The relay hub shudders under cannon fire. Mara Vey yanks the skimmer into the service lane, keeping its nose beneath the mast lattice. Ahead, the purge-route stamp burns on a relay stack, a perfect target for a hard broadcast.
Joren
Signal is climbing. If you want the list in the grid, now is the moment.
Shifter reaches the primary terminal as sparks spit from the gantry overhead. The decrypted file waits on his display, one transmission away from becoming evidence instead of a secret.
Mara Vey
I can hold the lane, but not for long. Push it through the relay stack and make them answer for the purge.
The interceptor climbs for another pass, its shadow sliding across the masts. Joren braces at the console, watching the progress bar crawl toward live broadcast.
One clean uplink could name the architects. One hit from above could erase the chance forever.
✓ Quest Accepted
Broadcast the purge evidence
“I divert power from the skimmer's life support to boost the broadcast signal.”
SUCCESS (Great Arcana, rolled +2)
Shifter pulls power from life support and the terminal flares brighter. The broadcast meter snaps upward, and the relay stack drinks the surge without a sputter.
Joren
That did it. The signal is strong enough to punch through their filters.
Mara Vey glances up at the tower shadow, then shoves the skimmer harder into cover. The lane shakes, but the transmission holds.
Shifter
The feed is stable.
Data blooms across the relay monitor, tagged lines cascading through the grid. Names, routes, command chains, the purge list starts to spread beyond the hub.
Mara Vey
Keep it alive. If this reaches the net, they cannot bury it again.
Above them, the interceptor drops into attack angle, cannon ports glowing hot. The relay stack still transmits, but the next strike can either finish the broadcast or break the tower.
“I keep the broadcast alive”
SUCCESS (Great Arcana, rolled +0)
Shifter feeds the arcane current back into the relay, and the meter locks green instead of dipping. The broadcast grid catches and holds, threading the purge list deeper into the network.
Joren
It is through. They are losing control of the chain now.
On the monitor, command routes blossom outward, each link of the purge chain lighting up for anyone watching long enough to trace it.
Mara Vey
Keep it riding. If they kill the tower, the signal has already left.
The interceptor tilts lower, cannon ports blazing, but the data keeps spilling past the hub's edge.
Joren
He retreats from the console, eyes on the readout, ready to break away the instant the strike lands.
For one bright beat, the relay is no longer a trap. It is a beacon with the architects' names burning inside it.
Quest Complete
Expose the architects of the purge
Skill Upgrade: Arcana Great→Superb
Quest Complete
Broadcast the purge evidence
Skill Upgrade: Arcana Superb→Legendary