The crew reaches a shuttered recording studio hidden behind reinforced apartment frontage. The security door stands open, revealing disconnected audio equipment, scattered production notes, and Dj Trapreem alive beyond it.
Chuck keeps the microphone stand in one hand, his facial recognition LED mask glowing softly. His shoulder is healed and unbandaged while Meech, Seven, Lucose, and Rasan secure the entrance.
Meech
Nobody forces anything. We came to talk, and we keep the door covered while Chuck makes the approach.
Seven checks the apartment frontage and nods once. Lucose lowers the microphone stand's angle, while Rasan watches the quiet corridor and leaves the entrance clear.
Dj Trapreem
Chuck? I heard your crew made it into the safe zone. Come in slow. I have notes on the stolen beat, but not enough answers yet.
Trapreem stays beside a worktable crowded with handwritten frequency marks and unplugged mixers. One page shows a waveform matching the infected sound byte, its final section circled twice.
Dj Trapreem
If we compare what I found with your original session, we might identify who weaponized the track. What do you want to see first?
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the hidden collaborator behind the weaponized track
✓ Quest Accepted
Recruit DJ Trapreem
“Can you identify who supplied the weaponized sound byte?”
YES (Likely, rolled 40)
Trapreem turns the circled waveform page beside the original session notes. A repeated production mark links the sound byte to a private mastering handoff, not an accidental studio artifact.
Dj Trapreem
The supplier was Phaze. The mark appears in the exported stems, and the handoff came through a channel tied to his old distribution network.
Meech's attention shifts from the guarded entrance to the waveform. Seven steps closer to the table, while Lucose and Rasan hold their positions and listen for movement beyond the studio.
Meech
So Phaze supplied the weapon. That gives us a name and a direction, but it does not change our priority. We keep the crew safe.
Dj Trapreem
The files also show a scheduled relay after the first broadcast. I cannot confirm where it lands, but Phaze expected the signal to keep moving.
Seven
Then we do not chase the relay tonight. We secure the studio, preserve the proof, and leave before that name brings trouble to this safe zone.
“I ask Trapreem to join our crew”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Chuck
Trapreem, join our crew. We need your ear, your skills, and your knowledge of this signal if we are going to keep people alive.
Dj Trapreem
You do not have to ask twice. I am with you, Chuck. I bring the notes, the session files, and whatever I can still pull from this network.
Trapreem gathers the circled waveform page and the original session notes into a weathered folder. He disconnects a compact recorder from the worktable and slips it into his jacket.
Meech
Then welcome aboard. We move as one, protect the evidence, and keep this studio from becoming a target.
Dj Trapreem
Understood. I know how Phaze built his channels, and I know which habits leave a trail. I will help you read both.
Seven accepts the folder from Trapreem and checks its pages while Lucose secures the recorder. Rasan opens the studio door a fraction, confirming the corridor remains quiet.
Seven
He is part of the crew now. We preserve the proof, choose our exit, and keep moving before this safe zone learns too much.
Quest Complete
Recruit DJ Trapreem
+ New Item Acquired
Evidence folder
+ New Item Acquired
Compact recorder
“I ask Trapreem to explain Phaze's distribution network”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +0)
Chuck
Trapreem, explain Phaze's distribution network. I need to know how his channels move the signal and where they lead.
Dj Trapreem
Phaze built it through old music distributors, pirate upload mirrors, and small venue sound systems. He kept every channel separate, but the same mastering contacts touched them all.
Trapreem spreads the folder across the worktable, arranging route marks beneath the circled waveform. Seven leans over the pages while Lucose keeps the recorder ready.
Dj Trapreem
The first broadcast entered through a private mastering exchange. From there, automated uploads pushed copies to regional mirrors, then into local playback systems that could rebroadcast it.
Dj Trapreem
I can identify the exchange and the mirror cluster. The strongest trail points west, toward an old distribution hub outside the safe zone, not deeper into this building.
Seven
Then we have a direction and a usable target. We copy the evidence, leave this studio quiet, and decide whether that hub is worth approaching.
✓ Quest Accepted
Gather resources, establish camp, and rest
“Does the safe zone have a place where our crew can rest?”
