Dipper holds the cargo ship steady against Pluto station’s loading bay. Its engines hum beneath the deck while Buck’s three raptor-shaped Sentinels sweep ahead and Sarge covers the approach.
The bay walls are smeared with dried blood and dark machine oil. Repeated claw strikes tear across the plating around a buckled access door, where the metal has been forced inward.
Sarge
Murder Drone entry marks. Multiple impacts, judging by the spread. Something fought its way through here.
Buck’s Sentinels lower their heads and follow scattered drag marks across the deck. Oil streaks vanish beneath cargo pallets, then reappear beside a maintenance corridor leading deeper into the station.
Buck
Their sensors are catching intermittent emergency signals ahead. Not a clear transmission, just short bursts repeating through the walls.
One damaged emergency lamp flickers above the corridor. Far inside, a weak metallic scrape answers, followed by a distant pulse from the station’s failing warning system.
Dipper
Cargo ship remains steady and engines are ready. The team can proceed when you give the word.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the source of the emergency signals
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Pluto station's vital supplies
Director's note
Use hard-won insight
“Hey Buck, how much do you love your sentinels? If not by much, send one in to investigate the area and report anything it sees.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +1)
Ben
Hey Buck, how much do you love your Sentinels? If not by much, send one in to investigate and report what it sees.
Buck
I love every one of them plenty, sugar. But I know their job. Scout Three, move ahead and report anything you find.
Buck directs one raptor-shaped Sentinel from the formation. Its blue optics brighten as it slips beneath the flickering emergency lamp and follows the oil-marked corridor.
Sarge
I’ll cover the entrance. If that machine spots trouble, we’ll know before it reaches the team.
The Sentinel advances low and silent, claws touching down between dried blood smears and torn plating. Its sensors sweep the buckled access door, cargo pallets, and shadowed vents.
Buck
Scout Three is transmitting. I’m getting a clear feed now. The corridor continues past the door, with no movement detected in the immediate area.
A second pulse travels through Buck’s control rig. The Sentinel pauses beside the maintenance corridor, mapping the deeper passage and marking the repeating emergency signal for the team.