The console flickers again, and the Imperial mask peels away like burned paint. Under it waits a direct encrypted tether, not to the sweep team, but to a private vessel orbiting the station.
Kaelen
No. That link should be buried.
The room goes still. Even the sweep team hesitates as the display resolves into a clean, high-priority call route stamped with handler-grade access codes.
Zoey Terraj
The second watcher was never Imperial.
Kaelen
Cut it. Now.
Too late. The vessel ID keeps burning bright on the screen, and the Inquisitor takes a half step back, horror replacing his hard edge. The trap is not here in the room. It was above them the whole time.
Mara
So someone has been watching him too.
The sweep team tightens up, rifles wavering between Zoey and the Inquisitor, while the open crawlspace waits like a narrow exit cut into a collapsing lie.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the Inquisitor’s handler link
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the listening post
“Zoey shoots the sweeping team, realizing they need to be neutralized as a threat before she can address this 3rd party.”
SUCCESS (Good Marksmanship, rolled +1)
Zoey squeezes the trigger and the first burst slams into the sweep team’s front line. Armor flashes, one rifle jerks wide, and the formation breaks just enough to stop the crossfire.
The second trooper stumbles back into the breach, dropping to a knee as sparks crawl over the command center floor. Their disciplined wall turns ragged in a heartbeat.
Kaelen
Don’t let them finish the room, Zoey. That link is my leash.
Mara drags the data-pad tighter to her chest and glances from the smoking console to the opening crawlspace, ready for the next move. The active grid hums overhead, cold and steady.
The surviving sweep troopers recoil from the muzzle flash, trying to re-center on Zoey, but their line is already collapsing under the pressure.
On the display, the exposed vessel link keeps burning beside the industrial relay trace above the freight spine, impossible to miss now.
The command center goes sharper, quieter, after the shot, and the Inquisitor stands frozen between the revealed evidence and the widening gap to the vent.
“"Mara... Frakking shoot them! You're the soldier, not me!" Zoey snarks in frustration as she continues to kill the sweeping team.”
SUCCESS (Good Marksmanship, rolled +1)
Zoey Terraj
Mara, frakking shoot them. You're the soldier, not me!
Zoey keeps the pressure on, stitching red fire through the staggered line. Another trooper jerks sideways and loses his aim, and the corridor of guns turns into panic.
The sweep team breaks. One drops behind the relay rack, another stumbles into the open crawlspace threshold, and the command center starts to feel smaller with every shot.
Mara
On it.
Mara leans out and fires once, clean and hard, forcing the nearest trooper flat. The data-pad stays clenched against her chest as she holds the opening.
Kaelen
No, stop, that link is active. If they trace it, they find me.
On the display, the exposed vessel link burns brighter beside the industrial relay trace above the freight spine. The smoking console spits sparks, and the remaining troopers falter under the crossfire.
By the time the shot fades, the sweep team is no longer holding the room together, and the crawlspace stands open in front of Mara.
Quest Complete
Expose the Inquisitor’s handler link
Skill Upgrade: Marksmanship Good→Great