The observation deck hums with recycled air and booted footsteps below. Route markers on Tressa’s datapad keep branching, while dockside codes flicker over to her authority. In the cradle bay, a frozen loading arm jerks awake and begins to move.
At the corridor bend, a figure in charcoal-grey tactical gear blocks the way. He stands loose and ready, cybernetic arm resting on the hilt of his katana, watching the port’s takeover like it is a test he already half passed.
Thrio
You move fast, Tressa. Faster than the rumors.
He tips his head toward the deck glass, where alarms pulse across moored ships and crews scramble under new command overlays. He does not reach for the blade, but he does not step aside either.
Thrio
I came to see if the Emerald Monarch was real, or just another loud title with a short fuse.
Tressa
You need something, then say it.
Thrio
Maybe. I need a captain who can hold a sky-port without drowning in it. Right now, that looks like you.
His gaze shifts to the datapad, then back to Tressa, measuring her like a blade he has not drawn yet. Around them, the port keeps moving, but the corridor feels paused on the edge of a deal.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn whether Thrio is a threat or an ally
✓ Quest Accepted
Eliminate the Victorian syndicate leader
“What's a ronin doing looking for a captain?”
SUCCESS (Good Streetwise, rolled +0)
Tressa
What’s a ronin doing looking for a captain?
Thrio
Looking for work that still has honor in it. Most captains want obedience. I want judgment, and enough room to walk away when the job turns rotten.
Thrio
And I want to know if Tressa survives her own legend.
Thrio
I left a noble house because I refused to become a leash with a title. Since then, I hire my sword by the night, not by the flag.
Thrio
You, though, you reroute a port with one hand and keep the whole deck from coming apart with the other. That is not luck. That is command.
Thrio
So I’m asking plainly. Do you keep people who can think, or do you only keep soldiers who nod?
Thrio
Because if you keep thinkers, I can be useful. If not, I’ll still tell you this, your climb has already made you visible to people who prefer knives over meetings.
Quest Complete
Learn whether Thrio is a threat or an ally
“"oh I know!" *I smile and laugh* "were pirates here little noble! Long as you split the share even and don't stab anyone at the back I think you'll be fine"”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Tressa
Oh, I know. Fine share, clean cuts, no knives in the back. If you can live by that, you fit.
Tressa’s laugh rolls out easy, almost casual, as the datapad dips in her hand. The route markers keep branching across its glass, but her attention stays on Thrio.
Thrio
That is the first honest offer I have heard from a captain in months.
Thrio
He gives a short, careful smile, then lets his katana rest lower at his side.
Thrio
I can work with fairness. I can work with rules. I cannot work with a crew that calls betrayal strategy.
The frozen loading arm in the tanker cradle grinds on behind them, a slow metallic turn under the sky-port lights. The smell of explosives still clings somewhere deep in the complex.
Thrio
If I stay, I stay as myself, not as a banner. I will speak when I see trouble, even if it annoys you.
Thrio extends his cybernetic hand, palm up, not quite a pledge and not quite a challenge. The city hums below the deck, while the route slate waits in Tressa’s other hand.
“"good ask around see what crew needs you"”
SUCCESS (Good Streetwise, rolled +0)
Tressa lowers the datapad and starts asking around, quiet and direct, the way a captain learns a crew instead of a legend. The loading arm keeps crawling in the tanker cradle behind them.
Thrio
There is the galley crew, they want steadier supply runs. The deckhands want clearer shift rules. The riggers want someone who notices when a fix is only a delay.
He speaks like he is mapping the ship in his head, not trying to flatter her. His cybernetic hand stays open, patient.
Thrio
And the ones who keep their mouths shut, they usually want protection more than pay. They are waiting to see whether you are the kind of captain who notices that.
Tressa
I notice.
Tressa’s answer lands clean. The route markers on the datapad branch into a tighter cluster as she scrolls past them, taking stock of who the crew might actually need.
Thrio
Then you already speak better than most captains. If you want useful hands, give them a job that matters and the truth about why it matters.
Thrio eases his katana lower, not hiding it, just making peace with the room. His offered hand stays there, steady, while the sky-port hums under the deck.
“..."you already have a job something tells me you're talking to me because you're not wanting to be a part of a small crew on a rotting sky vessel?"”
SUCCESS (Good Streetwise, rolled +2)
Tressa
You already have a job. Something tells me you are not here because you want a place on a rotting sky vessel.
Thrio
No. I am here because a small crew can still become sharp if the captain lets it think.
Thrio
I have served bigger names. They wanted obedience. I wanted a place where judgment still counts.
Thrio’s cybernetic hand lowers a fraction, then opens again, palm up, like he is refusing to hide the answer. The loading arm keeps sliding in the tanker cradle below the deck glass.
Thrio
I came because you took a port apart and left the useful parts standing. That tells me you are not just loud.
Thrio
And because leaders who see the shape of a room before they enter it usually survive longer than the ones who only enjoy being feared.
The route markers on Tressa’s datapad stay clustered, steady now, while the quiet between them feels less like suspicion and more like an appraisal being finished.
Thrio
If you want my blade, take it with the rest of me. If not, I can still tell you who is watching your rise from farther away than your fleet can scan.