I02 — Phantom Limbs

Field	Data
Date	April 2029
Location	A constellation command pass at dusk; high altitude over cloud
Weather	Clear above an overcast deck
POV / aircraft	Hauptmann Althéa Lichtträger / EF-2000B Typhoon "Lichtträgerin"
Type	Narrative flight; no combat
Time limit	None

Related: Althéa Lichtträger · Hans Lichtträger · MRS-144 Morgenstern

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1. Narrative Purpose

The player stands for twelve minutes on the other side of the mirror. Hans's proposal is carried out: Althéa hears the cost. The interlude must make her refusal of November 2028 legible without explaining it, and set up her choice in M08.

2. Briefing

None. The mission opens in the cockpit with a data package flagged on the uplink display: TASK FORCE / VIA H. LICHTTRÄGER. It contains a recorded message from her father and eleven audio files.

3. Objectives

Type	Objective
Primary	Complete the constellation pass (fly the uplink geometry for all node groups)
Optional	Play the data package

4. Flow

Phase 1: The pass. The player flies a precise uplink pattern. The constellation tally fills the right display: 144 names, with black X marks over the ones lost in August. As each node group comes into uplink, its names glow. Althéa names them under her breath. The player can trigger her naming with a button; it has no other effect.

Phase 2: The package. The player can open the package at any time. Hans's message is first in the queue. Skipping it is the default highlight; playing it plays four seconds of his voice before Althéa skips it herself.

The audio files play in sequence over the flight:

1. "Pilot is operational... pilot is cold. Always cold." (May 2028)
2. "Eject. Eject. Eject." (Case Zeta, excerpt)
3. "Falcon Two. Did you know." (Feb 2029)
4. The Morgenstern buffer fragment, presented as text read by a synthetic voice, then as text alone: "The light. Something is directing the light. Someone is directing it. Someone who— no. No human in the light. Only the system. Only the mirror."

Phase 3: The tally. After the fourth file, the X marks on the tally display can be selected. If the player selects any X, the node's name is read in Althéa's voice. There is no mechanical consequence.

Phase 4: The reply. At the end of the pass, the uplink offers an outbound message to the Task Force. A single line is pre-composed. The player can send it or end the pass without sending. The campaign proceeds identically; the message affects only Althéa's first line in M08.

"Show me where it is."

5. Systems Showcased

System	How
Constellation interface (Althéa only)	Phases 1 and 3
Narrative pacing without combat	Whole mission

6. Failure Conditions

None.

7. Debrief

A single scene: the maintenance bay. A ground crewman sees the red mitten in the cockpit side pocket and looks away. Althéa makes eye contact with him for the first time since August, briefly.

8. Ledger Entries

Entry	Grade change
Hans Lichtträger proposal executed	New, Confirmed
Althéa Lichtträger receptive to Task Force contact	New, Low (Medium if the message is sent)