Jax staggers through the hatch, one hand pressed hard to his side. Behind him, the corridor seals thud shut in segments, and the maintenance run hums under corporate watch.
Jax
They are pinging a bypass frequency. We do not have long. Central ventilation hub, now.
The blue terminal light flares brighter as the network wakes around 2-6, mapping his route in tiny pulses. On the wall display, a service diagram paints the next section as a narrow, monitored spine leading straight toward the hub.
2-6
The hub is the only clean exit shown on the map.
A soft ripple runs through 2-6's forearm implant, a quiet shove from the nano-bots. The terminal updates, as if answering a command he never gave, and highlights the fastest path deeper into the run.
Jax
If the hunters catch that trace, they will box us in. Move before the network hands them our location.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the central ventilation hub
“You're hit, will you still be able to keep up?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 64)
Jax
I will keep pace, but do not expect me to be fast. My side is leaking, and the tech in this sector is not exactly friendly to my current configuration.
2-6
He is holding on by a thread, but his eyes are still sharp enough to track the network's pulse.
“Let's go then!”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +3)
2-6 starts forward, and the corridor answers with a blue strobe from the terminal ahead. Jax pushes off the bulkhead and limps after him, one hand still tight to his bleeding side.
The maintenance run opens into a junction of grated walkways and bundled cabling. The terminal’s display flickers once, then locks a direct line toward the central ventilation hub.
2-6
Let’s go then!
2-6 cuts across the junction at speed, his boots finding purchase on the wet metal. The path is clear enough that he does not need to slow for the first bend.
Jax
Good. The route just opened a service map, and it points to a hub with a manual latch. That helps us more than it should.
Ahead, a vented bulkhead stands ajar where the terminal has already overridden one latch. Blue light spills through the gap and paints the floor in hard bars.
2-6 reaches the hub threshold first. Beyond it, the shaft network branches wider, and the hiss of moving air drowns out the alarm for one brief second.
Quest Complete
Reach the central ventilation hub