The service spine hums low and tired. Ozone, burnt insulation, and hot metal cling to the narrow alcove while the intruder stays pinned to the bulkhead, breathing shallowly.
The Intruder
That key is a beacon, not just a code. If Kaelen’s people get it, they walk straight to us.
Zoya lowers her weapon a fraction, but keeps her stance solid. Serafina watches the intruder like she is measuring how much trouble fits in a human-sized package.
Zoya
So that is why they wanted it back so badly.
Serafina
Of course it is. Nothing ever just opens a door anymore, it has to bite on the way in.
Nahuli
The key is a live tracker, tied into corporate retrieval.
The intruder lets out a careful, humorless breath, shoulders easing now that the warning is out. The cramped corridor feels less like a trap and more like a bunker built out of bad choices.
The Intruder
I can tell you where the beacon handoff goes, if you want to stop it before it leaves the station.
✓ Quest Accepted
Stop the beacon handoff
“Kaelyn wants to work with me after holding me at gunpoint? I've little love for the corp.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Nahuli
Nahuli snorts and says he has little love for the corporation, and even less for working with Kaelen.
The intruder’s shoulders tighten, but they do not look offended. The warning lands, and the room holds still around it.
The Intruder
Fair. I did not think you were the forgiving type.
The Intruder
But this is not work for them, it is survival. I was carrying their route, not their loyalty.
Zoya glances from the key shard to Nahuli, her sidearm still lowered. Serafina uncrosses her arms and leans in, thinking past the insult to the utility.
Serafina
If that relay address is real, we can turn their handoff into a snare. Or crack the shard and bury it deeper.
The intruder swallows, then looks at the key in Nahuli’s hands like it might bite. A tiny tremor shakes the cable bundle above them, and the alcove lights flicker once.
The Intruder
Destroy it, and they will know the trail went dead. Use it, and they may come exactly where you want them.
“Better to send him far away. I still have my own mission to complete.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +3)
Nahuli pockets the key shard and answers with a small, final motion of his hand. The tension in the alcove shifts at once, like a clamp releasing under load.
Nahuli
Keeping this crew hidden matters more than keeping him.
The Intruder
If you send me out, I can walk the handoff point and see who bites.
Zoya tilts her head, reading the risk. Serafina’s eyes narrow, not at Nahuli, but at the hidden relay address now flashing across the shard’s cracked edge.
Serafina
That address is real. It is already formatted like a courier slot, not a dead drop.
The intruder lets out a tight breath, then produces a bent access tag from inside a sleeve seam, as if the decision has finally cost them something tangible.
The Intruder
Take this. It opens a service gate two decks down. If you use the route, I am not part of the trail anymore.
He is still pinned, but the warning leaves his face. Outside the alcove, a distant hatch chime clicks once, then goes quiet, waiting for someone to move.
+ New Item Acquired
Access Tag
“Send the relay handshake deep into space, away from our path.”
SUCCESS (Superb Computers, rolled +3)
Nahuli sends the shard’s handshake into a dead subspace lane, and the return ping goes with it. The tracking pattern peels off their route like a hooked cable cut free.
Nahuli
It is now talking to empty space.
On the navigation alcove display, the relay address fractures into junk and then resolves into a distant, drifting handshake window far off their bearing.
Serafina
That is not on our lane anymore. Good.
Zoya
Then whoever is listening just got lied to.
The intruder’s shoulders loosen a fraction, and the bent access tag trembles in his hand. A secondary route stamp flashes on the shard, a maintenance checksum that was not visible before, showing a service-gate timing lock two decks down.
The Intruder
You have a clean window. Use it, or burn it. That tag will open the gate once.
Quest Complete
Stop the beacon handoff
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great