The service corridor shudders under docking thrust. Ahead, the compact navigation alcove glows with Avalon registry lights, and the data core sits on the transfer cradle like a live charge. Captain Kaelen blocks the far hatch, bruised, armed with a stolen sidearm, and still trying to look in control.
Captain Kaelen
You really think they will thank you for this? Hand over the core, Nahuli. Walk away while you still can.
Zoya
He is out of chances, Captain. Move.
Serafina
If this turns into a firefight, your payroll is going to need a body count.
Ranuko
The uplink window is open. Nahuli, do it now.
Kaelen shifts his stance, aiming for the cradle instead of the crew. Zoya squares up between him and the transfer port. Serafina slides low toward the controls, ready to kill power or punch the handoff through. Ranuko keeps one hand on the nav spine, watching the clock.
Nahuli
The transfer cradle is still live.
Every second the core waits, the station’s alarms creep closer, and Kaelen’s finger tightens on the trigger. The final move is Nahuli’s.
“Its four on one, and I tire of dealing with this stubborn human. I guard the core while the others take down Kaelyn”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
Nahuli clamps onto the transfer cradle, keeping the core steady while the others move. The uplink accepts his hold, and the registry stream locks cleanly into the core buffer.
Zoya steps into Kaelen’s line and drives him back from the hatch with a hard shove and a shot that eats sparks from the frame.
Serafina slams the console, reroutes the last handoff pulse, and the data shard commits to Avalon registry before Kaelen can reach it.
Ranuko yanks the nav spine clear of a stutter, locking the corridor link into a stable seal. The window closes with a clean chime.
Captain Kaelen
You idiots just signed your own routes.
The charge leaves Nahuli with a stinging jolt through his augments, and the core housing runs hot enough to smoke. Still, the transfer holds, and Kaelen is forced back with nothing but a ruined shot.
For one breath, the corridor goes still. The crew has the data, the registry light turns solid, and Kaelen loses the initiative.
The uplink light blinked green and held. Kaelen fell back from the hatch, his grip broken by Zoya’s shot, while Serafina stayed between him and Nahuli.
Nahuli
Transferred. Avalon has it.
Ranuko
Link is stable. Clean through.
Zoya
Then move. We are done here.
Serafina
Good. I was running out of patience with this station.
Nahuli left the navigation alcove with the stolen burden no longer in hand, only in history. Behind them, Kaelen’s control had cracked, and the station’s alarms could only echo over a finished delivery. The Avalon registry held the truth now, and the escape that followed belonged to the people who had kept it alive.