The utility lot remains quiet beneath the transformer hum. Zarbits is alone at the fence; the scavenger has escaped, while the uniformed searchers remain behind at the junkyard.
Meridian dispatcher
The hidden maintenance channel is active. It points toward a municipal network relay near this substation, but we cannot seize the device remotely.
Across Zarbits’s goggles, layered credentials unfold around the cylinder’s diagnostic port. One authorization bears Meridian’s seal, another is nested beneath it, masked by obsolete routing codes.
Zarbits
The maintenance channel reaches a municipal relay without appearing in the delivery record.
Meridian dispatcher
We can provide access records and guide you through the authentication sequence. Do not connect the cylinder to the substation, and do not break the port handshake.
Headlights sweep briefly across the distant fence, then vanish behind the transformer housings. The cylinder’s countdown continues, while the concealed channel pulses toward the city network.
Meridian dispatcher
Tell me when you are ready to inspect the relay path. The next authentication step may reveal who is directing the transfer.
“I tell them I'm ready”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -3)
Zarbits
I'm ready. Guide me through the relay path.
Meridian dispatcher
Confirmed. Keep the cylinder isolated. I am routing a live inspection token through the municipal relay now.
Zarbits follows the diagnostic sequence without touching the substation. His goggles map a buried chain of city network nodes, then expose the obsolete routing layer concealed beneath Meridian's valid seal.
Meridian dispatcher
Select the legacy code, then accept the transfer record. There. The authorization originated through a relay registered to one of Maestro's shell accounts.
The cylinder opens its maintenance history and confirms the forged credentials were inserted before the junkyard delivery. A narrow data trail now points toward a downtown municipal relay.
The diagnostic handshake consumes the receiver's last auxiliary reserve, and Zarbits's goggles dim at the edges. At the same moment, the connected relay logs his inspection and flags an external investigator.
Meridian dispatcher
We have the record, but the relay knows someone is watching. Disconnect cleanly when you can. Do not connect that cylinder to the substation.
✓ Quest Accepted
Disconnect cleanly from the municipal relay
“I take a moment to repair my gear before I tell the operator I'm ready”
SUCCESS (Superb Technology, rolled -1)
Zarbits crouches beside the fence and opens his travel kit. Transformer hum vibrates through the gravel while his dimming goggles expose the damaged auxiliary connector.
He strips insulation from a spare filament, braces the receiver housing against his knee, and bridges the scorched contact with a precise solderless splice.
Zarbits
The auxiliary reserve can power the goggles again, but only at reduced capacity.
The repaired circuit settles into a steady blue indicator. His goggles brighten enough to restore the relay map, while the isolated cylinder remains untouched beneath its shielding.
Meridian dispatcher
Your signal stabilized. I am holding the inspection channel open, and the relay has not received any further commands.
Zarbits closes the kit and secures the repaired receiver beneath his labcoat. The utility lot stays quiet, with the municipal relay path waiting across his display.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether the inspection channel is compromised
“Request advice on how to procede”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +1)
Zarbits
How should I proceed? The relay is watching, and I need to expose Maestro's authorization without connecting the cylinder.
Meridian dispatcher
First, preserve the inspection record. Then sever the live channel through the relay, not the cylinder. I will mirror the evidence to Meridian security.
A clean sequence appears across Zarbits’s goggles: archive the forged credentials, isolate the legacy route, and transmit the copied record before disconnecting.
Meridian dispatcher
Afterward, leave the utility lot with the device shielded. Do not approach the substation. The relay address will identify the downtown access point.
The dispatcher locks the instructions into Zarbits’s display. Meridian’s security system confirms receipt of the duplicated authorization trail, including the shell account tied to Maestro.
Meridian dispatcher
You have the evidence and the route. Disconnect now, keep the cylinder isolated, and we will notify municipal investigators while you move toward the relay.
Quest Complete
Establish whether the inspection channel is compromised
“Preserve the inspection record”
SUCCESS (Superb Technology, rolled +0)
Zarbits selects the archive command. His goggles capture the forged credentials, obsolete routing codes, relay address, timestamps, and Maestro’s shell-account signature in a sealed inspection record.
Meridian dispatcher
Record preserved. Meridian security has received the complete copy, including the authorization chain and the relay’s identification data.
A verification seal appears beside the archive. The evidence now exists independently of the live inspection channel, while the cylinder remains shielded beside the fence.
Zarbits
The inspection record is stored outside the cylinder’s control path.
