(set: $_caldwellEscaped to false)\
(set: $_caldwellTrustsYou to false)\
(set: $_caldwellObserved to false)\
(set: $_caldwellDetained to false)\
(set: $_jainSupport to false)\
(set: $_caldwellConfronted to false)\
''Aurora'' – orbital research vessel, 6 months into deep-space cryo-rotation.
Crew: 3 active personnel.
Status: [UNKNOWN]
---
You wake to the sound of metal breathing.
The cryopod hisses open. Cold air rushes your lungs. Your head is fogged — not from sleep, but something else.
The silence feels wrong. The lights are dim. The floor hums with power, but something isn’t right.
You’re supposed to be asleep.
You’re supposed to wake together.
You’re supposed to be safe.
But the AI hasn’t said a word.
The cryopod arm folds back. A soft chime sounds. The nutrient dispenser hums quietly beside the terminal — part of the automated wake protocol. It offers you a familiar choice.
**Cryopod**: "Wake routine initialized. Hydration and stimulant options available.”
[[Tea->Flavor Choice]]
[[Coffee->Flavor Choice]]
[[Bone Broth->Flavor Choice]]
You sip the drink. It’s warm and familiar. The calm before the chaos.
The ship’s **AI** chimes: “Captain Miles, oxygen levels critically low. Engineering recommends immediate consultation.”
[[Respond to bridge call->Initial Conflict]]
You step onto the bridge. Two figures are mid-argument.
(link-reveal: "Dr. Elias Caldwell")[\
:
Chief Science Officer. Mid-50s, greying and gaunt, eyes sharp like broken glass. His voice is calm — but there's always an edge behind it. Obsessed with the mission.
]
(link-reveal: "Engineer Samira Jain")[\
:
Engineer. Broad-shouldered, grease-smudged, with a clipped, efficient way of speaking. She’s practical, no-nonsense — and probably the only reason the ship is still functional.
]
Their voices rise as you approach.
**Caldwell**: “We must finish the sampling run before the window closes.”
**Jain**: “We need oxygen, not data. The ship is dying, and you’re arguing over test tubes.”
[[Side with Caldwell->Side Caldwell]]
[[Side with Jain->Side Jain]]
You side with Caldwell. Jain clenches her jaw, clearly frustrated. Still, she nods and storms off to Engineering.
**Caldwell**: "You won’t regret this, Captain. The data is everything." He heads off to the science bay.
You exhale. Enough of this arguing.
“I need to check the logs to figure out how to fix this shit,” you mutter, heading for the Engineering terminal.
[[Check system logs->Check System Logs]]You side with Jain.
**Caldwell** throws his hands up. “You’re making a mistake. You don’t throw away humanity’s future!”
“Humanity won’t have a future if we suffocate up here,” **Jain** snaps back.
You cut them both off. “Enough. I need to check the logs to see how to fix this.”
You leave the bridge and head to Engineering. Jain follows. Caldwell storms off towards the science bay.
[[Check system logs->Check System Logs]]
The console pings, awaiting your commands.
Four toggles: A, B, C, and D. The order matters. If you mess this up, the oxygen system could go unstable.
What order do you choose?
[[D → C → A->Unstable Sequence]]
[[C → A → D->Unstable Sequence]]
[[A → B → D->Unstable Sequence]]
[[D → B → A->Solved Sequence]]
[[D → A → B->Unstable Sequence]]
[[C → B → D->Unstable Sequence]]
[[A → D → C->Unstable Sequence]]
(if: $_oxygenStable)[\
(set: $_jainSupport to true)\
](else:)[\
(set: $_jainSupport to false)\
]\
You enter the science bay quietly.
Dr. Caldwell is hunched over a terminal. A faint light pulses on a data drive — he's transmitting something. You pull out your tablet and open up the camera.
Do you:
[[Confront him now->Caldwell Confronted]]
[[Wait and observe->Observe Caldwell]]
(set: $_caldwellConfronted to true) \
(if: $_oxygenStable)[ \
(set: $_caldwellTrustsYou to true) \
(set: $_caldwellEscaped to true) \
“You’re smarter than I expected,” **Caldwell** mutters. “This doesn’t have to end badly.”
