The tunnel flashes white, then drops into red emergency haze. Bulkhead locks clank somewhere ahead, and Kaine's voice hisses through the intercom, smooth as oil. He is sealing the route shut.
Bootsteps scrape through the dark behind Zara Mensk and the Courier. A shape breaks from a side junction, matte armor catching the red glow. A visor tilts up, cold and ready.
The Enforcer
Asset secured. Hands where I can see them, now.
The Enforcer raises a compact shock rifle, not quite firing, just promising pain. The Courier shifts with the crate, staying between Zara and the muzzle.
Zara Mensk
The lockout is closing the tunnel behind them.
The Enforcer
Kaine wants the hardware, and he wants witnesses breathing. Make this easy.
Above them, the open hatch flickers with distant movement. Ahead, the corridor narrows into a blind bend, with no clean exit in sight.
✓ Quest Accepted
Bypass Kaine's tunnel lockout
“I attempt to use my transceiver to create an audio feedback loop to disorient the attacker”
SUCCESS (Great Electronics, rolled +1)
Zara snaps the transceiver live and sweeps a tight burst through the tunnel, chasing the Enforcer's rifle frequency with a harsh, squealing mirror of itself.
The feedback bites. The Enforcer jerks, visor flaring white as the shock rifle chatters uselessly in their grip.
The Enforcer
Augh, damn it, kill that signal.
The Courier flinches but stays planted with the crate, eyes locked on the weapon wobbling off-line.
Zara Mensk
The interference is holding.
Kaine's intercom hiss turns ragged for a second, the lockout tone warping under the same wash of noise.
The Enforcer
Move, now, before that loop cooks the whole junction.