A narrow-band transmission appears inside the isolated diagnostic bridge, bypassing Saven’s disconnected capsule systems without touching Amber Wing’s controls. Its carrier is external, weak, and precisely aimed.
The packet addresses Saven by a call sign he has not used since before the failed departure. It contains a timestamp, a vector correction, and a clipped audio fragment.
The Captain
Clever little ship. It turns danger into leverage, then pretends the maneuver was maintenance.
Saven
That call sign is not in the capsule. I abandoned it before the departure failure. Whoever sent this knew me before I entered the corridor.
Ranuko freezes the packet in the read-only archive and compares its timing against the wake records. The vector correction points back toward the corridor Amber Wing just crossed.
Lahani
The source is not Saven’s capsule. Someone watched our maneuvers closely enough to grade them, and waited until we carried him aboard.
The transmission’s encryption resembles no Avalon registry or known relay handshake. Kiryati remains behind with emitter three, while Nahuli, Lahani, Ranuko, Riyanu, Nikayo, and Saven are aboard Amber Wing as the message repeats once.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the sender of the external transmission
✓ Quest Accepted
Get Saven to cooperate in examining the transmission
“Same pirate as before?”
NO (Even, rolled 75)
Ranuko compares the transmission’s carrier geometry, modulation habits, and timing against the earlier pirate encounter. None of the signatures match.
Ranuko
Negative match. This is not the pirate vessel, not its relay pattern, and not any derivative handshake from that pursuit.
Lahani
Then the observer is separate from the pirates. They watched the corridor, recognized Saven’s wake, and chose their moment afterward.
The packet remains suspended in the isolated bridge, its vector pointing toward the corridor rather than Amber Wing’s present position. No command path opens, and no second transmission follows.
Saven
I have never heard that voice attached to the old call sign. Whoever they are, they were not part of the crew that chased you.
Lahani
That narrows the threat, but it does not make the message harmless. We have a new observer, not an old enemy returning.
Ranuko seals the comparison beside the wake evidence. The earlier pirates are excluded, while the unknown sender remains an independent actor with access to Saven’s history and Amber Wing’s recent route.
“Can Saven recognize the sender’s timing or transmission habits?”
NO (Likely, rolled 92)
Saven
No. The timing is wrong for every habit I remember. There is no familiar pause, carrier drift, or handshake cadence.
Saven studies the frozen packet through the isolation barrier. Its timing remains precise, but no pattern connects it to the call sign’s former associations.
Ranuko
I confirm that. The transmission contains no reused framing, relay interval, or authentication rhythm from Saven’s archived records.
Lahani
Then the sender knew the call sign, but not through a recognizable transmission habit. Recognition gives us no reliable path back to them.
Ranuko marks Saven’s answer as negative evidence beside the carrier comparison. The unknown sender remains separate from the pirates and unidentifiable by timing alone.
Saven
I cannot tell you who sent it from the way it arrived. The packet is deliberate, but nothing about its delivery belongs to someone I know.
The message stays contained in the read-only archive, pointing toward the crossed corridor without opening any command route or revealing a recognizable sender signature.
“I trace the packet’s vector toward the corridor”
SUCCESS (Legendary Computers, rolled +1)
Nahuli routes the packet’s frozen vector through the isolated diagnostic bridge, using carrier phase, timestamp drift, and corridor geometry without exposing Amber Wing’s controls.
The trace resolves cleanly. The vector originates beyond the corridor’s far edge, then reflects through a weak relay shadow before reaching the packet’s transmission point.
Nahuli
The sender is outside the corridor, not hiding inside Saven’s capsule.
Ranuko
Confirmed. The vector does not terminate at the wake. It crosses the wake’s fading boundary and points toward an external observation position.
Lahani
That gives us a location class, not an identity. Whoever sent it watched the crossing from beyond the corridor and transmitted afterward.
Ranuko overlays the trace against Amber Wing’s departure records. The origin lies outside the known beacon grid, with no registered relay handshake or stable return path.
Saven
Then they had a line on the corridor before I followed your wake. I never saw that position from the capsule.
Quest Complete
Get Saven to cooperate in examining the transmission