The buyer’s full holographic presence materializes above the scanner, a tall figure in a mirrored pressure coat whose face remains hidden behind shifting blue coordinates. The unauthorized projection bypasses every station filter.
The Buyer
Immediate handoff. Depart through the Karthos corridor now, and the six-hour clearance remains active. Delay, and I revoke it.
The launch module’s clamps unlock with a heavy metallic sequence. Its engines brighten beneath the fabrication gantry, while the transmitted coordinates redraw themselves over a nearby receiving point.
The Smuggler Captain
That corridor was payment for the sale, not a leash. Your sudden urgency makes this look exactly like a trap.
The smuggler captain steps between the console and the module controls, one hand hovering near the launch override. Behind her, the completed weapon hangs ready, its dead starlight pulsing against the bay’s patched machinery.
The Buyer
You misunderstand the privilege you were granted. The Empire is already closing on the station. Leave now, or the corridor disappears with your opportunity.
Warning glyphs ignite across the scanner as distant station locks begin cycling. The smuggler captain keeps herself between Avarice and the controls, leaving the decision, and the buyer’s threat, hanging in the charged silence.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish a binding partnership with the buyer
“"No... You misunderstand just who you're dealing with. You offered unmonitored passage, and you will deliver on your promise. Otherwise, I don't mind turning this weapon against you for even considering threatening me."”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
“"No... You misunderstand just who you're dealing with. You offered unmonitored passage, and you will deliver on your promise. Otherwise, I don't mind turning this weapon against you for even considering threatening me."”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled -2)
Avarice
No... You misunderstand just who you’re dealing with. You offered unmonitored passage, and you will deliver on your promise. Otherwise, I don’t mind turning this weapon against you for threatening me.
Avarice’s threat rolls through the open channel. Mammon’s Retribution hangs at her side, its unholy energy visibly draining the scanner’s light as the buyer’s hologram recoils from the weapon’s promise.
The Tome of The Wicked feeds binding formulae into the command field, sharpening her demand until the launch module recognizes her authority. Yet the Empire’s fear of what she is makes the buyer trigger every defensive safeguard at once.
The Buyer
Threatening us does not make you master of the corridor. I will honor the clearance only after the weapon confirms its receiving lock. Until then, its launch authority is suspended.
The corridor codes remain visible, but their unmonitored status turns gray and conditional. The launch module seals its firing controls, redirecting the weapon’s command handshake to the buyer’s authorization lattice.
The Smuggler Captain
That went badly. He is not running, but he has made the passage conditional and locked the weapon behind his approval. We cannot bluff past that with the same threat.
The smuggler captain’s hand settles on the launch override. The buyer’s hologram holds steady now, while the weapon’s dead starlight dims into enforced standby and the station locks continue cycling beyond the bay.
“"No... You misunderstand just who you're dealing with. You offered unmonitored passage, and you will deliver on your promise. Otherwise, I don't mind turning this weapon against you for even considering threatening me."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
The threat hangs in the fabrication bay. Mammon’s Retribution drinks the scanner’s light, while the Tome of The Wicked threads binding formulae through the buyer’s authorization lattice.
Fear of Avarice’s fiend-celestial nature trips the buyer’s defensive safeguards, but the Tome turns that hesitation against them, forcing every safeguard to recognize the promised corridor as a binding term.
The Buyer
Enough. The threat is understood. The Karthos corridor is restored to full unmonitored status, exactly as granted.
Gray conditional markings flare green across the scanner. The launch module’s command handshake releases its lock, and the receiving coordinates remain fixed without any demand for prior authorization.
The Smuggler Captain
That is the passage we bought. Six hours, no imperial monitoring, and no leash attached. Now we can move on our terms.
The smuggler captain removes her hand from the override. Beyond the bay, station locks continue cycling, but the corridor access codes burn clear and active, ready to carry the weapon toward its receiving point.