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

"Guiding Star. Welcome to Didit space, where Doers Work Overtime." The voice was a little staticky from atmospheric interference. "State your destination and the purpose of your voyage."

The Selfra executive notices Adne's hesitance and pipes up from the jump seat: "They must be a patrol detachment. Just tell them you have the Selfra representative they've been expecting."

According to the charts, their current location is still pretty far out from Wreck.... Are they really patrolling way out here? Adne delays for another moment, staring through the canopy at distant stars as light years' worth of baseline chaos displace and refract them.

Face Danger: Strong Hit!

No roll required! Giving truth to the prophecy, "REJECT TRUTH"

Been waiting for a good moment to bring in that Prophecy! The strong hit brings us up to 5 Momentum, which ain't bad considering we burned it not too long ago.

"Guiding Star here," Adne says, leaning down over the glowing comms console. "We have a cargo hold full of trade goods ready for the markets at Wreck."

The executive gives Adne an irritated look. "Why wouldn't you just---"

"Well! We're on something of a supply run ourselves," the voice from the approaching ships responds. "Got anything for us?"

"As a matter of fact, we happened to find a balefire wreck bearing Selfra colors on the way here. The only thing left intact was an escape pod that seems to be made entirely from black iron. Consider it a gift. Oh, and don't worry, we already scraped the occupant out. "

A few moments pass. Then the voice cuts back in: "You're too kind, Guiding Star! That will be a truly auspicious first find for our mission. Patching in an optimal path so you can jettison the pod and be on your way."

Adne copies the string of numbers into their nav computer. They flip the internal comms open to ask Buzzard to prep the pod, then --- feeling the exec's eyes burning a hole in the back of their head --- briefly turn around.

"That's a raiding fleet, not a perimeter patrol. If I told them a Selfra exec was on board they'd kindly ask us to shove you back in that pod before we jettison it. Executive hostages are great plunder. Or so I hear."

Help the Selfra Exec Complete their Mission (Dangerous)

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