Amber Wing’s wake sensors register a small maintenance capsule sliding out of the Drift corridor. Its transponder matches no current traffic record, but its beacon repeats the exact departure signature used during Avalon launch.
Lahani
That signature is ours. Not similar, not copied from the public route record. Exact down to the timing offsets.
Lahani holds the ship on the safer plot while the capsule’s failing drive sheds irregular heat. Automated magnetic capture engages beneath the hull and draws it into the auxiliary docking cradle.
Ranuko
The capsule is barely holding together. Its navigation storage is degrading, and the beacon is still repeating our launch signature.
Riyanu and Nikayo prepare the new medical bay and laboratory access points. Kiryati remains behind on Avalon with emitter three, while the rest of Amber Wing’s crew stays aboard.
Saven
Do not disconnect my nav core. I followed a route that should not exist, and the capsule started failing when I reached your departure wake.
The docking camera shows Saven, a badly exhausted Avali courier, braced against the capsule’s inner frame. His suit is intact, but his movements are slow and unsteady.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether Saven’s arrival confirms a breach in Amber Wing’s route security
“I compare Saven's route logs with our sealed departure data.”
SUCCESS (Superb Computers, rolled -1)
Nahuli connects the capsule’s degrading navigation storage to the sealed departure archive through a read-only diagnostic bridge. Timestamp, acceleration, and beacon records align without exposing Amber Wing’s controls.
The comparison resolves the discrepancy: Saven’s capsule followed Amber Wing’s physical wake signature, not a copied public route. Its failing guidance system locked onto the residual launch pattern.
Nahuli
The capsule tracked our wake after departure, and the sealed departure data confirms the match.
Saven
So the route was real. Your launch wake gave my nav core something stable to follow, even after the corridor shifted.
Lahani
That explains the exact timing offsets. The wake was measurable longer than expected, but it should not have formed a navigable route by itself.
Ranuko archives the matched signatures and isolates Saven’s navigation data from Amber Wing’s systems. The records identify a repeatable wake phenomenon, while the capsule remains safely docked.
“I isolate the capsule from Amber Wing”
SUCCESS (Superb Security Systems, rolled +0)
Nahuli opens the auxiliary docking controls and severs the capsule’s magnetic, power, data, and life-support links from Amber Wing in a deliberate sequence.
The capsule remains sealed in the cradle, independently powered and physically separated behind an isolation barrier. Saven’s navigation core continues recording, but nothing can reach Amber Wing.
Lahani
Isolation confirmed. The capsule is still secure, but it has no path into our controls, sensors, or route planner.
Ranuko
I see the breakpoints. Power, data, and environmental interfaces are all isolated, and the diagnostic bridge is now read-only on both sides.
Saven
Understood. I can remain here without risking your ship. Just do not let the capsule reconnect until we know what followed my wake.
A final status panel turns green across the isolated capsule. Amber Wing’s systems return to nominal load, while Saven’s failing guidance records remain contained for later examination.
“I inspect Saven’s isolated navigation records”
SUCCESS (Superb Computers, rolled +0)
Nahuli opens the isolated navigation archive through the read-only bridge. Layered timestamps, acceleration traces, and beacon echoes resolve across the diagnostic display without exposing Amber Wing.
The records show Saven’s capsule acquired Amber Wing’s launch wake as a coherent guidance reference, then corrected against the shifting Drift corridor instead of following a stored route.
Nahuli
The wake persisted as measurable structure after departure.
Ranuko
The archive confirms it. The capsule tracked a physical wake signature, not a copied course or an external command signal.
Lahani
And the wake decayed unevenly. Its strongest interval overlaps our first corridor crossing, which explains how Saven reached us at all.
Nahuli’s inspection separates guidance data from capsule control records and marks the wake’s duration, signal strength, and correction points. The findings remain contained on both sides of the isolation barrier.
Saven
Then I followed your departure trail through the Drift. I can erase the guidance trace from my active navigator, if that keeps your route private.
“Does Saven’s capsule retain any other route signatures?”
NO (Likely, rolled 77)
The archive completes its comparison against every stored departure, corridor, and beacon pattern. Saven’s capsule contains no additional route signatures beyond Amber Wing’s launch wake.
Ranuko
Confirmed across navigation storage, active guidance, and degraded cache sectors. There is no second route, hidden beacon imprint, or alternate departure trail.
Ranuko seals the result in the isolated audit record. The capsule’s guidance history shows one acquisition event, one wake reference, and no retained signatures from any other vessel.
Saven
Then I did not carry another route in with me. I followed your wake, and only your wake, until the capsule began failing.
Lahani
That narrows the risk considerably. Nothing in his navigator points toward another ship, corridor, or observer.
The read-only bridge remains unchanged, with Amber Wing’s controls protected and Saven’s navigation records contained. The wake phenomenon is the only established link between the two vessels.
Saven
I will keep the navigator disconnected and preserve the capsule’s remaining records. You have my confirmation: there is nothing else in them.