Amber Wing holds at the edge of Avalon’s permitted survey corridor, engines trimmed to idle. Behind them, the serviced lanes fade into traffic beacons and regulated certainty.
Lahani
The relay-assisted route reaches an unmapped Rim system in two jumps. The corridor is narrow, but the return burn remains clean if we preserve reserve fuel.
Nikayo
The system’s passive returns suggest an old survey population, unusual magnetosphere activity, and several bodies worth sampling. It is scientifically useful, not merely unexplored.
Ranuko
Our bottleneck is the power bus. Navigation, laboratory refrigeration, and relay synchronization together exceed the comfortable margin during jump preparation.
Ranuko highlights three competing loads on the isolated display. The emitters remain cold and local, while the medical bay and laboratory report ready status.
Kiryati
Defensive systems can stay offline through the jump. I will retain physical readiness, but they need not draw from the bus.
Riyanu
Medical support is stable. I can place noncritical refrigeration on reserve, provided sample integrity is not assumed during the transition.
✓ Quest Accepted
Explore the unmapped Rim system
“So we get either weapons or travel drive? That's expected. Getting enough energy to keep both active would take more space than we have to reasonably spare. The med bay should have its own isolated power source.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Engineering, rolled -1)
Nahuli opens the medical bay’s service panel and maps its refrigeration, isolation, and monitoring circuits against Amber Wing’s reserve capacity. The jump loads remain separate.
Ranuko
There is room for a dedicated buffer if we stop treating the bay as a permanent bus load. I can isolate charging from operation.
Using a spare laboratory power conditioner, Nahuli reroutes the bay through a shielded buffer assembly and adds physical disconnects at both ends. The medical circuits come off the main bus.
Riyanu
Refrigeration is stable on the isolated source. Monitoring and treatment equipment stay available even while the drive prepares for transit.
Ranuko
The buffer charges during ordinary cruise, then carries the bay through jump preparation. Navigation and laboratory synchronization regain their comfortable margin.
Nahuli records the wiring, capacity limits, and manual bypass procedure. A controlled load test confirms the medical bay remains powered while the main bus supports navigation and relay synchronization.
Lahani
That gives us the choice we actually need. The drive can stay ready, the weapons can stay cold, and medical support does not depend on either one.
✓ Quest Accepted
Make jump preparation viable for the unmapped Rim system
“This ship is somewhat modular, so things like this are simple. Now we need to calibrate the balance between the weapons and the drive. Once we have that, switching modes when needed should be easy.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Engineering, rolled -2)
Nahuli opens the modular power cabinet and links the weapon bus, drive regulators, and reserve capacitors through the ship’s local test harness. The architecture accepts the change cleanly.
Nahuli
The mode switch can be mechanical, not software-dependent.
He runs graduated drive surges against controlled emitter loads, adjusting priority curves until propulsion receives stable startup authority and the weapons retain a rapid reserve draw.
Ranuko
The balance is good. Drive preparation no longer starves the defensive bus, and weapons can hand power back without disturbing navigation.
The final calibration barely holds its thermal margin. A capacitor conditioning cycle consumes one spare power cartridge, leaving the reserve locker lighter but the switching profile within limits.
Kiryati
Weapon mode is ready on local command. I can keep the array cold during transit, then bring it online without rebuilding the load map.
Lahani
And drive mode remains clean. We can change priorities quickly while preserving manual control and the return burn.
Quest Complete
Make jump preparation viable for the unmapped Rim system