The crawlspace spits Zoey and Mara onto the vibrating catwalk above the core. Below, the station’s power grid throbs into a massive data-hub, and the industrial relay trace feeds it like a vein.
This hub is wrong for an Imperial install. Its panels are modular, layered, and stamped with that same third-party architecture from the watcher signal. The station is not just being observed, it is being drained to keep the transmission alive.
Kaelen
No. That pattern, that relay geometry... I know who built this.
Zoey steadies herself on the railing while Mara stares at the pulsing vessel link, then back to the failed Imperial seals behind them. The sweep team is gone, but the trap is bigger than they thought.
Zoey Terraj
That signal has a power source, and it is sitting right under us.
The Inquisitor climbs onto the catwalk, slow and shaken, eyes fixed on the hub. Recognition strips the blood from his face as the synthetic heartbeat keeps time through the core.
Kaelen
The watcher was never a ghost. It is somebody from my past, and they are feeding on this station.
Mara points toward a maintenance spine wrapped around the hub’s casing, where a fresh conduit bundle vanishes into shadow. Something else is still drawing power, somewhere deeper in the shell.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reveal who is powering the watcher signal
“Does the Inquisitor recognize the specific signature of this power drain?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 47)
Kaelen
It is a signature from the Kessel deep-core labs. My handler, Kestrel Vane, used this exact frequency to calibrate the slave-circuits in my own neural link.
Kaelen
I am not just a hunter. I am a prototype for this very system.
Kaelen
My name is Kaelen, though I suspect that identity was just another layer of the mask. If they are draining this station, they are preparing to overwrite everything connected to the grid.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 60)
Zoey runs a diagnostic scan on the signal, but the frequency is locked behind a recursive encryption layer that mirrors Kaelen's own neural architecture. Attempting to force a bypass would trigger a lethal feedback loop directly into his mind.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 57)
The signal remains stubbornly inert, its architecture too deeply entwined with Kaelen's own neural pathways to be safely decoupled. Any attempt to force a deactivation would inevitably shatter his mind before it could ever free him.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 56)
The neural link remains locked, its encryption protocols hardening against every probe Zoey attempts. The signal refuses to yield, leaving Kaelen trapped within the very architecture that seeks to overwrite him.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
NO, BUT (Unlikely, rolled 45)
The signal remains stubbornly tethered to Kaelen, its frequency shifting to a jagged, dissonant hum that rejects every attempt at decoupling. Zoey finds no backdoor into the slave circuits, as the encryption is hardwired into his very biology, rendering any further hacking attempts futile.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
NO, BUT (VeryUnlikely, rolled 21)
The signal pulses with a final, violent surge of static that forces Zoey to pull her hands back from the console. The connection to the slave circuits remains locked, and the attempt to force a deactivation only deepens the feedback loop within Kaelen.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
NO, BUT (Unlikely, rolled 44)
The neural link remains stubbornly encrypted, its architecture shifting to reject every bypass attempt Zoey initiates. The slave circuits tighten their hold on Kaelen, rendering the signal impossible to sever without causing the very collapse she is trying to prevent.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
NO, AND WORSE (VeryUnlikely, rolled 91)
The signal does not yield, but instead surges with a violent, jagged frequency that forces the console to spark and hiss. Kaelen gasps as the feedback loop intensifies, his body arching against the relay stack as the slave circuits lock down with lethal finality.
Zoey Terraj
The link is not just a lock, it is a kill switch.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
NO, BUT (VeryUnlikely, rolled 16)
The attempt to force a bypass fails, as the signal hardens into an impenetrable wall of static that rejects every command. The slave circuits remain locked, and the feedback loop continues to pulse through the relay stack.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
NO, BUT (VeryUnlikely, rolled 20)
The signal remains stubbornly encrypted, its frequency shifting just beyond the reach of Zoey's deck. Every attempt to isolate the slave circuits only deepens the static, confirming that the link is beyond her current ability to sever.
“Would Zoey be able to use that signal to deactivate the slave circuits in Kaelen 's neural link?”
YES (VeryUnlikely, rolled 4)
As the static settles, a faint, rhythmic pulse begins to bleed through the console's dead interface, mirroring the erratic flicker of Kaelen's neural dampeners. Zoey notices the frequency matches the industrial relay spine's signature, suggesting the slave circuits are not just locked, but actively broadcasting a bypass key.
Zoey Terraj
The signal isn't just a lock, it is a bridge. If I can bridge the relay's output into the dampener's feedback loop, I might be able to force the circuits to reset.
“"Well inquisitor Kaelen, you piss me off, so let's see how you do when you don't have activate slave circuits in your brain." Zoey Bridges the relay to deactivate Kaelen's slave circuits.”
SUCCESS (Great Hacking, rolled +0)
Zoey Terraj
Well, inquisitor Kaelen, you piss me off. Let’s see how you do without slave circuits in your brain.
Zoey drives the relay output into the dampener feedback loop. The console spits one hard amber pulse, then the slave circuits snap open with a brittle pop of light. Kaelen jerks free, gasping, and the feed on the handler link flares bright enough to stain the walls. Zoey's deck throws a warning spark, and a hot sting crawls across her wrist from the overload.
Kaelen
No. That line, that signature, it is not Imperial.
The burning handler link blooms into a clean source trace, projecting an industrial relay above the freight spine as the watcher signal's power source. Its routing overlay locks onto a vessel ID, and the name attached to the link resolves with brutal clarity: Kestrel Vane.
Kaelen
Kestrel. She is the one on the other end.
Kaelen staggers to one knee, staring at the exposed name like it has physically struck him. Around them, the station's red emergency light keeps strobing, but the dead console stays open, the answer pinned to it for everyone to see.
Zoey Terraj
The leash has a face now.
Quest Complete
Reveal who is powering the watcher signal