• Location: Django’s Diner, Public Services Ring, Morningstar
• Type: Crisis · Social Pressure · Moral Choice
• Era: Beta Age
• Tone: Warm refuge · cramped space · working-class desperation · violence one breath away

Atmosphere & Sensory Cues: Steam from soup cauldrons · spice-heavy warmth · wet coats dripping onto timber floors · cutlery clinking on tin · marketeers calling prices next door at the Morningstar Food Market · crate lids thumping and coins clinking through the wall · exhausted timber workers speaking in low voices · the sharp hiss of compressed air

Some scenes contain hidden opportunities that are only available to specific player characters because of their personal history. In this scene, the distressed lumberjack is Sagan Belmont, a former coworker of Rogan Sokolov from his years at the Fogwood logging yards. However, neither man immediately recognizes the other. Years have passed, both have changed considerably, and Rogan is concealed beneath the hood of a Penitent.

The connection becomes available if Rogan actively studies Sagan, listens closely to him, speaks with him, or otherwise tries to place the familiar man. If this happens, the DM may call for a Former Logger / Background / INT Probe (DC 13).

Revealing the Connection: After recognizing Sagan, Rogan’s player decides whether to reveal their shared past. Rogan may lower his hood, state his name, mention Fogwood, use his former nickname, or choose another believable approach. Only when Rogan reveals enough for Sagan to recognize him does the Forgotten Connection become fully unlocked. From that point onward, future social probes involving Sagan gain Advantage or receive a -2 DC modifier. If Rogan is Wanted, this revelation may also expose him to Roxy and start the Micro Clock as described in Phase 1a.

Warm air rolls over you as you step inside.

Steam drifts from a massive iron pot behind the counter, thick with the smell of mirel leaf, smoked river ham, and sharp fermented vinegar. The Serbian soup has already been cooked. It waits, hot and patient, for whoever can pay. Through the thin wall to your right, the Morningstar Food Market presses close. Vendors call prices. Crates scrape across wet boards. Produce slaps onto counters, and loose Kourou clink into metal cashboxes.

The diner itself is crowded with off-shift loggers packed into narrow booths. Wet coats steam beside tired bodies. The low buzz of timber talk hangs beneath the lazy clatter of cutlery. At the far end of the service counter, a tired-looking woman in a faded canvas coat is cutting fried grains into smaller pieces for her young daughter. The child swings her boots against the stool rungs, watching the room with quiet curiosity.

Then the cutlery stops. Heavy work boots shift across the floorboards as heads turn toward the counter. Behind the steel rail stands Roxy, the diner’s Butler Bot. Its once-elegant brass chassis has been battered by years of frontier service. Synthetic skin peels away from its jawline, exposing the dull servo lattice beneath. One pale-amber eye flickers irregularly.

Facing the machine is a broad-shouldered logger in a grease-stained work jacket. His face is crossed by old burn scars, framed by an unkempt beard. His bloodshot eyes stare across the zinc counter with a mixture of anger, exhaustion, and desperation. Roxy’s head jerks slightly.

“Tr-tr-ansaction… krrrzk… denied.”

The logger slams a meaty fist onto the counter. Glassware rattles.

“What do you mean, denied?”

He snatches up a creased square of grid paper and jabs it toward the bot. A crossed rifle and fishhook are printed at the top.

“That’s a guaranteed allocation note straight from J.W.’s Hands. I delivered every beam listed on that paper, and you’re telling me it isn’t good for one damned drink?”

Roxy extends a brass manipulator.

“Authentication index… bzzzt… verified.”

The logger hesitates before surrendering the voucher. Roxy’s amber eye flickers. A narrow blade slides from its wrist housing with a metallic snick.

“Voucher authentic. However… whirrrr… producer directives state that this arrangement has been terminated.”

RIPPPP.

The blade cuts the voucher cleanly in half.

“Please provide valid Kourou.”

The logger stares at the torn paper. Then he laughs. It is not a happy sound.

“Kourou?”

His hand flashes toward the heavy leather holster at his hip. He draws an industrial pneumatic spike-driver, tethered by a braided hose to a pressure canister at his belt. Compressed air hisses through the valve. Instead of aiming at Roxy, he swings the heavy steel muzzle toward the woman beside him. She freezes. Her arms close around her daughter, pulling the child’s face into her chest. The logger leans across the counter. His grip tightens around the firing lever.

