At the dead terminal, Sarah reconstructs the hidden cache from printed records, keeping every page clear of the shielded cabinet where the sample case remains isolated.
The first records resemble a repository of Northstar experiments: trial numbers, cellular responses, containment failures. Then a biometric index opens beneath the subject files.
Sarah
That identifier is mine. Not a staff credential. A subject number.
Sarah compares the archived measurements against her own sealed medical history. The match is exact, including procedures Northstar never disclosed and a notation labeled AEGIS adaptive alteration.
Sarah
They did not just study me. They changed me, then buried the record.
A second file unfolds beside the biometric index, linking Sarah’s altered cellular profile to the same research sequence that produced Elijah’s enhancement. The archive lists her as an early surviving trial.
Sarah
This is proof Northstar altered my body. It also means the archive may explain what the AEGIS process is still doing to both of us.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Sarah’s cooperation against the retrieval protocol
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect Sarah from Northstar’s retrieval protocol
“Is Sarah’s alteration still progressing?”
NO, AND WORSE (Likely, rolled 100)
The biometric file stops updating. Its cellular markers remain unchanged across every recorded interval, but a hidden status line opens beneath them: ADAPTATION COMPLETE.
Sarah
No. It is not still progressing. The alteration stabilized years ago.
Sarah scrolls past the medical measurements. The next file is not a treatment record, but a control ledger linking her subject number to a dormant Northstar retrieval protocol.
Sarah
This is worse. They did not lose track of me. They marked me as recoverable property, and the protocol is still active.
The dead terminal wakes without power. A single amber line appears across its dark screen, carrying Sarah's subject identifier toward the abandoned weather-station relay.
Sarah
The archive did not merely remember me. It just told them I am alive.
From inside the shielded cabinet, the sample case answers with one deep pulse. The outpost remains sealed, but the dormant retrieval protocol has begun counting down.
“I move Sarah and the terminal away from the exposed relay signal.”
SUCCESS (Superb Strength, rolled +2)
Elijah moves Sarah and the dead terminal away from the exposed relay signal, guiding both through the service passage toward the shielded generator bay.
The amber line on the terminal flickers as its cable disconnects. Sarah carries the printed records while Elijah keeps the shielded cabinet between them and the active signal.
Sarah
The relay has lost the terminal. It still has my identifier, but it no longer has a clean path into the outpost.
At the generator bay, Sarah places the terminal on the dead workbench and seals its diagnostic port beneath an insulated cover. The exposed transmission drops to static.
Sarah
The signal is outside our systems now. It can identify me, but it cannot map this cabin.
The retrieval countdown freezes on the disconnected display. Behind the shielding, the sample case gives one muted pulse, then falls silent as the outpost’s internal monitors remain clear.
Sarah
We are away from the relay path. The terminal is isolated, the cabin is still concealed, and the evidence remains secure.
Quest Complete
Protect Sarah from Northstar’s retrieval protocol