Onyx Soldier reaches for the override key, his fingers brushing the cold metal interface. As he makes contact, the navigation screens stutter and blink out of existence.
A graining, monochromatic feed replaces the charts. Deep within the freighter, a heavy reinforced containment unit sits in a dark hold, its seal glowing with a rhythmic blue pulse.
The Handler
I see you made it to the console, Onyx Soldier. Forget the ship navigation. Secure that data drive inside the containment unit, and your offshore account will see a deposit large enough to buy your family a new life.
Onyx Soldier
This voice is encrypted through three different satellite relays.
The Handler
The ship is going down in ten minutes. You have the access key now. Get to the hold or burn with the cargo.
The comms go silent. The freighter groans under the stress of taking on water, and the red light of the emergency systems begins to pulse across the bridge.
+ Scene Quest Added
Secure that data drive inside the containment unit
+ New Item Acquired
Override key
“Is the containment unit in the cargo hold?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 38)
The floor plates beneath Onyx Soldier shudder as the freighter lists heavily to port. A flickering schematic on the console confirms the containment unit's location, pinpointing it deep within the cargo hold's reinforced sub-level.
Onyx Soldier
The cargo hold is directly below the main deck, but the structural damage will make the descent treacherous.
“I use the override key to reroute power”
SUCCESS (Good Security Systems, rolled +1)
Onyx Soldier
The override protocol is responsive. I can reroute the backup power directly to the magnetic seals of the cargo hatch.
Onyx Soldier slams the key into the console, his fingers dancing across the interface with practiced precision. The freighter's humming reactor spikes in output, diverting raw energy into the sub-level's locking mechanisms.
With a sharp metallic groan that echoes through the hull, the reinforced hatch to the sub-level cycles open, revealing a clear, maintenance-free shaft leading straight to the containment unit.
The Handler
Efficiency noted, Onyx Soldier. You have opened the path. The drive is waiting behind the secondary blast door, but be warned, the pressure differential in that sector is shifting rapidly.
Onyx Soldier
The power diversion has stabilized the main corridor, but the ship is sinking faster than expected.
As the hatch locks into place, a blast of steam erupts from a fractured pipe above, and the floor lurches again, nearly throwing Onyx Soldier against the bulkhead.
“I move toward the containment unit”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
Onyx Soldier
The shaft is clear, but the descent will be a vertical scramble.
Onyx Soldier grips the edges of the maintenance shaft, his muscles bunching as he launches himself into the dark opening.
He descends with fluid, predatory grace, boots clanging once against a rusted ladder rung before he hits the lower deck floor in a controlled roll.
The Handler
Status, Onyx Soldier. You are inside the sub-level.
Onyx Soldier
I am in. Moving to the containment unit now.
The Handler
Proceed. I am detecting heavy structural failure in the bulkheads around you. Do not linger.
Onyx Soldier sprints across the buckling deck plates, stopping dead in front of the reinforced containment door. He reaches out and rips the external circuit panel from the wall, exposing the manual override.
“Is the data drive already in the containment unit?”
YES (Likely, rolled 53)
Onyx Soldier
The containment unit is active, and the drive is sitting right there behind the glass.
The Handler
I see the signature on my end, Onyx Soldier. It is confirmed, the drive is inside the unit.
“I open the containment unit with the override key”
SUCCESS (Good Security Systems, rolled +2)
Onyx Soldier
The override key feels cold against my palm, but the interface responds immediately.
Onyx Soldier inserts the key, and the containment unit hums with a sharp, electronic whine. The heavy glass seal retracts with a hiss of pressurized air.
The Handler
The lockdown sequence is failing. You have the window, Onyx Soldier. Grab that drive now.
He reaches inside, fingers brushing the metallic casing of the drive as the ship groans under the weight of the encroaching ocean.
Onyx Soldier secures the drive in his tactical vest, feeling the solid weight of the objective against his chest.
The Handler
Mission accomplished, but the hull is buckling. Get to the extraction point before this sub-level floods completely.
Quest Complete
Secure that data drive inside the containment unit
Skill Upgrade: Security Systems Good→Great
+ New Item Acquired
Data drive
