Mercer District's forgotten tunnels smell of wet concrete and rust. Beyond a fresh chain-link barrier, a corridor opens into a clean, brightly lit annex that is absent from every map.
A middle-aged beat cop stands before the lock, broad-shouldered in a rain-darkened uniform, with a shaved head, tired eyes, and a silver whistle clipped to his collar.
Officer Darnell
Old service annex. City maintenance forgot to remove the barrier, that's all.
Inside, orange expedition arrows mark the walls. Their paint is fresh enough to shine, and a torn inventory tag identifies equipment reported missing three months ago.
Officer Darnell
Those markings? Maintenance crew. Different crew, maybe. Look, I wasn't assigned here until tonight.
His answer shifts when the route map reveals a second entrance, then shifts again when a sealed evidence case appears beneath the barrier's control box.
Officer Darnell
That case is unrelated. It was logged by me, yes, but I never opened it. You should leave this alone.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn the fate of the missing expedition
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront Officer Darnell about what he concealed
“is this officer telling the truth?”
NO, AND WORSE (Unlikely, rolled 90)
The case’s status light turns from green to red. A tiny speaker clicks on beneath the control box, and the annex lights briefly stutter.
Officer Darnell
Nobody touch that. The seal is supposed to hold until the retrieval team arrives.
The lie settles into the corridor with the smell of hot circuitry. The inventory tag is not merely evidence of missing equipment. It is an authorization slip, signed tonight.
Officer Darnell
I said I logged it. That does not mean I know what is inside.
A harsh tone pulses from the case. On its lid, a concealed display wakes: TRANSFER IN PROGRESS, followed by a destination code matching the annex.
Officer Darnell
Damn it. The system was not meant to wake yet.
Beyond the barrier, a heavy interior door unlocks with a mechanical clunk. Whatever Darnell expected to control, the annex has started moving it without him.
− Scene Quest Removed
Learn the fate of the missing expedition
“did this officer awake something very dangerous that could possibly destroy aurelia”
YES, AND MORE (Likely, rolled 11)
The interior door rolls aside, revealing a descending maintenance shaft lined with fiber conduits. Red indicators race toward a central node marked AURELIA GRID CONTINUITY.
Officer Darnell
That is not a storage annex. It is a buried routing station. If the transfer completes, someone can seize every emergency system in the city.
The case display fractures into three windows: transit control, water pressure, and hospital backup power. A countdown begins, but its first digits are already missing.
Officer Darnell
I was told it was a diagnostic package. They used my credentials to wake the continuity kernel.
jade mercer
The annex is not moving equipment. It is moving authority.
A printer snaps alive beside the barrier and feeds out a narrow strip of paper. It lists the kernel's destination, then prints Darnell's access code in full.
Officer Darnell
How did it print that? Nobody outside the command office should have the override.
Director's note
hand cuffs the officer and demand him to tell the truth about what the machine is
Jade closes the barrier gap, takes Officer Officer Darnell’s wrists, and secures them behind his back with cuffs from her field kit. The printer chatters beside them.
jade mercer
Tell me the truth. What is this machine, and who is using it?
Officer Darnell
It is the continuity kernel. It can reroute priority access across Aurelia’s emergency network, but it needs a valid command identity.
Officer Darnell tests the cuffs once, then stops. Red light from the shaft cuts across his tired face as another destination window opens on the case.
Officer Darnell
The people behind this call themselves the Custodians. They recruited me to deliver the case, not activate it. Someone above me changed the schedule.
jade mercer
Your code is printed on the override. Start with the name of the person who gave you access.
Officer Darnell
Deputy Director Vale. But Vale is not the operator. The kernel is receiving commands through the hospital backup channel, and that channel belongs to someone already inside the annex.
Quest Complete
Confront Officer Darnell about what he concealed