Amber Wing rides its controlled burn toward the next Rim survey system. Avalon dwindles behind them, while all five crew members hold their assigned stations aboard the ship.
A weak relay beacon appears ahead, its transmission broken into narrow bursts. The partial synchronization table matches sectors recovered from the damaged route package.
Lahani
I have the verified vector steady. The beacon is outside our primary route, but its signal overlaps the relay handshake by less than two percent.
Ranuko
The matching sectors could repair the missing data, or contaminate the clean records. I can keep the route cases isolated while Nahuli examines the beacon.
Ranuko brings the beacon feed into a read-only diagnostic buffer. No command channel opens, but the partial table continues repeating through the weak relay.
Kiryati
Weapons remain cold and locally interlocked. If the beacon changes behavior, I can cut its signal path without touching Amber Wing’s navigation bus.
Ranuko
Nahuli, can you determine whether this beacon can safely repair the missing data without disturbing our protected return burn?
“I keep the beacon isolated and continue our route”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Nahuli leaves the beacon feed inside Ranuko’s read-only diagnostic buffer, physically separated from navigation, weapons, and the protected return-burn controls.
Nahuli
The beacon remains isolated, and the verified route is unchanged.
He marks the partial synchronization table as untrusted reference data, then closes its live display without allowing any sector to enter Amber Wing’s route cases.
Ranuko
Isolation is confirmed. The beacon can repeat indefinitely without reaching our navigation records or altering the clean route.
Lahani
Understood. I am holding the verified vector and beginning the next controlled burn. The return geometry stays protected.
Lahani advances Amber Wing along the established corridor. The weak beacon falls behind their sensor envelope, still contained in its sealed buffer as the ship’s relay handshake stabilizes.
Kiryati
Weapons remain cold, and the beacon has no signal path into my controls. We are clear to continue.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the next navpoint
“Beacons dont misbehave like this. Not really our job to fix, but I can go out and have a look.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Engineering, rolled +3)
Nahuli
Beacons do not usually behave like this. It is not really our job to fix it, but I can go out and have a look.
Nahuli suits up, clips a safety tether, and exits through Amber Wing’s service lock. Lahani holds the verified vector while Ranuko keeps the beacon feed isolated.
Lahani
Tether is live, weapons remain cold, and the return geometry is protected. Take the look, engineer, then come straight back.
He reaches the beacon’s dark housing and inspects its exterior sensors, relay antenna, and power scavenger. The repeating table comes from a cracked timing module, not an active transmitter.
Nahuli
The beacon is broadcasting stale synchronization data from a damaged clock.
Ranuko
That explains the overlap. More importantly, its maintenance port contains a complete timing reference for every missing route sector.
Nahuli copies the reference through a one-way optical link without opening the beacon’s command path. The recovered timing data repairs the route gaps in a quarantined duplicate, giving Amber Wing a safer review option without changing its protected route.
“I monitor the established corridor while Lahani carries us to the next navpoint.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +1)
Nahuli remains at the navigation station, monitoring the established corridor through the quarantined duplicate and live sensor returns while Amber Wing advances toward the next navpoint.
Nahuli
The corridor remains stable, and the repaired timing reference stays outside the protected route.
Lahani
Vector remains steady. I am carrying us to the next navpoint without engaging the beacon data or changing our return geometry.
The relay handshake holds within its verified margins. Amber Wing passes the beacon’s former position, leaving its stale transmission behind without opening any command path.
Ranuko
Monitoring confirms no contamination. The quarantined duplicate remains separate, and the established corridor is behaving exactly as recorded.
Kiryati
Weapons remain cold and locally interlocked. Nothing external is probing the ship or requesting access.
Lahani brings Amber Wing cleanly to the next navpoint. The corridor, return burn, and crew stations remain secure as the ship continues onward.
Quest Complete
Reach the next navpoint
Skill Upgrade: Zero-G Maneuvers Great→Superb