YES, AND MORE (Likely, rolled 11)
Seven folds the route map and points beyond the studio's rear partition. A marked stairwell leads to a protected rest level inside the safe zone, reserved for incoming crews.
Seven
Yes. There is a place for us to rest, with cots, clean water, and controlled entry. We can recover without leaving the safe zone.
Trapreem checks the route marks, then taps a second notation beside the rest level. The same facility contains a staffed communications room with a direct line toward the western distribution hub.
Dj Trapreem
And there is more. The rest level connects to a communications room. From there, we may reach the western hub without crossing the open streets first.
Meech
That gives us shelter and a safer way to work the Phaze lead. We take the rest, preserve the files, and move when the crew is ready.
Rasan
Then nobody wanders. We get everyone below, secure the evidence, and keep that western route available.
Lucose
I will carry the recorder and notes. If the communications room is live, we can learn what waits at the hub before we step outside.
“I ask Trapreem to brief us while resting”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +0)
Chuck
Trapreem, brief us while we rest. Start with what the western hub can tell us about Phaze's lead.
The crew moves into the protected rest level beneath the studio. Cots line the walls, clean water waits beside a supply station, and a staffed communications room sits beyond a controlled door.
Dj Trapreem
The western hub was built to distribute finished audio, but Phaze adapted it for redundancy. Every mirror received a slightly altered stem, so one shutdown would not kill the broadcast.
Trapreem sets the recorder on a table between the cots and opens his weathered folder. He marks three relay paths, then circles a shared mastering account used by the hub.
Dj Trapreem
That account is our cleanest lead. If the communications room reaches the hub, I can identify which mirror is active and send a quiet query without exposing this safe zone.
Meech
Good. We rest, copy everything twice, then use the line before we leave. Nobody risks the crew on a blind approach.
Seven
I will map the protected route to communications. Once Trapreem confirms the active mirror, we decide whether the hub is worth the exposure.
“I copy the evidence twice and secure it”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +1)
Chuck clears a cot-side table and lays out the evidence folder, recorder, and blank storage cards. The communications room remains quiet beyond the controlled door.
He sorts the waveform pages and route marks into matching sets, then uses the room's computer to duplicate every file and scan each handwritten page.
Dj Trapreem
The copies match the originals. Keep one set here and carry the other, so Phaze cannot erase the whole trail with one move.
Chuck verifies both copies against the circled waveform and shared mastering account. The files open cleanly, and the two evidence sets remain complete.
He seals one copy inside the weathered folder and places it in the secured storage compartment. The second goes into a separate inner pocket, protected from the room's loose equipment.
Seven
Evidence is secured twice. I have the protected route mapped, and the communications room is ready when you are.
Meech
Good. We preserve the proof, then use the line to learn which mirror is active before we expose the crew.
“I rest on the cot and gather supplies”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +1)
Chuck settles onto the cot and lets the protected rest level's quiet steady his breathing. The room's clean water, supply station, and orderly shelves make recovery practical rather than hurried.
Chuck
The safe-zone supplies are enough for the next move.
After resting, Chuck rises and gathers sealed water, compact food packs, spare batteries, a basic first-aid roll, and blank storage cards into a compact carry bundle.
Dj Trapreem
Take the batteries and cards. The communications room may need both, and we cannot assume the hub will answer cleanly.
Trapreem checks the bundle's weight, then adds a short charging cable and a pencil from the worktable. Chuck keeps the duplicated evidence separate from the supplies.
Meech
Rest did its job. We have water, food, power, and proof. When Seven opens the route, we move together.
Chuck secures the gathered supplies beside the evidence copies and returns to the cot's edge, ready for the communications room briefing while the crew prepares around him.
Quest Complete
Gather resources, establish camp, and rest
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Great→Superb
+ New Item Acquired
Sealed water
+ New Item Acquired
Compact food packs
+ New Item Acquired
Spare batteries
+ New Item Acquired
First-aid roll
+ New Item Acquired
Blank storage cards
+ New Item Acquired
Charging cable
+ New Item Acquired
Pencil