The reconstructed trajectory hangs above Nexus control, its final vector bending into a narrow corridor. Every nine seconds, the vanished starship’s transponder pulses through the shielded room.
Jack O.S.
Synchronization window isolated. Duration: thirty-one seconds. Nexus can calculate a warp jump toward the echo, but the corridor is destabilizing.
The dark faceplate of Jack O.S. brightens beside the projection as new calculations ripple across the console. A countdown begins beneath the repeating signal.
Mara Venn
This residue matches the aperture’s edge exactly. It is on my shuttle, in the telemetry, and still spreading across the transmission pattern.
Mara presses her scanner to the display. The device answers with a sharp tone, tracing the residue into a rotating lattice around the starship’s echo.
Jack O.S.
A jump now may reach the transmitting vessel. Delay will reduce coordinate certainty below safe navigation thresholds.
Mara Venn
If that signal is a distress call, we may be its last chance to be heard.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the transmitting starship
“We do not warp the nexus, it is an outpost not a rescue ship. debreif the first officer of the ASV Concadia that we are on our way, we will be using the ASV Concadia to warp instead. Tell them to get my captains chair ready.”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Dj Afton
Do not warp Nexus. It is an outpost, not a rescue ship. Debrief the first officer of the A.S.V. Concadia: we are on our way and will use the Concadia to warp. Tell them to prepare my captain’s chair.
Jack O.S. redirects the command projection without touching the station’s engines. A secure channel opens to the A.S.V. Concadia, while Mara watches the unstable echo continue its nine-second pulse.
Jack O.S.
Nexus will remain stationary. Concadia command channel secured. Your instructions are being transmitted now.
Elias Quell
Allright Captain Afton.This is First Officer Elias Quell aboard the Concadia. Message received. We will prepare the captain’s chair and ready the warp systems for your arrival.
The officer’s transmission resolves into a clipped, steady voice. Behind it, status tones multiply as the Concadia accepts the command transfer and begins preparing for departure.
Mara Venn
That is a reasonable condition. The residue is still spreading through the transmission pattern, and we cannot afford another delay.
Quell’s reservation is entered into the command log, creating a visible mark against Afton’s standing with Concadia’s crew. The route remains available, but the thirty-one-second window keeps counting down.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the A.S.V. Concadia
“I board the Concadia and take my captain’s chair.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +0)
The Concadia’s docking collar locks to Nexus with a solid mechanical thud. A transit lift carries Dj Afton through the sealed passage as the warp systems cycle into readiness.
Elias Quell
Captain Afton, the bridge is ready. Warp calculations are loaded, and the navigation team is holding the reconstructed corridor coordinates.
The lift opens directly onto Concadia’s command deck. Blue instrument light washes over the captain’s chair while the ship’s displays track the repeating transponder pulse.
Dj Afton
The transponder pulse is still arriving every nine seconds.
Dj Afton crosses the deck and takes the captain’s chair. Its control surfaces recognize his authorization, bringing the corridor solution and warp-status lattice into immediate view.
Elias Quell
Chair authorization confirmed. Concadia is ready to depart on your command.
Behind the forward canopy, Nexus remains fixed against the stars. Ahead, the unstable route waits in the navigation display, its certainty degrading with each pulse.
Quest Complete
Reach the A.S.V. Concadia