass partition, fingers flying over a locked terminal. She looks up, pale and furious, when she sees Buster.
Mara
The manual override is sealed. Only your strength can cycle it. Do it, and I can open the final route.
Steam snakes along the floor from a fractured seam. Somewhere deeper in the facility, a muffled impact rolls through the metal, like the whole place is settling toward collapse.
Buster Jones
The timer is still running. The Teenager is still out there.
The Hunter Captain slams her palm against the glass, trying to reach the wall controls on her side. If Buster walks away, she stays trapped. If he helps, he buys both of them seconds to find the Teenager before the facility dies.
✓ Quest Accepted
Force the manual override in the command hub
✓ Quest Accepted
Find the Teenager before the facility fails
“I smash the manual override mechanism to force the blast doors open.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Strength, rolled -2)
Buster drives a fist into the override housing. Metal shrieks, sparks spit across the floor, and the locked mechanism caves inward with a crack like a snapped spine.
The blast doors shudder, then begin to grind apart. A seam of darkness opens beyond them, and cold air slaps through the gap.
Mara
Stop. If that locks wrong, we both die in here.
Steam bursts up around Buster's boots as the floor seam vents harder. One jagged shard of casing cuts his forearm, but the broken console keeps turning under his grip.
Mara
The final route is open. Now move, before the whole hub seals.
The timer flashes brighter on the wall. Behind the glass, the Captain looks trapped and frightened, but still watching Buster like he is the last door left in the facility.
Quest Complete
Force the manual override in the command hub