4338.210 · July 29, 2018 AD
Down in the Dungeon
The tech department lives in the station's basement—a bunker of humming servers, flickering lights, and digital secrets. Sarah descends with Duncan's hard drive, seeking James's expertise to extract whatever the Spirit of Tasmania footage might reveal. Between cousins who only connect at work, there's efficiency without emotional weight. But while Sarah climbs back toward light feeling relieved, James discovers his fraud case has hooks in something far larger than anyone expected.
Sometimes the best magic happens in the worst-lit rooms.
The tech department occupies what Sarah calls "the dungeon"—buried deep in the station's basement where fluorescent lights flicker, temperatures drop five degrees, and the constant hum of servers creates a subsonic throb you can feel in your teeth. It's a retrofitted fallout shelter housing the most advanced forensic technology in the building, staffed by people who thrive in dimness and speak primarily in acronyms.
James Longey is there among his semicircle of six monitors, surrounded by cables and empty crisp packets, chasing patterns through a cryptocurrency fraud case. Three hours deep into blockchain analysis, close to a breakthrough, when Sarah interrupts with Duncan's delivery—two weeks of Spirit of Tasmania security footage. Thousands of hours. Two missing men who might be using aliases.
James doesn't ask unnecessary questions. Just nods. "I'll make it a priority." Family first, after all.
Sarah climbs back toward natural light feeling lighter, momentum restored. But James stays behind, promising himself he'll start processing the ferry footage once he finishes this fraud lead. Just another hour. Maybe two.
Except his cryptocurrency case just revealed connections to construction companies, shipping operations, and government contracts that suggest something far more dangerous than simple fraud.