He shuts off the terminal and walks away — unrestrained.
](else:)[\
(set: $_caldwellDetained to true)\
(set: $_caldwellEscaped to false)\
You call security. Caldwell resists but is dragged out of the lab, shouting about sabotage.
]
The science bay falls quiet. Whatever his motives, Caldwell isn’t your problem now — for the moment.
You head back to the **Bridge**. Time to activate the emergency beacon — it's standard protocol during a system instability event.
[[Activate emergency beacon->Beacon Activation]](set: $_caldwellObserved to true)\
(set: $_caldwellEscaped to true)\
You crouch behind the bulkhead, watching Caldwell finish his transmission. The console displays a progress bar labeled **"DATA PACKAGE: FINAL SEED"**.
Just before he closes the terminal, another window flickers open — something tagged **"EP1 PRIMING SEQUENCE"**.
A line of red text scrolls:
> **Escape Pod 1: Pre-launch payload sequence initialized.**
You’re not sure what it means — but it doesn’t look routine.
Then he shuts it all down.
The screen goes dark. You’ve got your evidence — and a nagging sense that something is wrong.
You turn and hurry back toward the **Bridge**, where the ship’s emergency systems can be triggered.
[[Activate emergency beacon->Beacon Activation]]You slide into the command chair on the Bridge. The AI confirms your credentials.
> “Emergency Beacon Standing By.”
Do you:
[[Broadcast it widely->Beacon Outcome]]
[[Send encrypted->Beacon Outcome]]The signal goes out. There's no immediate reply. Jain’s posture stiffens as the **AI** announces:
> “Unauthorized access detected — Escape Pod 1.”
(if: $_caldwellObserved)[
You remember the terminal’s warning — **“EP1 PRIMING SEQUENCE.”** You realize what's happening just as Jain turns toward you.
**Jain**: “He’s going for the pod. We have to move — now.”
](else-if: $_caldwellConfronted and $_caldwellTrustsYou)[
He seemed compliant. You wanted to believe it was over.
**Jain**: “We should’ve locked him down. Dammit—”
She checks her sidearm, already turning toward the bay.
](else-if: $_caldwellConfronted and $_caldwellDetained)[
Caldwell's locked down. This doesn’t make sense.
**Jain**: “Then who’s trying to launch? I’ll check it out.”
She’s already moving.
](if: $_jainSupport)[
Jain doesn’t wait. She takes off at a sprint toward the pod bay.
**Jain**: “I’ll stop him. You follow up!”
](else:)[
Jain hesitates. She looks to you.
**Jain**: “Your call, Captain.”
]
[[Rush to the pod bay->Dead-End Choice]]
(if: $_caldwellEscaped and $_caldwellObserved)[
You charge into the pod bay.
(if: $_jainSupport)[\
Jain is already there, shouting at Caldwell as he punches in the launch sequence.
**Jain**: “Step away from that panel!”
](else:)[\
You arrive just in time to see Caldwell climbing into the pod. No one’s between him and the hatch.
> The timer reads 00:10.
]
[[Let him go->BAD END]]
[[Stop him->Final Moments]]
](else-if: $_caldwellEscaped and $_caldwellTrustsYou)[\
You arrive to find Caldwell calmly preparing the pod.
**Caldwell**: “I’m not sabotaging it,” he says, without turning around. “I just want to finish my work… somewhere else.”
There’s no sign of explosives, but the risk is still real.
[[Let him go->Final Moments]]
[[Stop him->Final Moments]]
](else:)[\
The bay is quiet. Caldwell is under lock. The pod systems are clean.
[[Continue->Final Moments]]
]The pod launches… and then the ship explodes. He rigged it.
**You died.**
[[Restart->Start]]
The ship stabilizes. The emergency lights dim, systems recalibrate, and silence returns — but it’s a loaded silence.
