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Choose Your Jump - Entry 003 Winning Choice: Check the Cargo “You Shouldn’t Have Opened That” You don’t wait. The hold cycles open with a low hiss, colder than it should be. Your breath fogs as you step inside. The crate that shifted is easy enough to find because of the reinforced casing. No markings. No registry tags. You break the seal. Inside is a stasis pod. Frost clings to the inside of the glass. Power levels fluctuate - stable one second, dipping the next. The readout flickers, trying to resolve something it doesn’t want you to see. Life signs maybe? Engineering tries to pull a clean scan, but the system fights back - data loops, error codes, partial readings that don’t line up. Whatever’s inside is being deliberately obscured. Then the ship shudders. Proximity alert. The contact that was trailing you is now close and it’s not alone. Two more returns appear across the sensor screen. Back in the hold, something changes. The pod’s internal display stabilizes for half a second, long enough to show a silhouette. Humanoid? Then it glitches out again. The hail comes through again more insistent this time. “Unregistered vessel, cut power and prepare for boarding.”

Choose Your Jump - Entry 004 You let the hail through. The face that appears on the screen is human. Middle-aged and calm because he's used to people doing what they're told. "Free Trader," the officer says. "You are carrying restricted cargo. Cut power and prepare for boarding." Your captain leans back in the command chair. "Restricted by who?" The officer ignores the question. "Prepare for boarding." That's answer enough. Meanwhile, engineering reports that the jump drive is still in no condition for another immediate jump. Whatever strange noise it's been making has become impossible to ignore. Then sensors pick up another contact. A second ship. Fast. Very fast. Unlike the first vessel, this one isn't broadcasting authority codes. Or any codes at all. The officer on the screen notices your attention shift. His expression changes for the first time. "Free Trader," he says. "Cut power immediately." The second vessel opens a channel. A woman's voice fills the bridge. "Do not surrender the cargo." The bridge falls silent. "We can help you," she continues. "Those people are not who they claim to be." The officer immediately interrupts. "That statement is false. Free Trader, terminate that transmission." The woman laughs. "Ask them what's in the pod." Everyone freezes. The pod. Not the cargo. Not the shipment. The pod. The officer's expression hardens. The second ship continues closing. The first ship begins maneuvering to intercept. And down in the cargo hold, alarms suddenly activate. Life signs detected. The pod has opened. You've got seconds to decide. A - Trust the Authority Vessel Cut power and allow the boarding team aboard. B - Trust the Unknown Ship Break away and follow the second vessel. C - Go to the Cargo Hold Forget both ships. Find out who - or what - just woke up.