From "Atlas of the Delphi Abyss Sector"
as charted by Doran Valenus, Cartographer Primus
"AMITY (Coordinates H-10-9)
Home to approximately 9,200 citizens, Amity is a deep-space settlement in the system of Nashira, a blazing blue star. It was the first settlement in the Delphi Abyss, and established a foothold from which to expore the rest of the sector. The outpost was founded by one of the earliest Ironhomes to reach the Forge, the Astral Explorer, and it was constructed from the hull of that vessel. The station is visibly made of industrial technology, though some of it is failing, due to age.
Sirroco is the only notable planetary body in the system. It is an unsettled desert world with a toxic atmosphere, which causes vibrant terrain colors. It is unknown if life forms exist on the world, but if they do, scientists believe they would be dramatically different than most familiar organisms, due to the composition of the atmosphere.
As suggested by its name, the citizens are very welcoming. The primary activities of this settlement are exploration and trade. Government is corrupt - money buys power here. Still, the citizens are not abused, aside from the unfair manipulation of the local economy."
[Session Move: (84) Peril lies ahead or lurks just out of reach.]
This wasn't going to be easy. I'd have to bring Cypher with me on the run, so that she could hack the security systems and the dockmaster's computer. She wouldn't be able to tie into the station network and suppress any alarms or redirect any security forces that might respond.
The other problem was that the docks were always open, even during station "night". While the Dockmaster's office would be unoccupied, the dock itself would be as busy as ever. We needed to get to the office, get in, get the data, and get out... all while remaining unseen. Thankfully, she was not the only one with talents particularly suited to the job.
* * *
Before we made our move, it was essential to case the place. We were able to get a vantage on the office and avenues of approach from other parts of the dock. We were unable to time security patrols, as they seemingly only showed up if responding to calls. There wasn't any regular route or interval.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +1 for connection. 4+2+1 vs 6/7. Weak Hit. +1 to next roll]
Breaker would be our lookout while we did the job. We went in three hours before station "day" began. We had things going in our favor - most importantly being, they weren't expecting us.
[Scene Challenge: Infiltrate the Dockmaster's office and recover data. (Formidable, 6 ticks)]
Cypher and I were in position and ready to move. We waited for Breaker's signal and moved in. I reached out to the darkness and cloaked us in shadows.
[SHADE: +Shadow, +1 from Secure Advantage. 4+4+1 vs 4/3. Strong Hit]
[Face Danger: +Shadow, +2 from Shade, +1 from Connection. 6+4+2+1 vs 1/2. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (1)]
We were able to move to the office door undetected. I knew from the Institute dossier that my ability would also obscure observation by any cameras. Cypher studied the keypad and pulled a small tool from a belt pouch. She removed the cover from the keypad and clipped some leads to the wires within. The tool began to run through the various possible permutations to open the door.
[Face Danger: +Shadow, +1 from Connection. 6+4+1 vs 5/6. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (2)]
With a beep, the door clicked open. Even though the room would stay dark, we entered in a crouch, as a precaution. Cypher looked around to make sure there were no other internal security systems.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +1 from Connection. 4+2+1 vs 4/10. Weak Hit. +1 to next move.]
"Nothing I can see," she whispered, "except of course those cameras. Even though they're blacked out, I want to be sure."
[Face Danger: +Wits, +1 from Connection, +1 from Secure Advantage. 5+2+1 vs 4/4. Strong Hit with a Match! Mark Progress twice (4)]
Cypher located a power panel and disconnected a jack. The lights below the cameras winked out. I was thankful that there hadn't appeared to be motion sensors or pressure plates. I can't black those out.
"If there's anything an alarm would use to trigger StationSec, we should disconnect that, just in case," I suggested. She nodded and began to search for an alarm control relay. We were making good progress so far, we could afford to take our time.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +1 from Connection. 5+2+1 vs 8/10. Burn 10 Momentum (reset to +2). Weak Hit. +2 Momentum (4)]
"I'm not finding anything else," she said. "Let's locate his computer."
[Face Danger: +Wits, +1 from Connection. 6+2+1 vs 1/5. Strong Hit. Mark Progress(5)]
We searched for the computer. Cypher realized the easiest way to find it was to follow the cables from the cameras. Both led into the back of the desk. The cubby in front was locked, with a conventional mechanical lock. This wasn't going to be something Cypher could just hack her way into.
[Face Danger: +Wits, +1 from Connection. 6+2+1 vs 3/6. Strong Hit. Mark Progress(6)]
She reached up onto the desk and grabbed a paper clip and a letter opener. She bent the paper clip a few times and inserted it into the lock. She wiggled it a bit, and then jammed the letter opener into the keyhole with the heel of her hand. The door swung open. She placed the letter opener back where she found it on the desk, and tossed the paper clip in the wastebasket.
