Whisper’s feed dies mid-breath, and the channel snaps to a cold voice from Azkaban. In Onyx Soldier’s hand, the data drive starts pulsing blue, like something far away is waking it up.
The Handler
Good. You are still holding it. That means the package is alive.
Onyx Soldier
The drive is being accessed remotely.
The Handler
The strike codes were never payment. They are the lock, and you just opened the right door for us.
The freighter shudders hard. Red light washes the service vein, and water jumps in the floor seams as distant bulkheads fail.
The Dockhand
You hear that? That was not a warning. That was a launch sequence.
The blue pulse quickens in Onyx Soldier’s grip, steady as a heartbeat, while the path ahead disappears into smoke and vibration.
✓ Quest Accepted
Stop the data drive upload
“Use me energy imbuement power to make the drive blow up”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +2)
Onyx Soldier drives the pulse inward through the drive casing. The blue light snaps white, then breaks apart in a sharp pop of heat and smoke.
The data drive spasms in his grip, its casing spiderwebbing with black cracks before the light inside gutters out.
The Handler’s signal stutters into static. The cold voice cuts off mid-breath.
The Dockhand
That did it. It is blind now.
A thin ribbon of smoke curls from Onyx Soldier’s hand as the drive goes dead, no longer pulsing, no longer answering.
The Dockhand
But you just told whatever was listening where we are.
Somewhere ahead, the left spur flickers harder, then the corridor shivers under another deep structural groan.
Quest Complete
Stop the data drive upload
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great