(if: $_caldwellEscaped and $_caldwellObserved)[\
You stopped Caldwell at the last second — the pod was armed.
Had you hesitated, there might not be a ship left to reflect from.
**Jain**: “You saved us, Captain. Just barely.”
](else-if: $_caldwellEscaped and $_caldwellTrustsYou)[\
Caldwell is gone. The pod was clean, just as he claimed.
Still, the sting of betrayal lingers. His research — and his version of the story — is on its way back to Earth.
**Jain**: “You sure we should’ve let him go?”
](else-if: $_caldwellDetained)[\
Caldwell’s under guard. Whatever his plan was, he never got the chance to act.
The crisis ended not with fire, but with restraint.
**Jain**: “That could’ve gone a lot worse.”
](else:)[\
Everything's quiet, but you can't shake the sense that you dodged something bigger.
Even now, you're not sure how close you came to losing everything.
]
(if: $_jainSupport)[\
Jain claps your shoulder on the way out.
**Jain**: “You did good, Captain. Not perfect — but good.”
](else:)[\
Jain watches you for a moment… then leaves without a word.
]
[[Reflect in solitude->UnChoice]]
You sit alone in the command chair, the low hum of life support filling the silence. For the first time since cryo ended, you're still.
(if: $_caldwellEscaped and $_caldwellObserved)[\
Caldwell nearly doomed you all. You stopped him — barely.
> *Was it instinct? Training? Or just luck?*
](else-if: $_caldwellEscaped and $_caldwellTrustsYou)[\
He left peacefully, the pod undisturbed. But his secrets are gone now.
> *You hope Earth listens with caution.*
](else-if: $_caldwellDetained)[\
Caldwell’s voice is locked behind a steel door — and the ship didn’t explode. That counts as a win.
> *Sometimes the best choices are the quietest.*
](else:)[\
The crisis passed. You can’t say how close you came — only that it’s over. For now.
]
(if: $_oxygenStable)[\
The oxygen levels are holding. You bought time — maybe enough.
> *Long enough to get help? Or just long enough to wonder?*
](else:)[\
Every breath still feels borrowed. The system limps. Jain’s last report was optimistic, but cautious.
> *This isn’t over. Not yet.*
]
(if: $_jainSupport)[\
Jain lingers at the door. She doesn’t speak. She doesn’t need to.
](else:)[\
Jain hasn’t returned. Trust, once lost, doesn’t refill like air tanks.
You stare at the pressure gauge blinking red in the corner of the screen.
]
There are no more choices.
Only the quiet.
**The End**
You skim through fragmented engineering notes from before cryo:
> Entry 72: "A always first — we’ve learned that the hard way."
> Entry 75: "B can’t handle pressure alone. Wait for stabilization."
> Entry 79: "D resets CO2 scrubbers. But if the flow's unstable, it backfires."
> Entry 83: "Forget C. I’m disabling it next time I’m in."
You don’t know what’s changed since the logs were written, but it’s all you have.
[[Return to engineering console->Puzzle Choice]](set: $_oxygenStable to true)\
The console chimes. Oxygen systems stabilize — for now.
**AI**: “Flow restored. Estimated survival time extended.”
The **AI** issues a warning: “Unauthorized transmission in Science Lab.”
[[Investigate immediately->Blind Choice]]
[[Ignore it for now->Caldwell Escapes]](set: $_oxygenStable to false)\
The system sputters. Oxygen levels remain erratic.
**AI**: “Partial restoration. Unstable levels.”
The **AI** issues a warning: “Unauthorized transmission in Science Lab.”
[[Investigate immediately->Blind Choice]]
[[Ignore it for now->Caldwell Escapes]]You wait too long. The science bay is empty. The escape pod is gone.
**AI**: “Unauthorized launch detected. Escape Pod 1.”
Moments later — *impact detected*. Alarms scream. You stumble as the ship rocks violently.
**AI**: “Critical systems compromised. Reactor breach imminent.”
You had one chance to stop him.
**You failed.**
[[Restart->Start]]