The team gathers in a dim maintenance gallery beside kiosk 4C. Rodney, Waldin, Orin, Daven, and Caelen accompany Jostan, while Maya stays at the apartment terminal to monitor the copied records and relay any change.
Obsolete consoles blink through dust filmed across their screens. Cable trunks crowd the walls, and the public kiosk hums behind a maintenance grille with no sign of Sorn’s presence.
Rodney
The records support the bait, but only if we look routine. Waldin uses the maintenance channel, I stay visible, and nobody reaches for a weapon unless Sorn breaks the pattern.
Waldin
Sorn expects me to complain about a payment delay, not arrive with an army. I can make the request sound ordinary. The kiosk will test my credentials before he appears.
Orin rotates the bulky Ki-Nen gun beneath a work lamp, checking the eolite handle, condenser seals, and emulator path. A warning light pulses whenever the weapon senses unstable feedback.
Orin
The feedback is contained, not eliminated. Keep the first discharge low. If the condenser climbs past the red band, I want the gun dropped immediately.
Caelen
The kiosk is a command relay disguised as a service point. I can watch its ward response, but I need everyone to hold position when the interface changes.
Daven
I will cover the retreat and keep the corridor clear. Maya has the apartment link, so if the records shift, we will hear it before Sorn reaches us.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the Outsiders coordinated during the contact
“I signal everyone to hold position while Waldin opens the maintenance channel I keep orins gun low and assign daven the retreat while caelen watches ward”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Jostan Ordomo
Hold position. Waldin, open the maintenance channel. Orin, keep the gun low. Daven, take the retreat. Caelen, watch the ward.
The gallery stills around Jostan’s command. Orin lowers the bulky Ki-Nen gun, Daven shifts to face the corridor, and Caelen fixes his attention on the kiosk’s ward indicators.
Waldin
Understood. I am opening the maintenance channel now.
Waldin enters the service sequence without hesitation. The maintenance grille clicks, the kiosk’s hidden interface wakes, and a secure channel opens beneath the public hum.
Daven
Retreat is covered. I will signal if the corridor changes and keep the route clear.
Caelen
The ward is watching the channel, not us. I will track its response and call out any change.
The team settles into the formation Jostan chose. The channel waits open, Orin’s weapon remains lowered, and the kiosk begins its credential check without anyone breaking position.
“I have Rodney quietly prepare a fallback bargain, I tell rodney "like I said earlier I got a bad feeling, have the fallback ready." I let waldin complete the credential check and ask caelen if sorns already watching us”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Jostan Ordomo
Like I said earlier, I have a bad feeling. Have the fallback ready.
Rodney
Already shaping it. If Sorn wants payment, I will offer him a clean transfer and a quiet exit, provided he gives us the records first.
Rodney murmurs through the team channel while Waldin completes the credential sequence. The kiosk accepts his maintenance identity, and a private handshake opens beneath the public interface.
Waldin
Credential check passed. The maintenance channel is asking for the payment reference now.
Jostan Ordomo
Caelen, is Sorn already watching us?
Caelen
Not directly. The ward has registered the credential and begun a passive scan, but no external observer has claimed the channel. Sorn is not watching us yet.
The kiosk displays a waiting prompt for Waldin’s payment reference. Rodney’s fallback bargain is ready, and Caelen’s ward readings leave the team a narrow window before the channel draws attention.
“I enter Waldin’s payment reference. feeling faint as I type it in I manage myself, everyone stay on your toes”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled +1)
Jostan Ordomo
I am entering the payment reference. I feel faint, but I am managing it. Everyone stay on your toes.
Jostan keys Waldin’s reference into the waiting prompt. His vision narrows and the gallery tilts, but he braces against the console, steadies his breathing, and completes the sequence.
Caelen
The reference is accepted. The passive scan has changed direction, but it is still contained within the kiosk’s relay.
The public display clears its waiting prompt and replaces it with a secure confirmation. A second channel opens beneath the first, carrying an encrypted request for identity verification.
Waldin
That is Sorn’s next step. He will want my debt account confirmed before he risks showing himself.
Rodney
Then we keep the pattern ordinary. Waldin answers, we hold position, and we learn whether Sorn is behind the channel or waiting somewhere nearby.
“I let Waldin complete the identity verification”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Waldin enters the identity response with steady hands. The kiosk compares his voiceprint, debt seal, and inherited corporate credentials while Jostan keeps the team still.
Waldin
Verification is complete. The account recognizes me as its authorized holder and is opening the client channel.
The encrypted channel unfolds across the kiosk display. Sorn’s relay confirms Waldin’s identity and exposes a private negotiation window tied to the service kiosk.
Caelen
The ward accepted the verification as legitimate. No defensive response, no lockdown, and no secondary claim on Waldin’s identity.
Rodney
Good. We have a real channel now. Let Waldin make the request, and we will see whether Sorn answers as a broker or a frightened owner of stolen access.
A prompt requests the payment dispute in plain language. Waldin’s verified account holds the channel open, giving the team authenticated access to Sorn’s relay and the next exchange.
“I have Waldin state the payment dispute plainly”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Jostan Ordomo
Waldin, state the payment dispute plainly. No excuses, no missing details.
Waldin
Sorn Vey bought access to my inherited Helix credentials and used them to route payments against my debt. I dispute every charge tied to that access, and I demand the account be frozen until the records are reviewed.
The kiosk accepts Waldin’s statement as a formal dispute. Payment holds engage across the account, and the negotiation window expands to include the linked proxy records.
Sorn Vey
Waldin Donos, you are disputing transactions you authorized. If you want the hold lifted, identify the party who instructed you to challenge the account.
Rodney
He answered the dispute clearly. Now the broker is trying to turn a payment record into an interrogation.
Caelen’s ward indicators remain stable while the channel records every word. The dispute is logged, the payment hold is active, and Sorn’s relay is now speaking directly through the authenticated kiosk.
“Play your cards right waldin I say to him, tell what he wants to hear we need this exchange to go smoothly”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Jostan Ordomo
Play your cards right, Waldin. Tell him what he wants to hear. We need this exchange to go smoothly.
Waldin glances toward Jostan, then settles his gaze on the kiosk. Rodney stays silent, letting the instruction shape the negotiation instead of interrupting it.
Waldin
Sorn, I am not accusing you of creating the account. I am asking for your help correcting a misuse of my authorization. Tell me what you need from me, and I will cooperate.
The negotiation window pauses, then reorganizes its prompts. The hostile demand disappears, replaced by a cooperation protocol and a request for a private verification exchange.
Sorn Vey
That is a more useful position, Waldin. I need confirmation that you still control the inherited credentials, and I need the dispute narrowed to transactions you can prove were unauthorized.
Waldin
Agreed. I will verify control and isolate the disputed transfers. In return, you will identify the access buyer and suspend every charge tied to that misuse.
Sorn accepts the terms. The payment hold remains active, the account begins credential verification, and the broker’s relay prepares to disclose the buyer connected to Waldin’s stolen authorization.
Quest Complete
Confront Sorn Vey about the altered ledger
Attribute Upgrade: Health Good→Great
Quest Complete
Keep the Outsiders coordinated during the contact
Attribute Upgrade: Health Great→Superb