If it is available, remove Black Threat card #1 without looking at it. For future reference, if you must draw a Black Threat card, reveal the next one available (i.e. 2, then 3, etc.)

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You stagger backward, feeling the same nausea afflicting the sick people you passed inside the base. A voice then creeps into your mind - a voice you last heard in 1958, in the small American town of Dundalk:

• “You cannot hide anymore. This is the end!”

Anigimas' voice turns into a frightening string of incomprehensible words; your legs wobble, your eyelids droop...

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Each agent suffers two additional Weakness levels.

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Even after a few days have passed, the nightmare has still not ended: the eye and the darkness are still there, as well as the tension and fatigue. An emergency meeting has been called. Inside the main hangar, the entire Agency staff is present. Tess Heiden clears her throat and then addresses the assembly:

 

• “I’m not going to beat around the bush. Our plan did not go as expected. We made mistakes; one too many. The Elois have found us, and time is running out. This extreme situation requires an extreme response: outright attack must become our new defense. We must take immediate action, but without any greenstone or lead weapons, we cannot take the fight to the guide directly.  Instead, we will return to the moment of the Agency’s destruction to undo our mistakes, and do so as soon as our next mission! I know we’ve tried before, and we have always failed. But I just know that this time we will finally succeed! Regardless, we no longer have a choice; we must take this risk …”

She hastily exits the hangar, leaving the Agency members in a silence that speaks volumes. The upcoming weeks may turn out to be rather complicated…

 

Immediately before playing your next mission, even prior to choosing your receptacles, scan the QR code found on Mission card #4 located in the Experience box.

XP Card #6

A few days after returning from your mission, a team of scientists from the Agency comes to meet you in the control room. Dr. Samtrev Brunaker tells you:

• “We have the first results of the gemological analysis of the Emerald you brought back from your mission in 1958 NT. Beyond its exceptional purity, this gem has a characteristic that so far defies our understanding: a tiny black teardrop, invisible to the naked eye, hides in its center. It is impossible to extract this tear because it is the very foundation of the stone’s crystalline structure. Furthermore, we observed that the tear’s substance is emitting acontinual signal, as if waiting for the signal to be received so it can transmit its location. In other words, this Emerald seems like a distress beacon. So we have to make a decision: do we keep this stone and continue to study it, or do we destroy it and put an end to the signal?”

Choose and press one of the following options:

KEEP THE STONE

Dr. Brunaker is pleased with your answer, and replies with enthusiasm:

“Excellent choice! We’ll resume our study of the Emerald without delay. It may take some time, but we’ll do our best to unlock its secrets!”

Once the scientists have left the room, Tess Heiden asks you to join her in an adjoining office to speak with you privately. She breaks the silence with a deep voice:

“Let’s just hope these scientists can provide helpful information before our next transfer, because it will be coming soon! That stone jeopardizes our initial plan; if tracking down the four Messengers increases the odds of our being spotted, we must instead find another way to locate the guide. We will do everything we can to return to the Sculptor’s Galaxy in 2469 NT, to the very moment the Agency was destroyed, even as soon as our next mission! I know we’ve already tried this, and it came to naught, but I just know that this time, we’ll succeed! We’ll make it back home... May the Azrak be with us!”

Immediately before playing your next mission, even prior to choosing your receptacles, scan the QR code found on Mission card #5 located in the Experience box.

DESTROY THE STONE

Dr. Brunaker is not thrilled with your answer, and replies in frustration:

“Fine, so be it. We will destroy this artifact… even though it’s one of a kind. Orders are orders!”

Stow XP card item #6 (Cavendish/Emerald)

Once the scientists have left the room, Tess Heiden asks you to join her in an adjoining office to speak with you privately. She says:

“Even though the scientists disapprove of this choice, it is undoubtedly for the best. We can’t risk the Elois locating the base. However, this also jeopardizes our initial plan; if tracking down the four Messengers increases the odds of our being spotted, must quickly proceed in a different direction!”

She hesitates for a moment before resuming:

“The destination of our next mission can only be the Sculptor’s Galaxy in 2469 NT. I know we’ve already tried that, and it came to naught, but I just know that this time, we’ll succeed! We will return to the very moment the Agency was destroyed, and do everything we can to locate the guide there! In the meantime, get some rest. This upcoming mission is crucial.”

Immediately before playing your next mission, even prior to choosing your receptacles, scan the QR code found on Mission card #6 located in the Experience box.

Neither of the above cards

The mission return protocol has barely been completed when a data analyst from the Agency approaches Tess Heiden, handing her a tablet whose screen displays an uninterrupted stream of information. As she studies it, her eyes gradually fill with anger, which she unleashes after setting the tablet down:

• “But how... How did we manage to miss that? We had one mission: drive the guide out! And now I learn from this report that during our previous missions, we passed by at least one of his messengers and did nothing! Nothing… We missed an opportunity that we’ll never have again! I don’t even have words right now... Go back to your quarters! Let's just hope that we can redeem ourselves on our next mission. Dismissed!”

Tess leaves the room, furious, leaving you perplexed and unsure of what will come next. Chances are the mood will be gloomy at the Agency for the next few weeks.

Each agent suffers one additional Weakness level.

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