Red had to track down the Acrux Magician. Based merely on their encounters with her, they could tell that she was connected with the situation. However, her exact role was uncertain. For now, Red was comfortable pursuing the facts regarding her identity. Who was she? Who did she work for? What did she want?
So, exhausted from days of quarantine, Red headed straight to the Jhikae Order temple. There they could access the station's personnel logs and look through security and military officials employed by the Acrux Empire. Or, at the very least, an Acruxian company. Magicians and military personnel were all carefully watched aboard Central Station, even members of the Jhikae Order. The peace on board had been hard-won, and the security office did their best to ensure that no intoxicated hot-head could accidentally start an intergalactic war by making fun of an alien's mother.
Red entered the foyer and were taken aback by some gut instinct. It was so peaceful, like a dream. They didn't sense anything dangerous. Through the window in front of them, they saw Master Eckelt speaking to one of the other members of the temple.
Red walked across the foyer and went through the inner door marked with the insignia of the Jhikae Order. They found themselves back in the foyer. They slapped themselves lightly a few times to make sure they weren't dreaming. Confident that they were awake and in meatspace, they went back through the inner door.
Nope, foyer again. Five more times they traveled through the inner door, first a jog and then at full sprint, to find themselves back in the foyer. Space had been bent backwards on itself.
Red panicked. They hadn't seen any obvious signs of mindscape activity around them and they hadn't fallen asleep or even gone into the mindscape. One moment they were walking around the space station, the next they were stuck in a loop within the mindscape. They sat down in the foyer and looked back and forth between the two doors. There didn't seem to be a point wherein which the room changed. In fact, there was nothing out of the ordinary at all.
They tried the other door and were let out of the temple. It seemed just as peaceful out there. Red scanned around for anyone lurking in the shadows. Confident that they were truly alone, they decided to report to Dobbs and try to get to the bottom of the situation.
On their way back to the Furious Monkey, they didn't come across anyone else. The door to the ship opened without effort, and the only sound was the hum of the lights. Concerned, but unsure what to do, they pressed on into the belly of the ship. The details of the ship began to fall away. Where there was supposed to be signage there stood the bare metal of the ship's interior. The color of the floor gave way to a cream color, or maybe eggshell.
They arrived at Captain Dobbs' quarters without encountering a single person. They signaled the door to open. Nothing happened. Had they reached the limit of the mindscape simulation? Red tried to open the door again. No response.
As they turned to walk away, it opened, revealing the foyer of the Jhikae Order temple. They stepped through the door. It closed behind them and turned into the door of the foyer. Red had traveled in a huge circle.
They weren't really sure how to escape the prison that they found themselves in. Red sat down in one of the chairs in the foyer, exhausted and disappointed. Then, through the glass, they watched Captain Dobbs walk by. They tried to get his attention. He didn't look.
Red ran out of the room. Dobbs had a large head-start, and as Red ran to catch up he gained even more ground. They continued the pursuit until he reached the elevators, where he disappeared within the tube. Red took the elevator down after him.
Dobbs got out on the floor of the Furious Monkey. Red exited the elevator as fast as they could, but couldn't find Dobbs. They ran to the entrance of the ship but found no captain. Their single lead had disappeared in a flash.
But they had seen him get out of the elevator. Where the hell else could Dobbs have run off to? Red began to retrace their steps and saw Dobbs entering the elevator. Shocked, they were too slow to catch up to him before the elevator closed.
Red went up in the other elevator, stopping on the floor of the Jhikae Order temple and getting out. There Dobbs was, walking into the temple. They ran after him.
In the foyer, he stood next to one of the chairs. Right as Red reached out to grab his shoulder, they woke up with a start.
Captain Dobbs stood over them, shaking their arm. "Hey, why'd you fall asleep here?"
"I wasn't asleep! I was put under some kind of spell, it was an attack," they explained.
Red was extremely groggy from their experience. They had no clue how long they had been running around that place. It could have been days. They looked through the window. Master Eckelt was nowhere to be seen.
Captain Dobbs laughed. "I think you just had a nightmare, Red. Let's go back to the ship and you can get some sleep. It's pretty late, after all."
"I'm telling you, Dobbs, there's something more going on..." Red trailed off, uncertain of themselves. "No, you're probably right. Just a shitty dream. I don't remember sitting in this chair, though."
Master Eckelt exited the temple. "Oh, Red, you're still here. I was in the middle of important business and told you to come back later so that I could help you, but my meeting ended up running late. I didn't expect you to wait for me," he said.
"Ah, so you fell asleep while waiting, huh? What was so important that you had to come here for?" Dobbs asked.
"An Acrux magician approached me before we were quarantined, and just after we were released. She seems to know something. She's clearly skilled at magic, so I figured she would be listed on one of the personnel registers that were filed with the Jhikae Order."
"Oh, I wish you had told me sooner what you were looking for, Red! Acrux magicians employed by the Empire don't have to register when they arrive on Central Station. It's one of our diplomatic reparations for the war," Eckelt explained, scratching his head.
"So you're telling me anyone could be aboard this station?" Red asked.
"Well, no! Certainly no criminals, if that's what you're wondering. She would have had to be Acrux Empire military personnel, otherwise she'd be a stowaway or the like. In any case, she wouldn't be dangerous at all. If I had to venture a guess, she's probably a spy," Master Eckelt suggested.
"Why would an Acrux spy be making contact with me, though? What could I possibly know?" Red wondered aloud.
"Maybe that's the point. She wants to know if you know anything. Maybe she suspects us of killing the people at the peace talks. A good spy wouldn't rule anyone out without evidence, after all!" Master Eckelt laughed.
Dobbs nodded in agreement. "He's probably right, Red. Certainly she's interested in you for the same reasons that you're interested in her. But if you had anything other than a clandestine meeting, you wouldn't be able to speak freely. Maybe she'll approach you, especially if you make yourself available."
Red raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I should post a message? Isn't that the opposite of tactful?"
"Spies relay messages to each other publicly all the time! In the field, we sometimes even signal other units over unsecured comms channels," Dobbs shared.
"Fine, I'll devise a message. But first, I'm going to bed. Thank you, Master Eckelt, for all of your assistance. Sorry for wasting your time."
Frustrated, Red left the temple and returned to their quarters. They fell asleep quickly, vowing to send a message to the magician the next morning. When they woke up, they spent several hours constructing a message and then had to decide where to leave it.
There was a bulletin board near the elevators on every floor. People could post personal ads for work or pleasure. Red rarely saw it get any use. They found the board that was on the dock and read a few ads for the first time.
HUMAN LF ACRUX, GOOD TIMES ONLY
Okay, that was enough for them. They had no judgment towards people who
posted the ads, but they simply couldn't imagine having a fruitful
interaction through the platform. They looked down at the typed message
on their qComm and reconsidered their efforts. Maybe this wasn't such a
good idea after all.
No, it had to be done. They typed it into the bulletin board and walked away. It appeared at the top of the screen:
WANDERER SEEKS MYSTERIOUS WOMAN
AT THE PLACE WHERE OUR EYES FIRST MET
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