Nahuli and Lahani slip into the cantina’s dim spill of relay light, where recycled air hums over clinking cups and overworked filters. In the back corner, Serafina and Zoya already occupy a booth with two untouched drinks between them.
The station feed crackles faintly from a wall speaker, then settles back into static. Nobody looks up. That, more than anything, makes the room feel private.
Serafina
You made it. Good. Sit.
Nahuli reaches the booth, toolbelt brushing the seat edge, while Lahani takes the space beside him with the easy caution of someone used to reading a room before trusting it.
Zoya
I heard the station’s been noisy. Not tonight, though. Tonight we talk like sensible people.
Serafina
We can handle quiet. The question is whether you can handle our kind of quiet.
Serafina slides one drink a little closer, not a bribe exactly, just an offer with enough weight to matter. Lahani gives Nahuli a small, expectant glance across the table.
✓ Quest Accepted
Earn Serafina and Zoya's trust
“"How did two lovely ladies end up freelance?"”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Nahuli
How did two lovely ladies end up freelance?
Serafina
Bad timing, good instincts. I learned early that locked doors usually hide either profit or trouble, and both can be moved if you know where to push.
Zoya
I was hired to keep records clean, then found out the records were cleaner than the people. Freelance is what happens when you stop pretending that kind of office is temporary.
Serafina
We take contracts that fit. No flags, no speeches, no long loyalty tests. That is the luxury.
Zoya
And the cost is you learn to trust slowly, if at all.
Serafina taps the rim of her untouched drink once, then stops. The motion is small, but the pause after it admits more than the words do. The booth’s relay light flickers across their faces, and the table surface shows a fresh smear where her fingers rested a moment too long.
Serafina
You asked cleanly, so I will answer cleanly. We are here because the station pays in scraps and favors, and we are tired of being owned by either.
Zoya
If you want people who stay useful when things get ugly, that is the story. If you want saints, look elsewhere.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn how Serafina and Zoya freelance
“"Last I heard Serafina was operating out of the boneyard at the edge of the system. Find anything interesting?"”
FAILURE (Fair Xeno-Linguistics, rolled -2)
Nahuli lets the question land carefully, but the phrase catches on the wrong word. Serafina’s ears tip, then her mouth tightens as she realizes what he means.
Serafina
Boneyard is a broad term. If you heard that, you heard dock gossip, not a route log.
Zoya
Still, the gossip is not useless. It says she works scrap lanes and salvage wakes, where old hulls drift just outside paid patrol range.
Serafina finally lifts her drink, not to sip, just to weigh it. The fresh smear on the table catches the relay flicker like oil.
Serafina
What I find there is usually practical. Broadcast hardware, black-box fragments, sealed cargo with an owner too distant to complain.
Zoya
And the part people miss, she does not stay freelance by working alone. She keeps a thin web of exchang es, quiet routes, and favors that do not survive scrutiny.
Lahani’s posture eases a fraction at that, like the conversation has found solid ground. Serafina sets the drink down untouched, and the booth falls into a brief, waiting silence.
Quest Complete
Learn how Serafina and Zoya freelance
“I let Lahani question the two.”
FAILURE (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -3)
Nahuli leaves the opening to Lahani, and the booth shifts with it. Serafina watches that choice more than the words, measuring whether it is deference or caution.
Lahani
You two work cleaner than dock gossip says. What keeps you from tying yourselves to a permanent berth?
Serafina
Because a berth becomes a leash. Freelance work lets us pick jobs that still have value when the station changes its mind.
Zoya
And because loyalty gets expensive when the buyer can lock the doors. We prefer terms we can walk away from.
The answer lands. Serafina’s shoulders stay tight, but the suspicion in her face eases by a notch. Zoya glances from Lahani to Nahuli, as if checking who actually holds the decision.
Serafina
If you want us at your side, say what the work is, and say it plainly.
For the first time, the table feels less like an interview and more like a bargaining line drawn in the open. The relay flicker catches on the drinks, waiting for an answer.
“I tell them what work we need done”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Nahuli gives the answer plainly, and the table stops feeling like a test. The flickering relay light strips across his hands as he lays out the kind of work he is asking for.
Nahuli
We need a crew that can keep a ship moving, patch problems fast, and stay quiet when station eyes start asking questions.
Serafina does not interrupt. Zoya’s gaze narrows, not suspicious now, but exacting, as if she is weighing tools instead of people.
Serafina
That is better. Clear work, clear risk. We can do useful without pretending it is safe.
Zoya
And you are not asking for mascots. Good. If we sign on, it is because the job fits and the terms hold.
Lahani lets the silence sit, giving the offer room to breathe. Serafina’s shoulders ease, and Zoya’s hand leaves the bench.
Serafina
Say what the first job looks like, and we will tell you whether it is worth our hands.
“Do they want steady work over salvage runs?”
YES (Unlikely, rolled 17)
Serafina
Salvage is a gamble that keeps us hungry. We want a steady haul, Nahuli, something that keeps the ship fueled and the hull intact without us having to strip every wreck we find.
Zoya
She is right. We are tired of the scrap lanes. If your ship needs a crew that stays, we are listening.
Nahuli
They are looking for stability, not just another payday.
“I offer them a fair split and discretion”
FAILURE (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Nahuli
Nahuli lays out a clean split of the profits and promises they stay invisible to anyone who asks.
Serafina
She studies him, then the table, where the relay light keeps stroking the smear like a warning. “Fair is better than generous. Generous usually hides a hook.”
Zoya
Zoya folds her hands and watches Nahuli’s face. “Discretion matters more than the cut. But if you mean it, say who else knows.”
Nahuli does not get a quick yes. The offer lands, but it lands sideways, measured against the station itself. Serafina’s shoulders ease a fraction, while Zoya’s gaze shifts to the dim booth edge, already weighing routes and witnesses.
Serafina
“We have a string of gear we keep private, and a contact list we do not share lightly. If we join, it has to stay ours.”
That answer opens the usable crack in the wall. They are not asking for more money, they are asking for control of their own methods. The split is negotiable. The real test is whether Nahuli will accept their terms and keep the crew quiet on their side of the bargain.
Zoya
“State that plainly, and we can talk numbers.”
“I accept your terms on the crew”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Nahuli answers with a small nod and a steadying breath. Across the table, Serafina’s shoulders ease, and Zoya lets her folded hands part.
Nahuli
I accept your terms. Your methods stay yours.
Serafina
Good. That means you heard us, not just the numbers.
Zoya
Then we have a basis. No hidden leash, no surprises later.
Serafina drags the fresh smear into a thin line with one finger, then wipes it clean on a napkin. The gesture is practical, almost formal. Zoya reaches into her pocket and sets a compact data wafer beside the drinks.
Serafina
That is the crew list we carry off the clock. You do not hand it around, and we do not ask you to.
Zoya
And the cost, since honesty matters, is this. One of my old transponder tags is still live. If anyone traces it, they might trace my route too.
The booth stays dim, but the air between them softens. The agreement is real now, and the first private risk lands with it, concrete and named.
Quest Complete
Earn Serafina and Zoya's trust
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Good→Great