CW: Brief descriptions of vacuum-related injury, corpse-like anatomy, and underwater vegetation.

"I'm not taking off my glove! We're in space! And we do not have time to argue about this," Adne shouts, pressing their visor against the escape pod's viewport. "The balefire will swing back this way in three and a half minutes! At most!"

"Well, I'm safe in here," the voice responds a little more softly, as if leading Adne through a thought exercise. "Far safer than I'd be out there if you did turn out to be one of them. And if you leave without me, I'm sure Ambly will send another in your place."

The executive inside the pod must realize they would die long before another rescue party could get here. Adne knows it's a bluff. But. They also know their stochastic projections did not account for an extended bargaining session.

Air hisses and internal suit alarms blare. Adne holds their rapidly reddening hand --- and the black iron cabling around their throbbing wrist --- centimeters away from the reinforced glass.

"I swear on my iron to help you finish your mission!"

Swear an Iron Vow: Miss with a Match!

Action Score 5 (rolled 2 + 3 Heart) versus Challenge Dice 5 and 5

"Listen. I signed on to pull a suit out of a shipwreck," Buzzard says, voice loud enough to be heard by their new guest in the common room. "I did not sign up to escort that suit to a different, much larger shipwreck where she will probably get shot."

"Brianna---" Adne begins, quieter, then notices Buzzard's face harden. "Buzzard, I know. It felt like I had no choice in the moment, but that doesn't mean you should be locked into this plan too." They let their shoulders droop, careful to keep their frost-nipped hand submerged in the warm water. Buzzard had grabbed a crystal carafe from the mess and filled it as soon as they got out of the launch bay.

"But if we turn around now, we'll more than double the voyage, and then I'd have to find a way to refuel and resupply without payment for either job..." they trail off for a moment, then straighten up in their seat. "Once we get to Wreck, I can pay your cut for the rescue job with the rest of my savings. That should be enough to get you wherever you need to go."

Buzzard's lips remain a thin line across her face but she lets a heavy sigh escape from her nose.

"Fine. Maybe. I guess Wreck should be safe enough for us if we keep our heads down," Buzzard says, then raises her voice even louder. "She's the one who should be worried!"

Undertake an Expedition: Weak Hit!

Action Score 3 (rolled 1 + 2 Wits) versus Challenge Dice 2 and 8

Adne had refused to yield the main cabin to their new executive passenger, but offered her a room in the crew bunks where Buzzard stayed. She decided to sleep in the (admittedly more lavishly appointed) common room instead.

It made things unnecessarily difficult when she was still asleep but anybody needed to do anything in there.

Undertake an Expedition: Weak Hit!

Action Score 6 (rolled 4 + 2 Wits) versus Challenge Dice 3 and 8

Another weak hit! This time I think we'll face a peril instead of suffering costs.

The plan for this leg of the expedition drops the Guiding star back to thrusters in the gravity well of an unoccupied planet. While the e-drive recharges, Adne takes the ship in for a scenic slingshot around the world's equator.

It's a hazy, green planet. The visible hemisphere's cloud cover is unbroken save for about a dozen towering, atmosphere-escaping trees. The clusters of leaves near their tops glitter like tiny emeralds in the wan sunlight.

The executive drops into one of the cockpit's jumpseats to enjoy its relatively unobstructed view. She stays quiet, so Adne doesn't object to the company.

A few minutes later, the silence is broken by an alert from the sensor suite: approaching craft flying Wreck flags. The ships glint over the horizon seconds later, already angling to intercept the Guiding Star.

Journey to Wreck (Troublesome)

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