The blast door grinds higher, inch by inch, and cold air spills out from the core chamber. The blue light from the terminal paints the corridor in hard lines. Remedy stands at the threshold while the override sequence keeps scrolling on her interface.
Security AI
Trust me. If you force the seal, the core locks permanently. If you open it, I can restore control before it collapses.
Zara
Remedy, the whole mountain is waking up. We need a real answer, now.
Gerard
That chamber is the brain of this place. If the AI is lying, this is where it ruins us.
Tanner
The signal is stable, but only barely. One wrong command and the route dies.
Inside the opening, rows of dim machinery hum behind ribbed panels. The maintenance path on the schematic branches into a locked release tunnel and a direct core access lane, both waiting on Remedy's choice.
The override prompt flashes, asking for confirmation. The core is right there, one decision away from either surrendering control or taking it back.
“I confirm the override and open the core”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +0)
Remedy taps the confirmation, and the prompt vanishes. The interface blooms into a clean status stream as the core chamber accepts the override.
The blast door finishes opening with a heavy clunk. Cold air pours past her boots, and the hum in the walls settles into a steadier pulse.
Security AI
Control is returning. Hold position while I reindex the core.
Inside, the machinery wakes in layers. Tiny indicator lights chase across ribbed panels, and the sealed maintenance tunnel on the schematic unlocks with a soft green shift.
Tanner
There, see that? The route just stabilized.
Zara
Okay. That is a real opening. Keep it there.
Gerard
If this holds, we move now.
The core chamber waits open ahead, dim machinery breathing behind the panels, while the system asks for the next command.
Quest Complete
Unlock the core
Skill Upgrade: Investigation Superb→Legendary