“This driver fires anchoring spikes meant for foundation stone. At this distance, it’ll pass straight through her before your safety protocols can react.”

His voice drops into a ragged whisper.

“Now pour me a drink.”

The diner goes completely silent.

Important: This confrontation can be resolved in several different ways. The PCs may attempt to calm Sagan through negotiation, empathy, intimidation, or other creative approaches. If Rogan Sokolov is present, the scene also contains the hidden Forgotten Connection mechanic (see above). Successfully unlocking it does not resolve the confrontation automatically, but it may create a valuable opportunity to reach Sagan before the situation turns violent.

This phase applies only if one or more PCs are Wanted and their identities become compromised. If the PCs are clean or remain successfully disguised, skip to Phase 1b. The confrontation with Sagan does not pause the Ticking Clock. Once the PCs have been identified, they must resolve the crisis, recover anything important, and leave before the Guarding Troopers arrive.

Special Interaction — Forgotten Connection: If Rogan successfully unlocks the Forgotten Connection, he must reveal enough of his identity for Sagan to recognize him. This may include lowering his hood, stating his name, referring to their shared work at Fogwood, or otherwise making his former identity unmistakable.

If Rogan is Wanted, successfully unlocking the Forgotten Connection therefore also exposes him to Roxy’s facial or voice recognition systems and automatically starts the Micro Clock.

• Sagan is dangerous, but he is not a robber: He does not want Roxy's cashbox or the diner's daily turnover. He wants Roxy to honour the voucher J.W. gave him and provide the drink he believes he has earned. His threat against the mother is morally indefensible, but it is the act of a desperate, intoxicated man at the end of his endurance, not a planned robbery.
• The mother must remain the immediate priority: Once Sagan takes the mother hostage, every second matters. The PCs should feel that delaying, arguing among themselves or focusing solely on the investigation allows the situation to deteriorate.
• The Forgotten Connection is an opportunity, not a solution: If Rogan unlocks the Forgotten Connection, Sagan becomes capable of listening again. He does not suddenly become cooperative. The PCs must still earn his trust through their actions.
• Do not overplay Sagan's drunkenness: Alcohol has clouded his judgement, but humiliation is driving him. Play him as exhausted, ashamed and emotionally cornered rather than incoherent or irrational.
• The spike-driver is an industrial tool: It fires short anchoring spikes designed for heavy timber construction. At close range it is unquestionably lethal. To Sagan, it is also the last surviving tool of Belmont Timber & Haulage and one of the few things J.W. never managed to take from him.
• The torn voucher is a key piece of evidence: Give the PCs a fair opportunity to recover it. It connects Sagan, J.W., Hale & Hook and the distinctive handwriting found on the Hand.
• Failure changes the investigation, it does not end it: Whether Sagan is arrested, escapes or dies, the investigation continues. Each outcome simply changes which clues remain available and where the PCs must look next.
• If the Ticking Clock expires here: Guarding Troopers arrive while the PCs are still inside the diner and begin securing the scene. If the PCs are wanted, the Troopers will proceed with identity checks. Roxy will neither obstruct nor assist either side beyond following its programmed procedures.

• ↑↑ Start: Hunting An Unknown Hunter
• ★ Overview: All Scenes of Hunting An Unknown Hunter
• ☞ Resolution: Case Resolution and discoverable Backstory
• ← Previous Scene: Scene 4 — Arrival in Morningstar
• → Possible continuations:
  • If Sagan is calmed and leaves with the PCs: proceed to Scene 4a+1 — The Price of Timber.
  • If Sagan or the PCs are arrested: proceed to Scene 4f — Local Guarding Troopers Station.
  • If the PCs flee after being identified: proceed to Scene 4g — Escaping Morningstar.
  • If the PCs leave without pursuit: return to the Morningstar Hub Overview.

• Note: Morningstar contains many additional locations beyond the hubs listed above. See the full Morningstar page. Player characters may visit any of them freely. Interactions outside the core hubs should focus on atmosphere, local routines, rumors, and consequences rather than introducing replacement versions of clues the players have permanently lost.