Meridian dispatcher
Good. Sever the channel through the relay when ready, then leave the lot. We will preserve this record for municipal investigators.
The relay map redraws itself, highlighting a downtown access point beneath a municipal communications building. A fresh status marker shows the channel still live, awaiting Zarbits’s disconnect command.
“Sever the live channel through the relay”
SUCCESS (Superb Technology, rolled -1)
Zarbits selects the relay’s sever command rather than touching the cylinder. The municipal route folds inward through the highlighted access point, shedding its live inspection session.
A final verification prompt flashes across his goggles. He confirms the relay-side disconnect, and the concealed channel closes with a clean burst of static.
Meridian dispatcher
Channel severed. The cylinder never entered the substation network, and our mirrored evidence remains intact.
The relay map freezes on the downtown communications building, displaying an address, a service entrance, and the obsolete shell-account identifier that opened the route.
Meridian dispatcher
That access point is active in municipal records but absent from current contractor maps. Maestro may be using it as a covert handoff site.
Behind the fence, transformers continue their steady hum. The shielded case rests securely at Zarbits’s side as his repaired goggles preserve the new location and the sealed inspection record.
Meridian dispatcher
Move away from the substation with the device isolated. I will alert investigators and keep this line available while you examine the communications building.
“Hide the case for the inspectors to find, then investigate the comms building”
SUCCESS (Good Investigation, rolled +2)
Zarbits carries the shielded case beneath the service road and places it inside a locked utility cabinet marked for emergency infrastructure inspections. He leaves the cabinet accessible to municipal investigators without disturbing the cylinder.
Meridian dispatcher
I have the cabinet location. Investigators can recover the device safely, and its shielding should preserve the evidence until they arrive.
Zarbits moves away from the substation, following the relay address through service alleys toward the municipal communications building. His repaired goggles retain the shell-account identifier and inspection record.
The communications building rises above a fenced plaza, its public entrance closed for the evening. A recessed service door bears an obsolete municipal network emblem beneath newer security lettering.
Meridian dispatcher
That service entrance matches the dormant relay listing. I can monitor public records, but the building’s internal network is outside my access.
Zarbits scans the service door, nearby cameras, and a maintenance panel beside the loading bay. His goggles identify a powered fiber junction leading beneath the building.
The junction’s diagnostic light carries the same obsolete routing signature as Maestro’s shell account. A maintenance schedule shows an active overnight access window, and the investigation moves inside.
“Examine the maintenance panel”
SUCCESS (Good Investigation, rolled -2)
Zarbits opens the maintenance panel and studies its layered wiring through his goggles. Beneath the current security interface, a dormant relay controller carries Maestro’s obsolete routing signature.
Zarbits
The relay controller is physically connected to the building’s internal network.
He traces the controller’s diagnostic bus to a concealed fiber tap and identifies an overnight access token, a service corridor endpoint, and a queued transfer scheduled for 11:40 p.m.
The panel gives a sharp metallic click as Zarbits lifts its inner cover. A nearby camera pivots toward the loading bay, and its indicator changes from blue to amber.
Meridian dispatcher
Your inspection triggered a local monitoring flag. I can see the panel’s public maintenance record, but not the building’s internal response.
A compact status display reveals the access token in full, including its authorization window and destination: a network room beneath the communications building. The panel’s exposed circuitry continues humming.
Meridian dispatcher
Copy the token and endpoint, then close the panel. The relay is active inside, and someone may now know the service entrance has been examined.
“Copy the token and endpoint, then close the panel”
SUCCESS (Superb Technology, rolled -1)
Zarbits routes the access token and endpoint into his repaired receiver, copying the authorization window, network-room destination, and queued transfer time without touching the cylinder.
The token verifies against the dormant controller. Its record includes a service-corridor entry point beneath the communications building and a relay identifier matching Maestro’s shell account.
Meridian dispatcher
Copy confirmed. I have the same token and endpoint in Meridian’s mirror. The transfer is scheduled for 11:40 p.m.
Zarbits lowers the inner cover and reseats the maintenance panel. The metallic click seals the wiring, and the camera’s amber indicator returns to a steady blue.
Meridian dispatcher
The public maintenance record now shows the panel closed. The internal network room is your access point, not the substation.
Across Zarbits’s goggles, the copied endpoint resolves into a service-corridor map. A second marker appears inside the building, beside a locked network room and an active overnight route.
Identify the recipient of the queued transfer
Quest Complete
Disconnect cleanly from the municipal relay