Damon and Serai lift the damaged guide panel and descend into the cramped service undercroft. Dust coats the conduits, while coolant residue glimmers beneath abandoned diagnostic ports.
The maintenance route runs beneath the public rails, boxed in by old supports and low utility piping. Their lights catch vibration marks leading away from Cinder-9.
Damon Ryder
The residue is newer than the dust around it.
Serai kneels beside a recessed junction and brushes grime from a mechanical route plate. Its etched arrows show repeated transfers toward an orbital freight depot omitted from the public routing records.
Serai
This date matches the night I was moved. The route repeats, so the depot was not an emergency destination. It was part of their normal procedure.
The plate identifies the destination only by an obsolete service designation and records three transfer cycles. A sealed maintenance hatch blocks the route ahead, its manual release marked with the same depot code.
Serai
If the hatch still opens, we may find where the containers went after this berth. We should preserve the plate and inspect the mechanism before forcing anything.
Director's note
Preserve the evidence, then investigate the hatch and obsolete routing mechanism in place. Establish what the depot code represents or where the route leads if the surviving hardware can reveal it. Do not force the hatch or automatically open it if doing so would trigger security.
“Damon agrees with Serai and photographs the mechanical route plate, depot code, transfer markings, residue, and surrounding hardware before touching anything. He then examines the sealed maintenance hatch and its manual release with his multi-tool, determining its condition, whether it has been used recently, what lies beyond it if detectable, and whether it can be opened normally without damaging the mechanism or triggering an alarm. Serai stays beside him, comparing the route markings with what she remembers from her transport.”
SUCCESS (Superb Engineering, rolled -2)
Damon photographs the route plate, depot code, transfer markings, residue, guide rails, and surrounding hardware from several angles. He preserves the evidence before touching the hatch.
His multi-tool probes the manual release and hinge seams without forcing them. The mechanism is intact, recently serviced, and carries fresh lubricant over older dust, showing use within the last transfer cycle.
Serai
The service marks match the route plate. I remember the same downward vibration after the container left the cradle, followed by a longer, steadier movement.
A passive scan detects an unpowered maintenance corridor beyond the hatch, sloping toward orbital freight infrastructure. No alarm circuit is armed, though the release will make a sharp mechanical report.
Damon opens the hatch through its normal manual sequence. The latch clicks loudly, spending a disposable tool tip when the corroded final catch resists, but the mechanism remains undamaged.
Serai
The depot designation is not a destination code alone. It identifies an orbital freight depot’s old intake route, with three recorded transfer cycles from this berth.
Beyond lies a narrow service passage descending toward dormant freight lifts. Dust is disturbed along one track, and a faded depot stencil points toward the orbital transfer network.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the orbital freight depot
Director's notewhole tale
Advance Damon and Serai physically along the hidden freight route toward the orbital depot. Let Serai's memories contribute where appropriate. Introduce concrete discoveries or encounters along the route rather than another records inquiry.
“Damon accepts the orbital depot as their next destination. With Serai beside him, he enters the service passage and follows the disturbed track toward the dormant freight lifts, using the depot stencil and physical transfer marks as their guide. He keeps his sidearm accessible and watches for signs of recent traffic, surveillance, active machinery, or anyone ahead while Serai compares the route's motion and layout with what she remembers from inside the container. Their goal is to reach the orbital freight depot and determine where Serai's transport went after leaving Cinder-9.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Damon keeps his sidearm accessible and follows the disturbed track through the service passage. Dust lies thick beside the rail, but recent scuffs cut toward the dormant freight lifts.
He pauses at each junction, watching for camera housings, active indicators, fresh lubricant, or movement ahead. Only dead conduits and old utility lights answer, while the depot stencil repeats beneath layers of grime.
Serai
The passage slopes the same way I remember. The container moved steadily here, then paused long enough for another transfer before the vibration changed.
Serai compares the turns and support columns with sensations preserved from inside the container. Her guidance keeps them on the marked route as the disturbed track widens near the lift machinery.
A dormant freight lift opens into a broad orbital-transfer shaft. Its platform bears fresh wheel marks, a torn seal fragment, and pale coolant residue matching the container’s fittings.
Serai
This is the next stage. I remember the longer descent and the pressure shift here. They moved me through this lift toward the orbital depot.
The lift controls remain unpowered, but a manual depot junction beside them carries the same obsolete code. Damon and Serai have reached the orbital freight network and found the physical trail onward.