Session 10 — Meridian (The Archivist)

State Check

Transit to Meridian

Meridian is a decommissioned Ur survey platform in deep Brekk space — not on any current chart, coordinates from Wren. Three-day transit.

During transit: Sable tells the crew about the Hantu gate.

She does it at the galley table. She doesn't use notes. She tells them everything: what the survey team found, what the signal actually does, what the Ur were afraid of, what "something responds" means in full.

Everyone gets a moment:

Rack: Sets his coffee down. Picks it up again. Doesn't say anything for a full minute. Then: "How long have you known?" Sable: "Since we opened the container." Rack: "You waited three days." Sable: "I needed to understand it first."

Juno: "Vess is a node. If we destroy the lattice, we destroy Vess." Not a question. She says it flat and waits for someone to contradict her. Nobody does.

Cutter: "What does Sera know?" Sable: "Not about the gate. She knows the signal. She believes it's a gift. She doesn't know what the gate opens onto."

Vess, from the doorway — they've been listening: "I've known for a while. I didn't want to make it your problem."

Juno: "It is our problem. That's not a bad thing."

Vess: "I know."

The Archivist — Meridian

Meridian is beautiful and dead. Ur architecture: curved, organic, light that comes from nowhere. The Archivist has been here alone for six years.

The Archivist is old enough that their age has stopped being countable in the normal way. They move like someone who has stopped being surprised by things. They greet the crew by name — Wren told them, but the gesture is still disarming.

Wren is present. She stands back.

The Archivist tells them what the Hidden Faction has protected for two hundred years:

Pause.

The five dramatic questions arrive at the table simultaneously, all at once, with nobody scripted to resolve them.

What the Crew Does With This

This is a pure roleplay beat. No rolls. The GM's job is to let it breathe.

Possible responses (not scripts — just anticipated territory):

"What does the Cult think they're doing?" — They think they're awakening a gift. They don't know the gate is part of this.
"What does Ohe actually want?" — Containment. She doesn't know about the gate either. Her goal is correct but her frame is wrong.
"What does Wren want?" — Destruction. The Gate Key found, all five nodes destroyed. The alarm can never fire again. But Vess dies. The Archivist won't say this is right. They won't say it's wrong.
"What do we want?" — This is the session's real question.

End of Act 2 — Full State Sheet

Downtime (Meridian)

No payoff. Upkeep: -2 cred. Net: 1 cred.

Juno — scene with Vess. Asks directly: "Do you want to make this choice? Really want to?" Vess: "Yes. But I want to make it with you, not for you." Juno marks XP (compassion + insight).

Sable — consults the Archivist about the Gate Key's location. Study: 5. The Archivist gives coordinates: Shimaya desert, deep ruins, 40-hour surface approach from any landing zone.

Rack — repairs the ship with Wren's tools. Rig (push): 6. Ship hull: repaired to 0/4.

Cutter — reads Tal's contract (Tal is still aboard). Finds a clause that technically means the Wolves owe Tal his full pay even if the contract is suspended. Hands this to Tal without comment. Tal: "Why?" Cutter: "I like legal problems for people I'm annoyed at."