Here was the computer that should hold not only the records of the Dockmasters blackmail, but also the records of the incoming and outgoing ships that had been cleared without inspection. Hopefully we would find data that would help us to locate Ria, and Cole... and if we were fortunate, a lot of other people who may have been abducted by the Institute.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +1 from Connection. 5+2+1 vs 4/7. Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (+6), +1 to next move.]
Cypher pulled a pair of cables from a belt pouch, plugging one end of each into her bodycomp, and the other into the computer. She powered on the computer, and the desktop display began to light up. She quickly shut off the display, and viewed the computer's interface directly on her bodycomp. A prompt came up asking for a password.
[Face Danger: +Wits, +1 from Connection, +1 from Secure Advantage. 2+2+1+1 vs 6/7. Miss. +1 tick to clock (1). Pay The Price: +1 additional tick to clock (2)]
"Dank Farrik!" she hissed. "This isn't as easy as it would be on my portable, with a network connection. I need to hack this the old fashioned way."
"Take your time," I advised her. "We don't want to set off any alerts. We can afford to be patient." I started looking around the office to see if there was anything that might give us a hint to the password.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +1 from Connection. 1+2+1 vs 2/4. Weak Hit. +1 Momentum (7)]
[Face Danger: Wits, +1 from Connection. 6+2+1 vs 5/10. Weak Hit. +1 tick to clock (3) Mark Progress(7)]
I searched the office for several minutes, and I noticed a picture of a cat. A cat, like the kind from Earth-That-Was. Not many of them made the journey on the Ironhomes, and they were rare and expensive. "How can a dock worker afford a cat?" I said aloud. Probably because he's on the take, I realized. Cypher stopped tapping.
"Let me see," she asked, holding out her hand for the picture. An engraving on the frame said 'Scampers'. Even in the darkness of the room, I could see her eyes roll. "You gotta be kidding me," she groaned. She typed in the name and there was a quiet chime and her display changed. "I'm in."
I returned the photo to its proper place and crouched down next to her. "I don't know where to find what we're looking for specifically" she said, "but a local computer isn't going to have a very large drive. I've got enough room on my bodycomp, I'm just going to image the entire drive and we can go over it later."
We both watched the progress meter as the entire contents of the drive were copied to Cypher's bodycomp. The progress meter was at 28% and slowly climbing.
[Face Danger: +Wits, +1 from Connection. 1+2+1 vs 3/10. Weak Hit. 1 tick to clock (4), Mark Progress(9)]
The progress bar climbed to 55 percent, 70 percent. But it seemed like the clock on the wall was ticking louder and faster than that progress bar.
[Face Danger: +Wits, +1 from Connection. 3+2+1 vs 3/10. Weak Hit. +1 tick to clock (5), Mark Progress(10). Challenge complete!]
The bodycomp chimed again, and Cypher pulled out the cables and stored them. "We're done," she hissed, as she shut down the computer and pushed the cubby door closed, quietly and carefully. We heard it click back into place.
"Breaker, any sign of trouble, over?" I asked over my comm. "Negative, Wraith," he said, "haven't seen a problem yet. How are you coming along, over?"
"We're done, Breaker. We just need to put things back the way we found them. Let us know if anything comes up. Wraith out."
[SHADE: +Shadow. 6+4 vs 7/5. Strong Hit.]
Once more, I engulfed our surroundings in darkness. Cypher checked to make sure everything was in order, and plugged the camera power cables back into the panel. Their lights winked back on, but I knew they wouldn't be seeing anything.
[Gather Information: +Wits, +1 for Connection. 4+2+1 vs 1/2. Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (+9)]
Everything was just as we found it. We checked the corridor and slipped out the door, closing it gently. Cypher checked the pad to make sure there were no signs of tampering, and we slipped back across the docking bay to Breaker's vantage point.
"Did we get everything we needed?" Breaker asked. Cypher flashed him a grin and gave him a thumbs-up.
"You did some amazing work," I said to Juliana. "I can see why you call yourself 'Cypher' now."
She jabbed my ribs gently with her elbow and winked. "You weren't so bad yourself. I can see why you call yourself 'Wraith' now. Let's get back to our room and see what we've found."
[End A Session: In the next Episode, the crew of the Acheron will try to decipher the Dockmaster's drive, in hopes of finding clues about the missing children. +1 Momentum (10)]
[Reach A Milestone: Obtain crucial item. Mark Progress on Vows "Discover What Happened to Cole" (+2 boxes) and "Help Cypher Find Ria" (+2 boxes)]
[Ending Stats: Momentum +10 Health +5 Spirit +5 Supply +5 Fire 3 Fugitive 1]