The office door hisses open. Smoke rolls in from the corridor, and The Courier stands there with a jammer clutched in both hands, the alarms dead around him.
The Courier
2-6, stop the upload. The whole ship is purging unauthorized data, if you stay in here, the wipe catches you too.
Grim
Too late. He’s already halfway in. Step aside, courier.
A sharp laugh cuts through the haze. A new figure in a black procurement coat steps past the threshold, iris lenses glowing red as they lock on 2-6. Kael's amber map lines flare brighter behind them.
The Auditor
No one steps aside. Asset 2-6 is marked for retrieval, and this room is now under compliance notice.
2-6
The jammer is buying seconds, not safety.
Varo turns from the holo map, tense and alert, while Grim shifts to block the door. The Auditor raises a compact shock baton, keeping their distance, ready to move if 2-6 bolts.
✓ Quest Accepted
Stop the upload before the purge catches 2-6
“2-6 pulls the plug on the Data transfer. "Just in time auditor. Take me home?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Hacking, rolled -1)
2-6 yanks the plug free from the transfer stack, and the amber lines across the holo map stutter, then collapse into broken sparks.
2-6
Just in time, auditor. Take me home?
The data feed dies with a soft choke. The room’s registry tone drops away, leaving only the hiss of smoke and the click of cooling hardware.
The Auditor
Accepted. Asset recovery begins now.
Director Varo
Wait, no, I still need the log tail. Grim, hold the door.
Grim
He’s moving. Don’t let him slip the net.
The Courier
2-6, move. Now. Before that purge finds the empty line.
Quest Complete
Stop the upload before the purge catches 2-6
“2-6 doesn't think and springs to action. Manoeuvring behind the auditor and placing his hand on its shoulder. "I'm secure let's go"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +1)
2-6 slips behind The Auditor in a blur, his hand settling on their shoulder like a marker signal. The motion is clean, practiced, and final.
2-6
I'm secure, let's go.
The Auditor
Asset is compliant. I am proceeding with recovery.
Grim shifts aside with a hard glance at the doorway, while Varo freezes at the dead holo table, one hand still reaching for the lost log tail.
The Courier
No, listen to me, the purge is already on the line. Move now.
Smoke rolls thicker through the frame behind them, and the office lights twitch once, then dim to emergency red.
Director Varo
If you leave with that upload incomplete, I lose the only clean thread I have.
The Auditor angles toward the corridor with 2-6 at their shoulder, but their baton stays half-raised, waiting for one more decision to lock the room or walk out of it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave with the Auditor
“Lock the room. Keep the trail dead. We stay ghosts. Let's go.”
SUCCESS (Superb Hacking, rolled -1)
2-6 taps the office net through the shell on his arm, and the door seal snaps shut with a soft, final click. The corridor light outside vanishes behind frosted glass.
At the same time, the dead holo table empties again, its last trace package collapsing into clean static. The red emergency wash keeps the room, but the trail goes cold.
The Auditor
Compliance accepted. Trail suppression confirmed.
The Courier
That works. Now move, before the purge catches the seal.
Director Varo
The logs are gone. Damn it, 2-6, I need that thread alive.
Grim checks the locked door, then shifts his weight toward the hall anyway, listening for trouble that cannot get in yet.
The Auditor
Asset is concealed. I am proceeding with extraction.
“Leave with the auditor. Send a message to Jax "I'm with the auditor, see you soon"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)